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Microsoft Teams Keeps Saying I’m Away but I’m Not

Microsoft Teams Keeps Saying I’m Away but I’m Not

By Madalina Dinita 30 Comments

If Microsoft Teams is changing your status to Away all the time, that’s really annoying. This prevents your colleagues from knowing for sure when you’re available and when you’re actually away from your computer.

Why Does Teams Automatically Change My Status?

Teams automatically changes your status to Away when your computer enters sleep or idle mode. The same thing happens when you lock your PC. The program takes these signals as proof of your unavailability and changes your status accordingly.

If Teams is running in the background and not actively using it, although you’re actively using other programs (so your computer is not idle), the status will still be changed to Away after five minutes.

On the mobile version of Teams, the status changes to Away when the app runs in the background.

Many users don’t quite agree with this approach and suggest that Teams should not set the status to Away as long as they’re actively using their devices.

Employees Get Reprimanded, but It’s Not Their Fault

Employees who are working remotely hate this feature even more. Many employers rely on their employees’ Teams’ status to check if people are actually working.

However, this inaccurate status could potentially get employees into trouble, especially if the employer does not quite understand how the automatic Away status works.

What to Do If Microsoft Teams Changes Status to Away

Update Teams

Make sure Teams is up to date to avoid any glitches related to outdated Teams versions. While the tool automatically searches for updates, you may want to manually check for updates from time to time.

Click on your profile picture and select Check for updates.microsoft-teams-check-for-updates

Install the latest Teams version if there’s one available. Restart your computer and check if the status problem is still there.

Set a Status Message

A handy workaround is to set a status message that your colleagues and managers will see when they message you or @mention you. Write something like ‘I’m available, feel free to contact me.’

  1. Click on your profile picture.
  2. Go to Set status message.set status message microsoft teams
  3. Type your status.
  4. Check the Show when people message me option.show teams status message
  5. You can also set the message to be cleared at the end of the day.
  6. Save the changes.

Use Third-Party Apps to Keep the System Available

Other users suggested that third-party apps such as MouseJiggler or Caffeine can prevent Teams from changing Away’s status. Basically, these tools automatically wiggle your mouse slightly or prevent the computer from going idle to keep the system available.

Use the MouseJiggler USB dongle

If you prefer to use a hardware solution, you can plug the MouseJiggler USB dongle into your USB port. The dongle will prevent your Status from changing to Away.

Don’t forget to unplug the dongle when your shifts end. Otherwise, you will continue to appear online and available.

Insert a Paperclip Beside the Insert Key

If you don’t want to install any third-party tools, or you can’t do that because your system is controlled by IT admins, you can simply grab a paperclip and insert it beside the Insert key on your keyboard.

In this manner, the key remains pressed down, and Teams will record constant keyboard activity. This should prevent your computer from timing out and Teams from changing your status to Away.

Upvote the Away Status Issue on Microsoft Teams UserVoice

Teams users have been complaining about this status problem for months. If you’re annoyed by the same problem, go ahead and upvote this Teams UserVoice post:

  • Teams now setting my status to “Away” after 10 minutes?!?

Let Microsoft know they need to add this status issue to their list of priorities.

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Filed Under: Software Tagged With: Microsoft Teams

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. NY says

    June 21, 2022 at 9:37 pm

    Great tip HyperionArcher! It works but I’ve a few questions for anyone who knows.

    Can other people see you’re in a call by yourself even if you change the status to available?
    IT probably can…
    If they ask, how will you explain to IT why you’ve been in a call with yourself for more than say 30 minutes?

    In the meantime I’ll just keep the insert key pressed down in a word doc.

  2. PeterX1230982332 says

    June 7, 2022 at 9:39 am

    I hate “intelligent” software. Why is there no time setting?

  3. Anonymous says

    May 31, 2022 at 3:54 am

    Hey @hyperion Archer you are genius man..
    Thanks for the lovely hack.

  4. Mel B says

    May 27, 2022 at 5:31 am

    I noticed several of my coworkers never show away. I find this odd when mine shows away just when I am going to the bathroom. But since the last microsoft update, if I have Teams minimized, sometimes it will go to away while I’m working in another app. Conversely, there’s times when it hasn’t swapped to away when I actually am. It’s driving me nuts how inaccurate it is. I miss Skype.

  5. Amin says

    May 5, 2022 at 2:06 pm

    I was in a Teams meeting and my status changed to away. There were two of us, so yes I was fully participating. The issue is that teams changed status based on my phone being idle not my computer. I had teams open on my phone at the same time.

  6. Carl says

    April 29, 2022 at 2:31 pm

    MICROSOFT TEAMS DOES NOT ALL OF A SUDDEN SHOW YOU AWAY IF YOU ARE WORKING IN ANOTHER APPLICATION. This is a complete lie by people mad about having to work. If you leave you desk, come back, and then go to Outlook for example it may take a few minutes to not show away in Teams. You can quickly solve that by changing your status to green. STOP LYING EVERYONE.

