How To Set Up An Out Of Office Auto-Reply In Microsoft 365

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How To Set Up An Out Of Office Auto-Reply In Microsoft 365. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Setting up an out-of-office auto-reply in Microsoft 365 ensures that anyone who emails you while you are away receives an automatic response. This is ideal for informing clients and colleagues that you are unavailable, when you expect to return, and who to contact in your absence. This guide covers configuring automatic replies in Microsoft Outlook, including setting start and end dates and customising messages for internal and external senders.

Quick Fix Steps

1. Open Microsoft Outlook (desktop app or Outlook on the web).
2. Navigate to the automatic replies settings.
3. Enable automatic replies and set your start and end dates.
4. Compose your internal and external response messages.
5. Save your settings to activate the auto-reply.

Detailed Instructions

Microsoft Outlook Desktop App (Windows)

1. Open Microsoft Outlook.
2. Select the File tab in the top-left corner.
3. Click Automatic Replies (Out of Office).
4. Select Send automatic replies.
5. If you want replies to only send during a specific period, check Only send during this time range and set your Start time and End time.
6. On the Inside My Organisation tab, type the message you want colleagues to receive.
7. On the Outside My Organisation tab, type the message for external contacts. You can choose to send replies to My Contacts only or Anyone outside my organisation.
8. Click OK to save and activate your auto-reply.

Outlook on the Web (Outlook.com / Microsoft 365)

1. Sign in to Outlook on the web at outlook.office.com.
2. Click the Settings (gear) icon in the top-right corner.
3. Select Mail, then choose Automatic replies.
4. Toggle Automatic replies on.
5. Optionally, check Send replies only during a time period and enter your start and end dates.
6. Enter your message under Send a reply once to each sender inside my organisation.
7. Check Send replies outside your organisation if you want external contacts to receive a response, then enter that message.
8. Click Save.

Turning Off Your Out of Office Reply

1. Return to the Automatic Replies settings (via File > Automatic Replies in desktop Outlook, or Settings > Mail > Automatic replies on the web).
2. Select Do not send automatic replies or toggle the setting off.
3. Click OK or Save to confirm.

Troubleshooting

Auto-reply is not sending

• Ensure you selected Send automatic replies and saved your changes.
• Verify that your date range is correctly configured if you enabled time restrictions.
• Confirm you are editing the correct mailbox if you have multiple accounts configured in Outlook.

External contacts are not receiving replies

• Check that Send replies outside your organisation is enabled.
• If you chose My Contacts only, recipients not saved in your contacts will not receive an auto-reply.
• Review any mail flow rules that may be blocking automatic responses.

If your out-of-office reply is still not working after following these steps, there may be a broader issue with your email delivery. See our guide on Email not sending or receiving for further assistance.

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