How to Fix Microsoft Teams Presence Status Issues in Outlook

Easy fixes to sync your presence status in Outlook and Teams

Written by Megaera Lorenz, PhD

Last Updated: January 28, 2026 Fact Checked

Are you seeing “Status Unknown,” an incorrect status icon, or no status at all when you view your Teams contacts in Outlook? There are several reasons this can happen. Read on to learn why Outlook isn’t showing your or your contacts’ Teams status correctly, and what you can do about it.

Why can’t I see Teams status in Outlook?

If you can’t see another user’s Teams presence status in Outlook, it might be because you have the wrong kind of account. Both Teams and Outlook must be active and signed into the same account. Depending on your version of Office, you might need to adjust settings in both apps to ensure user status is displayed.

1

Check your account type.

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If you’re using a personal Microsoft account, or if you have the free version of Teams, you won’t see your contacts’ online status in Outlook.^{[1]
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Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source} Make sure that you are using an organizational account with a Microsoft 365 Business or Education subscription.

2

Make sure Teams and Outlook are both active.

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Make sure the Teams and Outlook desktop apps are both installed on your computer, and that both apps are currently open and signed in. If you think one or both apps might not be working properly, restart them both and see if that solves the problem.

3

Sign into the same account in both apps.

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Check your log-in information in Outlook and Teams. If you’re signed into different Microsoft accounts, the apps won’t sync with each other. Here’s how to check:
- In Teams, click your user icon at the top right corner of the app window. This will show you which account you’re logged into. If you need to, click Add another account. Follow the prompts to add and sign into the account you’re using with Outlook.
- In the Outlook app, you should see your current signed-in accounts in the left-hand menu bar next to your inbox. Click the ☰ menu if you don’t see your accounts. If you need to add a new account, click the + icon on the left side of the screen.

4

Make sure Teams is set as the default Office chat app.

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Teams and Outlook may not sync without this setting. This option is not available in all versions of Teams. However, if you have the right type of account, here’s how to set Teams as the default chat app:
- Click the ••• menu icon in the top right corner of Teams.
- Select Settings.
- Click General in the left-hand menu.
- Click the box next to “Register Teams as the chat app for Office.”
- Restart both Teams and Outlook.

5

Enable “Display online status” in Classic Outlook settings.

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Outlook may not be set to show presence status. Online status should be displayed automatically in New Outlook, but you may need to turn it on in Classic Outlook. Here’s how:^{[2]
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Microsoft Support
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- Go to File > Options > People.
- Under the Online status and photographs header, check the box next to “Display online status next to name.”
- Click OK to save your selection.
- Restart Outlook and Teams.

6

Ensure your contact’s email address matches their Teams sign-in.

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In Outlook, click the People tab and look at the information for your contact whose status you can’t see. Ask them if it matches the email they’re using to sign into Teams.^{[3]
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Research source} You may need to update their primary email account settings in Outlook so it matches their Teams account, then log out of Teams and log back in.

7

Check if the Teams add-in is active (Classic Outlook).

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Teams and Outlook are automatically integrated in New Outlook, but not in Classic. If you have Classic Outlook, here’s how to enable the Teams add-in:
- Go to File > Options > Add-ins.
- Click COM Add-ins and select Go.
- Check the box next to “Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Office.”
- Click OK.

8

Clear your app cache.

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A cluttered cache can lead to glitches. Try clearing the caches for Teams and Outlook and see if that resolves the problem. The right way to do this depends on your operating system. First, exit Teams and Outlook completely. Then:
- If you’re using Windows, press Win + R and type in %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams and press Enter. Delete all files and folders in the window that opens. Do the same thing at %localappdata%\Microsoft\Outlook.
- If you’re using a Mac, press Shift + Command + G. Enter ~/Library/Caches and press Return. Select all the files in the Caches folder and delete them.

9

Update or reinstall Outlook and Teams.

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Your installation might be corrupted or out of date. Try exiting Teams and Outlook and updating both apps.
- In Windows, go to the Microsoft Store and select Get Updates to update your apps.
- In macOS, open the App Store and click the Updates tab. Click Update next to Teams and Outlook if that option is available, or select Update All.
- If updates aren’t available, or if updating your apps doesn’t fix the problem, you might need to uninstall and reinstall Outlook and Teams. Check out our guides to uninstalling apps in Windows and macOS.

