4 Easy Ways to Set Your Out of Office Status in Teams

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Schedule an Out of Office message in Teams & Outlook
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Do you want to quickly let your coworkers know that you’re out of office in the Teams app? If you have a Microsoft work or school account, you can easily do so in just a few clicks! In this article, we’ll explain how to set your status in Teams for desktop or mobile, and even from Outlook. Note that the out of office option isn’t available for all Teams accounts, but you can still set a custom status message explaining that you’re out.

Quick Steps to Enable Out of Office in Teams

  1. Click your profile picture at the top right corner of Teams.
  2. Click Set status message .
  3. Select Schedule out of office .
  4. Enter your out of office message.
  5. Select a start and end time and date for your out of office status (optional).
  6. Click Save .
Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Setting Out of Office in Your Profile (Desktop)

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  1. It’s at the top of the Teams app in the upper right corner. [1]
  2. 2
    Select Set status message . This option has an icon of a circle with a pen overlapping it.
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  3. 3
    Click Schedule out of office . It’s at the bottom of the menu.
    • You won’t see this option if Teams isn’t linked to a Microsoft work or school account. However, you can still set a status message explaining that you are out of office and schedule it to expire after a specific amount of time. To do so:
      • Enter a message in the Type your status message here text field.
      • Click the dropdown under the Clear status message after header and select an expiration time. Options range from 1 hour to 1 week.
      • Click Done to save your status. To clear your status message before the expiration time, click your profile picture and then click the trash can icon next to the message.
  4. 4
    Set an automatic out of office message and timeframe. Toggle on the switch next to Turn on automatic replies , then type your message into the “Out of office message” field. Anyone who messages you during your scheduled out of office time will see whatever message you enter here. This setting will also trigger Outlook to send an automatic reply with your message when someone emails you.
    • You can also use this section to set when people will receive out of office replies. Check the box next to Send replies only during a time period . Set a start and end time and date using the Start and End fields below.
    • If you like, you can also check the box next to Send replies outside my organization if you want people other than your coworkers/classmates to see your status.
  5. 5
    Click Save . Your status will be saved until you turn it off. If you set a time period for sending automatic replies, automatic out of office replies will be turned off after that time expires.
    • To disable your out of office status, click your profile picture, click Schedule out of office , and toggle off the switch next to Turn on automatic replies .
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Setting Out of Office in Settings (Desktop)

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  1. 1
    Click the ••• menu icon. It’s at the top right side of the Teams app, next to your profile picture.
  2. 2
    Click Settings . A new menu will open in the main Teams window.
  3. 3
    Select General in the left sidebar. This option may be selected by default.
  4. 4
    Click Schedule . It’s near the bottom of the menu under the Out of Office header.
    • You won’t see an Out of Office section of the menu if you don’t have a work or school account. You can still set a status message explaining that you’re out of office by clicking your profile picture and selecting Set status message . You can also set this message to expire after a certain amount of time.
  5. 5
    Enable automatic replies. Toggle on the switch next to Turn on automatic replies . This option will cause anyone who messages you during this time to get an automatic reply with whatever out of office message you set. Outlook will also send automatic replies with your out of office message.
    • To schedule automatic replies for a specific timeframe, check the box next to Send replies only during a time period . Use the boxes below to set a specific start and end date/time.
    • You can also check the box next to Send replies outside my organization if you want people other than your coworkers/classmates to get automatic out of office replies.
  6. 6
    Click Save . Your status will be saved until you disable it. If you set a time period for sending automatic replies, automatic out of office replies will be turned off after that time expires.
    • To disable your out of office status, go back to ••• > Settings > General, click Schedule under the Out of Office header, and toggle off the switch next to Turn on automatic replies .
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Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

Setting Out of Office in the Mobile App

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  1. A menu will open. [2]
  2. 2
    Tap your current status. It’s right under your name and profile icon at the top of the menu.
  3. 3
    Select Out of office . Note that if you don’t have a Microsoft school or work account, you won’t see this option. However, you can choose an option like Be right back or Away instead.
    • Another option if you don’t have a school or work account is to tap Set status message (just below your current status in the menu), then enter a message explaining that you are out of the office. Tap Clear after to set an automatic expiration time for your status message.
  4. 4
    Set an automatic reply message. Toggle on the switch next to Set automatic reply (in some versions of the mobile Teams app, this option might be called Out of office status instead). Type your out of office reply message into the text field below.
    • Anyone who messages you will get an automatic reply with the status message you set. Outlook will also reply to emails with your out of office message.
    • If you want to schedule a specific start and end date for your out of office status, toggle on the switch next to Start and end dates . Use the time and date fields to set the timeframe for your status.
  5. 5
    Tap Done . It’s at the top right corner of the screen.
    • If you set a time range for your status, it should expire once that time elapses. To turn off your out of office status before then, return to the Out of office menu and toggle off Set automatic reply .
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Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

Enabling Out of Office in Outlook

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  1. If you have a Microsoft Exchange or Outlook account and it’s the same account you use for Teams, you can set an out of office status in Outlook and it should sync to Teams. However, this is not the most reliable method for setting your Teams status. [3]
    • If you’re using Classic Outlook for Windows, open the File menu instead.
    • In Outlook for Mac, go to Outlook > Settings .
    • You won’t be able to set your status this way if you don’t have an Outlook or Microsoft Exchange work or school account.
  2. 2
    Click Account . It’s at the top of the left-hand menu bar.
    • Skip this step if you’re using Classic Outlook or Outlook for Mac.
  3. 3
    Select Automatic Replies . It’s near the top of the Account menu.
    • In some versions of Classic Outlook, you’ll see this option when you open the File menu. If not, you won’t be able to set your out of office status this way.
    • In Outlook for Mac, click Automatic Replies in the Email section of the Outlook Settings menu. If you have multiple accounts connected to Outlook, choose the one connected to your Teams account from the Accounts dropdown menu.
  4. In most versions of Outlook, you’ll see a toggle switch or radio button next to an option that says Turn on automatic replies or Send Automatic Replies . Turn on the switch or click the radio button to enable this option. Anyone who emails you while this option is enabled will receive an automatic reply, and your status in Teams should also be updated to reflect your status in Outlook.
    • Enter an automatic reply message in the text field.
    • You can also set a start and end date for your out of office status message. The controls to do this will look slightly different depending on your version of Outlook.
    • Select the option that says Send replies only to contacts or something similar to limit who receives your out of office reply message.
    • To turn off your out of office message in Outlook, return to this menu and toggle off or deselect the Automatic Replies option. Your updated status should sync to Teams.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/schedule-an-out-of-office-status-in-microsoft-teams-e3ce705a-cc43-4f7d-9418-0642ec5f6bd8#id0efd=desktop
      2. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/schedule-an-out-of-office-status-in-microsoft-teams-e3ce705a-cc43-4f7d-9418-0642ec5f6bd8#id0efd=mobile
      3. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/send-automatic-replies-out-of-office-from-outlook-9742f476-5348-4f9f-997f-5e208513bd67#officeversion=monarch

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