Power Platform Community Forum Thread Details

Hi everyone,

I’m currently using Power Automate to send approval emails using the "Start and wait for an approval" action. Previously, recipients would receive the approval email in Outlook with rich actionable features, including inline Approve/Reject buttons and a comment box — all within the email itself.

However, lately, the same approval emails are only showing basic HTML content with buttons that redirect to the Power Automate portal, and there is no inline comment box. Nothing in the flow has changed.

Questions:

What could cause the actionable approval card to stop rendering for some or all users?
How can I ensure all users consistently receive the rich actionable email with inline actions and comment input.
I want all user to use the older version of approvals how can i configured it if possible.

Thanks,

Anant

Categories:

Power Automate Desktop

Hi,

Based on my research and experience, this is a common issue that many organizations are facing. Here's a comprehensive solution to address the actionable approval card problems:

Root Causes of the Problem:

Microsoft 365 Admin Policy Changes: Actionable messages might be disabled at the tenant level Issues with flow approval emails in Outlook - Power Automate | Microsoft Learn

Outlook Version Issues: Users aren't using a supported version of Office 365, or mail for the specific account is being redirected to an on-premises mail server Issues with flow approval emails in Outlook - Power Automate | Microsoft Learn

Security Policy Updates: Recent security policy changes may have affected actionable message rendering

Exchange Online Configuration: Mail flow rules or security settings blocking actionable messages

Solution 1: Check and Enable Actionable Messages at Tenant Level

Admin Center Configuration:

Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Navigate to: Settings → Org Settings → Mail flow

Check: "Actionable Messages" settings

Ensure: "Allow actionable messages" is enabled

Verify: No restrictive policies are blocking them

PowerShell Commands (for admins):

powershell

# Connect to Exchange Online
Connect-ExchangeOnline

# Check current actionable message settings
Get-OrganizationConfig | Select-Object -Property *Actionable*

# Enable actionable messages if disabled
Set-OrganizationConfig -ConnectorsActionableMessagesEnabled $true

Solution 2: User-Level Outlook Settings

For each affected user:

Outlook Desktop:
- File → Options → Trust Center → Trust Center Settings
- Email Security → Check "Enable actionable messages"
- Add-ins → Manage COM Add-ins → Ensure no conflicting add-ins

Outlook Web App:
- Settings (gear icon) → View all Outlook settings
- General → Privacy and data → Enable "Actionable messages"

Solution 3: Verify Prerequisites

Check these requirements for all users:

Office 365 Subscription: Business Premium or higher

Outlook Version:
- Outlook 2016 build 16.0.7967.2073 or later
- Outlook on the web
- Outlook mobile
Exchange Online: Not redirected to on-premises server

Solution 4: Alternative Approval Implementation

Use Adaptive Cards with "Send an email" action:

json

{
  "type": "AdaptiveCard",
  "version": "1.0",
  "body": [
    {
      "type": "TextBlock",
      "text": "Approval Request",
      "size": "Large",
      "weight": "Bolder"
    },
    {
      "type": "TextBlock",
      "text": "Please review and approve this request",
      "wrap": true
    },
    {
      "type": "Input.Text",
      "id": "comment",
      "placeholder": "Add your comments here..."
    }
  ],
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "Action.Http",
      "title": "Approve",
      "method": "POST",
      "url": "https://your-flow-endpoint.com/approve",
      "body": {
        "action": "approve",
        "comment": "{{comment.value}}"
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "Action.Http",
      "title": "Reject",
      "method": "POST",
      "url": "https://your-flow-endpoint.com/reject",
      "body": {
        "action": "reject",
        "comment": "{{comment.value}}"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Solution 5: Hybrid Approach - Teams + Email

Configure both Teams and Email approvals:

Use: "Start and wait for an approval" action

Set: "Approval type" to "Everyone must approve"

Configure: Send to both email and Teams

Users can respond: From either Teams or email (whichever works)

Solution 6: Custom Approval Solution

Create a custom approval using HTTP requests:

Replace: "Start and wait for an approval"

Use: "Send an email (V2)" with custom HTML

Include: Links to custom approval page or HTTP endpoints

Handle: Responses via HTTP triggers

Example HTML Email Template:

html

<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; max-width: 600px;">
  <h2>Approval Required</h2>
  <p>Request Details: [Your content here]</p>
  
  <div style="margin: 20px 0;">
    <textarea placeholder="Comments..." style="width: 100%; height: 100px;"></textarea>
  </div>
  
  <div style="text-align: center;">
    <a href="https://your-approval-endpoint.com/approve?id=123" 
       style="background-color: #28a745; color: white; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; margin: 5px;">
       Approve
    </a>
    <a href="https://your-approval-endpoint.com/reject?id=123" 
       style="background-color: #dc3545; color: white; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; margin: 5px;">
       Reject
    </a>
  </div>
</div>

Solution 7: Troubleshooting Steps

For users experiencing issues:

Clear Outlook Cache:
- Close Outlook
- Delete cache files in %localappdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
- Restart Outlook

Update Outlook:
- File → Office Account → Update Options → Update Now

Check Email Rules:
- Ensure no rules are moving approval emails to different folders

Test with Different Clients:
- Try Outlook Web App
- Try Outlook Mobile
- Compare behavior across clients

Solution 8: Monitor and Test

Create a test flow:

Simple approval flow with minimal content

Send to test users with different Outlook configurations

Document which users receive actionable vs HTML emails

Adjust configuration based on results

If I have answered your question, please mark it as the preferred solution ✅ . If you like my response, please give it a Thumbs Up 👍.
Regards,
Riyaz

Community site session details

Power Automate Approval Email No Longer Shows Actionable Message and redirecting to Portal

Questions:

Root Causes of the Problem:

Solution 1: Check and Enable Actionable Messages at Tenant Level

Solution 2: User-Level Outlook Settings

Solution 3: Verify Prerequisites

Solution 4: Alternative Approval Implementation

Solution 5: Hybrid Approach - Teams + Email

Solution 6: Custom Approval Solution

Solution 7: Troubleshooting Steps

Solution 8: Monitor and Test

Helpful resources

News and Announcements

Quick Links

Introducing the 2026 Season 1 community Super Users

Kudos to our 2025 Community Spotlight Honorees

Congratulations to the February Top 10 Community Leaders!

Leaderboard > Power Automate

Featured topics

Product updates

Community site session details

Power Automate Approval Email No Longer Shows Actionable Message and redirecting to Portal

Questions:

Root Causes of the Problem:

Solution 1: Check and Enable Actionable Messages at Tenant Level

Solution 2: User-Level Outlook Settings

Solution 3: Verify Prerequisites

Solution 4: Alternative Approval Implementation

Solution 5: Hybrid Approach - Teams + Email

Solution 6: Custom Approval Solution

Solution 7: Troubleshooting Steps

Solution 8: Monitor and Test

Helpful resources

News and Announcements

Quick Links

Introducing the 2026 Season 1 community Super Users

Kudos to our 2025 Community Spotlight Honorees

Congratulations to the February Top 10 Community Leaders!

Subscribe to this forum!

Select categories

Leaderboard > Power Automate

Featured topics

Product updates