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

General
1

I’m trying to set up an automatic out of office reply in the Outlook mobile app but I can’t find the right settings. I’ve checked my account options and notification settings, but nothing seems to clearly say vacation responder or automatic replies. I need this for an upcoming trip so coworkers and clients know I’m unavailable. Can someone walk me through how to turn on out of office in the Outlook app on iOS or Android?

2

Yeah, Outlook hides this a bit on mobile.

On the Outlook mobile app:

  1. Open the Outlook app.
  2. Tap your profile icon at the top left.
  3. Tap the gear icon at the bottom left for Settings.
  4. Under “Mail accounts,” pick the account you want.
  5. Look for “Automatic replies.”
    • Sometimes it sits under “Account info.”
    • On some versions it is under “Advanced settings.”
  6. Toggle “Automatic replies” on.
  7. Turn on “Reply only during a time period” if you want start and end dates.
  8. Type your out of office message in the box.
  9. If it shows options for:
    • Inside my organization
    • Outside my organization
      Set both if you want external people to get it.
  10. Hit the checkmark or “Done” at the top.

Couple of things that trip people up:

  • If your account is a regular IMAP or POP account, automatic replies will not show. It needs Exchange, Office 365, Outlook.com or similar. Those run the auto reply on the server.
  • If you use Gmail in Outlook, auto reply in the app will not work for true vacation replies. You need to set that in Gmail settings instead.
  • If you only see “Focused Inbox,” “Sync contacts,” “Notifications,” etc, and nothing about automatic replies, the account type does not support server side replies.

Quick test:
After you turn it on, send yourself an email from a different email address. Wait a couple of minutes. If no reply comes back, check if the account is an Exchange or Microsoft 365 one. If it is not, you need to set the out of office on the provider’s site, not in the Outlook app.

3

Outlook makes this way more confusing than it needs to be, so you’re not missing something obvious.

@jeff already covered where the option should live in the app. Instead of repeating that, here’s how I’d troubleshoot why you’re not seeing anything that looks like “vacation reply”:

  1. Confirm what kind of account it is

    • In the Outlook app, go to Settings → tap your mail account.
    • Look at the account type:
      • If it says Exchange, Office 365, Microsoft 365, or Outlook.com, then server-side automatic replies are supported.
      • If it says IMAP, POP, or it’s clearly Gmail/Yahoo/iCloud, Outlook’s own “Automatic replies” might not exist or will be very limited.

  2. If it’s a Microsoft 365 / Exchange account and you still don’t see Automatic replies
    A few possibilities:

    • Your org’s admin has disabled the feature on mobile or restricted external replies.
    • The Outlook app UI is in “simplified” mode after an update.
    • You’re actually in the wrong place in Settings.

    Try this:

    • In Settings, instead of tapping notifications or general settings, tap the specific email account name itself, then slowly scroll every section. Sometimes “Automatic replies” is below “Sync settings” or “Organize mail by thread,” not in the spot @jeff described.
    • If your org uses Intune / Company Portal and you’re on a corporate device, some toggles just won’t appear if IT disabled them. In that case you’ll have to use Outlook on the web or desktop.

  3. If you’re using Gmail (or other non-Microsoft account) in Outlook
    This is where Outlook gets annoying:

    • The “vacation reply” actually lives on the provider, not in Outlook.
    • For Gmail:
      • Open a browser, go to Gmail → Settings → See all settings → “Vacation responder.”
      • Turn it on there, set dates and message.
    • For Yahoo, iCloud, etc, same idea: use their web interface and look for “Vacation response” or “Away message.”

    Outlook will still sync your mail, but the auto reply is fired from Gmail/Yahoo’s servers, not from the app.

  4. Use Outlook on the web as a workaround
    If it’s a Microsoft work/school account and the mobile app is being stubborn:

    • On your phone or computer browser, sign in at:
      • https://outlook.office.com for Microsoft 365 / work / school
      • https://outlook.live.com for Outlook.com / Hotmail
    • Go to Settings (gear icon) → “Out of office” or “Automatic replies.”
    • Set it there. The rule runs server-side, so it does not matter which device you used to turn it on.

  5. Quick way to see if it’s working

    • Send an email to that address from totally outside (like a personal Gmail).
    • Wait a couple minutes.
    • If no reply:
      • Check you actually finished & saved the setting on the server (web/desktop).
      • Make sure your message is not set to respond only inside the organization.
      • Confirm your dates are correct and not in the past.

