Auto reply not working for new account

Alex Gipson 0 Reputation points
2026-11-09T11:38:26.46+00:00

I am experiencing an issue with the Outlook.com mailbox:

******@outlook.com

This is a newly created Outlook.com personal mailbox.

Below is a summary of my attempt to use CoPilot to resolve and the steps it asked me to check

The mailbox can successfully send and receive email, however Automatic Replies (Out of Office) do not appear to be saving to the mailbox.

To troubleshoot the issue I have completed the following tests:

  1. Signed into Outlook on the web.
  2. Navigated to Settings > Accounts > Automatic replies.
  3. Enabled Automatic Replies.
  4. Entered a test message.
  5. Selected Save.
  6. No error message was displayed.
  7. Refreshed the browser page.
  8. Returned to Automatic Replies settings.

Result:

  • The Automatic Replies setting had reverted to Off.
  • The message was no longer present.
  • The configuration had not been retained.

Additional testing:

  • Signed out of Outlook Web and signed in again.
  • Confirmed Automatic Replies remained disabled.
  • Opened the Outlook application and found no Automatic Reply configured.
  • Re-enabled Automatic Replies and saved.
  • Closed and reopened Outlook.
  • The setting was again no longer present.
  • Sent test messages from another email account.
  • No automatic response was generated.

Summary:

The issue occurs in both Outlook Web and Outlook application clients. The mailbox appears to function normally for sending and receiving email, however Automatic Replies cannot be retained after saving and therefore do not operate.

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Settings
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  1. AI answer

    2026-11-09T11:39:56.0233333+00:00

    Open Outlook.com in a private/incognito browser window, save Automatic Replies without an expired schedule, and if the setting still immediately reverts to Off, submit an in-product Outlook.com support request because the remaining issue is at the account or mailbox service level.

    Perform the remaining browser-isolation test

    Since the setting has already failed in both the normal web session and the Outlook application, do not repeat those same tests.

    1. Close Outlook and all regular browser windows.
    2. Open an InPrivate/Incognito window:
      • Edge: Ctrl+Shift+N
      • Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+N
      • Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+P
    3. Sign in directly with the affected personal Outlook.com account.
    4. Go to Settings → Accounts → Automatic replies.
    5. Turn on Automatic replies.
    6. For this test, either:
      • Leave Send replies only during a time period disabled, or
      • Set an end date and time that is definitely in the future. A reply configured with a past end time turns off automatically.
    7. Enter a simple message and select Save.
    8. Refresh the page and reopen Settings → Accounts → Automatic replies.

    Outlook.com supports server-side automatic replies, and without a scheduled period they should remain enabled until manually turned off.^1^ The private-window test excludes cached session data and browser extensions as factors in the save failure.^2^

    If the setting now remains enabled, test from another email address. Automatic replies are normally sent only once to each sender while they are active.^3^

    Escalate if it still reverts to Off

    If the private-window test produces the same result, use Outlook.com’s consumer support channel:

    1. While signed in to the affected mailbox, select Help on the Outlook.com menu bar.
    2. Enter a description such as:
      “Automatic Replies do not persist after Save on a new Outlook.com personal mailbox.”
    3. Complete the suggested self-help prompts.
    4. Scroll to Still need help?
    5. Select Yes and submit the request.^4^

    Include these details:

    • This is a newly created Outlook.com personal account.
    • Sending and receiving mail work normally.
    • Saving Automatic Replies silently reverts the toggle to Off.
    • The message also disappears.
    • The behavior occurs in the web and desktop clients.
    • The private/incognito test produced the same result.
    • Whether scheduling was disabled or configured with a future end time.
    • Approximate test time and time zone.
    • Browser and Outlook application versions.
    • A screenshot taken before Save and another after refreshing, with the address and other personal information obscured.

    Do not use Exchange Online PowerShell, Microsoft 365 administrator procedures, or MFCMAPI instructions for this case. Those troubleshooting paths apply to administratively managed Exchange/Microsoft 365 mailboxes, while this is a personal Outlook.com mailbox. The public Microsoft service-health page currently does not indicate a broad consumer-service outage, so an account-specific support investigation is the appropriate fallback.^5^

    References

    1. Send automatic out of office replies from Outlook.com or Outlook on the ...
    2. why do my automatic replies on outlook keep turning itself off every ...
    3. Send automatic out of office replies from Outlook.com or Outlook on the web | Microsoft Support
    4. Create a signature and automatic reply | Microsoft Support
    5. Microsoft service health status
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. Hornblower409 18,970 Reputation points
    2026-11-10T16:44:23.5266667+00:00

    @Alex Gipson said

    The Automatic Replies setting had reverted to Off.

    You mentioned that this is a newly created Outlook.com account.

    There have been reports of some features not working immediately after a Microsoft account or mailbox is newly created and then beginning to work after the account has had time to finish provisioning. Microsoft also applies some anti-abuse restrictions to new Outlook.com accounts. However, I have not found Microsoft documentation confirming that Automatic Replies are intentionally restricted for new accounts.

    A few additional details may help determine whether the mailbox is still being provisioned or whether Microsoft is temporarily restricting Automatic Replies on new accounts:

    1. Approximately when was the account created?
    2. Is the mailbox still showing the same behavior now, or have Automatic Replies started saving since you posted?
    3. If it is still failing, could you try again after the account is at least 24 hours old and let us know whether the setting then remains enabled?
    4. When testing, please leave Send replies only during a time period turned off, enter a simple plain-text message with no links, and then select Save.
    5. Are you able to create and retain an ordinary Outlook.com inbox rule, such as a rule that moves messages containing a particular word to a folder?
    6. Under Settings > Mail > Forwarding, can forwarding be enabled and retained, or does that setting also revert after saving? You do not need to leave forwarding enabled. This is only to determine whether multiple server-side mailbox settings are being rejected.

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