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Microsoft Teams status tells coworkers whether you are available, occupied, presenting, away, or no longer signed in. It is calculated from more than the status you select: Teams also considers your activity, device state, calls, meetings, and Outlook calendar.
The important distinction is between presence status—the colored availability indicator—and a status message, which is a separate text note such as “Working from home” or “Back at 2 PM.”
Microsoft Teams status meanings at a glance
| Status | What it means | Useful when |
|---|---|---|
| Available | You are active in Teams and have no current meeting or call. | You are ready to respond. |
| Busy | You want to focus but still receive notifications. | You are doing concentrated work but can be interrupted. |
| In a meeting | Teams has detected that you are in a meeting. | Automatically shown during a calendar meeting or Teams meeting. |
| In a call | You are currently on a call. | Automatically shown during a call. |
| Do not disturb | Normal banner notifications are suppressed. Messages still arrive, and calls normally go to voicemail. | Presenting, focusing, or avoiding interruptions. |
| Be right back | You are temporarily away. | Taking a short break. Teams does not set this automatically. |
| Away | You may be working but are not responding immediately. | Your computer is idle or locked, or Teams is in the background on mobile. |
| Appear offline | You appear not to be signed in, although messages and notifications can still arrive. | Working privately without displaying an available presence. |
| Presenting | An application-set presence associated with presenting or screen sharing. | Automatically associated with a presentation or screen share. |
| Focusing | An application-set status associated with scheduled focus time. | Focus time created through MyAnalytics or Insights. |
| Out of office | Imported from an Outlook automatic reply or a calendar event marked Out of Office. | Vacation, leave, or another period away from work. |
| Status unknown | The person is no longer present in the organization’s directory. | Usually indicates an account or directory change. |
Microsoft’s availability order, from most available to least available, is Available > Busy > In a meeting > In a call > Do not disturb > Be right back > Away > Offline. Some entries, including Presenting, Focusing, and Out of office, are application- or calendar-driven rather than ordinary manually selected statuses.
What each Teams status does
Available
Available means Teams sees you as active and there is no current calendar activity such as a meeting or call. It is not a permanent promise that you will answer immediately.
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Teams can change Available to Away when your computer is locked or idle. On a phone, putting the Teams app in the background can also result in Away.
Busy
Busy tells colleagues that you want to concentrate while remaining reachable. It does not silence notifications. Teams can automatically display In a meeting or In a call (Busy) during meetings and calls unless Do not disturb is active.
Busy is a good choice for writing, coding, or handling a deadline when you still want chat and call notifications to appear.
Do not disturb
Do not disturb is the interruption-blocking option. Normal banner notifications are suppressed, but chat messages are still delivered. Incoming calls normally go to voicemail. People on your priority-access list can still produce banner notifications and calls.
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This status is appropriate for presentations, customer calls, exams, or work requiring uninterrupted concentration. It does not make you invisible and it does not stop coworkers from sending messages.
Be right back
Be right back indicates a short, temporary absence. Unlike Away, Teams does not assign this status automatically. Select it when you want to explain that you have stepped away briefly.
Away
Away means you may not respond immediately. Teams can assign it automatically after inactivity, when the computer is locked, or when the computer enters a low-activity state. On mobile, Teams can show Away when the app is running in the background.
Away does not necessarily mean the person has stopped working. A locked screen, a mobile app switch, or an unattended Teams window can be enough to change the indicator.
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Appear offline and Offline
Appear offline is a status you choose. Other people see you as if you are not signed in, but you can still receive messages and notifications.
Offline is calculated by Teams when you are not signed in on any device for a period of time. These labels are therefore not identical: Appear offline is deliberate, while Offline reflects Teams’ connection and activity state.
Presenting
Presenting is an application-set presence associated with screen sharing or presenting. Teams can automatically change your status to Do not disturb while you share your screen. This prevents ordinary notifications from appearing over the content you are showing.
To control that behavior on desktop or web, open Settings and more > Settings > Privacy, then enable or disable Set my status to Do not disturb when I’m sharing my screen. Microsoft enables this setting by default.
Focusing
Focusing is created by scheduled focus time through MyAnalytics or Insights in the calendar. Notifications are silenced until the focus period ends. It is different from manually selecting Busy or Do not disturb because the focus period comes from a scheduled productivity feature.
Out of office
Out of office comes from Outlook: either an automatic reply or a calendar event marked Out of Office. It is separate from manually choosing Away or Do not disturb.
A Teams status message is also separate. If you create a Teams status message, it prevents the Outlook automatic out-of-office reply from being shown as the Teams status message.
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Status unknown
Status unknown generally means the person is no longer present in the organization’s directory. It is not the same as Away or Appear offline and normally points to an account, directory, or organizational change.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesHow to change your Teams status
Desktop and web
- Select your profile picture in the top-right corner.
- Select your current status.
- Choose Available, Busy, Do not disturb, Be right back, Away, or Appear offline.
Mobile
- Open the Teams Menu.
- Tap your current status.
