Solved: Automatic Replies Turned on But Not Working Office 365 (5 Common Ways)

Why is my external auto-reply not working in Office 365?

Frequently, many users face the issue of Outlook's automatic reply not working after it is turned on. A significant number of them lack knowledge about effective solutions to address it. Furthermore, some users remain unaware of the potential causes leading to this situation.

To assist in a hassle-free manner, we have prepared this technical write-up. By reading this blog post to the end, you will gain access to the top solutions for resolving this problem.

Several factors might be responsible for your Microsoft Out of Office (OOF) not functioning correctly. Some potential reasons include:

☞Corrupted OOF Rules Templates
☞Backlog of Mailbox Assistants in Exchange 2019
☞Remote Domain Setting Not Allowing OOF Messages
☞Exceeded OOF Quota

How do I fix the automatic replies issue in the Outlook app?

Here are 5 common methods to fix the automatic reply of Outlook not sending or not working situation. Just select the most suitable one.

Solution 1. Configure the OOF feature (mostly used)

Step 1. Type one of the below cmdlets in Windows PowerShell as you like.

Set-MailboxAutoReplyConfiguration -AutoReplyState Disabled

Set-MailboxAutoReplyConfiguration -AutoReplyState Enabled

Step 2. Use MFCMapi to check the PR_00F_STATE value. Follow the below Steps to do this:

1. Select Session in the main window of MFCMapi. Now, choose Logon and Display Store Table and open the mailbox.
2. Next, choose the profile you want to access. Then scroll down to the bottom till you can see the PR_00F_STATE value.

✦Note: The value has to be TRUE if you enable the OOF feature and FALSE if you disabled it in Windows PowerShell.

Step 3. Contact Microsoft Support if the PR_00F_STATE value is not expected. The experts can check them for the queued events (Exchange 2010 only).

Solution 2. Delete and re-enable the OOF Feature

Stage 1. Delete the OOF Rules

Step 1. Select Session in the MFCMapi main window. Open the mailbox by choosing the Logon and Display Store Table.

Step 2. Now, expand the root container and information store top.

Step 3. Delete the OOF rules. Delete by following the below Steps:

Option 1. Delete OOF Rules

1. Right-click the Inbox and choose the Display Rules Table.
2. If the OOF feature is not enabled, you can see the OOF rule listed in the rules table together. The following rule name can be seen: MSFT: TDX OOF Rules.
3. In case the OOF feature is enabled, you can see two different OOF rules listed in the table.

✦Note: The listed rule depends on if the rule is enabled only internally or both internally and externally.

4. If the OOF templates are corrupted, they will be listed on the rule table. Other entries can be seen if the user has enabled them.
5. Right-click on the OOF rules and hit the Delete option.

✦Note: Except for referenced OOF rules, do not delete any other rules.

6. Close the windows of the Rules table.

Option 2. Delete OOF templates

1. Right-click on the Inbox and choose Open Associated Contents Table.
2. Now, scroll down to the right side and expand the column of the Message Class.
3. Sort the items by selecting the Message Class column.
4. Check the items with the Message Class of either of the below values:

IPM.Note.Rules.ExternalOofTemplate.Microsoft

IPM.Note.Rules.OofTemplate.Microsoft

5. Right-click on the items belonging to any of the two message classes after choosing the Delete Message.

✦Note: Ensure not to delete the items except referenced ones.

6. Select Permanent delete passing DELETE_HARD_DELETE (unrecoverable) under Deletion style in the Delete Item dialog box. Then, select OK.

Stage 2: Re-enable the OOF Feature

Step 1. Disable and re-enable the OOF feature. Typing the below commands:

Set-MailboxAutoReplyConfiguration \ -AutoReplyState Disabled

Set-MailboxAutoReplyConfiguration \ -AutoReplyState Enabled

Step 2. Lastly, check if the OOF feature is working expectedly. Besides, the symptoms are no longer occurring.

Solution 3. Filter the junk emails out of automatic replies

In Outlook, the Junk Email folder stores suspected spam messages instead of blocking them. This folder, with the Junk Email Filter, is saved on the Server and can be accessed from any device.

Also, the out-of-office message is automated and may be caught by Junk Email Filters. These messages now appear in the Junk Email Folder after being filtered, and users can find them in the server's Junk folder.

Solution 4. Resolve Outlook Automatic Replies not working error outside the organization

In simple terms, this choice stops auto-replies from reaching email addresses not present in the organization's exchange setup. To allow replies outside the organization, the admin should adjust the automatic reply settings.

Mark the box for automatically replying to individuals outside my organization. By making these changes, Outlook Automatic Reply will be able to respond to people who aren't part of the organization.

Solution 5. Fix the Outlook Automatic Replies once per address

By default, the assistant's response is limited to once per address. Yet, there are instances when users need to resend messages to all addresses. In such cases, the user should toggle OFF the out-of-office features and then toggle them ON again.

Moreover, server-side rules permit users to reply to each received message. Hence, the end user should engage the Exchange administrator to address this concern.

Personal advice: Always backup your Outlook emails in advance

It is widely acceptable as a truth that Outlook is susceptible to occasional errors. In addition to challenges like automatic replies not working in Office 365, you might also come across some other terrible issues like Outlook auto archive not working. To avert potential data loss resulting from unforeseen Outlook errors, it is highly recommended to routinely back up your Outlook mailbox.

For a dependable solution, the optimal choice is AOMEI Backupper Professional, the finest email backup software available. This tool proves invaluable in ensuring the security of your email data and is poised to provide you with the necessary assistance.

✔ Various destinations: It enables you to backup all data in email accounts to various backup storage devices, including local disk, external hard drive, USB flash drive, and NAS device, etc.
✔ All popular Emails: It offers an Email Backup feature to back up various mail services, including Yahoo Mail, Gmail, iCloud Mail, Exchange, Outlook Mail, Zoho Mail, etc. 
✔ Automatic backup: You can backup your email data in daily, weekly, or monthly mode with the “Schedule Backup” feature.
✔ Smart backup: You are allowed to run incremental or differential backup to reduce backup time and the backup image size.

Download AOMEI Backupper and install it on your PC now.

Step 1. Choose Backup and then choose Email Backup.

Step 2. Click Add Email Data. In the popup window, choose the Outlook items you want to back up.

✦Note:
If you haven't added your Outlook account, click on Add Mailbox, and provide your account credentials to get it.

Step 3. Select a destination path where you want to save the email backup image. For example, to backup Yahoo emails to hard drive, choose the Select a local path option, and specify an internal or external storage path as the backup destination.

Step 4. Finally, click Start Backup to initiate the office email backup process.

Wrap things up

This guide delves into the underlying reasons for automatic replies not working in Office 365 and offers 5 common ways to solve it. We believe that you have identified a fitting solution to address your Outlook 365 automatic reply malfunction. If indeed, we encourage you to back up your Outlook emails using professional email backup software AOMEI Bakcupper.

AOMEI Backupper is a complete Windows PC and Server backup solution that has helped thousands of users protect precise data in their daily and work time. It earns a reputation due to its reliable backup strategy and user-friendly interface.  With AOMEI Backupper, you may also backup Windows operating system for unexpected disaster recovery or backup files to an external hard drive for data transfer.