Mac OS X 10Apple's native Mail application in macOS lacks a specific option for enabling out-of-office replies, but there is another way you can set them up on a Mac, and that's with Rules. It's worth bearing in mind at the outset that your Mac needs to be powered on for this out-of-office method to work. That's because Apple Mail rules are only applied locally to incoming emails, and aren't active on the server side.

If you're looking for a longer term out-of-office solution, you'll want to check out Vacation mode in iCloud Mail, which we cover in the second part of this tutorial.

How to Create an Out-of-Office Reply Using Mail Rules

  1. Launch the Apple Mail app.

  2. From the menu bar, select Mail -> Preferences....

  3. Select the Rules tab.
    Rules Mail e1519290131337

  4. In the Rules dialog box that appears, click the Add Rule button and give the rule an identifiable description, such as "Out of Office Reply".

  5. Leave the default "any" selection in "If any of the following conditions are met".

  6. For the initial condition, select Account from the first dropdown menu, and then choose the email account that you want your out-of-office rule to apply to from the condition's second dropdown menu.

  7. In the second condition under "Perform the following actions:", select Reply to Message from the dropdown menu.
    Add Rule Mail e1519290288872

  8. Now click Reply message text....

  9. In the input window that appears, type the text you want to appear in the automatic response email that will be sent when you're away.
    out of office rule text

  10. Click OK to close the input window when you're done.

  11. Click OK to close the Rules dialog box.

  12. WARNING! At this point, Apple Mail will ask if you want to apply the new rule to existing messages in your mailbox. Be very sure to respond to this question with a negative. In other words, click Do Not Apply, for the simple reason that clicking the alternative "Apply" option will cause Mail to send the automatic reply to all the messages currently sitting in your inbox, and you don't want that!Screen Shot 3 2 e1519290796563

  13. Your out-of-office reply rule is now active. Leave things as they are and keep your Mac on, and all incoming messages to that account will be responded to automatically. To make the out-of-office reply inactive upon your return, simply uncheck the box next to the said rule. The next time you're away, simply check the box again to reactivate it.

And that's it. It's worth noting that you can tweak the rule's conditions to suit your needs – so that the out-of-office reply is only sent out to specific people, or only in response to emails with certain subjects, for example.

How to Set Up Out-of-Office replies in iCloud Mail

Unlike Apple Mail in macOS, ‌iCloud‌ Mail has a dedicated out-of-office feature called Vacation mode that you can enable remotely from any web browser.

For obvious reasons, Vacation mode will only be useful to you if you have an ‌iCloud‌ email address. Other account holders looking for an out-of-office solution are better off using a third-party email client such as Mozilla Thunderbird. And with that caveat, here's how to get Vacation mode in ‌iCloud‌ Mail up and running.

  1. Open a browser and navigate to www.icloud.com.

  2. Log in using your ‌iCloud‌ credentials and then click on the Mail icon.
    icloud mail

  3. When your Mail screen loads, click the cog icon in the lower left corner of the window and select Preferences... from the popup menu.
    Screen Shot 7

  4. Click the Vacation tab and check the box next to "Automatically reply to messages when they are received".
    Screen Shot 6

  5. Using the calendar dropdowns, click on a Start date and an End date between which you'd like your out-of-office replies to remain active.

  6. Lastly, enter the text of your automatic reply into the input box, and then click Done.Screen Shot 8
Tag: iCloud

Top Rated Comments

Mefisto Avatar
91 months ago
Who needs to do this in 2018?

Almost anywhere you go, you’ll have internet access and be able to read email.
And? If there's no reply, people expect (at least in my case) that I've read, and will reply to their email. An automated response tells them not to wait, and that I will get back to them at my convenience, or at a specific date. And I'll be damned if I'm reading, let alone replying to work emails while on vacation, for example. This feature get's around all that quite nicely.

I struggle to see what the current year has to do with it, but then again I'm getting a feeling I'm completely misunderstanding your post anyway so...

Any rules you set up in mail.app should absolutely be sent to the iCloud server and applied server side. Shows a huge and obvious gap in functionality.
100% agreed.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stella Avatar
91 months ago
Any rules you set up in mail.app should absolutely be sent to the iCloud server and applied server side. Shows a huge and obvious gap in functionality.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dthare Avatar
91 months ago
The first sentence if this article is wrong.

