How do I set an out-of-office reply in the Outlook mobile app?

General
1

I’ll be away from work for a week and need my Outlook app to automatically send out-of-office replies, but I can’t find the option anywhere in the mobile settings. I’m worried I’ll miss important emails while I’m gone. Can someone explain, step by step, how to turn on an out-of-office or automatic reply using the Outlook app on my phone, and mention if it’s different for work vs personal accounts?

2

Yeah, Outlook hid this in a weird spot on mobile.

Here is how to set it in the Outlook mobile app:

  1. Open the Outlook app.
  2. Tap your profile icon in the top left.
  3. Tap the gear icon at the bottom for Settings.
  4. Scroll to the “Mail Accounts” section.
  5. Tap the work account you want the auto reply on.
  6. Look for “Automatic replies”.
  7. Turn “Automatic replies” on.

Now you have two options, depending on your account type.

For Office 365 / work account:
8. You should see:
• “Send replies only to my organization”
• “Send replies to all external senders”
Pick what you want.
9. Type your message in the internal reply box.
10. If there is a separate box for “Outside my organization”, type a version for clients or external folks.
11. Turn on the option to set a time period.
12. Choose start date and time, then end date and time.
13. Save / check mark.

For Outlook.com or some IMAP accounts:
You might only see a simple automatic reply toggle and one text box.
In that case:
8. Turn it on.
9. Enter your away message.
10. If there is “Send during this time period”, set your start and end.
11. Save.

If you do not see “Automatic replies” at all:
• Check if the account is added as:
Settings > Your account > Advanced settings. Sometimes you added it as IMAP instead of Exchange.
• Auto replies need an Exchange / Microsoft 365 / Outlook.com type account.
IMAP accounts often do not handle server side auto replies from the app.

Workaround if the option is missing:

  1. Use a browser on your phone or laptop.
  2. Go to Outlook on the web:
    https://outlook.office.com for work/school
    https://outlook.live.com for Outlook.com
  3. Sign in.
  4. Click the gear icon.
  5. Search for “Automatic replies”.
  6. Set your out of office there with a time range.

Those replies run on the server, so they work even if your phone is off all week.

Quick example text you can paste:

Subject: Out of office

Hi,
Thanks for your email. I am out of the office from [start date] to [end date] with limited access to email.
For urgent issues, contact [backup name] at [email] or [phone].
I will respond after I return.

If you want to double check it works, send yourself a test email from a personal account after you turn it on, then wait a couple minutes.

3

@boswandelaar covered the “how to tap through the menus” pretty well, so I’ll skip the click-by-click and focus on what usually trips people up and how to make sure it actually works while you’re gone.

  1. First, check what type of account you’re using
    Outlook mobile can only create real server-side out-of-office replies if your account is:

    • Microsoft 365 / Office 365 work or school
    • Exchange / Exchange Online
    • Outlook.com / Hotmail / Live

    If your work mail was added as IMAP or POP, the app itself can’t truly do automatic replies on the server. In that case, you won’t see the Automatic replies option at all in the account settings. People waste a lot of time hunting around the app for a toggle that literally doesn’t exist for their setup.

  2. How to check that
    In Settings > tap your account > look at the account type:

    • If it says Exchange, Office 365, Outlook.com etc, you’re fine.
    • If it says IMAP or POP, that’s the problem. Outlook mobile isn’t hiding the feature, it just cannot manage server-side auto replies for that protocol.

  3. If your account is IMAP / POP
    This is the part most guides kind of gloss over:

    • Ask your IT to give you an Exchange / Microsoft 365 connection instead of IMAP, or
    • Set the out of office in the actual mail system your company uses (often via a webmail portal or admin panel). Outlook mobile is just a viewer at that point, not the brains.
    • Do not rely on any “vacation rule” that runs only in the app. If your phone is off, or iOS / Android kills the app in the background, those replies will just stop.

  4. Best way to be sure it works
    Even if you configure it in the app:

    • Go to Outlook on the web (work: outlook.office.com, personal: outlook.live.com).
    • Set or at least check Automatic replies there.
      If the settings you changed in the app show up correctly in the web interface, you know it’s server-side and will run while your phone is in a suitcase under a bed somewhere.

  5. Test it properly
    A lot of people send a test mail from their work account to themselves, which won’t usually trigger the reply the way they expect. Instead:

    • Send an email from a different account (like Gmail) to your work address.
    • Wait a few minutes before assuming it failed. Some systems throttle or only send the auto reply once per sender per period.

  6. Don’t forget to set an end time
    Slight disagreement with how people often do it: I’d strongly recomend always using the time range option instead of turning it on manually and “remembering” to turn it off. Nobody remembers.

    • Set the start for just before you leave.
    • Set the end for the morning you come back.
      If you return early, you can always switch it off manually.

