Top 6 Solutions for Outlook Automatic Reply Not Working Issue

  

Mark Regan
Published: August 19th, 2024 • 6 Min Read

Is your Outlook automatic reply not working? Worry not! It is a common error that Outlook users often face. This auto-reply feature of Outlook is also called Out of Office. However, once it stops working, Outlook users start having trouble replying to important messages when they are not available. In this guide, we will show how you can easily resolve Outlook auto response not working issues. Moreover, we will also discuss the common reasons behind it and what solutions you can try to fix it.

What is Outlook Auto Reply (Out of Office)?

Outlook auto-reply or Outlook of Office (OOF) is a Microsoft Outlook feature that allows users to automatically send a response and let the sender know that they are not available to respond to their messages. This feature is primarily useful to notify the sender that the recipient is on vacation, away from the office, or will be unavailable for a specific period. But sometimes, it happens when the Outlook automatic reply feature stops working. In the next paragraph, we will discuss the common reasons why is your Outlook auto reply not working.

Why is Outlook Automatic Reply Not Working?

If Outlook auto response not working, there could be several reasons behind this issue. Here are some common points to consider:

• The automatic reply (Out of office) feature might not be properly activated.
• Your Outlook might be in offline mode or not connected to the server.
• Outlook rules and filters can infer the functioning of Outlook’s auto-reply feature.
• Incorrect configurations in the automatic reply setting such as time range, message content, or recipient option.
• You might be using an outdated version of Outlook or there could be a software update required to fix bugs.
• When Outlook mailbox is full, you may face issues in receiving new messages and sending replies. In this case, you need to clear the inbox storage.
• A corrupt OST file or Outlook profile can also cause Outlook automatic reply not working issues.

How to Check If Outlook Auto Response Not Working?

1. In Outlook, navigate to the File menu.
2. Select Auto Replies and ensure the “Send automatic replies” is enabled. If not then enable it.

But what if you can’t see the Outlook Automatic replies option? Then follow these steps:

1. Open Outlook and Click on File from the interface.
2. Select the Options button then Choose Mail.
3. After this, Find the Replies and Forwards option.
4. Ensure the “Open replies and forwards in a new window” is enabled.

Through this, you can ensure that the OOF feature is enabled in your Outlook. Once it’s enabled, the Auto Reply feature will be visible in the File > Info option.

How to Solve Outlook Automatic Reply Not Working Error? – 6 Ways to Fix

Following are the top solutions to solve Outlook’s automatic reply not working issue including manual methods and automated solutions:

1. Update Outlook and Windows System

1. Navigate to the File option from the Outlook interface.
2. Open the Office Account tab.
3. Click on Update Options then Hit the Update Now button.
4. To Update Windows > Go to Computer Settings > Check for Windows Update > Install the Pending updates.

2. Filter Out Junk Emails of Auto Reply

1. Open the Junk Folder in Outlook.
2. Check out the necessary features.
3. Click on the Reset button.

3. Fix Auto Reply Once Per Address

By default, Outlook’s automatic reply feature sends only one reply to each email address. Sometimes, users might need it to reply to all emails again. If your Outlook automatic replies aren’t working, try turning the Out Of Office (OOF) feature off and then back on. If you want to send a reply to every single email you receive, you can set this up using Server Side Rules, but you’ll need to contact your Exchange Administrator for help.

4. Outlook Automatic Reply Not Working in Outside Organization

This feature is meant to avoid sending automatic replies to email addresses outside the organization’s Exchange environment. If the admin wants to send automatic replies to people outside the company, they should change the Automatic Replies settings from “My contacts only” to “Anyone outside my organization.” After this change, Out of Office replies will also be sent to people who are not part of the organization.

5. Increase Rules Quota Using Command Prompt

Extending the rules quota can also help you resolve the Outlook auto response not working issue. However, the method is a little bit technical, as you have to use some command prompts. See the steps:

1. Press Win+R and type PowerShell.
2. Determine the size and run the given command in the Exchange management shell:
   get -mailbox -identity | fl *rulesquota*
3. In case the size is less than 256 KB then run the following command:
   set -mailbox -identity 256kb

It can take up to 2 hours to update the quota rules.

Conclusion

We discussed how to solve Outlook automatic reply not working error through the 6 different solutions. The methods given above include manual, technical, and advanced solutions. However, we have thoroughly explained all the methods step by step to make them easily for to implement. So now you finally know how to easily resolve Outlook auto response not working issue and use Outlook seamlessly.

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