How to fix Outlook calendar showing incorrect or missing working hours and availability to colleagues

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to fix Outlook calendar showing incorrect or missing working hours and availability to colleagues. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

If your Outlook calendar is showing the wrong working hours, availability, or free/busy information to your colleagues, the issue is usually caused by outdated working hours, cached data, or incorrect calendar permissions. This guide walks you through the steps to correct your working hours settings and refresh your calendar so your availability displays accurately across Microsoft 365.

Quick Fix Steps

1. Update your working hours in Outlook settings.
2. Clear the Outlook cache.
3. Check your calendar sharing permissions.
4. Restart Outlook and verify the changes.

Detailed Instructions

Update Your Working Hours in Outlook on the Web

1. Sign in to Outlook on the web.
2. Click the Settings gear icon in the top-right corner.
3. Select Calendar from the left-hand menu.
4. Under View options, click Working hours.
5. Adjust your Start time, End time, and the Days you work.
6. Click Save to apply the changes.

Update Your Working Hours in Outlook for Windows

1. Open Outlook and click File in the top-left corner.
2. Select Options, then choose Calendar.
3. Under the Work time section, update your Start time, End time, First day of week, and Full working days.
4. Click OK to save your changes.

Update Your Working Hours in Outlook for Mac

1. Open Outlook and click Outlook in the menu bar.
2. Select Settings (or Preferences on older versions).
3. Click Calendar.
4. Adjust the Start time, End time, and Days under working hours.
5. Close the settings window to save automatically.

Clear the Outlook Cache

Cached data can cause Outlook to display outdated working hours and free/busy information. Clearing the cache forces Outlook to resync with the server.

Outlook for Windows

1. Close Outlook completely.
2. Press Win + R, type %localappdata%\Microsoft\Outlook\RoamCache, and press Enter.
3. Select all files in the folder and delete them.
4. Restart Outlook.

Outlook for Mac

1. Quit Outlook.
2. Open Finder and press Cmd + Shift + G.
3. Type ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/Main Profile/Caches and press Enter.
4. Move the cache files to the Bin, then empty the Bin.
5. Restart Outlook.

Check Calendar Sharing Permissions

If colleagues still see incorrect availability after updating your working hours, your calendar sharing settings may need adjusting.

1. In Outlook on the web, click Settings > Calendar > Sharing and permissions.
2. Review who has access to your calendar and what level of detail they can see.
3. Ensure the Free/Busy option is enabled for the people who need to view your availability.
4. Click Save if you make any changes.

Verify Time Zone Settings

An incorrect time zone can cause your availability to appear shifted to colleagues in other regions.

1. In Outlook on the web, go to Settings > General > Language and time.
2. Confirm your Current time zone is set correctly (for example, (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney).
3. Click Save.

Restart and Test

1. Close and reopen Outlook on all your devices.
2. Ask a colleague to check your free/busy status by creating a new meeting and viewing the scheduling assistant.
3. If the issue persists, try accessing Outlook from a different device or browser to rule out local problems.

Troubleshooting

Working Hours Are Correct but Colleagues Still See Old Information

This usually means the free/busy information has not refreshed yet. Microsoft 365 typically updates free/busy data every 15 to 30 minutes, but it can take longer during peak periods. Wait at least one hour and ask your colleague to refresh their view.

Changes Are Not Saving

If your working hours settings will not save, you may be using a shared or delegated mailbox that has restricted permissions. Contact your administrator to confirm you have the correct access level, or contact your IT support team for assistance.

Free/Busy Information Is Completely Missing

If colleagues cannot see any availability information at all, the free/busy service may be experiencing an issue. Check the Microsoft 365 Service Health Status page for any reported outages.

Mobile Devices Showing Incorrect Availability

The Outlook mobile app can take longer to sync changes. Try the following:

• Open the Outlook app and pull down on the calendar view to force a refresh.
• Sign out of the app and sign back in.
• Remove and re-add the account if the issue continues.

Still Having Issues?