How to keep Microsoft Teams active

The first step to keep Microsoft Teams active is to understand the aptly named User Presence choices. These are pre-set statuses that identify what you’re up to for other team members. It also informs Microsoft’s AI engine, Cortana, what you’re doing so she can help you with your other tasks.

Cortana can also automatically assign User Presence status depending on what you’re doing. For example, if you have a meeting scheduled in your Outlook calendar, Cortana will automatically set your status to In a Meeting. Little tricks like this are actually extremely helpful for some people.

Here are all the User Presence statuses:

• Available
• Out of office
• Busy
• In a meeting
• On a call
• Focusing
• Away
• Offline
• Do not disturb
• Be right back
• Offline

Not all of these statuses will be available to everybody. Your organization can choose to limit some statuses. However, most of them are standard. The Cortana AI will attempt to notice what you’re doing and set your User Presence accordingly.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t work when you need to be available no matter what.

The first thing you need to do is set your User Presence to Available. Here’s how.

Step 1: Click on your Profile picture on the top right of the Teams screen.

Step 2: Click on your current status.

Step 3: Choose Available from the drop-down.

Microsoft won’t let you directly tweak your Teams status settings, so you’ll need to use some workarounds. One of the easiest ways is change your computer’s power settings so it never goes to sleep. The only drawback to this method is if you forget to change the setting back once you’re finished using Teams for the day.

Step 1: On Windows, open the Settings menu by pressing the Windows + I keys or searching for “settings” in the Windows search bar. Then select System.

If you’re on a Mac, open System preferences > Battery.

Step 2: On Windows, select Power and battery > Screen and sleep. You can adjust when your system goes to sleep when plugged in and when on battery. Either turn off the sleep setting to make sure that Teams doesn’t automatically set you to Away or at least limit it to only engaging after an extended period of time.

On Mac, select Power adapter and adjust the slider under Turn display off after. If you’re on a MacBook, then select Battery and do the same thing.

Windows users can install a fantastic little app called Caffeine to keep their computer awake and their Teams status active. Caffeine works by simulating a key press every 60 seconds so your system thinks it needs to stay awake because you’re still plugging away at the keyboard.

The best thing about Caffeine is how unobtrusive it is. It sits in the bottom-right of your screen, minding its own business, and you can turn it on or off depending on your needs.

If you’re working with a Mac, you can install a handy toolbar app called Amphetamine. This small app will keep your system from falling asleep for a set period of time, thus keeping your Microsoft Teams status active.

Step 1: Open the Mac app store.

Step 2: Search for “amphetamine.”

Step 3: Click Get on the Amphetamine app.

Step 4: Open Launchpad and click on the Amphetamine app once it is installed. It will automatically appear on the top toolbar.

Step 5: Click on the app’s toolbar icon to reveal a drop-down. Select the length of time you want to keep your Mac awake.

Microsoft may not offer any direct ways to keep Teams active, but there are a couple of workarounds you can use. Whether tweaking your computer’s settings so it doesn’t go to sleep or installing a third-party app such as Caffeine or Amphetamine, there are easy ways to keep your status active on Teams.

How do you keep your Teams status green?

Manually setting your Teams status as ‘Available’ (green) and keeping your computer active via the techniques above should work if you are near the computer. However, if you are paranoid about your settings or have a boss that will never accept anything less than a green Teams status, finding a way to keep your computer active at all times will help in a pinch. Two popular techniques are to keep your mouse moving constantly (such as by connecting it to a massager) or to put a heavy book on your spacebar with a Notepad document open.

How do you keep Microsoft Teams active on iPhone?

If you want to keep Microsoft Teams active on your iPhone, you need to keep the app open and focused. Updating your power and screensaver settings to allow your screen to stay active for a longer amount of time (without user interaction) can help you greatly in this regard.

Is there a Microsoft Teams keylogger?