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

General
1

I’m traveling soon and need to set an automatic out of office reply using the Outlook app on my phone, but I can’t figure out where the option is. I want my coworkers and clients to get an automatic response with my return date when they email me. Can someone walk me through the exact steps on the Outlook mobile app for Android or iOS?

2

Here is where it hides in the Outlook mobile app. Microsoft did not make it obvious.

Steps on iPhone and Android are almost the same:

  1. Open the Outlook app on your phone.

  2. Tap your profile icon in the top left.

  3. Tap the settings gear at the bottom.

  4. Under the “Mail accounts” section, tap the account you want to set OOO on.

  5. Look for “Automatic replies”.

    • On some versions it sits under a “General” or “Account settings” sub section.

  6. Turn on “Automatic replies”.

  7. If you see “Send replies only during a time period”, turn that on.

  8. Set your start and end time for your trip.

  9. Type your message in the box. Example:

    For coworkers (internal):
    “I am out of the office from Feb 20 to Feb 25 with limited email access. I will respond on Feb 26. For urgent issues, contact Alex at alex@company.com or ext 1234.”

    For clients (external), if your account shows separate internal and external fields:
    “Thank you for your email. I am out of the office from Feb 20 to Feb 25 and will respond on Feb 26. For urgent matters, please email support@company.com or call 555 123 4567.”

  10. Tap the checkmark or “Done” at the top to save.

A few extra tips that people miss:

  • If your work email is Microsoft 365 or Exchange, the reply runs on the server. Your phone does not need to stay on.
  • If it is a Gmail account in Outlook, use Gmail’s own vacation responder in the Gmail app or web, not Outlook. Outlook’s automatic replies option often does not appear for Gmail.
  • If you use shared mailboxes, those usually need to be set from Outlook on desktop or Outlook on the web. The mobile app often has no auto reply option for shared boxes.
  • After you turn it on, send a test mail from a personal address to make sure the wording and timing look right.

If you do not see “Automatic replies” at all:

  • Confirm the account type in Outlook settings. If it says “IMAP” or “POP”, there is often no server side auto reply.
  • In that case, set the out of office in Outlook on your computer or in Outlook on the web, under Settings > Mail > Automatic replies. The phone app will respect that setting, you do not need to do it twice.

That should handle your coworkers and clients without you touching email on your trip.

3

Outlook mobile hides this feature in like three different places depending on account type and app version, so you’re not crazy.

@yozora already covered the main “Automatic replies” switch, so I’ll skip the step‑by‑step and add the stuff that usually trips people up:

  1. First figure out what kind of account you’re using

    • In Outlook app: Profile icon → gear → tap your mail account → look at “Account type.”
    • If it says Microsoft 365 / Exchange / Outlook.com: you should get real server‑side automatic replies.
    • If it says Gmail, Yahoo, IMAP, or POP: Outlook mobile often does not show “Automatic replies” at all. That’s not you, it’s how the account works.

  2. If you DO have Automatic replies in the app, but want different messages for coworkers vs clients

    • On work Microsoft 365/Exchange accounts, look for:
      • “Inside my organization” and
      • “Outside my organization”
    • Put the coworker message in “inside,” client message in “outside.”
    • If you only see one text box, Outlook is using a single reply for everyone. In that case, write it so it works for both groups:

      “I’m out of the office from Feb 20–25 and will reply Feb 26. If you’re a colleague, please contact Alex… For customers, please email support@company.com…”

  3. If you don’t see Automatic replies at all
    Here’s where I slightly disagree with @yozora: I wouldn’t waste time hunting for it in the app if your account shows IMAP/POP/Gmail. Just do:

    • Work Microsoft 365 / Exchange: open a browser on your phone → sign in to Outlook on the web → Settings (gear) → Mail → Automatic replies. That setting will apply to everything, including mobile.
    • Gmail: open Gmail app or gmail.com → Settings → Vacation responder. Outlook will never be the “real” OOO for Gmail, Google’s server is.
    • Shared mailbox: 99% of the time, Outlook mobile can’t set auto replies on these. Use desktop Outlook or Outlook on the web while you’re still at your desk.

  4. Timing gotchas

    • Make sure you enable “Send only during this time period” if it exists, otherwise it will stay on forever and people will think you’re still on a beach in July.
    • Set the end time a little after you actually land back, so you have a buffer to catch up before people expect instant responses.

  5. Test it before you leave

    • From a personal email, send yourself a message.
    • Check:
      • Do you get the OOO only once from that account? (Normal behavior.)
      • Is the date accurate?
      • Is the backup contact info correct? People always forget to update the name/phone.

