How to Set Your Status to Available on Microsoft Teams

In Microsoft Teams, a green dot by your profile picture indicates that you are at your computer and available to communicate or join a meeting. However, if you are idle for more than 5 minutes, your green status changes to yellow, indicating that you are away, whether you are or aren’t. Your boss may also take this as evidence that you aren’t working. Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to permanently set your status in Teams. However, there are a few tricks you can do to keep your status green. This wikiHow article teaches you how to keep your status green in Microsoft Teams.

Keep Your Teams Status Green

Teams will automatically change your status from green to yellow (Away) if you are idle for more than 5 minutes. Poking around on the mobile or desktop app will keep your status green. You can change your computer settings so that it stays awake, or use a mouse mover app. You can also host a meeting with yourself.

1

Set Your Status Manually

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You can set your status manually in Teams. If Teams changes your status automatically, you can manually change it. Use the following steps to do so:^{[1]
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- Open Teams on your computer.
- Click your profile icon in the upper-right corner.
- Click the status below your user name.
- Select Available.

2

Set a Status Message

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Set a status message to inform your team of your activity. An alternative to keeping your Teams status green is to inform your team or boss of your current activity. You can do this by setting a status message in Teams. You can set a status message to explain what you are working on, or just say “I really am working! Come find me!” Use the following steps to set an away message:^{[2]
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- Open Teams on your computer.
- Click your profile icon in the upper-right corner.
- Click Set status message.
- Enter a status message in the text field.
- Use the drop-down menu to select when the status message will clear.
- Click Done.

3

Use the Teams Mobile App

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You can download the Teams mobile app for free from the Google Play Store on Android or App Store on iPhone and iPad. Log in to Teams on your mobile device. If you are away from your computer, you can stay active on Teams on your mobile device.

4

Engage in Light Activity

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If you are busy with something, check Teams occasionally. Engage in light activity, such as posting a reaction emoji in a chat. Do this using both the desktop and mobile app so that you don’t have to stay tied to your computer.

5

Keep Your Computer Awake

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Change the settings so your PC doesn’t go into sleep mode. You can change the power settings on your computer to keep your computer from going into sleep mode. Keep in mind that some organizations may have administrative settings preventing you from changing the computer settings. Use one of the following methods to change your PC settings to not go into sleep mode:^{[3]
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- Windows:
  - Press Win + i to open the Settings menu.
  - Click System.
  - Click Power & battery.
  - Click Screen, sleep & hibernate timeouts.
  - Set Turn off my screen when I leave to Off.
  - Set Turn my screen off after to Never (or a long time, like 2 hours).
  - Set Make my device sleep after to Never (or a long time).
    - If you are using a laptop, you’ll need to set these settings for both plugged-in and battery mode.
- Mac:
  - Click the Apple icon in the menu bar at the top.
  - Click System Settings.
  - Click Lock screen in the menu bar to the left.
  - Set Turn display off on battery when inactive to Never (or a long time, like 2 hours).
  - Set Turn display off on power adapter when inactive to Never (or a long time).
  - Click Battery in the menu bar to the left.
  - Click Options in the lower-right corner.
  - Turn on Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off.
- Android:
  - Swipe down from the top of the screen.
  - Tap the Gear/Settings icon to open the Settings menu.
  - Tap Display.
  - Tap Screen Timeout.
  - Select a long time.
- iPhone & iPad:
  - Open the Settings app.
  - Tap Display & Brightness.
  - Tap Auto-Lock.
  - Select Never.

6

Use a No-Sleep Website.

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You can use a website or application to keep your computer from sleeping. If you can’t change the power settings on your work computer, you can use a website to keep your computer awake. Once you open one of these websites, you just need to click the button to keep your computer from going into sleep mode. Some of them have the option to set a time to keep your computer awake. Keep in mind that these websites have to be open in an active browser tab to work. If you open another tab or application, they won’t work. The following are some websites you can use to keep your computer awake:

7

Use a Mouse Mover App

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Mouse Mover apps jiggle your mouse cursor automatically. This simulates computer activity, which will keep your status green and keep your computer from going into sleep mode. Keep in mind that some organizations may not allow you to download and install apps on a company computer. You can also purchase a USB mouse mover. The following are some mouse mover apps you can use to keep your Teams status green:
- Mouse Mover
- Mouse Jiggler
- Wiggler
- Auto Mouse Mover
- Mouse Jiggler (this is a mobile app that controls your mouse cursor from your phone)

8

Host a Private Meeting

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Use Teams to host a private meeting with yourself. This will set your status to “In a Meeting,” which may trick people into thinking you are working. You can turn off your camera and microphone so that your computer doesn’t use up too many resources. Use the following steps to host a private meeting:
- Open Teams.
- Click Calendar in the menu bar to the left.
- Click New Meeting in the upper-right corner.
- Enter your name or email address next to the icon that resembles a person.
- Click Send in the upper-right corner.
- Click the meeting in the calendar.
- Click Join.
- Turn off your camera and microphone.

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Warnings

Review your company’s policies regarding the use of hardware and software before changing your computer settings or installing any software on your computer. Don’t make any modifications to your computer that might get you in bigger trouble than being unavailable on Teams.

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Use honest communication about your work activity instead of doing anything sneaky to appear busy.

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