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Outlook does not have a separate manual Available, Busy, or Away control. For Microsoft 365 work or school accounts, the status shown beside names in Outlook comes from Microsoft Teams.
That means you change your presence in Teams, while Outlook controls whether those indicators are displayed. Outlook also has separate settings for status messages, automatic replies, and calendar availability. Choosing the right setting depends on what you want other people to see.
What “status” means in Outlook
People commonly use “Outlook status” to mean several different things:
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| What you want to show | Where to change it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Available, Busy, Do not disturb, Away, or Offline | Microsoft Teams | Changes your Teams presence, which Outlook can display beside your name |
| A short explanation such as “Working from home” | Teams status message | Displays text to people who view or message you |
| “I’m away and will reply later” | Outlook Automatic Replies | Sends an automatic email response |
| Whether a calendar appointment blocks your time | Outlook calendar, Show As | Changes free/busy information for that calendar item |
Teams presence in Outlook is available with qualifying Microsoft 365 work or school accounts. It is not available in Outlook.com in the same way. If you use a personal Outlook.com, Gmail, Yahoo, POP, or IMAP account, some of these controls may not appear.
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- The taller tube shows your availability to surrounding colleagues in the office so they know when you are on a call, busy with a deadline, or available to chat.y: This busy light indicates your availability status to colleagues, preventing interruptions during focused work.
- Indicate if a meeting room is free or occupied or place it outside of your office or next to your PC to show whether you are available or busy. Easily attaches to any wall, doors or on your table.
- Intuitive multi-functional use, fast and easy installation. There is a metal clip can grab the monitor or any border that less 30mm.
- The red light means there is case in processing, then people would not interrupt you , usually the user is on a call, In addition the user is walkaway
- The green light is on/off means the user is available (Supports manually setting the green light is on/off to indicate you are idle of free)
How to change your status for Outlook
Because Outlook receives presence information from Teams, use Teams to select the status you want other people to see.
On Teams desktop or the web
- Open Microsoft Teams and sign in with the same work or school account connected to Outlook.
- Select your profile picture in the upper-right corner.
- Select your current status.
- Choose one of the available options: Available, Busy, Do not disturb, Be right back, Away, or Offline.
The change normally appears in Outlook after Teams synchronizes. You do not type these commands into an Outlook email or calendar field.
Using Teams status commands
Teams also accepts status commands in its search box. Enter one of the following commands in the Teams search box, then press Enter:
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|---|---|
| Available | /available |
| Busy | /busy |
| Do not disturb | /dnd |
| Be right back | /brb |
| Away | /away |
| Offline | /offline |
On Teams mobile
- Open the Teams app.
- Tap Menu.
- Tap your current status.
- Choose the new status.
Keep a status for a specific period
A manually selected status can be reset automatically. For example, you can remain on Do not disturb during a presentation and let Teams restore your normal presence afterward.
- In Teams, select your profile picture.
- Select your current status.
- Select Duration.
- Under Status, select the status to use.
- Under Reset status after, choose a period.
- For a specific end time, choose Custom and enter the date and time.
- Select Done.
Status duration can be set for every status except Available. When the period ends, Teams determines the replacement status from your activity, calendar, and computer state.
To cancel the duration, select a different status, or select profile picture > current status > Reset status.
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- VISUAL STATUS INDICATOR: Busy light clearly displays your availability status with bright LED colors - red for busy/in a meeting, green for available, helping colleagues know when not to interrupt
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- DO NOT DISTURB SOLUTION: Perfect for home offices, cubicles, and open workspaces to reduce unwanted interruptions during video calls, focused work sessions, or important meetings
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Stop Teams for the web from changing you to Away
Teams can change you to Away when your computer is locked, idle, or asleep. On a phone, it can happen when the Teams app is in the background.
Teams for the web has an option that can preserve your selected status while you work in another browser tab or application:
- In Teams for the web, select Settings.
- Open Notifications and Activity > Presence.
- Turn on Keep my current status when I’m active outside of Teams on the web.
Your browser may ask permission to detect activity in other tabs or apps. If you select Block, Teams cannot detect that activity, so it may still change your status to Away.
How to display or hide status indicators in classic Outlook
Classic Outlook has a setting that controls whether online indicators appear next to names. This setting does not change your Teams presence.
- Open classic Outlook.
- Select File > Options.
- Select the People tab.
- Under Online status and photographs, select or clear Display online status next to name.
- Select OK.
If you clear this option, Outlook hides the indicators on your computer. It does not make you Offline in Teams, and other users may still see your presence in their own Outlook or Teams clients.
How to add a status message
A status message is text, not a presence state. Use it for details such as “In training until 3 p.m.” or “Contact the support desk while I’m away.”
Rank #3
- Displays your availability to surrounding colleagues in the office so they know when you are on a call, busy with a deadline, or available to chat.
- Flashes on incoming calls and instant messages to reduce the chance of you missing a call or message.
- Adjustable color and brightness control to ensure the status lights suit the theme of your office.
- Supports Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, Cisco Jabber, Ringcentral, Cisco Finesse, CounterPath Bria, Skype (Home edition)
- Integrate this busy light with your own business applications using our Software Development Kit (SDK)
Teams desktop
- Select your profile picture.
- Select Set status message.
- Enter your message.
- Optionally select Show when people message me.
- Choose a period under Clear status message after.
- Select Done.
Teams mobile
- Tap your profile picture.
- Tap Set status message.
- Enter the message.
- Choose when it should be cleared under Clear after.
- Tap Done.
