How to set up out-of-office reply

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to set up out-of-office reply. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Overview

Set up an automatic reply to inform people when you’re unavailable, on vacation, or out of the office.

Set up in Outlook Desktop (Windows)

Method 1: Quick setup

1. Click File in the top menu.
2. Click Automatic Replies.
3. Select Send automatic replies.
4. Check “Send replies only during this time period”.
5. Set your start and end dates/times.
6. Type your message in the inside box.
7. Click OK.

Method 2: Detailed message

1. Follow the steps above.
2. Click the Outside My Organization tab.
3. Add a reply for external senders (optional but recommended).
4. Click OK.

Sample out‑of‑office message

Hello,

Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office with limited access to email.

I will return on [date] and will respond to your message as soon as possible.

For urgent matters, please contact [colleague name] at [email/phone].

Best regards,

Set up in Outlook on the Web

1. Go to outlook.office.com.
2. Click Settings (gear icon ⚙️).
3. Search for “automatic replies”.
4. Click Automatic replies.
5. Turn on Automatic replies.
6. Set your time range.
7. Type your message.
8. Optionally add different replies for external senders.
9. Click Save.

Set up on Mobile

Outlook app (iOS/Android)

1. Open Outlook.
2. Tap your profile picture.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap Mail → Automatic replies.
5. Turn on automatic replies.
6. Set your dates and message.

Important reminders

• Turn it off: Remember to disable when you return.
• Internal vs external: Consider separate messages for each.
• Update your status: Set Teams status to “Out of Office” too. See How to create Teams channel for guidance.
• Delegate: Have a colleague handle urgent matters.
• Mailbox type: Automatic replies are only available for Exchange/Office 365 mailboxes. POP or IMAP accounts cannot use this feature.
• External replies: If external automatic replies are disabled by your organisation’s admin settings, they will not be sent.

Combine with Teams status

To update your Teams status:

1. Click your profile picture in Teams.
2. Select Set status message.
3. Choose “Out of office” or set a custom message.
4. Click Set status message.

Troubleshooting

Need help?

If you cannot find the automatic replies settings or need to set up complex rules, open a ticket.

Still Having Issues?