How to freeze your camera on Microsoft Teams
Teams is the fiddliest of the major meeting apps to freeze a camera in, because recent versions refuse to load virtual cameras until you remove the app's code signature. It is a one-time fix, and once it is done freezing works exactly like anywhere else.
The short answer
Install FreezingCam, run the one-time codesign commands that let Teams load virtual cameras on macOS, then pick FreezingCam under Settings › Devices › Camera. Press Freeze to hold your last frame.
How to freeze your camera on Microsoft Teams (Mac)
- 1
Install and activate FreezingCam
Download FreezingCam, move it to Applications, and activate your licence so the virtual camera is available.
- 2
Quit Microsoft Teams entirely
Close every Teams window and make sure nothing is left running in the background or the menu bar.
- 3
Remove the Teams code signature
Teams on macOS blocks unsigned camera plugins. Run the codesign commands from our setup guide once in the Terminal to allow virtual cameras through.
- 4
Reopen Teams and pick the camera
Start Teams again, open Settings › Devices, and select FreezingCam as your camera.
- 5
Press Freeze
Use the FreezingCam menu bar icon to freeze at any point in the call, and unfreeze when you are back.
Microsoft Teams quirks worth knowing
- The codesign step is the part people get stuck on. The exact commands are in our Teams setup guide.
- Teams needs a full restart after installing a virtual camera. Quitting the window is not enough — check the menu bar too.
- A Teams update can restore the code signature, which makes the camera disappear again. Re-run the same commands if that happens.
- Teams background effects re-encode your video. Turn them off while you check that the frozen frame looks right.
- If your organisation manages Teams centrally, IT policy may block modifying the app. Check before running the commands on a work machine.
What about Windows?
Teams has a very large Windows user base, so this is the most common question we get on this page.
FreezingCam is macOS-only today and we would rather say so than waste your time. A Windows build is in development. Join the Windows waiting list and we will email you when it ships.
In the meantime, the closest free workaround on Windows is OBS Studio: add your webcam as a source, start the built-in Virtual Camera, then select “OBS Virtual Camera” in Microsoft Teams. Pausing the source or switching to a still image gives you a frozen frame. It takes longer to set up and there is no one-click freeze, but it works.
Why not just turn the camera off?
You can, and sometimes that is the right call. But a tile going black mid-conversation is conspicuous in a way a still frame is not, and turning it back on draws everyone's attention a second time. A frozen frame keeps the rhythm of the call intact. That is the whole point.