Troubleshooting Facebook Chat Offline Settings

With service updates and the addition of new features, Facebook Chat is continuously improving. Yet, with each new improvement, it seems new problems arise, some lasting several days while others improving within hours.

One of the most common Facebook Chat problems reported by users is the inability to set the IM client offline while using the social network. Despite setting Facebook Chat offline, users said they were still able to receive instant messages from contacts.

If you are experiencing this issue, the steps in this tutorial should help you block IMs on your Facebook account.

To begin, click the "Chat" tab located in the bottom, right corner to open the Facebook Chat buddy list.

Next, locate the availability tabs next to each Facebook Chat friends list group. Most of these tabs will appear on a green slider, with the possible exception of a list of blocked contacts.

Hover your cursor above the tab and click it to set the group offline.

Next, click on the slider for each Facebook Chat friends list group you wish to turn offline.

As you disable each list group, the slider will turn gray. If you hover the cursor above the tab, you will see a balloon with the words "Go Online" pop up. To enable chat again for a particular friend list on Facebook Chat, click the tab again.

Online groups will appear with a green tab.