What the Setting Actually Is
For years a common complaint was that Teams flipped you to Away even when you were clearly working — just working in another tab, like Outlook or SharePoint on the web. Microsoft's answer was a presence setting, usually worded "Keep my current status when I'm active outside of Teams on the web."
With it enabled, Teams broadens what it counts as activity. Instead of only watching the Teams tab, it treats activity across your Microsoft 365 web session as "you're here." So if you're answering email in Outlook on the web for ten minutes, Teams no longer assumes you've wandered off — your status stays as it was.
It's a genuine improvement for one specific group: people who spend their day actively clicking around M365 web apps. If that's you, turn it on. But read the wording carefully — active outside of Teams. The key word is active.
How to Turn It On
In Teams on the web, open Settings → Notifications and activity → Presence (depending on your tenant it may appear under Privacy or General), and enable the keep-my-status option. Because it's a web-client setting, it may not appear in the desktop app, and your admin can affect what's shown.
Why You Still Go Away
The setting changes where Teams looks for activity. It does not change the fundamental rule that there has to be activity. So all of these still turn you Away, setting on or off:
- You stop typing and clicking. Step away for a coffee or a hallway chat and there's no input anywhere to count. After the idle window, you're Away.
- You lock your PC. Locking flips Teams to Away instantly — the setting can't override that.
- You close the browser or shut the lid. No web session means nothing to keep alive.
- You're on the desktop app only. It's a web feature; desktop-only users may see no effect.
- You have a calendar meeting. Presence driven by your Outlook/M365 calendar (In a meeting, Busy) overrides the green dot regardless.
In short, the native setting solves "I'm busy in another tab but Teams thinks I'm idle." It does not solve "I want to look Available while I'm away from my desk." Those are different problems, and only the first has a native fix.
The Setting vs Cloud Presence
| Scenario | "Keep my status" setting | Cloud presence (Stay Green) |
|---|---|---|
| Active in another web tab | Stays green | Stays green |
| Stepped away, not typing | Goes Away | Stays green |
| PC locked | Goes Away | Stays green |
| Browser closed / lid shut | Goes Away | Stays green |
| Desktop-only Teams user | Little / no effect | Works |
| Choose specific hours | No | Yes |
What Fills the Gap
Once you accept that the native setting only helps while you're actively working somewhere, the remaining need is clear: a way to look Available when you're not generating input. That requires presence maintained from outside your device.
Stay Green On Teams does exactly that. A one-time browser extension captures your Teams session, then our cloud workers hold your Available status from a server for the hours you schedule. No input required, nothing running on your machine — so locking your PC, closing the browser, or shutting your laptop makes no difference. Turn the native setting on too if you like; the cloud simply covers the much larger set of moments it can't.
Should You Bother With the Native Setting?
Yes — it's free and it removes a real annoyance for M365-web-heavy workdays. Just don't expect it to keep you green over lunch, on a lock screen, or with the laptop shut. For an always-Available status across the hours you choose, pair it with — or replace it by — a cloud presence tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the "Keep my current status when I'm active outside of Teams" setting do?
It tells Teams to count activity in other browser tabs and Microsoft 365 web apps — not just the Teams tab itself — as activity. With it on, working in Outlook on the web or another tab can stop Teams flipping you to Away. It does not disable the idle timer and it does not keep you green when you're not generating any input at all: step away from the keyboard, lock the PC, or close the browser and you'll still go Away after the usual idle window.
Where is the "Keep my current status" setting in Teams?
It lives in Teams on the web: open Settings → Notifications and activity → Presence (some tenants show it under Settings → Privacy or General), and enable the option to keep your status while you're active outside of Teams on the web. It's a web-client setting, so it may not appear in the desktop app, and admins can vary what's exposed.
Why am I still going Away with the setting turned on?
Because the setting only broadens what counts as activity — it still needs you to be actively doing something. It doesn't help once you genuinely stop typing and clicking, lock your computer, shut the lid, or close the browser. It also doesn't override calendar-driven presence: a meeting on your Outlook calendar still shows you as In a meeting. To stay green while you're actually away, you need presence maintained from outside your device.
Is the native setting enough to stay green on Teams all day?
No. It helps people who are constantly active across M365 web apps, but it can't keep you Available during breaks, away-from-desk time, a locked screen or a closed laptop, because all of those mean zero input. For an always-green status across the hours you choose, a cloud presence tool like Stay Green On Teams maintains your Available status from a server, no input required.
Does the setting work on the Teams desktop app?
It's a web-client feature aimed at activity in the browser, so it doesn't reliably change how the desktop app tracks idle time. If your real client is desktop Teams, the setting may not appear or may do nothing for you. A cloud presence service works regardless of which client you use, because it maintains presence at the account level.