- Select the status you want to use.
Slash commands are a faster option on desktop and web. Type / in the Teams search bar or in a chat or channel compose box, select the command, and press Enter:
| Command | Result |
|---|---|
| /available | Available |
| /away | Away |
| /brb | Be right back |
| /busy | Busy |
| /dnd | Do not disturb |
| /offline | Offline |
| /reset | Reset the status |
Microsoft currently lists /reset for the compose box, while the other status commands can be used from the search bar or a compose box. Slash commands are unavailable in Teams mobile and may be restricted by organizational policy.
How to set a status duration
A duration is useful when you want Teams to restore or reset your status automatically—for example, setting Do not disturb for a two-hour writing session.
- Select Profile picture > current status > Duration.
- Under Status, select the status.
- Under Reset status after, select a duration or choose Custom.
- Select Done.
Teams does not allow a duration to be set for Available. To cancel an existing duration, select a new status or use Profile picture > current status > Reset status.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallIf no duration is specified, the default periods differ: Appear offline remains indefinitely; Busy and Do not disturb last one day; other manually selected statuses last seven days, according to Microsoft’s presence documentation. A manually selected status also cannot always override a less-available status calculated by Teams. For example, a timed Busy selection does not necessarily override Away.
Why Teams changes your status automatically
Teams calculates presence from activity, the Teams app state, and the Outlook calendar. Common triggers include:
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- Idle or locked computer: Teams normally changes the status to Away.
- Sleep mode: The computer can change the status to Offline.
- Mobile app in the background: Teams can show Away.
- Meetings and calls: Teams can show In a meeting or In a call.
- Screen sharing: Teams may use Presenting and Do not disturb.
- Focus time: Insights or MyAnalytics can produce Focusing.
- Outlook events and automatic replies: These can produce Out of office.
- Another signed-in device: When Teams is open on multiple devices, the device used most recently determines the reported presence.
On mobile, Teams changes presence to Offline after 24 hours of inactivity, according to Microsoft’s presence documentation. For users with on-premises-hosted mailboxes, presence delays of up to one hour can be expected.
Keep Teams Available while using another app on the web
Teams on the web can change your status when you work in another tab or application. To let Teams detect activity outside its own browser tab:
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- Find Presence.
- Enable Keep my current status when I’m active outside of Teams on the web.
- When the browser asks to detect activity outside Teams, select Allow.
If you choose Block, Teams may still switch you to Away while you work elsewhere.
Status versus status message
A presence status is the availability indicator. A status message is text displayed to people who contact you. To create one on desktop or web, select Profile picture > Set status message, enter your text, optionally enable Show when people message me, choose when to clear it, and select Done.
Examples include:
- “Reviewing deployment logs; I will reply after 3 PM.”
- “Working remotely today—message me rather than calling.”
- “In training until Friday.”
Adding a status message does not change Available, Busy, or Do not disturb. Likewise, selecting Do not disturb does not create a written explanation for coworkers.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to see when someone becomes available
From a one-to-one chat, open Chat, select the person’s chat, choose More options, and select Notify when available. To remove the alert, repeat the path and choose Turn off notifications.
You can also manage the list from Settings and more > Settings > Notifications and activity > Presence > Manage notifications > Add people. Teams allows up to 15 people in the status-notification list, according to Microsoft Support.
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To see online members of a team, select Team name > More options > Manage team > Members. Online members show a green circle with a check mark.
FAQ
Does Do not disturb block Teams messages?
No. Chat messages are still delivered. Do not disturb suppresses normal banner notifications, and incoming calls normally go to voicemail. Priority-access contacts can still generate alerts and calls.
Does Appear offline stop notifications?
No. Appear offline changes what other people see. Microsoft states that messages can still generate notifications while you appear offline.
Why did Teams change my status from Available to Away?
Teams may do this after inactivity, when your computer is locked, when the mobile app is in the background, or when activity on another signed-in device changes the reported presence. If your computer goes to sleep, Teams may show Offline instead.
Can I set a duration for Available?
No. Teams does not currently allow a duration to be set for Available. You can set durations for other manually selected statuses.
Is Be right back set automatically?
No. Teams does not set Be right back automatically. It is a status you select yourself.
What is the difference between Busy and Do not disturb?
Busy indicates that you want to focus while continuing to receive notifications. Do not disturb suppresses normal banner notifications and normally sends incoming calls to voicemail.
Does a Teams status message change my availability?
No. A status message is separate from presence. It adds explanatory text but does not change Available, Busy, Away, or another status.
Why can’t I use Teams slash commands?
Slash commands are unavailable in Teams mobile, may be disabled by an organization policy, and can vary depending on whether you use the search bar or a compose box.
The Bottom Line
Use Busy when you are focused but reachable, Do not disturb when interruptions should be suppressed, and Be right back for a short manual absence. Treat Away as an automatic activity signal rather than proof that someone has stopped working, and remember that Appear offline does not stop messages or notifications. For context that a colored indicator cannot provide, add a separate status message.
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