10

Use the Classic Teams troubleshooter.

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If you use Classic Teams, you can use the troubleshooter in Get Help. Here’s how to do it:^{[4]
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- Launch the Get Help app.
- Type Issues with Teams user presence in Outlook into the Search bar and select the results.
- Follow the prompts on the screen to run the troubleshooter and resolve any issues.

11

Check the registry in Windows.

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Incorrect registry entries can cause problems in Teams. Before making changes to the registry, back it up in case something goes wrong. Then:^{[5]
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- In the Registry Editor app, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\IM Providers. Check the following values and update them if they are missing or incorrect:
  - Name: DefaultIMApp
  - Type: REG_SZ
  - Data: Teams
- Check the following entries as well if you have the 64-bit version of Office:
  - Subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\TypeLib{B9AA1F11-F480-4054-A84E-B5D9277E40A8}\1.0
    - Name: (Default)
    - Type: REG_SZ
    - Data: Unified Collaboration API 1.0 Type Library
  - Subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\TypeLib{B9AA1F11-F480-4054-A84E-B5D9277E40A8}\1.0\0\Win64
    - Name: (Default)
    - Type: REG_SZ
    - Data: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\TeamsPresenceAddin\Uc.tlb
  - Subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\TypeLib{B9AA1F11-F480-4054-A84E-B5D9277E40A8}\1.0\FLAGS
    - Name: (Default)
    - Type: REG_SZ
    - Data: 0
  - Subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\TypeLib{B9AA1F11-F480-4054-A84E-B5D9277E40A8}\1.0\HELPDIR
    - Name: (Default)
    - Type: REG_SZ
    - Data: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\TeamsPresenceAddin\Uc.tlb
- Check these entries if you have the 32-bit version of Office:
  - Subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\TypeLib{B9AA1F11-F480-4054-A84E-B5D9277E40A8}\1.0
    - Name: (Default)
    - Type: REG_SZ
    - Data: Unified Collaboration API 1.0 Type Library
  - Subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\TypeLib{B9AA1F11-F480-4054-A84E-B5D9277E40A8}\1.0\0\Win32
    - Name: (Default)
    - Type: REG_SZ
    - Data: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\TeamsPresenceAddin\Uc.win32.tlb
  - Subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\TypeLib{B9AA1F11-F480-4054-A84E-B5D9277E40A8}\1.0\FLAGS
    - Name: (Default)
    - Type: REG_SZ
    - Data: 0
  - Subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\TypeLib{B9AA1F11-F480-4054-A84E-B5D9277E40A8}\1.0\HELPDIR
    - Name: (Default)
    - Type: REG_SZ
    - Data: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\TeamsPresenceAddin\Uc.win32.tlb

12

Check the location of the .tlb file (Windows).

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If this file is in the wrong path, Teams may not work correctly. Check the following paths to make sure the .tlb file is present and named correctly:^{[6]
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- 64-bit Office: C:\users\<username>\appdata\local\microsoft\teamspresenceaddin\uc.tlb
- 32-bit Office: C:\users\<username>\appdata\local\microsoft\teamspresenceaddin\uc.win32.tlb

13

Ask an administrator for help.

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Your account administrator may need to adjust some settings. If you’ve tried the troubleshooting steps above without success, you might need to reach out to the administrator of your Microsoft account. They can adjust settings on their end or submit a support request for you via the Teams Admin Center. You may need to provide the following information:^{[7]
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- The sign-in address of the user who is having trouble seeing other users’ status information.
- The sign-in address of the user(s) whose status is showing as “unknown.”
- The desktop and web logs for all users involved. Check out this article from Microsoft for in-depth instructions on how to check your Teams log files.

14

Be aware of these known presence status issues.

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There are some situations where Outlook can’t show Teams status correctly. Check if any of these are the case:^{[8]
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- If your contact has a Teams account with a different organization from yours, you won’t be able to see their status in Outlook.
- In the 32-bit version of Outlook, you won’t see status icons for “Out of Office.”
- If a contact sets up out-of-office replies in Outlook, their status icon in Outlook may not match their actual status in Teams. For example, if they’re “Out of Office” in Teams, you might see “Away” or “Offline” in Outlook.