Email Reactions Not Available In Classic Outlook on MS 365

Question

I have a license for Microsoft 365 Apps for Business and am currently running fully patched Outlook Classic v2506 (build 18925.20158) on fully patched (7/25) Windows 11 24H2. I received an email from someone also using MS 265 for mail and they sent me an email reaction to my previous email. Cool.

I went to reply to the same user from another email and could not find the Reactions button in my email. It does not exist near the Reply/Forward buttons. It does not exist on the Ribbon. It kinda exists in the help and what it does show doesn't appear in my copy of Outlook. It also doesn't appear sending mail to my co-workers or any other person on the planet who emails me, including anyone else at the company that the original reaction came from.

Is there another facility that I am not aware of that an admin can use to turn that feature on and off or is it simply not offered in my version? If so, why would I receive a reaction and not be able to rely in kind?

Answer 1

Hi @ScadsOfBrokenSoftware

Thank you for reaching out and sharing the detailed information about your Outlook environment. I completely understand how it can be quite confusing to receive a reaction to an email, only to find that you're unable to send one in return. It's a really cool feature, and it's certainly frustrating when it doesn't work exactly as expected.

Based on your description, it sounds like you're using Outlook Classic (v2506) on a fully patched Windows 11 system, with a Microsoft 365 Apps for Business subscription. After looking into it, I'd love to share a bit of context that might help clarify what's happening. 

• Reactions are only available to individuals using a work or school account in Outlook with a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription. 
• Both the sender and the reactor must have Exchange Online mailboxes for the feature to work fully. 
• If one of the parties is not on Exchange Online, the reaction is delivered as a fallback email instead of appearing inline. 
• Reactions also work across different organizations within Exchange Online. 
• Recipients in the Bcc field can only see their own reactions and those from the sender, while recipients in the To and Cc fields can see each other's reactions. 

For more detailed information directly from Microsoft about how email reactions work, including their requirements and limitations, please refer to this official article: Reactions in Microsoft Outlook - Microsoft Support 

In your case, even though you're using the latest version of Outlook Classic with a Microsoft 365 Apps for Business license, the feature may not be available due to how your account is configured, for example, if it’s not connected to an Exchange Online mailbox, or if your organization’s update channel hasn’t received the feature yet. 

I truly wish I could enable this for you directly, but it’s not something that can be turned on or off manually by users or admins. Microsoft is gradually rolling out this feature, and availability can vary depending on account type, organization settings, and update channels. 

Thanks again for your patience and understanding. If anything else comes up, or if you'd like help finding more resources, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm always happy to assist! 

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Answer 2

Works in New Outlook and Outlook on the Web but just not Classic Outlook.

Was working fine in classic till I added a Visio license and updated Office

So is Classic Interface that is broken!