How Long Before Teams Goes Yellow (Away)? About 5 Minutes

Microsoft Teams takes 5 minutes to go yellow. After 5 minutes without keyboard or mouse input on your computer, it shows you as Away, and it turns yellow at once when you lock the computer. The 5 minutes is in Teams' own code: the Teams web app we read on 27 October 2026 runs an idle timer of 300,000 milliseconds that every key press, mouse move, scroll or touch starts again.

Microsoft's admin documentation gives no number, only "inactive for a few minutes". People on Microsoft's own Q&A forum report 5 minutes, for example in the thread Teams says I'm Away after 5 minutes, and the code output is further down this page. Teams also goes yellow when the Teams app on your phone goes to the background. When the computer sleeps, Teams shows you as Offline. In the desktop app, Teams counts activity anywhere on the computer, not only inside Teams. What admins can see from that activity is in does Microsoft Teams track your activity.

If you use Slack as well, its desktop app waits 10 minutes and also counts input anywhere on the computer (Slack desktop 4.52.178 code, checked 7 Oct 2026). For keeping Teams itself green, see how to keep Teams status available. For a full comparison of the two apps, see Slack vs Teams.

When Teams changes your status

Microsoft Learn describes the computer and mobile rules: on a computer, presence becomes Away if you are inactive for a few minutes or the computer is locked, and Offline when it enters sleep mode; on a mobile device it becomes Away whenever the app is in the background, then Offline after 24 hours of inactivity. Once you are Away or Offline, coworkers also see how long ago Teams last saw you active; see what does Last seen mean on Teams.

How long does Teams stay green?

As long as there is keyboard or mouse input somewhere on your computer, and for 5 minutes after the last input. Working in Word, a browser or another app keeps Teams green, because Teams reads the computer's idle state. A minimized desktop window does not change that, but Teams on the web and on phones can; see does Teams show Away when minimized. Reading a document without touching anything does not.

On a phone, Teams is green only while the app is open on screen. How the phone and the computer combine is in does Teams stay green on mobile.

The 5-minute timer in Teams' code (checked 27 October 2026)

We have no Teams work account to time the yellow dot with a stopwatch, so we read the timer in the code Teams runs. Teams on the web loads its app from teams.microsoft.com/v2 without a sign-in, and a short Python script downloaded those script files on 27 October 2026 and printed the idle settings:

Teams web client fetched 2026-10-27 01:06 UTC - 19 script files, 18543 KB
IdleTracker states: Active, Inactive, LongInactive
MsUntilIdleDefault = 300000 ms = 5 minutes (Active -> Inactive)
MsUntilLongIdleDefault = 1200000 ms = 20 minutes (-> LongInactive)
input events that reset the timer: ["scroll","DOMMouseScroll","mousewheel","touchstart","touchmove","mousemove","keydown"]
also listens for visibilitychange: True

Inactive is the state that shows you as Away. The timer starts again at every key press, mouse move, scroll or touch, so 5 minutes is counted from your last input, not from when you last sent a message. After 20 minutes Teams moves to a second, long-idle state. The value is a default: the code reads a server setting named appIdleTimeoutInMs first and falls back to 300,000 ms only when the server sends none, which is why a few people on Microsoft's forum report other times.

Can you change the Teams away timer?

Not directly. Teams has no setting for the timeout, and admins cannot change it. Every setting that does move the moment you turn Away, with where to find it, is in how to change Teams away time. Microsoft's own advice is to change your device's sleep or idle settings so it takes longer before your status switches to Away, and those settings only help with sleep and lock. Two other controls exist:

• • Set a status with a duration. Select your profile picture, your current status, then Duration, pick a status and a Reset status after time. It works for any status except Available, and Microsoft notes that a more available status does not override a less available one, so a Busy duration will not stop an Away.
• • Teams on the web. Under Settings, Notifications and activity, Presence, turn on the option to keep your current status when you are active outside Teams, and allow the browser's idle detection permission.

Teams vs Slack: how long you stay green

Microsoft Teams	Slack
Idle time before away	5 minutes (300,000 ms in its code)	10 minutes
What counts as activity	Input anywhere on the computer	Input anywhere on the computer (desktop app)
Computer locked	Away	Away
Computer asleep	Offline	Away
Phone app in background	Away	Away

So a USB mouse jiggler keeps both apps green while the computer is awake and unlocked, and Slack waits about twice as long before it marks you away. On a Mac, a software jiggler app may not keep the Slack desktop app active: in our 4 and 8 Oct 2026 tests a 1-pixel cursor move from an app did not reset the idle counter that Slack reads. Google Chat has a third rule: Idle after 5 minutes and Away after 10; see how to keep Google Chat active. The Slack timings are in how long does Slack stay active, and keeping both green is covered in keep Teams and Slack active.

Rocket.Chat also uses 5 minutes, but lets each user change it; see which chat apps let you change the away timer.

Why Teams turns yellow so quickly

Yellow is Away. If you turn yellow faster than 5 minutes, one of these is usually the reason:

• • Screen lock. A lock set by your IT policy after 2 or 3 minutes switches Teams to Away at once.
• • Phone in your pocket. If you last used Teams on your phone, the phone app in the background shows Away.
• • A status you set. "Appear away" stays until you change it.

If Teams stays yellow while you are working, see Teams status stuck on Away. Webex uses a similar rule on desktop; see how to keep Webex status active.

FAQ

Does Teams go Away if I am working in another app?

No, on the desktop app. Teams reads activity on the whole computer. It goes Away when you stop using the computer.

How long does Teams stay Available on mobile?

Only while the app is open on screen. In the background it shows Away.

How long until Teams shows Offline?

On a computer, when it goes to sleep or you sign out. On mobile, after 24 hours of inactivity.

Can admins change the Teams idle timeout?

No. There is no admin setting for it. Outlook shows the same status, so the same timings apply there; see how to keep your Outlook status green.