  6. If you truly need it from mobile only
    If you absolutely must do it from the phone and:

    • You don’t see “Automatic replies” in Outlook
    • And your provider is Gmail/Yahoo/etc

    Then you’ll need:

    • The native Gmail/Yahoo app to set their own vacation responder, or
    • A browser on your phone to open their web settings and enable the auto reply there.

I’ll slightly disagree with @jeff on one subtle point: using Gmail’s vacation responder does count as a “true” vacation reply, just not controlled by Outlook. Outlook is basically just a fancy remote control for your mailbox; the real power switch for auto replies lives on whatever service actually hosts the email.

4

You’re not crazy, Outlook mobile really buries this.

Instead of rehashing @jeff’s path to where Automatic replies should be, here are a few extra angles that often solve the “it’s just not there” problem:

1. Check if you’re on the new Outlook mobile UI

Microsoft quietly A/B tests layouts.

  • Update the Outlook app to the latest version from your app store.
  • After updating, force close the app and reopen.
  • Go to Settings → tap the mail account again. The Automatic replies toggle sometimes appears only after a fresh UI refresh.

I’ve seen the option literally appear after an update without changing the account at all.

2. Outlook mobile sometimes hides features until the account re-syncs

If your account was just added or reconfigured:

  1. In Outlook, remove that account.
  2. Close the app completely.
  3. Add the account again.
  4. Wait a few minutes with the app open so it finishes a full sync.
  5. Now recheck: Settings → tap your account → scroll slowly.

It is ridiculous, but I’ve watched the “Automatic replies” row show up only after a full re-add.

3. Use Outlook app only as a trigger via a rule (desktop/web needed once)

If you can reach a desktop or web once, you can avoid hunting this on mobile every time:

  1. On Outlook for desktop or web, create a server-side rule instead of classic “Automatic replies.”
  2. Example:
    • Condition: “When messages arrive” & “sent to me”
    • Action: “Reply using a specific template”
  3. Save that rule and just disable/enable it next time you are out.

Then, in the Outlook mobile app, you do not even need the out-of-office screen:

  • Go to Settings → “Mail rules” (if your tenant exposes them).
  • Toggle that rule on or off from mobile.

That workaround often survives whatever UX shuffle Microsoft is doing.

4. If your admin disabled mobile OOF but not rules

This is where I slightly disagree with @jeff: even if admins block the built‑in automatic replies menu on mobile, they often forget to block rules management.

So:

  • Ask IT if “Automatic replies” is blocked only on mobile.
  • If yes, ask them to allow rules, or to create a reusable “Vacation reply” rule for you that you can toggle.

It is less pretty than the dedicated Out of Office screen, but it is still a server-side auto responder.

5. Outlook is just a remote control, so pick your controller

If it is a non‑Microsoft account (Gmail, etc.), I would actually recommend using the provider’s own app on mobile to configure vacation replies instead of fighting Outlook’s half-implementation.

  • For example, with Gmail, using the Gmail app’s vacation responder is clear and fast.
  • Outlook will keep syncing mail just fine, and the responder is still “real” since it lives on the provider’s server.

This is where I differ slightly from some of @jeff’s framing: for day‑to‑day reliability, the “true” owner of the mailbox is usually the least buggy place to manage vacation replies, even if that means not touching Outlook at all.

6. About the product title: ``

Since you mentioned an out of office / vacation style setup, I’ll quickly frame pros and cons as if you were comparing an Outlook-based solution like Outlook automatic out of office reply versus alternatives:

Pros of Outlook automatic out of office reply:

  • Server-side: works even if your phone is off.
  • One place to control both internal and external replies.
  • Integrated with work calendars and presence (sometimes Teams, too).

Cons of Outlook automatic out of office reply:

  • Mobile UI is inconsistent and sometimes hides options.
  • Corporate policies can silently turn pieces off.
  • Non‑Microsoft accounts often end up with partial or confusing controls.

If you want something reliable from your phone only, many people end up mixing Outlook with the native Gmail/Yahoo/iCloud tools rather than relying solely on Outlook’s mobile interface.

Bottom line:

  • First, update the app and re-add the account, then recheck the account-specific settings screen.
  • If it still is not there and it is a work or school account, assume your admin or UI variant hid it and set the auto reply in a browser once, then manage with rules or the provider’s own app going forward.