Forum Discussion
Outlook for the web - some tenants not showing reply/forwarded icons in message list
Hi,
(Outlook for the web)
I wondered if anyone has experienced this and knows of any way to resolve it. One of my users is reporting that (and I have seen it) new replies are not being "flagged" with the reply icon in the message list.
This appears to happen regardless of whether the email is in the inbox or a subfolder.
Older emails (that have been replied-to or forwarded prior to today) are showing the relevant icons to indicate that a reply has been sent and it only appears to be affecting new replies/forwards.
I've been through all the view settings in and nothing helps. I even tried crazy things like changing themes.
This doesn't appear to be consistent across tenants either. I've seen 1 tenant with it working and another with it not working.
Regards,
Paul
8 Replies
By the time you read my reply, your issue probably might be resolved based on this https://admin.microsoft.com/#/servicehealth/history/:/alerts/EX661478, but I would like to recommend you that when 1 or more than 2 users have been affected somehow or even other Microsoft services, you should always follow this https://learn.microsoft.com/en-US/microsoft-365/enterprise/view-service-health?view=o365-worldwide&WT.mc_id=365AdminCSH_inproduct
Here you should place your email to receive notification about services degradation.
Because if it's a service degradation there's not any troubleshooting process to provide a solution and it's just matter of time until Microsoft provides a resolution or restores the service.
If the reply and forward icons are not appearing consistently in Outlook for the web, it could be due to various reasons. Here are some troubleshooting steps and solutions you can try:
- Clear browser cache: Sometimes, cached data can cause display issues in web applications. Clear your browser cache and cookies, and then restart the browser to see if the icons reappear.
- Try a different browser: Switch to a different web browser to see if the issue persists. Sometimes, browser compatibility can affect how certain features are displayed in web applications.
- Check browser extensions: Some browser extensions or add-ons may interfere with the functionality of web applications. Temporarily disable any browser extensions and see if the icons appear.
- Update the browser: Ensure that your web browser is up to date with the latest version. Outdated browsers may have compatibility issues with certain web applications.
- Try in private browsing mode: Open a private browsing or incognito window in your browser and access Outlook for the web. This will temporarily disable browser extensions and cache, which can help identify if they are causing the issue.
- Use the "Light" version of Outlook: In Outlook for the web, there is an option to switch to the "Light" version, which is a simplified version of the interface. Try using the Light version to see if the icons appear correctly.
- Check for service issues: Sometimes, service issues on Microsoft's end can cause temporary glitches. Check the Office 365 Service Status page to see if there are any reported issues that might be affecting Outlook for the web.
Please note that the availability of certain features and icons may vary based on the Outlook for the web version, settings, and updates applied by the tenant's administrator. The text and the steps are the result of various AI's put together.
My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!
I hope this helps!
Unfortunately, while I appreciate you taking the time to give this a go, this isn't the answer. I am the tenant administrator for 2 tenants (sister companies) and both firms are web app development companies.
The first thing we did was check it in all the major browsers to make sure it wasn't just a display issue. Then, we went deep and noticed that the icons aren't even present in the DOM tree. There's no display issue, the web app isn't even generating them. We're web app developers, we'd never be as silly as to have extensions installed on devices that need to be used to develop web apps due to the risk that something affects our basic testing routines.
Furthermore, within the same user inboxes, and within the same folders, we can see past emails with the icons next to new emails with no icons. This is regardless of theme. To me, it feels as though the service has stopped tracking whether an email has been replied to (an unforgiveable travesty for an email service provider) and this is why the icons aren't appearing on new emails.
As global admin I can tell you that our Office365 tenants are as close to "stock" as possible. There are no policies set (via powershell or via the admin centres) simply because our businesses don't need anything of that nature. Yet, this only appears to affect 1 of our 2 tenant accounts.
Finally, it goes without saying that I checked the services issues page and "Microsoft screwed up the deployment of Outlook for Web and depending on which load balancer you hit you may find we've stopped tracking reply status" isn't on there.
There is no documentation that describes giving users or tenant admins the power to affect basic functionality of Outlook such as "not showing the replied-to icon for new replies". I'd love for someone to disprove me on this point without using an LLM to generate a reply!
I apologize for the confusion, and thank you for providing more information about your situation. If the reply and forwarded icons are missing in Outlook for the web and they are not present in the DOM tree, it is possible that there may be an issue with the service itself or a bug in the Outlook for the web application or maybe need only Clearing the cache from the web browser, just a thought 🙂
As a global admin, if you have ensured that there are no custom policies or configurations affecting the behavior of Outlook for the web, and the issue is only affecting one of your tenant accounts, it may indeed be related to a specific service issue or bug that is impacting that particular tenant.
In this case, I recommend reaching out to Microsoft Support for further assistance. As a global admin, you can submit a support ticket to Microsoft and provide them with the details of the issue you are experiencing. They will be able to investigate the problem on the tenant level and work towards resolving it.
As an email service provider, it is indeed critical for Outlook for the web to track the reply status correctly, and if there is an issue with this functionality, Microsoft Support should be able to address it promptly.
I understand your frustration, and I hope that Microsoft Support can provide a resolution to the issue you are facing with the missing reply and forwarded icons.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
