How to Change Your Signature in Outlook (Every Version Explained)

Your email signature is often the first thing people notice after reading your message — and in Outlook, changing it isn't always as straightforward as it sounds. The steps vary depending on which version of Outlook you're using, whether you're on desktop, web, or mobile, and how your account is configured. Here's a clear breakdown of how it works across every major setup.

Why Outlook Has Multiple Signature Settings

Outlook doesn't store signatures in one universal place. Desktop Outlook, Outlook on the Web (OWA), and the Outlook mobile app each maintain their own separate signature settings. This trips up a lot of users — you might update your signature in the desktop app and then notice your phone is still sending the old one.

Understanding this separation is the first step to making sure your change actually sticks everywhere you need it to.

How to Change Your Signature in Outlook Desktop (Windows)

This applies to Microsoft 365, Outlook 2021, Outlook 2019, and Outlook 2016:

1. Open Outlook and click File in the top-left corner
2. Select Options, then click Mail
3. Under the Compose messages section, click Signatures…
4. In the Signatures and Stationery window, select the signature you want to edit from the list
5. Make your changes in the editor below — you can format text, add images, insert hyperlinks, or paste in an HTML-formatted signature
6. Under Choose default signature, set which signature applies to New messages and which applies to Replies/forwards (these can be different)
7. Click OK to save

💡 If you manage multiple email accounts in Outlook, each account can have its own default signature. Make sure you're selecting the right account in the Email account dropdown before saving.

How to Change Your Signature in Outlook on the Web

If you access Outlook through a browser at outlook.office.com or outlook.com, the steps are different:

1. Click the Settings gear icon in the top-right corner
2. Scroll down and click View all Outlook settings
3. Go to Mail → Compose and reply
4. Under Email signature, edit your existing signature or create a new one
5. Toggle on Automatically include my signature on new messages and/or replies and forwards if desired
6. Click Save

The web version has a simplified text editor compared to desktop, but it supports basic formatting, links, and images.

How to Change Your Signature in the Outlook Mobile App

On iOS or Android, signatures are managed separately again:

1. Open the Outlook app and tap the profile icon in the top-left
2. Tap the Settings gear at the bottom
3. Scroll to find Signature (it may be listed under your account name or under a general settings section)
4. Tap Signature and edit the text
5. You can toggle Use signature on or off per account

Note: The mobile app signature editor is plain text only — no bold, no images, no HTML formatting. If your desktop signature includes a logo or styled text, the mobile version will need to be a simplified version.

Comparing Signature Options Across Outlook Versions

Common Variables That Affect Your Experience

Not everyone's Outlook setup behaves the same way. Several factors shape what you can actually do with signatures:

Account type matters. Personal Microsoft accounts, Microsoft 365 work accounts, and Exchange accounts all behave slightly differently. Corporate IT environments sometimes restrict signature settings or push signatures server-side through Exchange transport rules, which means your locally saved signature might be overridden or duplicated.

Admin-controlled signatures. In managed business environments, IT departments can enforce a standardized company-wide signature at the server level. If you notice your signature gets added automatically even when you didn't set one — or your changes don't seem to save — this is often why.

New Outlook vs. Classic Outlook. Microsoft has been rolling out a redesigned "New Outlook" for Windows that looks and behaves more like the web version. If you've switched to the new interface, the menu paths above for classic desktop Outlook won't match what you see on screen.

Mac users follow a different path: Outlook menu → Preferences → Signatures, with its own dedicated signature manager that differs from the Windows experience. 🖥️

When Signature Changes Don't Seem to Stick

If you've updated your signature but it's not appearing correctly, the most common reasons are:

• You edited the signature in one environment (e.g., web) but are sending from another (e.g., desktop)
• Your account uses a server-side signature managed by your IT team
• The signature is set for new messages but not for replies, or vice versa
• You have multiple email accounts in Outlook and changed the signature for the wrong one

Checking each environment separately — desktop, web, and mobile — and confirming which account the signature is assigned to will usually reveal where the disconnect is.

The Variables That Make This Personal

Getting your signature changed is straightforward once you know which Outlook environment you're working in. But whether your ideal signature includes images, formatted HTML, a legal disclaimer, or just plain text — and whether you're on a personal account or a corporate Exchange setup — shapes what's actually possible within your specific configuration. 📧

The right approach depends on which platforms you actually send email from, what formatting your recipients need to receive reliably, and how much control your account type gives you over signature settings.