Automatic replies are set on the mailbox itself, not on one device – so however you switch them on, they work everywhere and keep replying with your laptop shut. Which is why the easiest place to set them is often your phone, from the departures lounge.
Outlook on the web (works from anywhere)
- Sign in at outlook.office.com
- Click the gear (top right) and type automatic replies into the settings search box
- Turn on Automatic replies, tick Send replies only during a time period, and set the start and end
- Write one message for people inside your organisation and, if you want, a separate one for outside senders
Outlook on Windows
In classic Outlook: File > Automatic Replies (Out of Office), choose Send automatic replies, set the time range, then fill in the Inside and Outside My Organization tabs. In the new Outlook it’s the gear icon, then Automatic replies.
On your phone
- Open the Outlook app and tap your profile picture (top left)
- Tap the gear, then tap your email account
- Tap Automatic replies and switch it on
Write one that actually helps
- Always set an end date. The reply switches itself off and you’ll never be the person whose “back on the 4th” is still running in February.
- Say when you’re back and who to contact – a name and email address for urgent things beats “I will respond on my return”.
- Keep the outside-organisation version vague. “Limited access to email until Monday” tells a stranger everything they need; your travel plans tell them more than they should know.
Shared mailboxes can have automatic replies too – useful for order confirmations or a seasonal closure notice on info@. Those are set from the admin side, so raise a ticket and we’ll put one on. Same if a colleague is off sick and their inbox needs a reply on it today: we can set one on any mailbox in a couple of minutes.