If colleagues joining a Teams call from a Mac look like they've been out in the sun for too long or perhaps had drunk too much the day before, there may be a completely innocent explanation: Microsoft's camera display Productivity suite is currently causing problems on macOS. Especially when the lighting is not very good, the software tends to display faces with a surprisingly reddish cast. This then looks like sunburn or “Asian flush”. So far there is no direct workaround, but at least there is a tip on what you can do.
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No matter which camera, always only in teams
Apple's cameras built into computers like iMac or MacBook don't have a particularly good reputation, but they usually don't tend to display incorrect colors. In addition, the sunburn problem also occurs in Teams when you use a high-quality external camera or an iPhone via the integration camera function (Continuity Camera). Both the old Teams version and the newer version, which has been available since last year and is said to be more performant, are affected. Most users with the problem seem to be using macOS 14 aka Sonoma, Apple's current Mac operating system.
Confusingly, the image that the camera delivers on the hardware side is significantly better than the one that ultimately arrives in teams. This can be seen from the camera display in the macOS menu bar, which allows you to switch on various system-wide AI display modes such as Studio Light or Portrait Mode. The colors are naturally reproduced there. In Teams itself, there are various ways to change the video image, including improving the brightness of the image or soft focus. But color changes are not yet possible here, so the display remains rather red even then. Using upstream image optimization tools like iGlasses doesn't help either, as the red tint is apparently “implemented” directly in Teams.
So far the only solution has been a browser trick
There is currently no workaround from Microsoft. The problem is known and is being discussed in the company's official forum, but no information about a fix has yet been provided. In order to improve the picture (somewhat), affected users can first try to make their surroundings a little brighter – for example, by filming at the window or getting a video light. But even then, the facial representation in teams often still looks unnatural.
There is only one trick that really works: you don't use the Teams app itself, but rather go to a browser, such as Chrome or Safari. There you then open the link to the respective Teams conference, log in if necessary and then take part from the browser (to do this, click on the relevant link and prevent the Teams app from opening again straight away). Fortunately, the red tint problem is not present in the browser version of Teams – the camera image looks natural and exactly as it actually appears in the camera. Soft focus or brightness can also be enhanced using Teams tools if you want. Before using, you should make sure to share the camera and microphone in the browser. The integration camera can also be used here, which looks razor-sharp on a current iPhone model.
(bsc)