How to fix Google Calendar not sending or delivering invitation notifications to attendees

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to fix Google Calendar not sending or delivering invitation notifications to attendees. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Google Calendar relies on email to deliver event invitations and update notifications to attendees. When these notifications stop arriving, the cause is usually a misconfigured notification setting, an issue with the linked Gmail or Google Workspace account, or a delivery problem on the recipient's end. The steps below walk you through restoring reliable invite delivery, starting with the most common fixes and moving to more detailed troubleshooting.

Quick Fix Steps

1. Open Google Calendar in a browser at calendar.google.com and confirm you are signed in to the correct account.
2. Click the gear icon (top right) and select Settings.
3. Open Settings for my calendars, choose the affected calendar, then click Event settings.
4. Under Notifications, ensure Email is selected for both Event invitations and Event updates.
5. Click General settings in the left sidebar and confirm Email is selected under Notification settings.
6. Create a test event, add an attendee, and check the attendee's inbox (including spam and promotions folders).

Detailed Instructions

Verify Notification Settings

Google Calendar has two layers of notification settings: one for the whole account and one per calendar. Both must allow email for invites to be delivered.

1. Open Settings from the gear icon.
2. In the left sidebar, click General settings.
3. Scroll to Notification settings and confirm Email is turned on.
4. Click Settings for my calendars and select the relevant calendar.
5. Open Event settings and under Notifications, set Event invitations to Email.
6. Set Event updates to Email as well.

Confirm the Attendee Email Address Is Correct

Invites are sent to whatever address is entered in the Guests field. A typo, an old alias, or a personal address used instead of a work address is a common cause of "missing" notifications.

1. Open the event in Google Calendar.
2. Click the pencil icon (Edit event).
3. Review each address under Guests and remove any duplicates or outdated addresses.
4. Click Save and send an updated invite.

Check the Recipient's Email Setup

If the organiser's settings look correct, the problem may be on the attendee's side.

• Ask the attendee to check their Spam, Junk, Promotions, and Updates tabs in Gmail.
• Search the inbox for from:[email protected] to locate any filtered messages.
• Ask the attendee to add [email protected] to their contacts or safe senders list.
• If the attendee uses another email client (Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird), check that their spam filter has not quarantined the message.

Review Gmail Filters and Forwarding Rules

Filters can silently archive or delete calendar invitations before they are noticed.

1. Open Gmail and click the search options icon (the sliders on the right of the search bar).
2. Search for subject:(Invitation OR Updated OR Cancelled) from:[email protected].
3. If results appear in All Mail but not Inbox, click Settings (gear icon) and choose See all settings.
4. Open the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab and review any rule that matches calendar notifications.
5. Edit or delete the rule so future invitations land in the inbox.

Check Google Workspace Admin Policies (Business Accounts)

Workspace administrators can centrally disable calendar notifications or restrict sharing outside the organisation.

1. Sign in to the Google Admin console at admin.google.com.
2. Go to Apps > Google Workspace > Calendar.
3. Review Sharing settings and ensure external invitations are not blocked.
4. Open User settings and confirm notification defaults are not forced off.

Test with a New Event

After making changes, run a clean test to confirm notifications are flowing.

1. Create a new event in Google Calendar.
2. Add a guest using an external email address you can check (such as a personal Gmail or Outlook address).
3. Click Save and choose Send in the invite prompt.
4. Wait two to three minutes, then check the test inbox, including spam folders.
5. If the message arrives, repeat the test on the original calendar to confirm the issue is resolved.

Troubleshooting

Invites Are Sent but Marked as Spam

This usually means the recipient's mail server is treating Google Calendar notifications as suspicious. Ask them to:

• Whitelist [email protected] in their email security settings.
• Mark a previous calendar invite as Not spam in Gmail to retrain the filter.
• Check whether their domain has a strict SPF or DMARC policy that blocks third-party senders.

Updates and Cancellations Are Not Delivered

Initial invitations may arrive, but changes to the event never reach attendees. This is almost always caused by the Event updates notification being disabled.

1. Open Google Calendar Settings and select the affected calendar.
2. Click Event settings.
3. Under Notifications, set Event updates to Email.
4. Save your changes and send a test update to confirm delivery.

Notifications Work on Web but Not on Mobile

If invites arrive when you create events in a browser but not from the mobile app, check the device settings.

• Open the Google Calendar app and tap the hamburger menu (top left).
• Select Settings, then choose the affected calendar.
• Tap Notifications and ensure Email is enabled for invitations and updates.
• Check that the device's data connection is stable and that battery optimisation is not restricting the Calendar app.

Still Having Issues?