  7. Rafael A P Nascimento says

    December 3, 2021 at 8:57 am

    Teams is by far the worst team app I ever worked with

  8. reagrds says

    November 19, 2021 at 4:00 am

    Search for auto mouse mover, it moves your mouse every few seconds for a few pixels.

  9. WarHammer says

    November 5, 2021 at 7:44 am

    If using a Chrome based browser:
    1) open new tab
    2) Enter in URL:
    chrome://dicards
    3) Find item in table for Teams Tab (based on Tab Title)
    4) Uncheck Auto Discardable

  10. GogoSm says

    November 4, 2021 at 8:56 am

    Open Notepad, click cursor inside Notepad. Then put something heavy on your ESC key. Been doing this for 12 months. Enjoy!

  11. Sasha says

    November 3, 2021 at 7:26 pm

    Why would someone want to manually ensure your system always shows available? It seems deceitful, like they are hiding something from the boss. Everyone goes to the restroom, has lunch and coffee breaks. It would seem suspicious to me that person NEVER shows away. Especially if no other employees do this?

    Would other people agree?

  12. AQ says

    September 17, 2021 at 1:01 am

    Thanks @HyperionArcher for the tip. This is the only solid workaround without installing any 3rd party software.

  13. Shawn Tripet says

    September 10, 2021 at 12:46 pm

    Thanks HyperionArcher!!! This is a brilliant solution! I tested it and it works perfectly! Thanks for the Hot Tip! I am elated:)

  14. Neveraway Teams says

    August 26, 2021 at 5:28 pm

    https://sites.google.com/view/antiawayteams/lite-version

    This little program will do the job for you, also you can schedule (Day(of week),Hours,Minutes) when teams/Skype turns ON/OFF.

    Everyone will think you are always there, give it a try it’s free

  15. Stephanie says

    August 13, 2021 at 11:11 am

    The MS timer suggestion didn’t work for me. While the timer was running my status changed to focused (Outlook calendar event) and even still my status changed to away.

  16. WM says

    August 4, 2021 at 2:58 pm

    @skeefs, worked perfect and took a few seconds!

  17. Jonathan blippi says

    July 18, 2021 at 5:40 am

    Did you tried https://sites.google.com/view/antiawayteams ? you just need to turn ON the program and done, you will never go away, also you can set timers, so it will turn ON and Off your teams at precise hours. That’s the best workaround and its free

  18. Eliza says

    July 13, 2021 at 10:17 am

    It’s so annoying! I’m literally sitting in a webinar rn but because the meeting isn’t in Teams it shows me as away! That’s such bs.

  19. Dollars says

    July 1, 2021 at 5:02 pm

    Thanks HyperionArcher! It works and my status is “available” but will the admins see you’re on a call for minutes on end? What would you say then?

  20. Victoria says

    May 7, 2021 at 5:34 pm

    I will definitely try some of these options as allowed by IT adm. I have tried the set duration for “available” “today” and my status continues to change.

  21. Tina says

    April 19, 2021 at 10:28 am

    @HyperionArcher
    When you click on Meet Now Button, I assume you have to Join the meeting too?

  22. CinKris says

    April 7, 2021 at 1:10 pm

    Thanks HyperionArcher!!! This worked nicely!

  23. Allen says

    April 7, 2021 at 12:45 pm

    you can also click where it says “Available” then click duration and set it to “available” and choose “Today” or whatever time frame you want it to stay available.

  24. Rich Laudeman says

    April 2, 2021 at 4:02 pm

    I have the “opposite” problem. Skype had a nice feature that could automatically reset your status to “Available” (or your choice) when you got back and moved your mouse or began typing. With Teams, I often forget to reset my status to “Available” when I return, blissfully working for hours while showing “Be right back” but actually very available.
    Agreed – MS should fix this, preferably by giving the user status change options in Settings as Skype provided.

  25. Melvin says

    March 22, 2021 at 6:29 pm

    I make a daylong appointment on my Outlook calendar and set the appointment status to Free, instead of the default (Busy)

  26. Skeefs says

    March 17, 2021 at 8:10 am

    What I did to work around this was opened “Alarms and Clock” win10 app, then set my timer for 60 min (although you can set for any time) so since it is running, my laptop and Teams think I am using it actively so it will not move to idle status….

  27. 1 says

    March 12, 2021 at 4:30 am

    This is a real BUG that MS does not want to fix.

  28. xoxoBelle says

    February 4, 2021 at 1:16 pm

    I have tried what HypreioArcher said, it works PERFECTLY!
    Thanks for your contribution my friend.

  29. Dan says

    February 3, 2021 at 8:30 am

    ^^^This is perfect, thank you!!

  30. HyperionArcher says

    January 14, 2021 at 1:03 pm

    Here’s my work around:
    Go to the calendar page and click the “meet now” button. My status is updated to “in a call.” Then I tab over to my profile and set status to “available.” As long as I am in my imaginary call my computer won’t idle and Teams won’t change my status.

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