How to Set Out of Office in Microsoft Teams [Complete Guide]

If you’re heading out on vacation, taking a sick day, or just stepping away from your desk for a few hours, setting an out-of-office message in Microsoft Teams is something you should do every single time. It spares your colleagues the question of why you’re not responding, and it spares you from coming back to a pile of “hey, are you there?” messages.

The good news? It takes less than two minutes to set up. And once you do it, it automatically syncs with your Outlook, too, so you don’t have to do it in two places.

In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through all the ways you can set your out-of-office in Microsoft Teams, from the quickest method using your profile picture to doing it in Settings, and how to handle it on mobile.

What Happens When You Set Out of Office in Teams?

Before jumping into the steps, here’s something useful to know: when you set an out of office message in Teams, it doesn’t just show up in Teams. It also turns on your Automatic Replies in Outlook. They’re linked.

So anyone who emails you or chats with you in Teams will see your message. You set it once, it works in both places. That’s a win.

Also, your Teams status will show a little yellow calendar icon with “Out of Office” next to your name. So even before someone messages you, they can see you’re away.

Set Out of Office in Microsoft Teams

Now I will tell you different ways to set out of office in Microsoft Teams.

Method 1: Set Out of Office from Your Profile Picture in Teams (Quickest Way)

This is the fastest way to get it done. Here’s what you do:

1. Open Microsoft Teams on your desktop.
2. Click your profile picture in the top-right corner.
3. Click on Set status message.
4. In the panel that opens, click Schedule out of office at the bottom.
5. Toggle on Turn on automatic replies.
6. Type your out of office message in the text box.
7. If you want to set it for specific dates, check Send replies only during a time period and choose your start and end dates.
8. If you want to send a different message to people outside your company, toggle on Send replies outside my organization and type a separate message there.
9. Hit Save.

That’s literally it.

Example message you can use:

“Hi, I’m out of the office from [start date] to [end date]. I’ll have limited access to messages during this time. I’ll get back to you as soon as I return. For urgent matters, please contact [colleague’s name] at [email].”

Simple, clear, and does the job.

Method 2: Set Out of Office Through Teams Settings

If you prefer going through the Settings menu — maybe you’re already in there for something else — this method is just as easy.

1. Click the three dots (…) or your profile icon at the top right of Teams.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Click on General from the left panel.
4. Scroll down to the Out of Office section near the bottom of the page.
5. Click the Schedule button.
6. You’ll land on the same out of office screen — toggle on Turn on automatic replies, type your message, set your dates, and hit Save.

Same result, different path. Use whichever feels more natural to you.

Method 3: Set Out of Office on Microsoft Teams Mobile App

Away from your laptop and realized you forgot to set your out of office? No problem — the mobile app has you covered.

Here’s how to do it on the Teams mobile app (iOS or Android):

1. Open the Teams app on your phone.
2. Tap your profile picture in the top-left corner.
3. Tap on your current status (it might say “Available”).
4. From the status menu, select Out of office.
5. Toggle on Set auto reply.
6. Type your out of office message.
7. If you want to set a specific time range, toggle on Send replies only during a time period and pick your dates.
8. If you want a different message for external contacts, toggle on Send replies outside my organization.
9. Tap Done or Save.

One thing I’ve noticed — if you’ve already set your out of office on desktop, you’ll see it automatically reflected in the mobile app too. They stay in sync, which is really handy.

Method 4: Just Set a Status Message in Teams (No Automatic Replies)

Maybe you don’t want Outlook automatic replies firing off. You just want people in Teams to see a quick note — like “In a meeting until 3 PM” or “Working from home today, Teams only.”

For this, you don’t need the full out of office setup. Here’s what to do:

1. Click your profile picture at the top right.
2. Click Set status message.
3. Type your message in the text box.
4. Check the box that says Show when people message me — this makes your message pop up as a banner when someone tries to chat with you.
5. Set when to clear the message (e.g., 1 hour, 4 hours, today, this week, or never).
6. Click Done.

This is lighter than a full out of office setup. It doesn’t trigger Outlook replies — it just shows a note in Teams. Great for shorter absences where you don’t need the email automation.

How to Turn Off Out of Office in Teams

When you’re back, don’t forget to turn it off, or it’ll keep sending replies even when you’re sitting right there at your desk.

Here’s how to clear it:

1. Click your profile picture.
2. Click Set status message.
3. Click Schedule out of office.
4. Toggle off Turn on automatic replies.
5. Hit Save.

If you set a time range when you set it up, Teams will automatically turn it off when the end date hits. But if you set it with no end date, you’ll need to turn it off manually.

Tips to Write a Good Out of Office Message

Writing the message itself is something people overthink. Here are a few things that make a good one:

• Say when you’re back. Don’t just say “I’m out of office.” Tell people when to expect a reply.
• Give an alternative contact. If anything urgent comes up, who should they reach?
• Keep it short. Nobody wants to read a wall of text in an out of office reply.
• Be specific about your availability. Are you checking messages occasionally, or fully offline?
• For external replies, keep it professional. You might not want to share internal contact details with outside people, so a separate external message is worth setting up.

A solid internal message example:

“I’m out of office from June 10–17. I won’t be checking messages during this time. I’ll reply when I’m back on June 18. For urgent issues, please contact Sarah at sarah@company.com.”

A solid external message example:

“Thank you for your message. I’m currently out of the office until June 17 and will respond upon my return. For urgent assistance, please contact our support team at support@company.com.”

Teams Out of Office vs. Outlook Auto Reply — What’s the Difference?

People sometimes get confused about this. Here’s the short version:

	Teams Out of Office	Outlook Auto Reply
Where it shows	Teams chat + Outlook email	Outlook email only
Synced?	Yes — setting one sets both	Yes — synced with Teams
Scheduling	Yes, by date/time	Yes, by date/time
External replies	Yes	Yes
Status message	Shows in Teams profile	Not applicable

When you set out of office in Teams, it actually updates the same Outlook setting behind the scenes. They’re one and the same once you toggle on “Turn on automatic replies.” So no need to go into Outlook separately — unless you prefer it that way.

Common Issues and Quick Fixes

Wrapping Up

The easiest way to do it is through your profile picture — click it, go to Set status message, then Schedule out of office, write your message, set your dates, and save. Done in under two minutes.

And since Teams and Outlook are connected, you only have to do it in one place. Set it in Teams, and Outlook automatically handles the email replies too.

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