How to Set Out of Office in Microsoft 365 without Customer Login Details

As a Managed Service Provider (MSP), you might be asked to set an out-of-office (OOO) message for a customer who is unable to do it themselves. You may wonder if it's possible without the customer's login details. The good news is, it's doable if you have the right permissions in Microsoft 365. Here's how:

Step 1: Access the Exchange Admin Center

The first step is to sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center using your MSP partner account. Once you're in, navigate to the Exchange Admin Center (EAC). You can find this by clicking on 'Admin Centers' at the bottom of the left-hand pane and selecting 'Exchange.'

Step 2: Locate the User Mailbox

Once you're in the EAC, click on 'recipients' in the left-hand pane and then 'mailboxes.' In the list of mailboxes, find the user for whom you want to set the OOO message.

Step 3: Access the Mailbox Features

Click on the user's name to open their properties page. Navigate to the 'Mailbox Features' tab.

Step 4: Enable Automatic Replies

Scroll down until you see the 'Automatic replies' section. Click on 'Enable' to turn on the OOO feature.

Step 5: Set the Automatic Reply

Now, you can write the automatic reply. You'll be able to set a specific period for the automatic reply, specify different messages for people inside and outside your organization, and even set exceptions for specific users or domains.

Step 6: Save Your Changes

After you've set the automatic reply, don't forget to click 'Save.'

And that's it! You've now set an out-of-office message for your customer without needing their login details.

A Few Important Points

Remember that you'll need the necessary permissions to access the Exchange Admin Center and manage users' mailboxes. Also, note that while this method lets you set an out-of-office message, it doesn't provide full access to the user's mailbox content.

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