Setting your online status for Talk

Ref: B01 · Track: Channels · Time to complete: ~3 min

Why this matters

Zendesk Talk is "pull" — calls only ring agents who are Online. Set your status wrong and you'll either miss every call or keep the queue stuck while you're on lunch.

The four statuses

Click your avatar in the top-right. The Talk status options are:

Online

You are taking calls. Inbound calls can ring your browser.

Transfers only

You are not taking new inbound calls, but you can accept warm transfers from colleagues (see B03). Use this when you're deep in a ticket and need to protect your focus, but don't want to be unreachable.

Away

You're briefly unavailable. Calls don't ring you, and — depending on admin config — they either go to the next Online agent or the queue. Use for short breaks (bathroom, coffee).

Offline

You are logged out of Talk entirely. Calls route to other agents or voicemail. Use at end of shift.

How to change it

1. Click your avatar, top-right.
2. Click the phone icon in the dropdown.
3. Pick your new status.
4. Your status propagates instantly — no refresh needed.

When each one is the right choice

Common mistakes

• Leaving Online on over lunch. Calls ring for 30s and fail when nobody answers. Customers hear dead air. Set yourself Away.
• Using Away when you're going home. Away still counts you in the queue slightly. Use Offline at end of shift.
• Forgetting to come back Online. Walking back from lunch and going straight into ticket work without toggling back — the queue's still missing you. Check your avatar badge.

⚠️ Your status is sticky across tabs but not across logins. If you sign out and sign back in, you default to Offline — you need to flip back to Online.

What the indicators look like

In the top bar, the dot next to your avatar reflects your Talk status: - 🟢 Green — Online - 🟡 Yellow — Away or Transfers only - ⚪ Grey — Offline

Team leads watching the live dashboard see the same dots for the whole team.

Quick check — have you got this?

• You need 30 minutes deep-focus time but want to be available if a teammate needs you. Which status?
• You're going on a 5-minute bathroom break. Away or Offline?
• You come back from lunch and forget to toggle. How long before a call rings you?

Related articles

• B02 — Answer your first phone call in Talk
• B03 — Warm transfer: introduce before handing over
• D05 — Live dashboards for Talk