How to fix Outlook Calendar invites showing as 'Tentative' by default

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to fix Outlook Calendar invites showing as 'Tentative' by default. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

By default, Microsoft Outlook is configured to automatically add meeting requests to your calendar as 'Tentative' the moment they arrive in your inbox. While this ensures you don't double-book your time, many users find it cluttered or confusing to have unconfirmed appointments appearing on their schedule. This guide will show you how to disable this feature so that invites only appear once you have officially accepted them.

Quick Fix Steps

If you are using the classic Outlook desktop application, follow these condensed steps:

1. Go to File > Options.
2. Select Calendar from the left-hand menu.
3. Under the Automatic accept or decline section, uncheck the box for Automatically add events to my calendar from email.
4. Click OK to save changes.

Detailed Instructions

For Outlook Desktop (Classic)

For users running the full installation of Outlook on Windows, the setting is managed within the global options menu:

1. Click the File tab in the top-left corner of the ribbon.
2. Select Options at the bottom of the left sidebar.
3. In the Outlook Options window, click on Calendar.
4. Scroll down to the Automatic accept or decline section.
5. Ensure that Automatically add events to my calendar from email is unchecked.
6. Click OK to apply the changes and restart Outlook if necessary.

For New Outlook and Outlook on the Web (OWA)

The modern interface handles calendar events differently, often syncing directly with the Exchange server settings:

1. Click the Settings (gear icon) in the top-right corner of the window.
2. Navigate to Calendar > Events and invitations.
3. Look for the section titled Add events to my calendar from email.
4. Change the dropdown selection to Only events I accept or uncheck the automatic addition option.
5. Click Save at the bottom of the screen.

Troubleshooting

Settings not saving?

If you find that your calendar continues to show tentative meetings after changing these settings, it may be due to a synchronisation lag between your local client and the Microsoft 365 server. Try the following:

• Perform a full restart of the Outlook application.
• Check the settings via the web browser at outlook.office.com to ensure the server-side setting is correct.
• Verify that you are not using a third-party calendar integration (such as Google Calendar sync) that may be overriding your Outlook preferences.

If these steps do not resolve the issue or if your organisation has a Group Policy preventing these changes, please Open a Ticket for further assistance.

Still Having Issues?