To set out of office in Microsoft Teams, click your profile picture in the top-right corner, select Set status message or Schedule out of office, turn on automatic replies, write your message, set your start and end dates, and save. Teams will then automatically reply to messages you receive, show an out-of-office status to colleagues, decline new meeting invites during that period, and sync everything with Outlook.
Setting your out-of-office status takes under a minute but saves you from a pile of “are you around?” messages while you are on vacation, sick leave, or a business trip. Because Teams and Outlook share the same automatic-reply system, setting it in one place covers both — no need to configure it twice.
How to Set Out of Office in Teams (Desktop App)
- Click your profile picture in the top-right corner of the Teams window.
- Select “Set status message.” In the dropdown menu, click “Set status message” — or in newer Teams versions, choose “Schedule out of office” directly.
- Turn on automatic replies. Toggle the automatic replies switch on. This is what actually sends responses to people who message you.
- Write your out-of-office message. Include the essentials: that you are away, the dates, and who to contact for urgent matters. Example: “I’m out of the office until October 20 with limited email access. For urgent issues, please contact Sarah Chen at sarah@example.com.”
- Set the dates. Check “Send replies only during a time period” and pick your start and end dates. Teams will automatically turn replies off when the period ends.
- Choose who gets replies. You can send replies to everyone or limit them to people inside your organization — useful if you do not want external contacts knowing you are away.
- Click Save. Your status now shows as Out of Office, your status message appears in chats, and new meeting invites during the period are automatically declined.
Microsoft documents this flow on its Teams support pages with screenshots for the latest app version.
How to Set Out of Office in Teams Mobile
On the Teams mobile app (iPhone or Android), tap your profile picture in the top-left, tap Set status message, then tap Schedule out of office. Toggle automatic replies on, compose your message, set the date range, and tap the checkmark or Save. The mobile flow mirrors the desktop one, so you can set it from the airport if you forgot before leaving the office. Everything syncs to the same backend, so colleagues see identical replies regardless of where you configured it.
Setting It Through Outlook Instead
Because Teams pulls its out-of-office state from your Exchange mailbox, you can also set it in Outlook and Teams will pick it up automatically. In Outlook on the web, click the gear icon > Automatic replies, turn them on, write your message, and set the time period. In the Outlook desktop app, go to File > Automatic Replies. This is handy if Teams is misbehaving or if you prefer Outlook’s interface — the result is identical, and your Teams status updates within a few minutes.
What Your Colleagues See
Once enabled, three things happen in Teams. Your presence status changes to Out of Office (purple with an arrow icon) so it is visible in every chat and channel. Anyone who messages you receives your automatic reply once. And meeting organizers see your out-of-office block on the scheduling assistant, with new invites during your absence automatically declined with your message attached. Note that automatic replies only go to people inside your organization unless you explicitly allow external replies — Teams will not spam outside contacts by default. When you return and want to tidy up old conversations, see how to clear messages on Mac.
Writing a Good Out-of-Office Message
Keep it short and genuinely useful. A strong message has four parts: a clear statement that you are away (“I’m out of the office”), the return date (“returning Monday, October 20”), an alternate contact for urgent matters with their email or phone, and optionally a note about response delays (“I’ll respond to non-urgent messages when I return”). Skip the jokes and the life story — on a phone screen, nobody reads past three lines. If you handle sensitive handoffs, you can also pin a message in key team channels pointing people to your backup while you are gone. For everyday messaging outside work, our guide on forwarding text messages covers keeping personal messages flowing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn’t my Teams out of office syncing with Outlook?
Sync usually takes a few minutes. If it has been longer, make sure you are signed into Teams and Outlook with the same work account, then try signing out of Teams and back in. In rare cases, your IT admin may have disabled the feature via policy.
Can I set out of office for just part of a day?
The date picker works in full days, but you can approximate a half day by enabling replies manually in the morning and turning them off when you return — just toggle automatic replies on and off without a scheduled period.
Do automatic replies go to group chats?
No. Teams sends automatic replies only to direct one-on-one messages, not to channel posts or group chats. If your team needs to know you are away, post a note in the channel yourself before you leave.
Will Teams decline meetings I already accepted?
No — only new meeting requests that arrive during your out-of-office period are automatically declined. Meetings already on your calendar stay put, so decline or reassign those yourself before you leave.
Sources: Microsoft Support — Microsoft Teams