Need Help running a virtual background on Parallels for Mac

[Jack-Frost]

Hi,

I'm an independent contractor meeting with customers every day over Zoom, and I just got a new M1 MacBook Pro as much of my business is done on Mac. However, as I now run parallels since M1 Macs no longer have access to Bootcamp, I'm encountering an issue I never had before. Zoom no longer allows me to have virtual backgrounds up which is a problem as I work from home. It just says, "your devices does not support virtual backgrounds". This doesn't make sense as I can use them just fine when running on the Mac side of things. And yes, I know I run both Mac and Windows simultaneously on it, but it's a lot easier to have them both on the Windows at the same time for what I do. Is there anything I can do to fix this problem?

[JanayaMM]

I’m also having this issues and cannot find any answers! Let me know if you figure it out! 

[ameyer1965]

Hi, I have the same issue! Have you been able to figure out the soluction?

[MGSR]

Hello Community Members,

I'm sorry for the inconvenience. 

While using Parallels, ensure it meets Zoom Virtual Background requirements for Windows 11 and has sufficient CPU, RAM, and GPU resources allocated.
You can adjust the virtual machine's hardware settings in Parallels:

• Go to Actions > Configure.
• In the Hardware tab, increase the Video Memory allocation if possible.

You can check out this article for the system requirements. 

[fcp]

Hi Mark,

I am also having the same issue. I am on a M1 MacBook Pro running Parallels Desktop 20 with the latest update on MacOS 15.3.

In the Windows 11 ARM VM, I have allocated 8 cores and 32GB RAM. I am running the latest version of Zoom v6.3.6 (56144).

FYI, in Parallels Desktop V20, there is no option for allocation of Video Memory (at least for M1 Mac).

Thanks.

[fcp]

Hi Mark, There is no option for Video Memory in Parallels Desktop V20. I've allocated 8 cores and 32GB of RAM and yet I am not able to use virtual background. Any other steps? Thanks.

[mKanai]

Hi,

I've been in the same situation, but found a workaround.

I installed the x64 version instead of the ARM version and was able to blur the background.

(I don't know if it will work stably because of the short test time.)

MacBook Air (M4) Sequoia 15.3.2

Parallels Desktop 20 Pro Version 20.2.2

Zoom Workplace version 6.4.2 (x64)