Your Microsoft Teams status stuck in "leave" may be due to inactive timer triggers, activity detection errors, program failures, or administrative policy restrictions. 1. Inactive timer trigger: Teams usually set the status to "Leave" after 5 minutes of no operation. The solution includes occasionally moving the mouse, switching back to the Teams window, or contacting the administrator to adjust the settings. 2. Teams does not detect activities correctly: If you are using other apps or watching videos in full screen, Teams may not recognize your presence. It is recommended to manually switch the tabs in Teams or resize the window. 3. Restart or reinstall Teams: Close and reopen the app completely, or try to log out and log in again, uninstall and reinstall if necessary to clear cache issues. 4. Check for updates or management policies: Make sure Teams is the latest version and confirm with the IT department whether there is a custom status policy. It is also recommended to use desktop rather than web version for improved stability. After following these steps, the state should return to normal in most cases.

If you're wondering why your Microsoft Teams status is stuck on "Away," you're not alone. It's a common issue, especially when you're actively working but your status doesn't reflect that. Teams determines your status based on activity, but sometimes it gets out of sync.

Here are the most likely reasons and what you can do to fix it.

1. Your Inactivity Timer Is Triggered

Teams automatically sets your status to "Away" after a period of inactivity — usually around 5 minutes. Even if you have the app open, if you haven't moved your mouse or interacted with the app, it assumes you're not at your desk.

What you can do:

• Move your mouse around occasionally or click inside the Teams window.
• If you're using another monitor or app, switch back to Teams now and then.
• Adjust your settings (if available) through admin controls — some companies allow longer inactivity times.

This behavior isn't a bug — it's by design. But if your status stays "Away" even when you're clearly active, keep reading.

2. Teams Isn't Detecting Correct Activity

Sometimes Teams misjudges your presence because it's not tracking the right signals. For example, if you're watching a video or working in another application full-screen, Teams might not register that you're still at your desk.

Common fixes:

• Switch between apps or tabs in Teams manually.
• Click into different sections like Chat, Calendar, or Teams.
• Try resizing the Teams window or minimizing and restoring it.

You can also test this by keeping Teams open and stepping away for a few minutes — when you come back and start interacting again, your status should update within a minute or two.

3. Restart or Reinstall Teams

If your status is stuck no matter what you do, restarting the app often helps. Sometimes background processes get glitchy and just need a refresh.

Steps to try:

• Completely close Teams from the system tray (bottom-right corner).
• Wait a few seconds, then reopen it.
• If that doesn't work, sign out and back in.
• As a last resort, uninstall and reinstall the app — this clears any local cache issues.

On Windows, you can use Task Manager to make sure all Teams processes are closed before reopening.

4. Check for Updates or Admin Policies

Your organization may control how present works in Teams. If you're in a company environment, your IT department could have customized status behaviors or disabled certain features.

What to check:

• Make sure Teams is up to date — go to Help > Check for updates .
• Ask your IT team if they've applied custom presence policies.
• If you're using a mobile device, your desktop status might be overridden — check both versions of the app.

Some users report issues when running the web version instead of the desktop app — always use the native app for better reliability.

Basically that's it. Most of the time, one of these steps will reset your status back to "Available." It's not complicated, but it can be annoying when your status doesn't match reality. The key is understanding how Teams detects activity and making sure it sees you as present.

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