After working from 9 to 5 for consecutive weeks, taking a vacation seems very logical. So you are taking a sudden vacation and a tour of your favorite places for a few days. Therefore, you want to inform everyone that you are not available for any job-related work. But you don’t know how to do so.
As a tech enthusiast and a regular user of Microsoft Teams, I have used the Out of Office feature countless times. I know how to set and use this feature, and I must say, you have come to the right place.
Read the entire article and follow my guidelines to set Out of Office alerts in Microsoft Teams.
How does Microsoft Teams Out of Office Alerts Work?
Microsoft Teams Out of Office Alerts (or OOO alerts) is an automated feature that notifies everyone that you are not available for work for a certain period of time. It is a quite handy feature that lets people know you are absent from work and give them a short reply saying that you are unavailable.
Using this feature, you can spend your vacation peacefully and without any interruptions. You just need to set an Out of Office message and duration of the vacation in the Microsoft Teams, and you are good to go!
However, be careful while writing the auto-reply emails as you never know who might read them. Try to be benign as anything harsh might make them upset, or it can have a negative impact on your job.
Check out our latest fix for Microsoft Teams Error 80090030.
How to Set Out of Office Alerts in Microsoft Teams
If you are thinking of taking a leave for a vacation, Out of Office is an excellent feature to use. You can simply enjoy your vacation while the messages which are sent by this feature help ensure the business runs without a hitch.
Here are the three methods that you can follow to set Out of Office in Microsoft Teams:
1. Set the Out of Office Status from Profile Picture
You can use both the browser and the desktop app to access Microsoft Teams. But the desktop app makes the user experience better. You can easily and quickly change or set the Out of Office Status from the app.
Here are the steps to set Out of Office alerts from the profile picture section:
- Open Microsoft Teams and click on your profile photo.
- Click on Set Status Message.
- Type the Out of Office message inside the box. (N.B. limit is 280 characters)
- Check the box saying Show when people message me.
- Click on the Clear status message after to set how long this text will be visible to everyone.
- Click on Done to apply the changes.
But before that, do check our latest post on the change your background on Microsoft Teams.
2. Use Microsoft Outlook App
Microsoft Outlook is one of the best email management tools right now. You can use this tool to manage, send, and organize emails.
However, apart from email management, you can set Out of Office alerts on Microsoft Outlook as well. There are a few steps to set the Out of Office status to your account in under a minute.
Here are the steps to set Out of Office alerts using Microsoft Outlook:
- Open the Microsoft Outlook app.
- Click on File.
- Select Automatic Replies (Out of Office). (For Outlook 2007, click on Tools > Out of Office Assistant)
- Select Send automatic replies from the Automatic Replies box.
- Check the box underneath the Send automatic replies to set the duration of Out of Office if needed.
- Type the message you want to share under the inside My Organization
- Click on OK to save the changes.
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3. Microsoft Teams Settings
There is another method to set Out of Office alerts using the Microsoft Teams desktop app. This method is more or less like other ones. But here, you have to access the settings of the Microsoft Teams desktop app. Don’t worry, this method is as quick as others.
Here are the steps to set Out of Office alerts using Microsoft Teams Settings:
- Open the Microsoft Teams app from your PC.
- Click the three-dot menu alongside the profile picture.
- Select Settings from that mini window.
- Select General from the settings windows.
- Navigate to the Out of Office section and click on Schedule.
- Enable the Turn on automatic replies
- Type the text you want to send as an auto reply.
- Check the box to set the duration of that message.
- Click Save to save the changes.
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How to Set Out of Office Alerts on Microsoft Teams Mobile App
Sadly, there is no such way to set Out of Office alerts on the Microsoft Teams mobile app. However, you can change the status of your account and clear it as well from the app. You can consider using this mobile app feature while you are away from work for a few hours or so.
Here is how you can change the status of your profile from the mobile app:
- Open the app from your respective device (Android or iOS).
- Tap on the profile photo from the top left corner of the app.
- Tap on the Set status message.
- Write the status message you want to show on the given text box.
- Turn on Show when people message me feature to inform everyone who tries to engage you.
- Tap on Done to change the status.
People from your contacts now will see the status you have just changed. Using the mobile app for Microsoft Teams is the quickest method to change account status if you are away from your computer and in a hurry.
How to Remove Out of Office Status on Microsoft Teams
Removing the status you have given while using the Out of Office feature is essential. Otherwise, your status will remain the same.
Here is how you can remove the Out of Office status on Microsoft Teams:
- Open the Microsoft Teams app from your PC.
- Click the three-dot menu alongside the profile picture.
- Select Settings from that mini window.
- Select General from the settings windows.
- Navigate to the Out of Office section and click on Schedule.
- Disable the Turn on automatic replies option by clicking on the toggle button.
- Click on Save to save the changes.
Also, check out our separate post on AirPods not working with Microsoft Teams.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the color dots on Microsoft Teams mean?
There are four types of color dots inside the Microsoft Teams. Each of them indicates different status.
- The green dot represents the user is Available.
- The yellow dot represents the user is Away.
- The red dot represents the user is either busy, in a call, in a meeting, or in do not disturb mode.
- The purple dot represents the user is Out of Office.
How to set a new status in Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft teams automatically change the status of your account based on your activity. However, you can always set the account status manually. To set a new status, you need to click on your profile picture > Click on your current status > Select a new status.
What’s the difference between public and private Teams?
You have the option of making your team’s privacy settings “public” or “private.” Anyone in the organization can join public teams. Only team owners have the ability to add persons to private teams.
Final Thoughts
To sum it up, you can use any of those three methods to change or set the Out of Office status. All of them will take up to a minute. If you don’t have the Microsoft Teams desktop app, then try using Microsoft Outlook to set Out of Office alerts.
Hopefully, you have successfully changed or set the Out of Office status on Microsoft Teams. Thanks for reading this article. Contact me if anything tech-related problem occurs. I will be delighted to help you with that.