A Teams status message can prevent Outlook’s automatic out-of-office message from displaying in Teams. If you want both messages to be clear, review and remove an old Teams status message when you return.
How to show that you are out of the office
Out of office has two separate functions: an automatic email reply and a calendar state. Turning on automatic replies sends a response to incoming email; it is not the same as manually selecting Busy or Away in Teams.
New Outlook for Windows
- On the View tab, select View settings.
- Select Accounts > Automatic Replies.
- Turn on Turn on automatic replies.
- To limit the reply to particular dates, select Send replies only during a time period and enter the start and end times.
- Enter the internal message under Send automatic replies inside your organization.
- To reply to external senders, select Send replies outside your organization and enter a separate message.
- Select Save.
New Outlook does not support automatic replies for Gmail, Yahoo, or other POP/IMAP accounts through this feature.
Classic Outlook for Windows
- Select File > Automatic Replies.
- Select Send automatic replies.
- Optionally select a start and end time.
- Enter the response on the Inside My Organization tab.
- Select OK.
To stop active automatic replies, select Turn off in the notification beneath the ribbon. If File > Automatic Replies is missing, the account may be Gmail, Yahoo, POP, IMAP, or another account type without Exchange automatic replies. A Rules and Alerts reply is a fallback, but classic Outlook must remain running for the rule to work.
Outlook on the web or Outlook.com
- Select Settings.
- Select Mail > Automatic replies.
- Turn on Turn on automatic replies.
- Optionally select Send replies only during a time period and specify the dates.
- Enter the reply text.
- Configure external replies and calendar options if required.
- Select Save.
If you do not specify an end time, automatic replies stay enabled until you return to Settings > Mail > Automatic replies and turn them off.
Be cautious with external replies. They can respond to newsletters, advertisements, and unwanted messages. Where available, choose the option to send replies only to contacts.
Rank #4
- The taller tube shows your availability to surrounding colleagues in the office so they know when you are on a call, busy with a deadline, or available to chat.y: This busy light indicates your availability status to colleagues, preventing interruptions during focused work.
- Indicate if a meeting room is free or occupied or place it outside of your office or next to your PC to show whether you are available or busy. Easily attaches to any wall, doors or on your table.
- Intuitive multi-functional use, fast and easy installation. There is a metal clip can grab the monitor or any border that less 30mm.
- The red light means there is case in processing, then people would not interrupt you , usually the user is on a call, In addition the user is walkaway
- The green light is on/off means the user is available (Supports manually setting the green light is on/off to indicate you are idle of free)
Change the status of a calendar event
Use Show As when you want a particular appointment to affect your free/busy calendar information. This does not directly select a Teams presence from the status menu.
- Open the appointment, meeting, or event.
- On the ribbon, open Show As.
- Choose Free, Working Elsewhere, Tentative, Busy, or Out of Office.
- Select Save & Close for an appointment or event. For a meeting, select Send Update if an update is required.
New all-day events default to Free, while meetings and appointments normally default to Busy. Changing the Show As value on your calendar does not override the status an attendee has chosen on their own calendar.
Why Outlook shows the wrong status
Check these common causes before changing Outlook settings:
- Busy: Teams may detect that you are in a meeting or call.
- Do not disturb: This can result from a manual Teams setting, calendar information, or Teams activity.
- Away: Your computer may be locked, idle, or asleep, or Teams mobile may be running in the background.
- Offline: You may not be signed in to Teams.
- Out of Office: Your calendar or out-of-office configuration may be affecting the information shown to contacts.
When you present or share your screen, Teams uses Do not disturb by default. To change this behavior, open Settings and more > Settings > Privacy, then clear Set my status to Do not disturb when I’m sharing my screen.
Be right back is never selected automatically. Also, choosing Offline or Appear offline does not stop messages from arriving; it only makes you appear unavailable or unsigned in.
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| Goal | Use this setting |
|---|---|
| Tell colleagues you can respond now | Teams profile picture > current status > Available |
| Silence interruptions temporarily | Teams > current status > Do not disturb, then set a duration |
| Explain why you are unavailable | Teams > Set status message |
| Send an automatic email response | Outlook > Automatic Replies |
| Block a time period on your calendar | Open the event > Show As > Busy or Out of Office |
| Hide indicators in classic Outlook | File > Options > People > clear Display online status next to name |
FAQ
Can I change my Outlook status without opening Teams?
For Microsoft 365 presence states such as Available, Busy, and Away, Teams is the source of the status. Outlook’s classic setting can hide or display indicators, but it cannot change the underlying presence.
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Why can’t I see an online status in Outlook?
You may be using Outlook.com or an account without qualifying Microsoft 365 work or school services, Teams may not be signed in, or classic Outlook may have the Display online status next to name option cleared.
Does an Outlook automatic reply make me appear Away in Teams?
Not by itself. Automatic replies send email responses. Teams presence is affected by Teams activity and calendar information. A calendar item marked Out of Office can affect availability, but writing an automatic-reply message is a separate action.
Does Appear offline stop Teams messages?
No. Appear offline makes you look unavailable or unsigned in, but messages can still arrive.
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How do I make Outlook show that I am out of the office?
Turn on Automatic Replies in Outlook, and mark the relevant calendar time as Out of Office if it should block your calendar. You can also set a Teams status message explaining when you will return.
The Bottom Line
For the colored presence indicator beside your name, use Microsoft Teams, not Outlook. Use Outlook’s Automatic Replies for email responses, Show As for calendar availability, and a Teams status message for an explanation. In classic Outlook, File > Options > People only controls whether indicators are visible on your screen.
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