Cannot use virtual background despite it working previously

[yeetboy]

My school uses Webex for online students and we are allowed to have virtual backgrounds for our cameras, but I woke up today to find out that my computer no longer meets the system requirements and I cannot use virtual backgrounds anymore. I have made no changes or installments to my computer in the last couple of months and virtual backgrounds has worked completely fine for those months aside from today and I cannot understand why

[GR16874]

Well it is now   September 2022   and Cisco have done nothing on the issue. ( Like roll back to where they were before when it worked).   My i5-3570  3.4GHZ 4 CORE 8 gig ram  still cannot use the virtual background -  YET VIRTUAL BACKGROUND WORKS PERFECTLY with ZOOM on the same PC.    

[00uv1f4s9lyDNtSj05d6]

After using backgrounds in each WebEx Meet and WebEx Teams in view that March, closing week, WebEx Meet now complains that my device does not meet minimum requirements as you can read more about it on nextgen apk.

[Stephanie Knoop]

March is about the time frame that Webex imposed the much chagrined PC requirements mentioned above and detailed here:https://help.webex.com/en-us/80jduab/Use-a-Virtual-Background-in-the-Cisco-Webex-Meetings-Suite#id_138414

Not only does this affect ability to use blur and backgrounds, it also limits your PCs ability to send high definition video.  Whereas I was able to control my CPU utilization by closing apps prior to getting on a webex so that I'd send optimal video, after this change that was no longer possible. 

My belief is that webex implemented these restrictions in order to improve overall quality,  but made a decision for users that had caused a different type of frustration. 

I'd love to here from someone at Cisco on this. We were doing fine by educating our end users.

[Syaida Iwani]

I'm having the same problems too. Both my laptop and phone cannot change the virtual background. It's so frustrating. Does anyone know how to solve it yet?

[GR16874]

Has anyone else successfully used the Registry hack that was posted in this thread ?  The one that makes your PC think it has a cpu with series number greater than 4000 ?

We shouldn't have to resort to hacks in order to circumvent cisco's arbitary programming techniques.

[jakub.urbansky]

registry hack didnt work for me

[jakub.urbansky]

same problem here ... i think i5 - 2500k and GTX960 is more than capable of handling out virtual background -_-

[GR16874]

I too am getting       You can't use a virtual background because your system doesn't meet the minimum requirements
when I look at the minimum requirements I see 

WBS40.8 and later     YES I am later  41.2.3.17

Operating System:  Windows 8 or Windows 10 64-bit   YES I have Win 10 pro 64 bit.

Processor: Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 4000 series processor or higher  YES I have intel i5 - 3570 3.40 GHz 4 core.

Memory: 4GB or more of RAM   YES I have 8GB of RAM installed.

I am running an HP Compaq elite SFF 8300  with new HD. new Win 10 x64 and 1GB video card. and Brand new Camera 30fps.

This is ridiculous - virtual background is working on my PC with zoom,  what is the problem with Cisco Webex

[GR16874]

Ahh - are they saying i3  i4 and i5  4000 series,  not just i7  4000.    ?  that means anything before 2013 wont work with 3rd gen intel chip.  including my i5-3570..  anyone confirm this?    Sad because background works with their main competition Zoom.

[AscotTacos]

Unfortunately, I believe it is something even simpler. 3570 is smaller than 4000, and therefore they will not let it work. It seems like they are simply checking your processor to see if the processor number is > 4000. For myself, I have a laptop that is an i5-7300U. It is pretty lousy. 7300 > 4000, so it is allowed to use virtual backgrounds. I have a gaming desktop that has an i7-2600K. 2600 < 4000, and therefore it is not allowed to use virtual backgrounds. It appears that there is no logic or nuance behind how they restricted it, just straight numbers.

[kndskelton]

I've posted a request (idea) to make Virtual Background backwards compatible so we can all use it again. Not many votes at this time though.

[GR16874]

Hi kndskelton,    regarding your Request to cisco webex to make virtual background compatible with i5-3xxx series processors,  can you post a link to wherever I have to go to Vote for this request.

thanks

[S Toronto]

Apparently you need an i7 microprocessor, series 4000 or higher. Even though all summer, the 3770 was working just fine.  Latest update. All my other meeting apps allow virtual backgrounds, which work very well.  So, rather than us contributing masses of perfectly functioning computers to landfill, maybe Cisco Webex folks can figure out a solution that works with all microprocessors (can't see how it won't work with i7 anything, when it works with less powerful i5 and i3 processors).  Very odd. This, is a Cisco Webex issue, NOT an inferior desktop issue. 

[kndskelton]

There was a registry hack I saw that supposedly worked but, haven't tried it myself. i7 is newer than the i5 (at least how I read it!)

The hack was... (My apologies to the user who suggested this. I didn't screen cap your name)

" REGISTRY FIX FOR NOT MEETING MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

I found a dirty workarround

I changed the CPU name in the registry

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\System\CentralProcessor\0

change the key: ProcessorNameString
to the value: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770 CPU @ 3.40GHz

now virtual background works in the latest version of Webex

I still hope you will change webex "

.

[csadferwgfdhget87334]

Not for nothing, on my pc, digital backgrounds work atrociously, extremely good lagy. A handful of variations in the past, once I was capable of use digital historical past on my computer in dubai, it worked wonderful, as my computing device is insanely greater powerful across the board

[kndskelton]

what you could try is to clear Webex cache.. It has worked for a few people..

Windows

1. Sign out of the Cisco Webex client.
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del on your keyboard, then select Task Manager.
3. Under the Apps tab, right-click on Cisco Webex, then select End Task.
4. Right-click on the Windows (Start) button, and select Run. In the Open text box, enter %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\WebEx
5. Delete all data in the Wbxcache folder. (Not the folder itself).

[AscotTacos]

Thanks for the idea.

Just tested it out, and unfortunately did not help with the issue for me.

[AscotTacos]

Has anyone figured out any solution to this issue? It does seem like it is simply an issue with Cisco hard coding checks for CPUs that are nonsensical when compared with actual CPU performance (like I said above, higher processor numbers do not mean more powerful processors).

I did see the following post:

https://community.cisco.com/t5/webex-meetings-and-webex/vitual-background-stopped-working/m-p/4265401/highlight/true#M2753

which I assume would work, but I'd be concerned about any other impacts it would have on system performance. Is there any hope on a Cisco fix on this? Thank you.

[AscotTacos]

I am having the same issue where my desktop used to run Virtual Background fine, but now I get the message that it does not meet the minimum specs.

When I look at the webex page, I see the following requirements:

Processor:

Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 4000 series or higher

I have an i7-2600K on my desktop, which according to that, would not meet the minimum specs.

On my much inferior laptop, I have an i5-7300U. I can use virtual background on that machine.

Just because 7300 is a bigger number than 2600 does not mean it is more powerful, in fact, it is not. Not for nothing, on my laptop, virtual backgrounds work atrociously, super laggy. A handful of versions ago, when I was able to use virtual background on my desktop, it worked great, as my desktop is insanely more powerful across the board (CPU, GPU, RAM). Perhaps they need to better think out the minimum requirements?

[lpiedimonte]

I completely agree that this functionality is not actually considering the specs correctly.