Microsoft Teams status meanings: every color and icon explained
Green, red, a yellow clock, a purple arrow, a gray x. Here's what each Teams status means, which ones Teams sets for you, and what they do to your notifications.
The quick legend
Microsoft lists every presence state in its User presence in Teams page. Some you can choose yourself, others Teams sets for you. Here they are, grouped by color:
| Status | What it looks like | Set by | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Available | Solid green check mark | You or Teams | You're active and have nothing on your calendar |
| Available, Out of Office | Open green check mark | Teams | You're using Teams while automatic replies are on |
| Busy | Solid red circle | You or Teams | Focusing but still getting notifications |
| In a call / In a meeting | Solid red circle | Teams | Set from a call in Teams or your Outlook calendar |
| Do not disturb | Red circle with a white line | You | Focusing or presenting, without notifications |
| Presenting | Red circle with a white line | Teams | You're sharing your screen |
| Focusing | Red circle with a white line | Teams | Focus time you scheduled through Microsoft's Insights tools |
| Away | Yellow clock | You or Teams | Inactive for a few minutes, computer locked, or chosen by you |
| Away, Last seen time | Yellow clock | Teams | Away, with the time you were last active |
| Be right back | Yellow clock | You | Temporarily away. Teams never sets this one for you |
| Appear offline / Offline | Gray circle with an x | You or Teams | Not signed in on any device, or chosen by you |
| Out of Office | Purple circle with an arrow | Teams | Automatic replies are on, or a calendar event is set to show as Out of Office |
| Status unknown | Open gray circle | Teams | Teams shows your status as unknown |
The descriptions of Available, Busy, Do not disturb, Be right back and Appear offline come from Microsoft's Change your status in Microsoft Teams page.
Which statuses Teams sets on its own
According to Microsoft, your status is normally based on three things: your activity (Available or Away), what the Teams app is doing (In a call, Presenting) and your Outlook calendar (In a meeting). In practice:
- On a computer, you become Away if you're inactive for a few minutes or the computer is locked, and Offline when it goes to sleep.
- On a phone, you become Away whenever the Teams app is in the background, and Offline after 24 hours of inactivity.
- On several devices, the one where you were active most recently decides your status.
Which status wins
Microsoft ranks statuses from most to least available: Available, Busy, In a meeting, In a call, Do not disturb, Be right back, Away, Offline. That order matters when you set one yourself. Outside calls and meetings you can only pick a status that's less available than the one Teams calculated. If your calendar has you In a meeting, you can choose Away, but you can't force Available.
How each status affects notifications and calls
- Every status: chat messages still arrive. If you're offline, they show up next time you sign in.
- Do not disturb: you still get chat messages, but no banner notifications, and incoming calls go to voicemail. People on your priority access list (Settings > Privacy) still get through.
- Appear offline: others see you as not signed in, but Microsoft says you still receive notifications when someone messages you.
- Presenting: by default, Teams switches you to Do not disturb while you share your screen. You can turn this off with Set my status to Do not disturb when I'm sharing my screen in the desktop app's Privacy settings.
How long a status you set lasts
To pick a status for a set time, select your profile picture, your current status, then Duration, and choose a time under Reset status after. You can do this for any status except Available. If you don't choose a duration, Microsoft says Appear offline lasts indefinitely, Busy and Do not disturb last 1 day, and other statuses last 7 days.
A status message is separate from the colored dot. You can add one with Set status message and choose when it clears (Microsoft's steps). It's often the clearest way to tell people what you're doing.
The yellow dot during the work day
The status people most often ask about is Away, because Teams sets it automatically when it sees no activity, even if you're reading, thinking or on a call from your phone. Our guides on why Teams shows Away after 5 minutes and Teams on the web going Away when you switch tabs cover the free fixes.
If you use Teams in the browser, Awayproof is one more option. During the work hours you set, it keeps the Teams tab marked as in use, so the idle timer doesn't move you to Away. It only affects the automatic Available/Away switch: it doesn't change Busy, Do not disturb or any status you choose, and it doesn't work with the desktop or mobile apps.
A note on workplace policy. Presence indicators are a team communication tool, and some employers have rules about them or about which browser extensions you can install. Whatever you choose, use it in line with your organization's policies. If you're unsure, ask your manager or IT team. Often the simplest fix is to agree with your team that a yellow dot doesn't mean "not working."
Frequently asked questions
What does the yellow clock mean in Teams?
Away or Be right back. Teams sets Away automatically after a few minutes of inactivity or when your computer is locked. Be right back is only ever set by you.
What does the purple status mean in Teams?
Out of Office. Teams shows it when automatic replies are on or your calendar has an event set to show as Out of Office.
What's the difference between Busy and Do not disturb?
Busy means you're focusing but still getting notifications. Do not disturb hides banner notifications and sends calls to voicemail, except from people on your priority access list.
Do I still get messages when I appear offline?
Yes. Microsoft says Appear offline shows you as not signed in, but you still receive notifications when someone messages you.
Why can't I choose Available?
Outside calls and meetings, Teams only lets you pick a status that is less available than the one it calculated, for example from your calendar. You also can't set a duration on Available.