How to fix Microsoft Teams status showing 'Unknown' or 'Status Unknown' for contacts

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to fix Microsoft Teams status showing 'Unknown' or 'Status Unknown' for contacts. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Microsoft Teams presence status lets you see when your colleagues are Available, Busy, Away, or Offline. Sometimes, contacts may appear with an "Unknown" status instead. This usually means Teams cannot retrieve presence information from the Microsoft servers, often due to a sync issue, outdated app version, or network connectivity problem. This guide walks you through the steps to fix it.

Quick Fix Steps

1. Check your internet connection.
2. Sign out of Microsoft Teams and sign back in.
3. Restart the Microsoft Teams application.
4. Check for and install any available Teams updates.

Detailed Instructions

1. Verify your internet connection

Presence status requires an active internet connection to sync with Microsoft servers. Open a website in your browser to confirm your connection is working. If you are on a VPN, try disconnecting it to see if the status updates.

2. Sign out and sign back in

1. Open Microsoft Teams.
2. Select your profile picture in the top-right corner.
3. Select Sign out.
4. Close the application completely.
5. Reopen Microsoft Teams and sign in with your work or school account.

3. Restart Microsoft Teams

1. Right-click the Teams icon in the system tray (bottom-right of your screen).
2. Select Quit.
3. Wait a few seconds, then reopen Microsoft Teams from your Start menu or desktop shortcut.

4. Check for Teams updates

1. Open Microsoft Teams.
2. Select the three dots (...) next to your profile picture.
3. Select Check for updates.
4. If an update is found, Teams will download and install it automatically. Restart the app when prompted.

Troubleshooting

Clear the Teams cache

If the issue persists, clearing the local cache can resolve corrupted presence data.

1. Quit Microsoft Teams completely.
2. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.
3. Type %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams and press Enter.
4. Select all files and folders in this window, then delete them.
5. Restart Microsoft Teams.

Check organisational settings

If you are an administrator, ensure that presence sharing is enabled in the Microsoft Teams admin centre. Individual users can also check their privacy settings to ensure they are not blocking presence information.

If you have tried all the steps above and contacts still show as "Unknown," please Open a Ticket with our support team.

For other communication issues, see our guide on Email not sending or receiving.

Still Having Issues?