Microsoft Teams doesn't save live captions, so the .mp4 you downloaded was never going to contain them. This is not a setting you missed and not a bug in the export — it is documented behaviour, spelled out across three different Microsoft support pages that each tell you one third of the story.
Once you see all three sentences together, the fix becomes obvious: the captions you want are in a separate transcript file, and you have to go get it on purpose.
What "captions aren't captured" actually means
Here are the three official sentences, verbatim.
From the page on playing and sharing meeting recordings, in a Note under its closed captions section:
"Captions aren't captured in recordings or downloads. However, you can turn them on while viewing a recording in Teams or in the browser on its Microsoft 365 video player page."
From the top of the live captions page:
"Teams doesn't save captions. If you'd like a transcript of the meeting, turn on transcription. You'll be able to download the transcript after the meeting."
And from the FAQ on that same page, answering "Does Teams store any caption data?":
"No. Caption data is permanently deleted after the meeting is over."
Read in sequence, those say something stronger than "captions are off by default." The captions scrolling on screen during the meeting were never a file. There was nothing to bake into the video, nothing to attach to the download, and nothing left to recover once everyone hung up.
Microsoft's admin documentation draws the same line explicitly: "Transcription creates a real-time written record of what was said during a meeting or event. Participants can view the transcript after the meeting along with timestamps and speaker attribution. Live captions provide real-time subtitles during the meeting, but Teams doesn't save captions."
Captions are a live display. Transcription is the thing that produces a file. Those are two separate toggles in the meeting, and only one of them leaves anything behind.
So what are the captions I can turn on while watching the recording?
They come from the transcript, which is stored as its own file alongside the video. Microsoft's page on managing video transcripts and captions describes the arrangement:
"The captions and transcript file is stored with the video in OneDrive for Business or SharePoint. This inherits the same permissions and policy as the video file, so that whoever has access to the video file has access to the captions and transcript."
That explains the second half of the confusion — why the captions work in the player but vanish the moment you download. And the same page explains why you cannot find that file yourself:
"There is no direct access to see or manage the captions and transcript file in the file explorer for OneDrive for Business or SharePoint. Because this file only enhances the video viewing experience, it is viewed and managed only through the video player as described above."
So the Recordings folder in OneDrive genuinely does show only an .mp4. The caption data exists, it is attached to that video, and it is invisible in the file list by design. Downloading the video downloads the video.
The fix: download the transcript, then attach it yourself
If transcription was running during the meeting, the file you want is reachable from the calendar event, not the video folder. Microsoft's live transcription page:
"When the meeting is over, the transcript is immediately available in the meeting event on the calendar. By default, meeting organizers and co-organizers can download it as a .docx or .vtt file."
Take the .vtt. That is a real subtitle file — the .docx is a document, not something a player can read. Note also what is not on that list: the documented Teams export formats are .docx and .vtt, so if your editing software or video platform expects SubRip, you have a conversion step ahead of you.
From there you have two useful destinations. Attach the VTT as a soft subtitle track that viewers can toggle, or burn the text permanently into the picture so it survives any player, any platform, and any re-upload:
Try it right here
Runs in your browser. Your file is not uploaded anywhere.
This runs entirely in your browser tab — the video and the transcript are read from disk and processed locally, never uploaded. That matters here more than usual, because a Teams transcript is a verbatim record of what named colleagues said in a private meeting. If you need SubRip first, convert the VTT to SRT, then come back. For the longer version of the workflow, see burn subtitles into a video.
Other reasons there are no captions, most likely first
1. Transcription was never turned on. This is the single most common cause, and Microsoft states the consequence directly: "If recording is turned on, but transcription is turned off, the recording doesn't have a transcript file stored next to it. Also, when viewing the recording playback in Stream, captions can't be turned on." If the captions toggle is missing in the player too, stop looking for a file — there isn't one.
2. Copilot was switched off for the meeting. A Note repeated at the top of three separate Teams admin pages: "When organizers turn off Microsoft Copilot in Teams meetings and events, recording and transcription are also turned off." Teams even surfaces this as a tooltip on a disabled recording button: "Unavailable because Copilot is turned off for this meeting."
3. The recording file was moved or copied. Two official pages describe this with slightly different conditions, and both are worth knowing. The admin transcription page: "The transcription link remains for the lifetime of the file in most cases, but can be broken if the video file is copied within the same OneDrive or SharePoint site. This action would result in captions not displaying on the copied video file." The storage and permissions page is broader: "Closed captions aren't fully supported if the Teams meeting recording is moved or copied from its original location in OneDrive or SharePoint."
4. You are not the organizer. Microsoft's permission table for transcripts gives a person from the same organization "No" for downloading after the meeting, with the qualifier "but organizers can configure who can download on Stream." External and anonymous participants are listed as No throughout. If the download option isn't there, ask the organizer rather than hunting for a workaround.
How to tell it worked
Open the recording in Teams or on its Microsoft 365 video player page and turn captions on — that confirms a transcript file is attached upstream. Then download the .vtt from the calendar event and open it in a text editor: the first line should read WEBVTT, followed by timed cues. If you burned the subtitles in, scrub to the middle of the exported file in any player with subtitles switched off; the words should still be there, because they are now pixels.
FAQ
Why does my downloaded Teams recording have no subtitles? Because Teams doesn't save live captions. Microsoft's own wording is "Captions aren't captured in recordings or downloads," and "Caption data is permanently deleted after the meeting is over." The captions you see while watching a recording in Teams come from a separate transcript file that stays in OneDrive or SharePoint.
Can I recover the live captions after the meeting ended? The live captions themselves are gone — the official FAQ answer is "No. Caption data is permanently deleted after the meeting is over." If transcription was also running, the transcript is a different file and is still available from the meeting event on the calendar.
Can Teams export an SRT file?
The documented download formats are .docx or .vtt. Convert the VTT if you need SubRip; check the official documentation for any format added since.
Why can't I see the caption file in my OneDrive Recordings folder? Microsoft states there is "no direct access to see or manage the captions and transcript file in the file explorer for OneDrive for Business or SharePoint." It is managed only through the video player.
Can I upload my own caption file to a Teams recording? The video player page accepts a WebVTT captions and transcript file. Microsoft lists a size error for files over its stated 4MB limit, and notes that "Additional fields, such as notes, comments, styles, etc., are not supported and will be removed from the file upon upload."
Quotes from Microsoft's official documentation on playing and sharing meeting recordings, live captions, live transcripts, managing transcription and captions, recording storage and permissions, and video transcript management, checked 17 September 2026. Microsoft revises these pages — verify before relying on a step. Related: Teams transcript download formats, more troubleshooting fixes, and all Clapr tools.
