Microsoft is gearing up to tackle a longstanding performance challenge that has been affecting Microsoft Teams on Windows. The company is set to implement a solution aimed at reducing crashes and slowdowns that users have frequently encountered. A recent update from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center reveals plans for a new system process designed to enhance the application’s handling of calling features.
Introducing a New Background Process
The forthcoming desktop version of Microsoft Teams for Windows will incorporate an additional background process named ms-teams_modulehost.exe. This innovative process will take charge of managing call-related functions independently from the main application. By isolating these components, Microsoft anticipates a reduction in system strain, a decline in crash rates during meetings, and a quicker overall startup time.
This strategy builds upon the existing architecture of the Teams client, which utilizes WebView2. This framework allows web-based applications to function as desktop software. Theoretically, by offloading complex features—such as audio and video modules—into a separate process, the main application can avoid becoming overloaded. A similar approach has been adopted with File Explorer in Windows 11, where modularization of certain elements has enhanced responsiveness.
In recent years, Microsoft Teams has undergone a transformation, receiving a plethora of new capabilities, including expanded collaboration tools, AI-driven meeting functionalities, and deeper integration with Microsoft 365. While these enhancements have undoubtedly improved usability, they have also led to increased resource consumption.
Many Windows users have reported frequent freezes, delays when launching Teams, and RAM usage exceeding 1 GB, even during simple chat or video calls. As organizations increasingly rely on Teams for their daily operations, these complaints have become more prevalent.
The introduction of the new process represents Microsoft’s effort to alleviate these issues without embarking on a complete redesign of the application. However, some industry observers suggest that a more effective long-term solution would involve rebuilding Teams as a native Windows application, utilizing frameworks like UWP or WinUI, which are recognized for their superior performance and lower resource demands. A native version could operate more efficiently and diminish memory usage without the need for additional background processes.
This scenario mirrors decisions made by other tech giants; for instance, Meta recently launched a new WhatsApp desktop client based on WebView2, which similarly resulted in increased resource consumption and diminished performance compared to a native application.
For the time being, Microsoft’s modular strategy aims to provide immediate enhancements, although the true impact of the new process on everyday use of Microsoft Teams on Windows remains to be seen.
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