  6. Privacy / oversharing
    Minor thing, but don’t write your whole travel story:

    • Bad: “I’ll be out of the country in Mexico from Feb 20–25 at [hotel name] for a wedding.”
    • Better: “I will be out of the office from Feb 20–25 with limited access to email.”

Short version:
Use “Automatic replies” in the Outlook app if it shows up for that account. If it doesn’t, set it in Outlook on the web or in Gmail directly. Use internal vs external messages if available, test once, and don’t overshare your itinerary.

4

Quick take: Outlook mobile can do this, but it’s flaky and incomplete. I’d treat the app as a “remote switch,” not the main way you manage out of office.

1. Start from what @yozora said, then sanity‑check the account

They’re right about checking account type first. Where I slightly disagree is on giving up quickly for Gmail: Outlook sometimes surfaces a basic “Automatic replies” toggle for Gmail accounts if they’re added as Google accounts instead of IMAP. It is still not reliable, though, and it is absolutely less powerful than Gmail’s own vacation responder.

So:

  • If you see Automatic replies in the Outlook mobile settings for that account, great, use it.
  • If not, do not keep hunting; Outlook tends to hide it because the server does not really support it in the same way.

2. Use mobile primarily for last‑minute edits

Most people run into trouble when they try to write the whole out of office on the phone. Typing from scratch on mobile is how you end up with missing dates or half a sentence.

Better pattern:

  1. Before your trip, on a desktop or web:

    • For work Microsoft 365 / Exchange: configure the full internal / external messages and schedule in Outlook on the web or desktop Outlook.
    • For Gmail: set the vacation responder there.

  2. While traveling, use the Outlook mobile app only to:

    • Turn replies on or off early or late if your plans change.
    • Do a quick text tweak, like extending the return date by a day.

This way, if the mobile UI is missing the “inside / outside organization” split, your carefully prepared server-side rules still exist and will usually remain honored, even if the app shows a simplified view.

3. If you need different replies but only see one box

Outlook mobile often collapses the internal / external split into one editor even though the backend supports two messages. That is confusing.

A workaround that behaves better than what most people do:

  • Put the neutral, external‑ready message on the server from desktop/web.
  • Use mobile only to toggle the “On during this time period” setting.
  • Avoid rewriting the text from mobile when you know there are two messages on the server, because some versions of the app overwrite both with a single unified message.

So if you care about coworkers vs clients getting different replies, do not depend on the phone to set that structure.

4. Test the right way

I like testing slightly differently from how @yozora suggested:

  • Send 2 messages from a personal address: one before your OOO window, one inside it.
  • Confirm:
    • No auto reply before the window.
    • Exactly one auto reply once the window starts, even if you send multiple messages.
    • Auto reply stops after the end date.

This verifies that your schedule is working, not just that a generic auto reply is firing.

5. When the Outlook mobile app is the only thing available

If you are already on the way to the airport and only have the phone:

  • Open Outlook mobile
  • Profile icon → Settings → tap your account
  • If Automatic replies exists:
    • Turn it on.
    • Use “Send replies only during a time period” if available.
    • Write a single message that:
      • States dates and time zone.
      • Gives a backup contact.
      • Avoids travel details and locations.

If Automatic replies is not there:

  • For a work account that uses Microsoft 365 or Exchange:
    • Open your browser and sign into your company mail through Outlook on the web. Use that to set the reply.
  • For Gmail:
    • Open the Gmail app and enable the vacation responder instead of fighting Outlook.

6. About using Outlook mobile as your main OOO tool

There is no official “product title” tied to this feature; it is just Outlook automatic replies in the Outlook mobile app. Still, treating “Outlook automatic replies” as a distinct feature is helpful:

Pros of relying on Outlook automatic replies from the mobile app

  • Quick to toggle on/off when travel plans change.
  • Can work entirely from your phone if your company blocks desktop access off‑VPN.
  • Uses server‑side rules for Microsoft 365 / Exchange, so replies go out even if your phone is off or has no signal.

Cons of relying on Outlook automatic replies from the mobile app

  • Interface is inconsistent across account types and app versions.
  • Sometimes hides internal vs external message options, even if the server supports them.
  • Often cannot manage shared mailboxes or special resource calendars.
  • For Gmail / IMAP / POP, you may not see the feature at all or it behaves in a limited way.

Compared to @yozora’s guidance, I’d say: use their steps to get oriented, but treat the mobile app as a control switch and do the “heavy” setup (different internal/external messages, exact wording, complex schedules) in Outlook on the web or Gmail’s own settings. This combination is far less likely to break right before your trip.