Microsoft Teams is one of the most used applications by corporations and institutions. The application offers activity features such as the Activity Status.
This status can serve as an indicator to your employee or your team about your availability. So, it makes sense if you wouldn’t want your status to be away.
This article will teach you how you can set your status as Available at all times, so keep reading!
How Do I Stop Microsoft Teams From Showing Away?
If you’re away from your keyboard for more than 5 minutes, your status changes to Away on Microsoft Teams. Furthermore, if you minimize the application or your system sleeps, your activity is set to Away.
However, there are ways around the problem. You can set your activity to Available even when you are away. From using the multitasking feature to setting a custom status, here is how you can stop Microsoft Teams from Showing Away.
Manually Change Your Status
When you change your activity status on Microsoft Teams, the automatic feature of changing status is overridden. To manually change your status, follow these steps:
- Open the Microsoft Teams application.
- On the right of your screen, select your profile icon.
- Locate the availability status and choose the status you want displayed.
Split-screen
As mentioned, minimizing Microsoft Teams sets your availability status to Away. You can mitigate this problem by enabling split-screen to multitask without having to minimize the application.
To split your screen, drag the title bar of Microsoft Teams either to the left or right corner of your screen. When you see a translucent rectangle, let it go. Select the other application you want to open. Enjoy multitasking without changing your activity status.
Set Custom Status Message
You can also set a status message to notify your teammates that you are still available. This simple gesture can help your colleagues a lot in acknowledging your availability. To set a status message on Microsoft Teams, follow these instructions:
- Open Microsoft Teams.
- Click your profile icon on the right.
- On the drop-down menu, locate the Set status message.
- Under less than 280 words, type in a custom message.
- Select Never under the Clear status message after.
Increase Time for Screen Sleep
When your screen goes to sleep, your status on Microsoft Teams automatically sets to Away. You can increase the time for your screen to sleep on the Settings application. Follow these instructions to increase time for screen sleep:
- Open Start to open the Settings application.
- Under System, scroll down to Power & Battery and select it.
- Drop down the menu for Screen and Sleep.
- Increase the sleep screen time as required.
Keep Your System Active
If you’re away from your keyboard for a long time of not using your mouse, your status might be displayed as Away. You can keep your system active using third-party applications like Jiggler or Caffeine.
If your group policy restricts you from using third-party applications, you can play a video in the background or put a light-weight on the shift key on your keyboard. This tricks your system into believing you’re still using the device.
Host a Private Meeting
You can start a meeting on Microsoft Teams to maintain your activity status as Available on Microsoft Teams. However, after starting a private meeting, set your status to Available so your status isn’t displayed as In a conference.
Follow these instructions to host a private meeting on Microsoft Teams:
- Open the Microsoft Teams app.
- On the panel to your left, select the Calendar option.
- Select the menu for New Meeting.
- Enter the details for the meeting. Make sure you haven’t invited anybody in the meeting.
- Click Save.
- Join the meeting through the Calendar option.
- Set your activity status to Available by clicking on your profile icon.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How Long Before Teams Shows Away?
If a user is inactive or away from the keyboard for 5 minutes, the status for Microsoft Teams changes to Away.
How to Set the Duration for Status Message on Teams?
You can change the duration for status messages on Teams from an hour to Never. Here are steps to set the duration for status message on Teams:
- Open Microsoft Teams.
- Select the profile icon on the top-right corner.
- Click on the Set status message.
- After you enter your message, under Clear status message after selecting the duration for your status message.
4 Comments
I’ve seen this repeated more than once on the Internet, but it doesn’t work. My Teams will turn yellow, but sometimes it’s after 5 minutes of inactivity and sometimes 20 minutes. I suspect Microsoft is using some kind of AI or statistics to time you out. You have to be using the mouse or keyboard, or be in a meeting for it to stay green.
I’m sorry the other fixes did not work for you. If keeping your mouse/keyboard active works for you, you can use third-party applications to keep your mouse/keyboard active.
The idea to put a small weight on a key (though I use Ctrl) was brilliant. A small fishing weight would probably do the trick, but all I had laying around was an agate that’s barely small enough to fit on the key and heavy enough (38g) to keep it depressed. Works like a charm! 👍🏼
We’re glad you worked your way around, Matthew!