CSS property · data last changed 10 Nov 2026
[background] in email clients
Works in 16 of 21. Not supported in Outlook Classic and HEY Mail. Partial in Gmail Android and Gmail iOS. Untested in Superhuman.
Your reader in Outlook Classic sees the email without [background], even if it looks right where you tested it.
caniemail (MIT) via @emailens/engine 0.18.22
What to do instead in Outlook Classic
Use three layers on the same cell. The background attribute plus a background-color attribute or bgcolor, CSS background-image with a background-color, and a VML <v:rect> with <v:fill> inside an MSO conditional for Outlook Classic. Pick a background colour close to the image so the text stays readable wherever the image does not load.
There is no drop-in fix for [background] in Outlook Classic. Design so the email still reads without it.
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[background] is not among the 24 features we have screenshotted on real installs. The ones we have →
All 21 clients, problems first
| Client | Support |
|---|---|
| Outlook Classic | Not supported |
| HEY Mail | Not supported |
| Gmail Android | Partial See caveat 1 |
| Gmail iOS | Partial See caveat 1 |
| Superhuman | Untested |
Works in 16: Gmail, Outlook 365, Outlook (New) and 13 more. Show all
| Client | Support |
|---|---|
| Gmail | Works |
| Outlook 365 | Works |
| Outlook (New) | Works |
| Outlook iOS | Works |
| Outlook Android | Works |
| Outlook for Mac | Works |
| Apple Mail | Works |
| Apple Mail iOS | Works |
| Yahoo Mail | Works |
| Yahoo Mail Android | Works |
| Yahoo Mail iOS | Works |
| Samsung Mail | Works |
| Thunderbird | Works |
| Proton Mail | Works |
| AOL Mail | Works |
| Fastmail | Works |
Caveats (1)
- 1. Gmail Android, Gmail iOS: Partial. Not supported with non Google accounts.
Caveats as recorded by caniemail (MIT), one entry per wording.
How [background] behaves
The HTML background attribute sets a background image on a <table>, <td> or <body>. It predates CSS backgrounds, and email still uses it because some clients read the attribute where they drop the CSS. Outlook Classic ignores it, and HEY does not support it, while Gmail's apps only honour it for Google accounts.
- Outlook Classic does not support the background attribute; it needs VML.
- Gmail for iOS and Android does not support it with non-Google accounts.
- HEY does not support it.
Questions
Why does my td background image not show in Outlook?
Outlook Classic ignores both the background attribute and CSS background-image. Add a VML <v:rect> with a <v:fill> inside an <!--[if gte mso 9]> block.
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