Presence Sync with PBX

Overview

Microsoft Teams displays a presence indicator (Available, Busy, Do Not Disturb, Away, etc.) to show a user’s current availability. By default, this status only reflects activity within Teams itself. Presence Sync extends this by allowing a PBX or other external system (such as a contact center) to update a Teams user’s presence, and vice versa, ensuring that presence status stays consistent across both platforms.

This is especially useful in environments where users handle calls on both Teams and a desk phone or other non-Teams endpoint. Without Presence Sync, a user who is actively on a PBX call may still appear as Available in Teams, leading to duplicate calls or interruptions.

How It Works

PBX → Teams (External System Updates Teams Presence)

When a Teams user answers a call on a non-Teams device (e.g., a desk phone), the PBX detects the off-hook state and signals the integration to update the user’s Teams presence to Busy. When the call ends and the device goes on-hook, Teams presence is automatically set back to Available.

Example scenario:

1. An inbound call rings on both Teams and the user’s desk phone.

2. The user picks up the call on the desk phone.

3. The PBX sends an off-hook notification, and the user’s Teams status changes to Busy.

4. The user hangs up. The PBX sends an on-hook notification, and Teams status returns to Available.

Teams → PBX (Teams Presence Updates PBX Status)

In the inverse scenario, changes to a user’s Teams presence can automatically update their status on the PBX. For example, if a user sets their Teams status to Do Not Disturb, the PBX can pause inbound call routing to that user. This is currently supported on the following PBX platforms using the NS-As-Feature-Event setting: Netsapiens, RingLogix, United Cloud, and Viirtue. For more details, see Pause Inboud Calling based on Presence.

How to Enable

Step 1: Grant Consent

The Enterprise Admin must grant permission for the ConnecttoTeams application to access user presence data from Microsoft Teams. This is a one-time setup per enterprise.

1. Log in to the ConnecttoTeams Enterprise Portal.

2. Navigate to the Dashboard.
   A Grant Consent action item will be displayed in the Action Items section.
   

3. Click Grant Consent button.
   A Microsoft permissions dialog will appear, requesting authorization for the integration application to read user presence information.
   

4. Tick the box for Consent on behalf of your organization.

5. Click Accept to grant consent.

Important

If consent is not granted, presence sharing will not work for any users in the enterprise through this application.

Step 2: Verify

Once permissions have been granted, the Dashboard Action Items will update to confirm that Presence Sync consent has been granted.

Troubleshooting

• Presence not updating in Teams: Verify that consent has been granted in the Enterprise Portal Dashboard. If the Grant Consent action item still appears, consent has not yet been completed.

• Presence not updating on the PBX: Confirm that the PBX platform supports Teams → PBX presence sync and that the NS-As-Feature-Event setting is enabled.

• Consent was revoked or expired: The Enterprise Admin may need to re-grant consent from the Dashboard Action Items.