Your Teams presence status shows Available or Busy even when you are away from your desk, especially right after you sign in on your phone. This happens because Teams combines activity signals from all your devices, and a mobile sign-in can override your desktop settings. The status you see is the result of an automated activity-based calculation, not a manual override. This article explains why the mobile sign-in changes your presence and gives you step-by-step fixes to correct it.
You will learn how to check your activity settings, adjust your status manually, and prevent future mismatches. You will also see how to manage presence for your whole organization if you are an admin. By the end, you can make your presence reflect your true availability every time.
Key Takeaways: Correcting Presence After Mobile Sign-in
- Teams > Settings > Privacy > Presence: Turn off automatic presence based on activity to stop mobile sign-ins from changing your status.
- Teams > your profile picture > Set status message: Manually set your status to Available, Busy, or Do not disturb to override the automatic calculation.
- Teams admin center > Messaging policies > Presence: Configure organization-wide presence settings to control how mobile sign-ins affect status for all users.
Why a Mobile Sign-in Changes Your Teams Presence Status
Teams calculates your presence using a combination of signals. These signals include your calendar events, your activity in the Teams app, and your sign-in state on each device. When you sign in on your phone, Teams treats that as a new active session. If your phone is unlocked and the Teams app is open, the system may interpret that as you being actively available, even if you are not at your desk.
The default presence policy is called Activity-based presence. Under this policy, Teams looks at your last activity across all devices. If you have not interacted with your desktop for a while but your phone is active, Teams may show you as Available or even In a call if your phone has an active call. This behavior is by design to reflect your real-time availability, but it can lead to incorrect status when you are not actually reachable.
Another factor is the Presence timeout setting. By default, Teams sets your status to Away after 5 minutes of inactivity on your desktop. However, if your mobile app is still active, that timeout may not apply because the mobile session keeps the presence signal alive. The result is that your status stays Available for much longer than it should.
How Activity-Based Presence Works
Activity-based presence uses a scoring system. Each device contributes a score based on how recently you used it. The device with the highest score determines your presence. A mobile sign-in often gives your phone a high score because the app is foregrounded. This can override your desktop session, which may have a lower score if you have been idle for a few minutes.
Why Manual Overrides Are Temporary
When you manually set your status to Busy or Do not disturb, Teams honors that override for a limited time. The default duration is 1 day. After that, Teams reverts to the activity-based calculation. This is why you might see your status change back to Available after a mobile sign-in, even if you set it manually earlier.
Steps to Correct Your Presence Status After a Mobile Sign-in
Follow these steps in order. The first steps fix the immediate issue. The later steps prevent it from happening again.
Step 1: Manually Set Your Status on the Desktop
- Open Teams on your desktop
Sign in with your work or school account if you are not already signed in. - Click your profile picture
It is in the top-right corner of the Teams window. - Select Set status message
This opens a dialog where you can type a custom message and choose a status. - Choose a status from the dropdown
Select Available, Busy, Do not disturb, or Be right back. Do not choose Reset status. - Clear the checkbox that says Show when people message me
This prevents your custom message from appearing to others. - Click Done
Your status is now set manually. It will stay until the override expires or you change it.
Step 2: Turn Off Activity-Based Presence
- Open Teams settings
Click your profile picture, then select Settings. - Go to Privacy
In the left sidebar, click Privacy. - Find the Presence section
Scroll down to the presence settings. - Turn off the toggle for Automatically show presence based on activity
This stops Teams from using your activity signals to set your status. - Restart Teams
Close Teams completely and reopen it. Your presence will now stay at the last manual status you set.
Step 3: Sign Out of the Mobile App or Adjust Its Notifications
- Open the Teams mobile app on your phone
Sign in with the same account if needed. - Tap your profile picture
It is in the top-left corner of the app. - Select Settings
Scroll down to find the Notifications section. - Turn off notifications for messages and mentions
This reduces the chance that the app stays active in the background, which keeps the presence signal alive. - Consider signing out of the mobile app when you are not using it
This completely removes the mobile session from the presence calculation.
If Teams Still Shows the Wrong Presence Status
Sometimes the manual fix does not stick. Here are the most common reasons and what to do about each.
My Status Changes Back to Available After a Few Minutes
This happens when your manual override expires. The default duration is 1 day. To make it permanent, you need to turn off activity-based presence as described in Step 2. If you already did that, check that the toggle is actually off. Some users report that the toggle resets after a Teams update.
My Mobile App Keeps My Status Active Even When Locked
On iOS and Android, Teams can run in the background and send presence signals. To stop this, go to your phone’s app settings and restrict background activity for Teams. On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn it off for Teams. On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Teams > Battery and select Restricted.
My Admin Has Enabled a Presence Policy That Overrides My Settings
If your organization uses a custom messaging policy, the admin can set presence to always show as Available regardless of your activity. In that case, you cannot change it yourself. Contact your IT admin and ask them to modify the policy.
New Teams Desktop vs Teams Mobile Presence Behavior
| Item | Teams Desktop | Teams Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Presence calculation | Uses desktop activity, calendar, and manual overrides | Uses mobile app activity, push notifications, and sign-in state |
| Timeout default | 5 minutes of inactivity sets you to Away | No timeout if the app is in the foreground or has active notifications |
| Manual override duration | Lasts until you change it or the override expires (1 day) | Lasts until you change it or the override expires (1 day) |
| Admin control | Controlled by messaging policies in Teams admin center | Same policy applies, but mobile may have additional device-level restrictions |
Conclusion
You can now correct your Teams presence after a mobile sign-in by manually setting your status and turning off activity-based presence. The key settings are in Teams > Settings > Privacy and in the mobile app’s notification settings. To prevent future mismatches, sign out of the mobile app when you are not using it, or restrict its background activity on your phone. If the problem persists, ask your admin to check the messaging policy for your account. For a quick check, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+O in Teams to open your activity feed and see what triggered the status change.