What sets you Away
An idle, locked or sleeping computer. Teams treats it as you stepping away.
The mobile app in the background. A phone that is not in use contributes Away.
Your other sessions. Teams combines presence from all your signed-in devices; a status you set yourself overrides the automatic state, and Busy or Do not disturb outrank Available.
Other apps time out differently: Slack sets you away after 10 minutes, and the away timers table compares the rest.
Quick fixes
For a known stretch, set Busy or Do not disturb with a duration (Teams allows one for every status except Available), then reset it when you are done.
Close old browser sessions and check the phone app while you test.
Keep the computer awake for the stretch you need, accepting that closing the lid ends it.
A mouse jiggler keeps Teams Available only while the computer is on and unlocked.
A schedule that does not need your laptop
OnlineHours sets your Teams presence from its servers during the hours you choose. For Teams in your browser at teams.live.com, the recommended connection is the free Teams Connector, with no admin approval. Work and school accounts use Microsoft sign-in (Presence.ReadWrite), which some organizations must approve first. Your laptop can be closed, and outside your hours Teams goes back to normal.
Read the full guide to keeping Teams Available for setup and troubleshooting.
Keep your status on your hours, laptop closed
OnlineHours sets Slack, Teams or ClickUp to online from its servers during the hours you choose, and stops outside them.
Teams can hold Busy or Do not disturb for a set time for free, but not Available. OnlineHours keeps you Available on your schedule every day with no device awake.
One app, no card. Nothing is charged when it ends.
Common questions
Can I change the Teams Away timer?
Not as a user setting. You can give any status except Available a duration, or use a schedule.
Why am I Busy instead of Available?
Meetings and calls outrank Available. That is expected.