How to Set Out of Office in Teams on Desktop and Mobile (2026)

Going on holiday, off sick or heads-down on a launch? An out of office note in Teams saves you from the slow drip of 'just checking in' messages, and it tells clients and colleagues exactly when you'll be back. For a small business owner who lives in Teams with a couple of freelancers or a client's workspace, it's one of those five-minute jobs that stops a week of guilt.

The bit people miss is that Teams and Outlook share the same out of office setting. Set it in one and the other follows. I'll go through the desktop and mobile routes as Microsoft's own help pages describe them, then the options worth ticking before you switch off.

Setting out of office in Teams from your profile picture

This is the quickest route on the desktop app or Teams on the web. According to Microsoft's help, here's the order:

1. Select your profile picture at the top of Teams.
2. Choose Set status message.
3. At the bottom of the options, select Schedule out of office.
4. Turn on the toggle called Turn on automatic replies.
5. Type your out of office message. Teams won't let you save without one.
6. Tick Send replies only during a time period and pick your start and end dates and times.
7. Select Save.

That's it. Your status shows you're away for that window, and anyone who messages you sees your note.

Using Teams Settings to schedule out of office instead

If the status menu looks different on your screen, the same switch lives in Settings. Microsoft's route is:

1. Select Settings and more (the three dots next to your profile picture).
2. Choose Settings, then General.
3. Scroll to the Out of Office section near the bottom.
4. Select Schedule.
5. Turn on automatic replies, write your message, set the dates and select Save.

Both routes open the same screen, so use whichever you can find faster.

Setting out of office on the Teams mobile app

Realised on the train that you forgot to switch it on? You can do it from your phone. Microsoft's help lists these steps:

1. Tap your profile picture in the upper left corner to open your profile card.
2. Tap your current status.
3. Choose Out of office from the status menu.
4. Turn on Set auto reply and write your message.
5. Turn on Select your start and end dates and choose the range.

Microsoft says the auto reply syncs across your other apps, so setting it on your phone covers the desktop app and Outlook too.

Replying to clients outside your organisation in Teams

This is the setting that matters most if you run a business. By default your note is aimed at people inside your organisation. To reach anyone else, tick Send replies outside my organization on the out of office screen.

Microsoft then gives you two choices: send the reply to your contacts only, or to all external senders. You can also write a separate message for outside people, which I'd recommend. Your team might need to know who's covering your projects, while a client just needs your return date and the best person to contact.

Setting on the out of office screen	What it does
Turn on automatic replies	Switches your out of office note on
Send replies outside my organization	Lets people outside your org see a reply
Contacts only or all external senders	Chooses which outside people get it
Send replies only during a time period	Limits the note to your chosen dates and times

If you'd rather not reply to every cold pitch while you're away, contacts only is the calmer choice.

How Teams out of office links to Outlook

Microsoft's help says your Teams out of office status syncs with Outlook. When you set it in Teams, Outlook automatic replies switch on for the same time range with the same message. Change the details in Outlook later and Teams reflects that change.

So there's no need to set it twice. It also means a message you wrote in Outlook months ago can pop up again if you forget to update it, so read your note through before you save. Old dates and the name of a colleague who has since left are the classic giveaways.

What people see while your Teams out of office is on

According to Microsoft, people who contact you in Teams see your reply and know you're unavailable. Your message also shows when someone opens your profile, so it works even if they never send you anything.

A note I'd suggest for most small teams covers three things in two or three short sentences:

• The date you're back.
• Who to contact for anything urgent, by name.
• Whether you'll be checking messages at all (be honest, then stick to it).

If customers reach you through chat while you're away, it's worth thinking about who picks those up. I wrote about how small teams handle customer messages without burning out, and the same thinking applies to holiday cover.

Turning off out of office in Teams early

Back sooner than planned? Go to the same out of office screen (through your profile picture or Settings), switch off Turn on automatic replies and select Save. If you set a time period, Teams stops sending the note on its own once the end date passes, so you only need to do this when your plans change.

If you can't find out of office in Teams

A few things trip people up:

1. Check you're signed in to a work or school account. The personal version of Teams has different status options.
2. Look under Settings and more, then Settings, then General, if Set status message doesn't show Schedule out of office.
3. Update the Teams app, then sign out and back in.
4. If the out of office section still isn't there, ask whoever manages your Microsoft account, because some settings depend on how your organisation is set up.

Working remotely across time zones makes all of this more important, since colleagues can't just look over at your desk. My explainer on how remote jobs work day to day covers the habits that keep a distributed team in sync.

Frequently asked questions

How do I set out of office in Teams?

Select your profile picture, choose Set status message, then Schedule out of office. Turn on automatic replies, write a message, tick Send replies only during a time period, set the dates and select Save.

Does Teams out of office also set my Outlook automatic reply?

Yes. Microsoft says the Teams out of office status syncs with Outlook, so automatic replies switch on for the same dates and message. Changes you make in Outlook show in Teams too.

Can people outside my company see my Teams out of office message?

Only if you tick Send replies outside my organization. You can then choose your contacts only or all external senders, and write a separate message for them.

Can I set out of office in Teams on my phone?

Yes. Tap your profile picture, tap your current status, choose Out of office, turn on Set auto reply, write your message and turn on Select your start and end dates.

How do I turn off out of office in Teams?

Open the out of office screen again, switch off Turn on automatic replies and select Save. If you set an end date, it stops on its own when that time passes.