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Status in Microsoft Teams

Overview

In Microsoft Teams, your status shows others if you're available, busy, away, or in a meeting*. This helps your coworkers know when it's a good time to message or call you. You can also set your own custom status message if needed.

*Note: Meeting status updates occur automatically only when you are in a Microsoft Teams meeting. For Zoom or Outlook-scheduled meetings, you will need to update your status manually.

*McLennan Community College is not yet fully integrated with Office 365. Outlook calendars do not currently sync with Microsoft Teams. This integration will not be available until the Email Transition to Office 365 Project is complete, which is estimated for December 2026.

Getting Started

Follow the steps below to check or change your status in Microsoft Teams and to set a custom status message.

Viewing and Changing Your Status

This shows you how to find your current status and select a different one.

  1. Open Microsoft Teams on your computer or mobile device.
  2. Click your profile picture in the top-right corner.
  3. Under your name, you'll see your current status (like Available or Busy).
  4. Click the status to open the list of options.
  5. Select a new status from the list: Available, Busy, Do not disturb, Be right back, Appear away, or Offline.

Setting a Custom Status Message

Use this to write a message that others can see when they click on your name.

  1. Click your profile picture in the top-right corner of Teams.
  2. Select "Set status message."
  3. Type your custom message (e.g., "In a meeting until 2 PM").
  4. Choose how long to show the message by clicking "Clear after."
  5. Click "Done" to save your message.

Additional Details

  • Status will automatically update based on your Outlook calendar if synced.
  • "Do not disturb" will mute all notifications until you change your status.
  • Custom status messages can include mentions using @, but won't notify the person.

Resources

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