How to Fix Microsoft Teams Status Showing Away When You Are Working

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to Fix Microsoft Teams Status Showing Away When You Are Working. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Microsoft Teams uses your computer activity and calendar events to determine your availability. If your status remains "Away" while you are actively working, it is usually due to inactivity timers, power settings, or manual status overrides. This guide helps Australian small business users troubleshoot why Microsoft Teams keeps showing them as Away and how to keep their status set to Available.

Quick Fix Steps

1. Open Microsoft Teams and select your profile picture in the top right corner.
2. Check your current status. If it is set to Away or Do not disturb, click Available.
3. Move your mouse or press a key on your keyboard to reset the inactivity timer.
4. Check that your computer is not locked or in sleep mode.

Detailed Instructions

Manually Set Your Status to Available

1. Open Microsoft Teams on your desktop or laptop.
2. Select your profile picture at the top of the app.
3. Under your name and email address, click your current status.
4. Select Available from the dropdown menu.
5. To keep this status indefinitely, click the duration dropdown below your status and select Reset status.

Adjust Your Computer Sleep and Lock Settings

Teams marks you as Away after five minutes of inactivity or when your computer locks. Adjusting your power settings can prevent this during work hours.

Windows

1. Click the Start button and select Settings.
2. Go to System > Power & sleep (Windows 10) or System > Power & battery > Screen and sleep (Windows 11).
3. Set Screen and Sleep to a longer duration or Never while plugged in.
4. Select Sign-in options under Accounts and adjust Require sign-in to Never if your organisation's security policy allows it.

macOS

1. Click the Apple menu and select System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions).
2. Go to Lock Screen (macOS Ventura or later) or Energy Saver / Battery (earlier versions).
3. Set Turn display off after to a longer period or Never while connected to power.
4. Ensure Start Screen Saver after is set to a longer duration or disabled.

Check Your Calendar and Meeting Status

Teams automatically sets your status to In a meeting or Busy when you have a calendar event. If a meeting ends early or is cancelled, your status may not update immediately.

1. Open Outlook or the Teams calendar.
2. Verify there are no overlapping or all-day events marking you as busy.
3. End any active meetings you are no longer attending.
4. Manually set your status to Available after the meeting concludes.

Use a Status Message

If you are working away from your computer but want colleagues to know you are available, set a custom status message.

1. Select your profile picture in Teams.
2. Click Set status message.
3. Type a message such as "Working remotely - available via chat".
4. Check Show when people message me.
5. Select Done.

Troubleshooting

Teams Status Does Not Update After Activity

• Sign out of Teams and sign back in.
• Check for updates by selecting your profile picture, then Check for updates.
• Clear the Teams cache by closing Teams completely, then deleting the contents of %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams on Windows or ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Teams on macOS.
• Restart your computer and reopen Teams.

Status Reverts to Away Automatically

• Confirm your computer is not going to sleep or locking after a short period.
• Check if your organisation has set a status policy through IT administration.
• Ensure you are not presenting in a meeting, as Teams may set you to Do not disturb.

If your status continues to show incorrectly after trying these steps, Open a Ticket with 220 Internet Services support.

For related assistance, see our guide on Email not sending or receiving.

Still Having Issues?