Windows Mobile 6.5 Out of Office Settings

Windows Mobile 6.5 allowed enterprise users connected to Microsoft Exchange Server via Exchange ActiveSync to configure and manage their Out of Office (OOF) automated email responses directly from their mobile devices. Through the native Outlook Mobile application, users could toggle their availability status, customize messages for internal colleagues, and manage granular rules for external senders without needing access to a desktop or Outlook Web Access.

Accessing the Settings

To configure automated replies on Windows Mobile 6.5:

  1. Open the Messaging hub and select the Outlook E-mail account.
  2. Tap Menu at the bottom of the screen.
  3. Select Tools, then choose Out of Office.

Configurable Out-of-Office Options

When paired with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 or later, Windows Mobile 6.5 provided access to enhanced Out-of-Office settings through Exchange ActiveSync:

  • Out of Office State (Status Toggle): Users could switch their current status between "In the office" (disabled) and "Out of the office" (enabled). Changing this immediately updated the status on the Exchange server.
  • Internal Auto-Reply Message: A dedicated text field allowed users to compose a specific automated reply delivered exclusively to senders within the same Exchange organization.
  • External Auto-Replies Toggle: Users could independently enable or disable automated replies for messages arriving from outside their corporate organization.
  • External Auto-Reply Message: A separate text field allowed users to draft a different message tailored for clients, vendors, and other external contacts, preventing internal corporate details from leaking outside the company.
  • External Recipient Filtering: To mitigate spam and security risks, Windows Mobile 6.5 let users restrict who received external replies:
    • Anyone outside my organization: Sends the external reply to every external incoming message.
    • Send out-of-office messages to known senders only: Restricts external automated responses strictly to contacts already saved in the user's Exchange Contacts folder.

Infrastructure Dependencies

The exact settings available on the device depended on the backend version of Microsoft Exchange:

  • Exchange Server 2003: Only supported a single global message applied to all senders (internal and external) and allowed enabling or disabling the status.
  • Exchange Server 2007 and 2010: Fully enabled dual-message support (internal vs. external) and the external audience filter options on Windows Mobile 6.5.