Recently, many organisations have noticed Microsoft Teams placing increased demands on system resources, particularly on devices with only 8GB of RAM. In the past, the straightforward answer may have been to upgrade memory or replace ageing hardware. However, with the cost of components such as RAM and SSDs remaining volatile, hardware upgrades are becoming increasingly difficult to justify from a budget perspective. Businesses are under constant pressure to balance IT spending while keeping staff productive, and the challenge is made greater by modern applications continuing to grow more resource-intensive. Microsoft’s new Teams Efficiency Mode is a welcome step in addressing this issue, helping lower-spec devices remain responsive without the immediate need for costly hardware upgrades.
In this post, we will discuss Microsoft Team’s new efficiency mode.
Efficiency Mode in Microsoft Teams is designed to improve performance on devices with limited CPU and memory resources. This update aims to make Teams more responsive, reduce system strain, and provide a smoother experience during meetings and everyday collaboration. The main benefits that Microsoft outline are;
- Reduced CPU and memory usage – helping Teams run more smoothly on older or lower-spec devices.
- Improved responsiveness – faster launching and better performance when multitasking.
- Optimised meeting experience – Teams can dynamically adjust video quality when system resources are limited to help maintain call stability.
- Automatic operation – no action is required from users, as the feature is enabled by default on eligible devices.
From my understanding, this mode is enabled by default. If it has been switched on, you should be able to see the Leaf icon in the top-left;
And you can turn it off via Teams Settings > General and scroll right to the bottom;
As Teams continues to be a central hub for communication and collaboration, Microsoft recognises that not all users have access to high-specification devices. Efficiency Mode helps organisations extend the life of existing hardware while ensuring users can continue to collaborate effectively without significant performance issues.