Microsoft Teams: Manage Your Availability Status

Ah, the ever-elusive quest to tame the wild status-changing beast in Microsoft Teams! 🦁 Fear not—We’ve got you covered.

So, here’s the scoop: Microsoft Teams can be a bit like an overenthusiastic puppy when it comes to adjusting your availability status. It’s all about trying to be helpful, but sometimes it gets a little too eager. Let’s rein it in, shall we?

The Automatic Away Mode Dance:
- Teams likes to play a game called “Guess Your Availability.” It looks at your activity and decides whether you’re available, busy, or perhaps off on a tropical vacation (okay, maybe not that last one).
- After about 5 minutes of inactivity, it nudges you toward “away” status. Sneaky, right?
- And if you’re in a meeting according to your Outlook calendar, it’ll slap on the “in a meeting” label. Outlook and Teams are like BFFs who share secrets.
Manual Override:
- Now, you might be thinking, “Hey, Teams, I’m the boss here!” And you’re right—you can manually set your status. So, if you want to be “Available” even when you’re sipping coffee and pondering the mysteries of the universe, go ahead and choose that status.
- But beware: The manual setting only holds until your next Outlook calendar entry. It’s like Teams saying, “Okay, fine, you win this round, but I’ll be back!”
Duration Override:
- You can set a timer for your availability that should ignore your calendar. Click on your profile picture in teams, go into the status options, and select Duration.
- Set your status and the duration you want to maintain that status before clicking done.
The Sad News:
- Unfortunately, there’s no official switch to disable Teams’ auto-away mode. It’s like that one stubborn light switch in your house that you can’t find.
- But hey, you’re resourceful! You can still manually set your status and keep it that way. Just remember to adjust it if you’re truly busy or off to that tropical vacation (lucky you!).
UserVoice to the Rescue:
- There’s a Uservoice request where folks like you can vote and share their thoughts. Maybe, just maybe, Microsoft will sprinkle some magic code dust and grant our wishes. Check it out here.

So, my fellow status wrangler, keep that Teams leash handy, and may your availability always be as reliable as a well-trained retriever! 🐾