I need help setting up the Out Of Office reply in the Outlook app. Every time I attempt, I can’t find the correct steps or location within the mobile app. Could you provide detailed guidance or point me to the option? It’s urgent as I need this for upcoming time away.
Oh man, setting up Out of Office in the Outlook app can feel like navigating a labyrinth for no reason. But don’t worry, I got you. Here’s the step-by-step breakdown so you can finally stop banging your head against the wall:
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Open the Outlook App (obviously).
Make sure you’re signed into the account you need to set the Out of Office reply for. If not… well, you’re already starting in the wrong place. -
Tap on Your Profile Picture at the top left (or the initials circle if you’re one of those no-profile-pic people).
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Go to “Settings”—you’ll see a little gear icon at the bottom left. This is where all the magic is supposed to happen.
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Find Your Mail Account
Scroll down—it’s under the Accounts section, and you’ll need to tap on the email account you want to set the auto-reply for (if you’ve got multiple, don’t mix them up). -
Look for “Automatic Replies”
Once you’re in the account settings, there should be an option for “Automatic Replies” or something like that. Tap on it. If you don’t see it, either something is weird with your account setup, or it might not even support Out of Office in the mobile app. Thanks, Microsoft. -
Enable Automatic Replies
Turn it on—and this is where you craft your masterpiece of a vacation excuse. Write whatever you want your reply to say, like “I’m too busy sipping margaritas to answer emails,” or be professional, whatever works for you. -
Set Time Range (Optional)
If you only want it active for specific dates, toggle the option to set a start and end time so you don’t forget to disable it later. Otherwise, it’ll stay on… forever… which is awkward. -
Save and Close
There’s typically a checkmark, ‘Save,’ or back button to confirm everything. Make sure you don’t just exit like a chaotic gremlin or it won’t stick.
And that’s it. Should be live unless you’ve managed to miss something. Keep in mind, the desktop version has fancier controls if you need custom rules or more advanced junk.
P.S. If you legit can’t find this at all, double-check your app is updated, and if your account is something like a POP/IMAP setup, you might need desktop Outlook or web access instead. Microsoft loves to make things unnecessarily complicated like that.
Ugh, isn’t it wild how such a basic feature can feel unnecessarily convoluted in the Outlook app? @boswandelaar covered the essentials pretty well, but just to riff off that—if your settings look different or you’re banging your head trying to find ‘Automatic Replies,’ here’s why: it might not appear in the Outlook mobile app for certain account types like IMAP/POP. Seriously, who even uses POP anymore, right?
Anyway, if the option stubbornly refuses to show up, you can actually bypass the app mess altogether and try setting it up on Outlook Web instead (assuming your account works with Exchange or Microsoft 365). Just log in via a browser, navigate to Settings (gear icon) > View All Outlook Settings > Mail > Automatic Replies. It’s a cleaner interface for this, honestly.
Pro tip: If you’re managing multiple accounts and your work address supports it, the desktop Outlook or web versions let you create customized rules or exceptions. Mobile app? Forget it—it’s pretty bare-bones and frustrating like that.
Side note: While @boswandelaar mentions updating your app might solve it, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Microsoft updates tend to fix one thing and mess up three others (looking at you, Teams). If all else fails, grab a desktop or web device. It sucks, I know, but at least it’ll work.