Why can't I see Teams status on Outlook?

The most common cause is that the new Teams client isn't registered as your default chat app for Microsoft 365. Open Teams, go to Settings > General, and toggle "Register the new Teams as the chat app for Microsoft 365" off, then on again, then restart both apps. The second most common cause is the "Display online status next to name" setting being unchecked in classic Outlook's People options.

How do I sync Teams status with Outlook?

Sign into Teams and Outlook with the exact same work or school account, make sure Teams is running (not just installed), enable the online-status setting in Outlook's People options, and fully restart both apps in sequence. Presence then syncs automatically in the background — there's no manual sync button.

Does this fix apply to classic Outlook, new Outlook, and Outlook on the web?

The "Display online status next to name" toggle only exists in classic (desktop) Outlook. New Outlook and Outlook on the web show presence automatically once Teams is correctly registered as the default chat app — there's no separate setting to enable, so if it's still missing there, the cause is almost always the account-mismatch or add-in issue rather than a hidden setting.

Will this fix also show presence for people outside my organisation?

No. Teams presence in Outlook only works for contacts inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant (or a tenant with an explicit trust relationship). External senders and personal Gmail/Outlook.com contacts will never show a presence dot, regardless of settings.

I fixed the setting but the dot still doesn't appear — what else could it be?

Check that the Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in is enabled under Outlook's Get Add-ins > My add-ins, then ask your Microsoft 365 admin whether a tenant policy is blocking presence sharing or whether your network's VPN/proxy is blocking the presence service — both are outside what you can fix from the client alone.

Teams Status Not Showing in Outlook? Here's the Fix

Why Outlook Stops Showing Teams Presence

Outlook doesn't generate presence itself — it borrows it from Teams through a background integration between the two apps. When you see a coloured dot next to a name in your inbox or address book, Outlook is quietly asking Teams "what's this person's status?" and rendering the answer live. That integration depends on both apps agreeing on who you are and which of them is allowed to talk to the other.

When that handshake breaks — usually after a Teams update, a "new Teams" migration, or a change to your default chat app — the dots don't show an error, they just disappear. That's true whether it's your own status missing or everyone else's, and it explains why the fix is almost always an app-registration or account-mismatch issue rather than anything wrong with Teams itself.

Fix 1: Register Teams as Your Default Chat App

This is the single most common cause, and the first thing to check.

STEP 1

Open Teams settings

Click your profile picture in Teams → the three dots (•••) → Settings → General.

STEP 2

Re-toggle the chat app registration

Find "Register the new Teams as the chat app for Microsoft 365." If it's already on, turn it off, close the settings panel, reopen it, and turn it back on. The re-toggle forces Teams to re-register with Outlook rather than relying on a stale registration.

STEP 3

Restart both apps

Fully quit Teams and Outlook (not just close the window — check the system tray) and relaunch both. Presence dots typically reappear within a minute of Teams finishing its startup sync.

Fix 2: Turn On "Display Online Status Next to Name"

If Fix 1 didn't bring the dots back, check the Outlook-side setting — this only applies to classic (desktop) Outlook:

In Outlook, click File → Options → People.
Under "Online status and photographs," check Display online status next to name.
Click OK and restart Outlook.

New Outlook and Outlook on the web don't have this toggle — presence shows automatically there once Teams is correctly registered (Fix 1). If you're on new Outlook and still see no dots, skip ahead to Fix 3.

Fix 3: Confirm Both Apps Use the Same Account

Presence silently fails to sync when Teams and Outlook are signed into different accounts — common if you have a personal and a work profile, or a guest account in a second tenant. Check the account shown under your profile picture in both apps and make sure they match exactly, including the domain.

Fix 4: Fully Restart — Not Just Minimise

Closing the Teams or Outlook window doesn't quit the app; both keep running in the background (check your system tray on Windows or menu bar on Mac). A soft close doesn't force the re-handshake that fixes presence — you need a full quit. Right-click each app's icon in the tray/dock and choose Quit, then relaunch Teams first and Outlook second.

Fix 5: Reset the Teams Meeting Add-in in Outlook

If the dots still don't appear, the Teams add-in inside Outlook may have been disabled or corrupted during an update:

In Outlook, go to Get Add-ins → My add-ins.
Find Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in, disable it, then re-enable it.
Restart Outlook.

Still Not Working? Check These Admin-Level Causes

If you've worked through all five fixes and presence is still missing, the cause is likely outside what you can change from the client:

Tenant policy: Some Microsoft 365 admins disable presence sharing organisation-wide for privacy or compliance reasons.
VPN or proxy: A corporate VPN or network proxy can block the background presence service without affecting chat or email.
Mid-migration state: If your organisation is partway through the classic-Teams-to-new-Teams transition, presence integration can be temporarily unreliable tenant-wide.

In any of these cases, the fix has to come from your Microsoft 365 admin, not from a setting on your own machine.

Presence Dot Fixed — Now Keep It Green

Once your presence is showing correctly again, the next thing most people run into is Teams flipping to Away after about 5 minutes of no keyboard or mouse activity — which then shows up as that same dot turning yellow for everyone who can now finally see it. That's a separate, very common issue with its own set of fixes: see our full guide on keeping Teams active for every method, including cloud-based tools like Stay Green On Teams that keep your status Available without any local activity at all.