Microsoft Teams may prevent video call drops with new ‘Low Bandwidth Mode’

Microsoft Teams has quickly become one of the most popular video chat system during the pandemic, along with Google Meet and Zoom. But while all three offer free tiers for users, there’s one limitation that many users face, especially in markets like India where networks are congested and speeds are not fast enough for clear and uninterrupted video communication.

Read more: Microsoft Teams gets new features including end-to-end encryption option for 1:1 VoIP calls

The desktop version of the company's Teams app will soon get a new Low Bandwidth Mode feature, which was spotted by Techradar. It will allow users to use less data while they’re outdoors or connected to a slow network like their phone’s mobile data hotspot. This could also come in handy when you’re travelling and connected to hotel wifi which could be in use by other users.

We’ve all faced the same issue at some time during the past year when our network wasn’t fast enough or too congested, resulting in dropped calls or frequent disconnections. Many companies switching to remote working will probably find the new low bandwidth mode useful for this reason, as conducting daily work meetings could become a lot less complicated.

Also read: Zoom, BenQ team up to create certified video conferencing displays

However, not all the recent updates coming to Microsoft’s platform may be welcomed by all users. We recently reported that a new update to Teams could result in users without a webcam being pushed off the main screen in favour of users with their video-enabled. This could push users without webcams (for example on their own desktops) out of sight of other users and ‘marginalise’ them during the conversation.