Top 3 Ways to Try If Outlook Automatic Reply Not Working [2024 Guide]
Outlook provides users with an Out of Office Assistant that helps them with configuring and automatically sending replies from the account. This feature comes in handy when the end user aka recipient is unavailable at the computer or is out of the office. In case of the user’s unavailability on the desktop, this OOF (Out Of Office) assistant sends a reply email on the user’s behalf. Although home users without MS Exchange accounts can also create an OOF template and use it to send an automatic reply, this feature is available by default for Microsoft Exchange users.
Certain times users face the Outlook Automatic Replies Not Working problem. Therefore, we have brought various solutions that you can use to help yourself out whenever you face any problem regarding the Microsoft Outlook 365 automatic reply not working. But first, let us take a look at the common causes behind the issues.
Causes Behind Outlook 365 Automatic Reply Not Working
The following reasons could be the cause why your Microsoft OOF (Out of Office) is not working properly.
- Your OOF rules templates could be corrupted.
- Only in Exchange 2019, a backlog of mailbox assistants exist.
- By default, the Remote Domain setting is not set to allow OOF messages.
- If the existing OOF quota is exceeded, new rules cannot be created.
How to Solve Outlook Automatic Reply Not Working Problem?
Along with the above-mentioned causes, there are multiple scenarios where users struggle with Automatic replies not working Outlook.
- Scenario #1: Your Microsoft OOF is not sending replies outside the organization.
- Scenario #2: It is sending only one message per address.
- Scenario #3: The automatic replies get filtered out by junk email filters.
These scenarios are the common ones where users struggle with Microsoft OOF the most. Let us see the solutions for tackling this Outlook 365 automatic reply not working issue.
Microsoft Outlook Automatic Reply Not Working and Not Sending Replies Outside the Organization
In this scenario, Microsoft OOF does not send auto-replies to people who are not in the environment of organization exchange. To tackle this, the admin is required to change the automatic replies settings from “My Contacts” to “Anyone Outside My Organization”. Upon changing settings as desired, Microsoft OOF will send messages to people who are outside the organization’s Exchange environment as well.
Note: To save your automatic reply for the recipient’s spam folder, set “My Contacts” only in the automatic reply settings. By doing so, the recipient will be safe from strange messages.
Microsoft OOF Sending Replies Once Per Address
The Outlook automatic reply assistant is set to reply only once per address by default, however, sometimes users need to send automatic replies to all addresses again. In this case, if your Microsoft Outlook automatic reply not working then, the user should try to turn it off and then turn back on the OOF (Out Of Office) feature. Along with that, if users want to reply to every single received message then they can do so with Server Side Rules. For doing this, the end user needs to contact Exchange Administrator.
Outlook Automatic Replies Filtered Out by Junk Email Filters
The third solution for Outlook 365 automatic reply not working is that MS Outlook email filters do not block the delivery of junk emails, however, they do move the suspected emails to the junk folder. This junk email folder of Outlook is saved on the server thus, one can access it from any system. Moreover, the automated replies of Microsoft OOF are more prone to be filtered out by the junk email filters. Upon the filtering process, the messages appear in the junk folder rather than the inbox folder of a user’s mailbox. Correspondingly, users need to navigate to the junk folder to access those messages.
To rectify this issue i.e. Outlook 365 automatic reply not working, users can opt for the “Mark as Junk Mail, but Leave it in my Inbox” option under the “When Junk Mail Arrives” folder. This ensures that the received automated replies are resided in the inbox folder instead of being moved to the junk folder after being marked as suspected by the junk email filters.
Frequently Asked Queries
Q1: Why is my Outlook automatic reply not working?
A1: There are several reasons why your Outlook automatic reply might not work, including:
- Corrupted Out of Office (OOF) templates
- A backlog of mailbox assistants (for Exchange 2019 users)
- The Remote Domain setting not allowing OOF messages
- Exceeding the OOF quota, which prevents new rules from being created
Q2: How do I fix Outlook not sending automatic replies outside my organization?
A2: To fix this, you need to change the settings for automatic replies from “My Contacts” to “Anyone Outside My Organization”. This will ensure that automatic replies are sent to external recipients as well.
Q3: Why is Outlook only sending one automatic reply per address?
A3: By default, Outlook sends only one automatic reply per email address. If you want to send multiple replies, you can try:
- Turning off the Out of Office (OOF) feature and then turning it back on.
- Contacting your Exchange Administrator to set up Server Side Rules, which allow replies to every message received.
Q4: Why are my Outlook automatic replies going to the Junk folder?
A4: Outlook’s junk email filters may filter out the automatic replies, causing them to move to the junk folder. To prevent this, you can select the “Mark as Junk Mail, but Leave it in my Inbox” option under the “When Junk Mail Arrives” settings. This ensures replies stay in your inbox.
Q5: Can I prevent my Outlook automatic reply from being marked as spam?
A5: Yes, you can reduce the chances of your automatic reply being marked as spam by setting your reply to “My Contacts” in the automatic reply settings. This ensures replies are only sent to people you know, preventing them from ending up in a spam folder.
Q6: How can I check if my OOF template is corrupted?
A6: If you suspect your OOF template is corrupted, you can:
- Delete the current OOF rule and create a new one.
- Test the new template by sending an email to your own address and seeing if the reply works as expected.
Q7: What should I do if my OOF replies are not working due to a mailbox assistant backlog?
A7: If you’re using Exchange 2019, a backlog of mailbox assistants could be the issue. In this case, you’ll need to contact your system administrator to clear the backlog or restart the mailbox assistant services.
Q8: How do I change my Remote Domain settings to allow automatic replies?
A8: To modify the Remote Domain settings:
- Firstly, contact your Exchange Administrator.
- Request that they configure the Remote Domain to allow Out of Office messages to be sent externally.
Let’s Wrap It Up
This blog on “Outlook Automatic Reply Not Working” discussed the potential causes behind the problem. Along with that, it discussed the scenarios where this situation arises for users and several solutions to recover from it. We hope you found the appropriate answer to your Outlook 365 automatic reply not working problem here. If so, do share this article with other users in need.