Microsoft Teams | Automatic “Home Office / Office” Status

Microsoft is announcing a Teams update for the end of 2025 that will automatically set your work location as soon as your device is connected to the company Wi-Fi. For many, this sounds like convenience. For others, more control. For admins, it means: clean planning, transparent information and technically correct implementation.

Abstract

• Teams reads the affiliation to the company Wi-Fi and thus automatically sets your work location in the profile.
• Feature is off by default and must be enabled by the tenant admin, often with the user opt-in.
• Data protection and co-determination are central. Without clear rules and consents, there is a risk of conflicts.
• Technically, SSID spoofs are not a useful workaround. Expect plausibility checks such as network IP rooms.
• Admins should define policies, consent texts, retention and visibility at an early stage.

What exactly is coming

Teams will be able to automatically set your Work Location status when you connect to corporate Wi-Fi. Instead of manually specifying the location, Teams recognizes the office location and displays it in the profile. According to the roadmap, the rollout is planned for Windows and macOS. The feature is initially deactivated. Whether and how it becomes active is decided by your IT. End-user consent is often required.

How could the detection work

Microsoft only mentions the core mechanism in the roadmap: Connection to the organizational Wi-Fi triggers the setting of the work location. A comparison of technical characteristics of the network is obvious. These include defined SSIDs in the admin center, internal IP rooms or other network parameters. Therefore, simply renaming the private Wi-Fi SSID will not get you anywhere. You should assume that Teams uses multiple signals to avoid false detections.

What does this mean for admins

Governance and transparency: Determine what the information will be used for “in the office”. Orientation and room booking are ok. Checking performance or attendance is tricky. Document the purpose, location, and visibility of the info on the intranet or in your IT policy. Make it clear that the feature is not intended for continuous monitoring.

Consent flow: If you rely on consent, you need clear invitation and consent texts. Example: In the first activation phase, a dialog appears in Teams that explains what is happening, why it is happening and how to object. Offer revocation at any time and describe the consequences of the revocation.

Co-determination: In Germany, the topic belongs in the works agreement. Rules for activation, visibility, evaluation, available exceptions and deletion are included. Without a BV and without a viable legal basis, this will not work in many companies.

Data protection and retention: Treat location information as potentially sensitive metadata. Define retention periods. Make sure that evaluations are only possible in aggregated form and only by authorized bodies. Build in a process for access and deletion.

What does this mean for users?

You will probably be asked at the first activation whether Teams is allowed to set your work location based on the company Wi-Fi. Read the note and make a conscious decision. If you have any objections, talk to IT or the works council. It is important that you get transparency about the use of your data, as well as an easy way to unsubscribe.

Technical implementation and limits

Location model: Your IT maintains office locations and the associated network features. If Teams detects a connection to a known network, it sets the place of work. For campus networks with several buildings, the assignment is more fine, but for guest WLANs, IT has to decide whether these are taken into account.

Visibility: Define who sees the place of work. Only in the 1:1 profile, in the people picker or in reports. Limit reporting to what is necessary and do without historical movement profiles.

Special cases: Multiple locations in one day, remote access, SD-WAN, or private hotspots. Clarify how you handle mismatching. Offer self-service for correction or temporary disconnection.

Recommendations for action | 7 steps

• Set Purpose: What do you use the office status for? Document it briefly and understandably.
• Check the law: Draft BV, evaluate data protection, finalize consent texts.
• Inventory networks: Catalog SSIDs, VLAN rooms, DHCP scopes, guest networks.
• Setting up the pilot: Small group, two to three sites, monitoring of misclassifications.
• Create transparency: FAQ for users, explain the revocation and opt-out path.
• Limit visibility: Only eligible roles are allowed to see aggregated reports.
• Schedule review: Evaluate after 60 days. Check metrics, tighten policies

Automatic setting of the work location can make hybrid collaboration more practical. The setting is decisive. If you as an admin combine transparency, co-determination, clear purposes and technical cleanliness, it becomes a helpful signal instead of a monitoring tool. If you as a user agree and remain in control, trust is maintained. In this way, a potentially sensitive feature becomes a useful building block in everyday life.

Further links