Changing your status in Teams is a great way to let your colleagues know when you’re available or unavailable. Whether you’re in a meeting or need to focus on a task, updating your status helps others know when it’s a good time to reach out to you. Teams will automatically set the status in some cases, like when you’re in a call. Here’s how to change your status in Teams and set a status message.

Change your status in Teams

1. Go to Your Profile Once you have Teams open, go to your profile at the top of the app. This is where you can change your status and manage other aspects of your profile.
2. Select Your Status In your profile, you’ll see a list of status options to choose from, including Available, Busy, Do not disturb, Be right back, Away, and Offline. Simply click on the option that best represents your current status.
3. Update Your Status from the Command Box If you prefer to use keyboard shortcuts, you can also update your status from the command box. Simply type in one of the following commands:

• /available
• /busy
• /dnd
• /brb
• /away
• /offline

These commands will instantly update your status without the need to navigate to your profile.

Understanding Each Status Option

Now that you know how to change your status in Teams, let’s take a closer look at each status option:

• Available: This status is ideal when you’re active in Teams and don’t have anything in your calendar, such as meetings or calls. If you lock your computer or the Teams app enters idle or sleep mode, your status will automatically change to Away. On mobile, this will happen when the Teams app is in the background.
• Busy: If you want to focus on a task but still want to receive notifications, this status is perfect for you. When you’re in a meeting or call, Teams will automatically change your status to “In a meeting” or “In a call” when not set to “Do not disturb.”
• Do not disturb: When you need to focus or present your screen and don’t want notifications to pop up, this status is the one for you.
• Be right back: This status lets your colleagues know you’re temporarily away from your desk. It’s never set automatically and must be done manually.
• Away: When you need to work without responding right away, use the “Away” status. This status lets others know you’re available, but it might take a little longer than usual to respond.
• Offline: Finally, the “Appear offline” status lets you indicate that you’re not signed in to Teams, and you won’t be responding until you’re back online. However, you’ll still receive notifications if anyone messages you.

Keep in mind that your presence in Microsoft Teams only indicates your availability via Teams, not your overall working status. If you’re working on something else while Teams is minimized, your status will automatically change to Away after approximately 10 minutes.

Teams Set status message

There’s also the Set a status message option. Whether you’re out of office or simply want to share a message for your contacts to see, status messages are a great way to communicate.

​​​​​​​For example, “I’m available, just updating this week’s spreadsheets. Feel free to chat if you need me.”

1. Select your profile picture at the top of your Teams window.
2. Select Set status message to view options.
3. Type the message that you want others to see. If you want people to see your status when they message or @mention you, select Show when people message me.
4. Choose how long you want the message to display before clearing by choosing a duration from the Clear status message after dropdown.
5. Select Done.