Microsoft Teams — "We're sorry, we've run into an issue" — What It Means & How to Fix It

What Does This Error Mean?

This is Microsoft Teams' generic error message — it appears when Teams encounters a problem it cannot describe more specifically. It can mean anything from a corrupted local cache to a sign-in problem or a temporary service outage. Despite being vague, most cases are fixed by clearing the Teams cache or signing out and back in.

Affected Models

Microsoft Teams Desktop App (Windows)
Microsoft Teams Desktop App (Mac)
Microsoft Teams Web App

Common Causes

The Teams application cache is corrupted or outdated
Your sign-in session has expired or your account token is invalid
Microsoft's Teams servers are experiencing a temporary outage
A recent Windows or Teams update introduced a conflict
Your company's conditional access policies are blocking Teams from authenticating

How to Fix It

Close Teams completely. Right-click the Teams icon in your system tray (bottom-right of your taskbar) and click Quit. Then reopen Teams.

Teams often keeps running in the background even when you close the window. A full quit and restart clears many temporary glitches.
Clear the Teams cache. Close Teams fully, then open File Explorer and navigate to %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams. Delete the contents of these folders: Cache, blob_storage, databases, GPUCache, IndexedDB, Local Storage, tmp.

Do not delete the Teams folder itself — only the contents of those specific subfolders. Teams will rebuild them automatically when it restarts.
Sign out of Teams and sign back in. Click your profile picture in the top-right corner, select Sign Out, then reopen Teams and sign in again.

An expired authentication token is a common silent cause of this error. Signing out forces Teams to get a fresh token.
Check if Microsoft Teams is having a service outage. Visit downdetector.com/status/microsoft-teams or status.office.com and look for reported issues.

If Microsoft's servers are down, no amount of troubleshooting on your end will fix it. Wait for Microsoft to resolve the outage.
Uninstall Teams, then reinstall the latest version from microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/download-app. Also run the Microsoft Teams Machine-Wide Installer removal tool if prompted.

A clean reinstall fixes issues caused by corrupted installation files or failed updates.

When to Call a Professional

If Teams is failing for everyone in your organization at the same time, it is likely a Microsoft service outage — check the Microsoft 365 Service Health Dashboard. If only your account is affected and the cache clear does not help, contact your IT department. They can check conditional access policies and account status on your behalf.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Teams show such a vague error message?

Microsoft Teams wraps many different internal errors under this single generic message. It can be frustrating, but the cache clear and sign-out steps fix it in the majority of cases. If neither works, you have likely hit a more specific issue that requires checking with your IT team or Microsoft support.

I cleared the cache but Teams still shows the error. What else can I try?

A few more things to try: Make sure your Windows is fully updated — go to Settings > Windows Update. Try opening Teams in a web browser at teams.microsoft.com — if the web version works, the problem is with the desktop app. As a last resort, uninstall and reinstall Teams completely.

Will clearing the cache delete my messages or files?

No. All your messages, files, and chats are stored on Microsoft's servers — not in the local cache. The cache is just a temporary copy that Teams keeps on your PC to speed things up. Clearing it is completely safe. Teams will rebuild the cache automatically the next time it runs.