How to Change Your Zoom Background on a PC (2026 Tutorial)

Zoom buries the virtual background setting in a non-obvious place, and the option is greyed out entirely if your account administrator has disabled it. The video below walks through the exact steps on a Windows PC — including how to fix it if the option isn't showing.

Step-by-step written guide

Prefer to read? Here are the exact steps shown in the video.

1. Open Zoom on your PC and click the gear icon in the top-right corner to open Settings.
2. In the left panel, click Background & Effects.
3. Make sure the Virtual Background tab is selected (not Filters).
4. Click the + button (Add image or video) and select your background image from your computer.
5. Click your newly added background thumbnail to apply it. Zoom saves it automatically — it will be active the next time you join a call.

How to make your background look good

The most common complaint after setting up a Zoom background is that it looks fake — edges flickering, hair disappearing, colours bleeding. The setup steps are rarely the issue. What matters is:

• Use a 16:9 image. Zoom expects landscape format — at least 1920×1080 pixels. Portrait photos and square images stretch or tile. Most phone camera photos are the wrong format.
• Avoid solid colours and flat gradients. AI background detection works by finding depth contrast. Real-looking spaces — offices, bookshelves, rooms with depth — look far more convincing than graphic backgrounds.
• Face a light source. Even lighting on your face (a window in front of you, or a desk lamp) dramatically improves how cleanly Zoom separates you from the background.