Out of office until . For urgent requests, contact ().
Professional · short · 1 of 2
Also for your time off
Now switch it on
Select your profile picture at the top of Teams and choose Set status message.
Select Schedule out of office at the bottom of the options (or go to Settings and more > Settings > General, find Out of Office and select Schedule).
Turn on the toggle next to Turn on automatic replies and type your out of office message.
Optional: check Send replies outside my organization, choose your contacts or all external senders, and enter the outside message.
Check Send replies only during a time period and pick the start and end dates and times.
Select Save.
Start
your first day away
End
the morning you are back
Inherits Outlook automatic replies behaviour for email (once per sender). In Teams chat, people see the message when they contact you or open your profile.
Select your profile picture in Teams, choose Set status message, then Schedule out of office, turn on automatic replies and type something people can read at a glance, such as "Out of office until October 14. For urgent requests, contact Priya Nair (priya.nair@yourcompany.com)."
It is the same setting as Outlook automatic replies, so whatever you save in Teams also answers your email, with the same dates and the same text.
All 12 replies on this page
Type your details in the writer and every reply below fills itself in.
Professional 4
Out of office until [Back on]. For urgent requests, contact [Who covers] ([Their email]).
Short
On leave [Away from] to [Back on] and not monitoring Teams or email. [Who covers] covers my work meanwhile, reachable at [Their email]. I will respond to messages after I return.
Longer
Away from the office [Away from] to [Back on]. For anything urgent in that time, [Who covers] ([Their email]) is your contact.
Short
Not working [Away from] to [Back on], and chat will stay unread until I return on [Back on]. [Who covers] is covering my work and can be reached at [Their email], so send anything time-sensitive their way.
Longer
Warm 4
Offline until [Back on] and enjoying it. Need something now? Message [Who covers].
Short
Taking time off from [Away from] to [Back on], so chats will wait until I am back. [Who covers] ([Their email]) has my projects and is happy to help with anything urgent. Thanks for your patience!
Longer
Taking a break until [Back on]. [Who covers] is covering, so give them a shout if it can't wait.
Short
On vacation from [Away from], back [Back on] and looking forward to catching up. While I'm away, [Who covers] ([Their email]) is minding my projects and can help with anything time-sensitive.
Longer
Funny 4
Status: away. Mood: unbothered. Back [Back on]; ask [Who covers] if it is urgent.
Short
Skip if: A client-facing inbox, or a week when the team is under pressure and the joke would land badly.
Currently away from [Away from] to [Back on]. Yes, the green dot lied to you. For anything urgent, [Who covers] ([Their email]) is online and far more responsive than me right now.
Longer
Skip if: A client-facing inbox, or a week when the team is under pressure and the joke would land badly.
Off the grid until [Back on], testing whether the office runs without me. Urgent? Try [Who covers].
Short
Skip if: A client-facing channel, or a week when the team is under pressure and the joke would land badly.
Out from [Away from] to [Back on], practicing the ancient art of not checking Teams. If the building is on fire, [Who covers] at [Their email] has the extinguisher. Everything else can wait for me.
Longer
Skip if: A client-facing channel, or a week when the team is under pressure and the joke would land badly.
How to set it up in Microsoft Teams
Steps checked against the official help pages on 2026-10-05. Menus move; if yours differs, the source link has the current wording.
Teams on desktop and web
Select your profile picture at the top of Teams and choose Set status message.
Select Schedule out of office at the bottom of the options (or go to Settings and more > Settings > General, find Out of Office and select Schedule).
Turn on the toggle next to Turn on automatic replies and type your out of office message.
Optional: check Send replies outside my organization, choose your contacts or all external senders, and enter the outside message.
Check Send replies only during a time period and pick the start and end dates and times.
Select Save.
Start and end time
Yes
Separate reply for coworkers
Yes
How often it replies
Inherits Outlook automatic replies behaviour for email (once per sender). In Teams chat, people see the message when they contact you or open your profile.
It is the same setting as Outlook automatic replies: saving in Teams turns on automatic replies in Outlook with the same dates and message, and editing in Outlook updates Teams.
A message is required; without one the out of office status and Outlook sync are not set.
Requires a work or school account with an Exchange Online mailbox, since it writes to Outlook automatic replies.
An email-length paragraph. People see this next to your name in chat, so the first line has to carry the dates and the cover.
Leaving the message empty. Without one, the out of office status and the Outlook sync are not set.
Forgetting it answers email too. Write it so a client reading it in their inbox still knows who to contact.
Setting it on your phone and assuming outside senders are covered. The mobile flow has no outside message; add one on desktop or in Outlook.
Skipping the time period, which leaves the status up after you are back.
Filling it in
Type your return date and who covers, choose a tone, and copy the status. In Teams, paste it under Turn on automatic replies, tick Send replies only during a time period with your dates, and save. If clients email you, add an outside message too, or set both in Outlook, which shares the setting.
Questions people ask
How do I set out of office in Teams?
Select your profile picture, choose Set status message, then Schedule out of office. Turn on automatic replies, type your message, tick Send replies only during a time period, pick your dates and select Save. In the mobile app, tap your profile picture, select your current status, choose Out of office and turn on Set auto reply.
Does the Teams out of office message also reply to emails?
Yes. Teams and Outlook share one setting, so saving an out of office in Teams turns on Outlook automatic replies with the same message and dates, and editing it in Outlook updates Teams. Write it so it works in both places: short enough to read as a status, complete enough for a client's inbox.
To
Everyone leaving soon
From
Department of Being Elsewhere
Re
Before you go
The auto reply is one of five things. The other four take about ten minutes and prevent most of the emails you will read when you get back.