Enhancement Request - add an "away" icon to Teams Meetings

[cobrev]

As a frequent participant in Teams meetings, I need to indicate to other attendees that I am "away" so that I can step out for a short time without interrupting the call. With this, I could grab a beverage refill or take a restroom break when necessary. Other participants would know that I'm unavailable for that time.

Entering a message in the chat often feels disruptive, or even rude to the active speaker. I'd like to see an icon similar the Raised Hand icon that indicates I will be right back. For example, I've observed that many businesses use the coffee mug emoji in WebEx to serve this purpose.

[#2 · Accepted solution]

Hello @cobrev   There is an "appear away" option that is available.  I'm told by the engineers that others see "away" but since I can't look at my own profile unless I'm logged in as someone else I can't personally verify that.

[#3]

@ThereseSolimeno thanks for the reply! Do you guidance or a screenshot for where that is located? I do not see such an icon in the meeting window. Or are they referring to the main Teams status? I am looking for something specific to an active meeting.

[#4]

Hi @cobrev   This is found in the main teams app where you click on your photo.

[#5]

@cobrev I use a workaround and join another Teams meeting which is just myself. This shows me as 'On Hold' in my existing meeting.

[#6]

Came out to the web to see if anyone else had this idea. I think this is as critical as ever. Couple of things:
1) The Away status isn't always visible when having meetings across organizations, which is often for client-facing teams. Also you can't go back to In a Meeting or In a Call status, only Available, Busy, or DND.
2) Jumping into a hold meeting is a clever idea, but I don't see all people doing that. It's just not easy enough to assume people of all skill levels will do it. But I might start doing it and seeing if I can get my org to adopt it.
3) Having some kind of indication that everyone is back from a break is especially key during meetings. When the presenter(s) says, "everyone come back in 10 minutes" he or she (or they) doesn't (don't) know and can't possibly tell if everyone is back without taking a roll call down the attendee roster.

[#7]

Teams made by the Microsoft. So don't expect any user friendly features. Those code writers are in there own world, never see it uses eye. @cobrev 

[#8]

@cobrev 

what you can do is start a separate meeting with yourself and you'll show up as "Hold" in your first meeting.