Microsoft Teams Stuck On Out Of Office? 4 Steps To Fix

Are you having a hard time figuring out why your status in Microsoft Teams is stuck on “Out of office”?

Sadly, this is a known issue and can be super annoying when it happens, especially when you want to let your team know that you’re back from that well-deserved vacation.

But, don’t worry. You’ve come to the right place to get this issue fixed.

Follow these 4 simple fixes to stop your Microsoft Teams status from being stuck on “Out Of Office”:

1. Reset your status.
2. Check your Outlook.
3. Clear your cache.
4. Reinstall the app.

Read on to solve the problem today!

#1 Reset Your Status

There’s nothing more annoying than getting back from your vacation, only to find that no one calls you or invites you to important meetings because they think you’re still away.

You wouldn’t believe how many people have complained about this issue. But the good news is that you can easily fix it by manually refreshing your status.

By doing this, you’ll force the app to recognize that you’re back at work.

Follow these simple steps to do it:

Desktop app:

1. Click on your profile picture at the top of your screen.
2. Select “Reset status” from the drop-down menu.
3. You can also select “Available” to change your status.

Mobile version:

1. Tap on your profile icon in the upper left corner of your screen.
2. Select “Reset Status” or tap on “Available”.

Once you’ve completed the steps above, I recommend setting a status message. Hundreds of users found that doing this also helped to refresh their status.

Then, please make sure to restart Microsoft Teams. To do it, you’ll need to:

Windows PC:

1. Open the Task Manager. If you can’t find it, type “Task Manager” on the search bar at the bottom of your screen and hit Enter.
2. Click on Microsoft Teams.
3. Select “End Task”.

Mac:

1. Press the Option + Command + Escape keys at the same time.
2. Select Microsoft Teams and click on “Force Quit”.

Android:

1. Open the Settings menu.
2. Go to “Apps & Notifications” and tap on Microsoft Teams.
3. Tap on “Force Stop”.

iPhone and iPad:

1. Go to the home screen and swipe up from the bottom of your screen. Then, pause in the middle of the screen. If your device has a home button, please double-click it.
2. Swipe right or left to find Microsoft Teams. Then, swipe up on it.

#2 Check Your Outlook

As you may already know, you can join or create Teams meetings from your Outlook calendar because these apps are synced.

This integration has great benefits, but it may be the reason your status in Microsoft Teams is still stuck on “Out of office”

You see, you may have returned from your vacation and forgot to disable the “Automatic Replies” feature on Outlook. Having this feature turned on may automatically change your status to “Out of office”.

But, don’t worry. You can easily disable it by following this quick guide:

1. Open Outlook’s desktop app and click on “File” in the upper left corner of your screen.
2. Click on “Turn off” under “Automatic replies are being sent”.

Once you’ve turned off the automatic replies feature, it’s time for us to check your Outlook calendar events.

To do it, you’ll need to:

1. Open your Outlook Calendar.
2. Click on any meeting that indicates that you’re out of the office (they usually have a purple color).
3. Delete the meeting or select the Appointment tab and go to “Show as”. Then, select “Free” from the drop-down menu.

Once you’ve completed the steps above, please restart Outlook and Microsoft Teams and check if the issue was solved. If your status is still stuck on “Out of office”, chances are you have a corrupted cache.

Don’t worry, though. Keep reading to learn how to solve this issue.

#3 Clear Your Cache

You may not know this, but your cache is a reserved storage location in your device. This is where Teams stores important information, such as images, login credentials, scripts, and much more.

This way, every time you launch the app, it won’t need to download this data from its servers, since it can access it from your cache folder.

Your chance helps Microsoft Teams to load much faster. But, not everything is perfect.

The files stored in your cache can become damaged and may not be compatible with the ones on the web. When this happens, you can experience all sorts of issues, such as not being able to change your status or chat with your team.

Clearing your cache seems like a difficult thing to do, but it’s really quick and simple. You’ll just need to:

Windows PC:

1. Close Microsoft Teams and press the Windows key on your computer.
2. Type “Run” and press Enter.
3. Type “%appdata%\ Microsoft\Teams” in the text field.
4. Click on “Select All” at the top of your screen and press the Delete key on your laptop/computer.

Mac:

1. Close the app and open Finder. Then, click on “Go”.
2. Select “Go to Folder” from the drop-down menu.
3. Type “~/Library/Applications Support/Microsoft” in the text field and click on “Go”.
4. Right-click on the “teams” folder and click on “Move to Trash” or “Move to Bin”.
5. Open the Spotlight Search by clicking on the magnifier glass icon at the top of your screen).
6. Type “Keychain” and select “Keychain Access”.
7. Search for Microsoft Teams and right-click on “Microsoft Teams Identities Cache”. Then, select “Delete”.

Android:

1. Go to Settings and tap on “Storage”.
2. Tap on “Apps” and choose Microsoft Teams.
3. Select “Clear Cache”.

Please note that if you have an iPhone or iPad, you’ll need to reinstall the app to clear its cache.

#4 Reinstall the App

If nothing has worked so far, it’s time for us to reinstall Microsoft Teams.

I know this is probably the last thing you wanted to hear, but by doing this you’ll be able to get rid of the troublesome code that was preventing you from changing your status.

Follow these simple steps to uninstall the app:

Windows PC:

1. Type “Microsoft Teams” in the search bar at the bottom of your screen.
2. Right-click on it and select “Uninstall”. A new window will pop up.
3. Search for Microsoft Teams and double-click on it.

Mac:

1. Launch Finder and open the Applications folder.
2. Click on Microsoft Teams and drag it to the trash bin icon.
3. Click on “Finder” and select “Empty Trash”.

iPhone:

1. Go to the home screen.
2. Press and hold on the Microsoft Teams icon.
3. Tap on “Remove app”.

Android:

1. Open the Google Play Store and tap on your profile icon.
2. Tap on “Manage apps and device” and select “Manage”.
3. Search for Microsoft Teams and tap on “Uninstall”.

Once you’ve completed the steps above, go to the Microsoft Teams website and download the app. You can also go to your device’s app store (Microsoft Store, Google Play Store, or App Store), search for the app, and reinstall it.

Conclusion

Not being able to change your status in Microsoft Teams can be super frustrating. After all, the app should make our lives easier, not the opposite.

Hopefully, with the help of the five fixes above, you’ll be able to solve the problem in no time.

If you take anything away, remember that the easiest way to stop your Microsoft Teams status from being stuck on “Out of office” is by turning off the automatic replies feature and checking your calendar events on Outlook.

Moreover, manually refreshing your status, clearing your cache, or reinstalling the app should also do the trick.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read the fixes. If you also use different collaboration platforms, don’t forget to check out our content. You’ll find multiple articles that cover them.

Good luck!