  7. Content of the message
    Keep it short, but cover:

    • Dates you’re away
    • How responsive you’ll be (none / limited)
    • A backup contact (name, email, phone)
    • What happens to their mail (you’ll reply after returning, or someone else is handling it)

    Example you can adapt:

    I’m out of the office from March 3 to March 10 with limited access to email.
    For urgent matters, contact Jamie at support@example.com or 555-123-4567.
    I’ll respond to your message after I return.

If you walk through all that and still don’t see an Automatic replies option and your account type is Exchange / Microsoft 365, then it’s usually one of these:

  • Company policy disabling it in mobile apps
  • Old app version or buggy install
    In that case, try:
  • Updating the Outlook app
  • Removing and re-adding the account using the “Exchange / Microsoft 365” option
  • If it’s a corporate phone, checking with IT because they sometimes lock this down via device management

Once you’ve set it on the web (which I’d do no matter what), you can stop worrying about missing important emails. The server will handle the replies whether your phone is on, off, dead, or at the bottom of a lake.

4

Short version: if you already tried to find the “Automatic replies” switch in the Outlook mobile app and it is not there, stop hunting in the menus and zoom out a bit. The issue is usually the account and policy, not the app.

I’ll skip the tap-by-tap paths that @boswandelaar explained and focus on what you can still control so your week away is actually stress free.

1. Forget relying only on the Outlook mobile app

Even if you can see and toggle Automatic replies in the Outlook mobile app, I would not treat the phone as your primary control center. Mobile is convenient, but:

Pros of using the app as your main OOF control:

  • Quick last minute edits at the airport
  • Easy to extend or shorten your away dates
  • Works well if your organization allows it

Cons:

  • Mobile app bugs or updates can silently break the UI
  • MDM / company policies can hide or override options
  • Tiny screen encourages you to set it in a rush and forget to test

So instead of fighting the app, treat it as a remote control for a server feature. The real goal is: “Is my auto reply configured on the server and does it trigger from any device?” not “Did I slide a toggle in this app?”

2. Double safety: configure your out of office in more than one place

I slightly disagree with the idea that using the Outlook web interface is only for checking. In practice, the most reliable setup looks like this:

  1. Primary configuration:
    Use your main desktop client or webmail to set the auto reply.

    • That is usually where IT expects you to manage server features.
    • Policies and options are often clearer there.

  2. Mobile as backup / on the road:
    Use Outlook mobile to:

    • Extend end date if your trip gets longer
    • Change the message if your backup contact changes
    • Quickly switch off replies the moment you are back

If your organization syncs these properly, changing it in one place updates the others.

3. If you genuinely cannot find the option in Outlook mobile

Assuming your account type supports it, and you still do not see Automatic replies:

Likely reasons:

  • Your company disabled that control on mobile devices
  • The device is managed and the profile hides certain settings
  • Cached or older app state after a policy change

What actually helps:

  • Sign out of the account in Outlook mobile, then sign back in, so it pulls fresh policy.
  • If it is a work managed device, look in your device management app (Intune Company Portal, similar) for notes about “email” or “exchange”. There is often a clue there about restrictions.
  • Ask IT specifically: “Is mobile management blocking the Out of Office option?” rather than “My app is broken.” That gets you a faster, more precise answer.

4. Test like a paranoid person

Even after everything looks right, assume nothing:

  1. Turn on your automatic reply with a clear date range.
  2. Send yourself a test from a completely different service like Gmail.
  3. Ask a coworker at another company to send one quick test message.
  4. Check whether:
    • They get a single reply
    • The wording is exactly what you expect
    • The reply comes without opening the Outlook mobile app at all

If it works when your phone is in airplane mode, you are done. Your out of office message is clearly running on the server.

5. About using an “out of office” template or product name

You mentioned needing it to “automatically send out of office replies” and being worried about missing important emails. Outlook and the associated backend already give you most of what a dedicated “vacation responder” tool would. The key is using those correctly instead of chasing a separate product.

Pros of relying on the built in “out of office reply in the Outlook mobile app” behavior:

  • Integrated with your calendar and status
  • Fully controlled by your mail server and admin policies
  • No extra logins or external tools to maintain

Cons:

  • Behavior and options vary depending on account type and corporate policy
  • Mobile surface can hide settings your desktop client exposes clearly
  • You may be blocked from editing it on the phone altogether if IT chooses

Given that, your best “product” is actually your existing Outlook / Exchange environment, plus a habit: configure once in your main client, confirm by external test, then only use mobile for small edits.

6. Quick checklist before you walk out the door

  • Auto reply configured with start and end date
  • Separate internal and external messages if your org supports it
  • Backup contact named and reachable
  • Tested from a non-work account
  • Verified that replies arrive even when Outlook mobile is closed

If all of that checks out, you can stop fiddling with the Outlook app on your phone and go enjoy your week away.