How to change your background in Webex

Webex handles backgrounds differently from Zoom and Teams in two ways that catch people out. You must be in the installed app, because the browser version does not do virtual backgrounds at all. And your organisation controls whether the feature exists for you in the first place.

Check it is available to you

Before you go looking for the setting, three things determine whether you have it:

• You need the Webex Meetings desktop or mobile app. Cisco does not support virtual backgrounds in the web app, or on Linux
• Your Webex site administrator has to have switched virtual backgrounds on. If they have not, the Change background option is simply absent rather than greyed out
• Your computer has to meet Cisco's hardware requirements. These are stricter than you might expect and some older Macs are excluded outright, including the 2017 MacBook Air

Webex Training does not support virtual backgrounds at all, whatever your settings say.

What Webex needs from your image

• JPG, PNG or GIF
• Cisco's stated minimum is 480 x 360, which is far below what you want in practice
• Use 1920 x 1080. It matches your webcam's aspect ratio and will not look soft on a large screen
• Keep the middle of the image clear, because that is where you sit

PNG is accepted for images you upload yourself. There is a separate restriction worth knowing about if you are an administrator: backgrounds pushed to everyone through Control Hub do not accept PNG at the time of writing, only JPEG and GIF. That limit does not apply to your own uploads.

On Mac or Windows

Before you join:

1. On the preview screen, click Change background
2. Click the + icon to add your own image
3. Pick your file
4. Click Apply

Once you are already in the meeting:

1. Click the video options icon
2. Choose Change virtual background
3. Select your image, then click Apply

Webex keeps your choice for the next meeting, so this is a one time setup rather than something to repeat before every call.

On iPhone or iPad

1. Tap Change background on the preview screen before joining
2. Tap the + icon and choose your image
3. Tap Apply

You can also change it mid meeting by tapping Video, then Virtual Background. If you would rather nobody saw the room first, join with your camera off and set the background before turning it on.

On Android

1. Join the meeting
2. Tap Video, then Virtual Background
3. Tap the + icon and choose your image
4. Tap Apply

On mobile the image saves to that device only. If you use Webex on a phone and a tablet, you have to add it separately on each.

If Change background is missing

• You are almost certainly in the web app. Download and use the desktop app instead
• Ask your administrator whether virtual backgrounds are enabled for your site. This is the most common cause in larger organisations and it is not something you can switch on yourself
• Check your machine against Cisco's hardware requirements. On Windows the option can appear and still fail to work, which is a documented quirk rather than something wrong with your setup
• Update Webex. Custom uploads have been supported since version 40.8, but very old installations predate that

Two practical notes

Virtual backgrounds push up CPU use and will shorten battery life on a laptop or phone. If you are on a long call away from a charger, that is worth knowing.

Webex mirrors your own self view, so a logo behind you reads backwards on your screen while everyone else sees it the right way round. Do not flip the image to fix what you are seeing, or it will be backwards for the entire meeting.