You say that the 10.13 apple mail client has no specific way to put on out of office but it does.

The option is in the mailbox porperties

Right click the mailbox on the left hand panel > Select Properties > Select the out of office tab.

This means you don’t have to set a rule that is relient on the machine and apple mail client being open.

The method i described sets a server side rule so it works all the time and is the correct way to do this
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheralSadurns Avatar
91 months ago
Mac mail is horrible - I still want to know why I cant delete all emails via ipad or iphone, without doing some stupid trick. Talk about annoying and inefficient.
Sorry... but... lol.

Apple Mail on macOS and iOS are different applications, first of all. So saying the Mac app Sucks, because on your phone you cannot delete things... makes no sense. So whixh App are you talking about?! My fridge can also not mow my lawn.

Second... I guess you mean you have one email address... and receive your mails on iPhone, iPad, and your Mac. If you have an IMAP account or set it up as such on all devices then deleting an email on ONE will delete it on ALL devices. Always.
If you set it up as POP (and some let you use either IMAP or POP) then the different devices dont know of one another and actions like deletions are NOT synced.

BUT, and this is A BIG BUT:
This has ZERO absolutely ZERO to do with Apple Mail. ALL Email applications will work exactly the same way. Windows software included.


I am not saying that Mail is perfect (altho stuff like Mail Drop, and Automatik shrinking of images is awesome!!!). But what you complain about has nothing to do with Apple Mail!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacDawg Avatar
91 months ago
I want to know when Apple is going to fix the Zombie Email problem.
Deleted emails still keep coming back from the dead regardless of whether you mark them as spam or delete them.
This has turned into a years long running joke.
Have literally never had this happen to me, and honestly it is the first time I've heard of it
Could be a widespread problem, but not something I have ever encountered

Mac mail is horrible - I still want to know why I cant delete all emails via ipad or iphone, without doing some stupid trick. Talk about annoying and inefficient.
As mentioned above, this is iOS you are talking about and not Mac Mail
But maybe you could explain a little more... are you trying to do a mass delete, or are emails not deleting from other devices?
What exactly is the problem?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
timmyh Avatar
91 months ago
The first sentence if this article is wrong.

You say that the 10.13 apple mail client has no specific way to put on out of office but it does.

The option is in the mailbox porperties

Right click the mailbox on the left hand panel > Select Properties > Select the out of office tab.

This means you don’t have to set a rule that is relient on the machine and apple mail client being open.

The method i described sets a server side rule so it works all the time and is the correct way to do this
I believe this is only for Exchange-based corporate servers. Surprisingly, Apple Mail still doesn’t provide a native option for out of office.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple iPhone 16e Feature

Apple Announces iPhone 16e With A18 Chip and Apple Intelligence, Pricing Starts at $599

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued. The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Aluminum Frame Instead of Titanium Frame

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models. In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

Here Are the New Apple Products We're Still Expecting This Spring

Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring. There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category. M4...
Generic iOS 18

Here's When Apple Will Release iOS 18.4

Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch. All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
prioritize notifications ios 18 4

Everything New in iOS 18.4 Beta 1

Friday February 21, 2025 1:08 pm PST by
Apple finally released the first beta of iOS 18.4 to developers for testing purposes, and while the beta is lacking some of the Apple Intelligence features we were hoping for, there are some notable new additions. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Priority Notifications - Apple Intelligence There is a new Priority Notifications feature that can show you your most...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
iPhone 16e Feature

Apple Denies Speculation Surrounding iPhone 16e's Lack of MagSafe

Friday February 21, 2025 8:01 am PST by
Apple has confirmed that its custom-designed C1 modem in the iPhone 16e has nothing to do with the device's lack of MagSafe support, according to Macworld. Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, there was some speculation online about how MagSafe magnets might have interfered with the C1 modem's cellular connectivity performance, and this was considered to be a potential reason for the...
apple c1

Apple Unveils 'C1' as First Custom Cellular Modem

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:08 am PST by
Apple today announced its first custom cellular modem with the name "C1," debuting in the all-new iPhone 16e. The new modem contributes to the iPhone 16e's power efficiency, giving it the longest battery life of any iPhone with a 6.1-inch display, such as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16. Expanding the benefits of Apple silicon, C1 is the first modem designed by Apple and the most...