How to set an out-of-office reply in the Gmail app on Android

By Abu Bakar Saadat · Reviewed by Saadat Rafiq · 2 min read · 3 steps · Published 7 October 2026

Device

Android

Shown on

Samsung Galaxy A57 5G (SM-A576B), One UI 8.5, Android 16

App

Gmail

Real screenshots

3 of 3 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Open Vacation responder

   Gmail, menu, Settings, tap your account and scroll to Vacation responder. Ours showed Off.

   Done

2. 

   Switch it on and set the dates

   Switch Vacation responder on at the top. First day was filled in with today's date; Last day is optional, Not set means it runs until you switch it off.

   Done

3. 

   Write the reply and tap Done

   Type a subject and a message. Tick Send only to my Contacts to avoid answering strangers and newsletters. Tap Done at the top; Close leaves without saving, which is what we did.

   Done

About this guide

The vacation responder answers every incoming mail while you are away. You can set it from the phone; it then runs on Google's servers, even with the phone off. Our Gmail account is a real one, so addresses, senders and subjects are blurred; the only mail we touched was a test message we sent to ourselves. We did not switch it on, because it would answer real mail.

The screenshots are from Chrome and the Gmail app on a Samsung Galaxy A57 5G with Android 16 and One UI 8.5, in dark mode. Both apps look the same on other Android phones; only the phone's own settings screens differ by brand.

Good to know

The responder set on the phone is the same one as on the Gmail website, so you can switch it off from either.

In short: Gmail, Settings, account, Vacation responder: on, dates, subject, message, Done.