Delegate Calendar Category Colors Wrong

Question

Delegate Calendar Category Colors Wrong

Luebbering, Jenn (She/Her/Hers) 0

I have delegate access to my executive's calendar and a few weeks ago the colors suddenly changed on my end. I have 2 categories that should be different colors show up as the same. When I view the calendar on someone else's computer, the colors are completely different than what they are on my side (two different colors instead of the same color). I use New Outlook. When I view the calendar in Classic, it will show the two different colors (different than my coworker's computer, but at least I can differentiate the colors). Any tips? I can't use classic as I need access to Copilot.

0 comments

1 answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Aetherin 1,465 Independent Advisor

Hi @Luebbering, Jenn (She/Her/Hers),

Since the categories display differently in Classic Outlook and on another computer, the underlying calendar items themselves appear to still have separate categories. Based on your description, the issue is more likely related to how New Outlook is synchronizing or mapping the executive's category list for your profile rather than a problem with the calendar data itself.

As a first step, try opening Outlook on the web (OWA) and then open the executive's calendar to check the same appointments. New Outlook shares much of its calendar experience with Outlook on the web, so this comparison can help determine whether the issue is related to Exchange data or to the local state of the New Outlook client.

If the colors display correctly in Outlook on the web, that would strongly suggest the issue is specific to the local New Outlook client.

If the colors also appear incorrect in Outlook on the web, it may indicate that the category mapping for your delegate access is not consistent on the service side, or that the calendar owner's category definitions should be reviewed.
If Outlook on the web shows the correct colors, try removing and re-adding the executive's calendar in New Outlook. If the issue persists, you may also want to repair or reset the New Outlook app through Windows Settings: Repair apps and programs in Windows

User's image

It may also be helpful to create two new test categories with clearly different colors and apply them to a few test appointments. If those newly created categories display correctly, it could suggest that the original category definitions have become corrupted or are no longer being interpreted correctly by New Outlook, in which case recreating them may help.

If you have any updates after trying the above steps, please feel free to leave a comment.

I'll receive a notification and would be happy to continue troubleshooting with you.

Aetherin 1,465 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-10T12:56:34.7233333+00:00

Hi @Luebbering, Jenn (She/Her/Hers),

Have you had a chance to check the replies provided? Any update would be appreciated.
Luebbering, Jenn (She/Her/Hers) 0 Reputation points

2026-09-10T17:04:31.3366667+00:00

I checked the web version and it's the same as the app. For some reason it seems to just be when it's on my calendar/computer. I also did try repair and reset, neither of those worked.
Aetherin 1,465 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-10T17:18:34.8533333+00:00

Hi @Luebbering, Jenn (She/Her/Hers),

Thank you for checking.

Since the issue occurs in both Outlook on the web and the Outlook app, it may be related to the mailbox-level category mapping or delegate configuration

Just to confirm, have you already asked the executive to remove and then re-add your delegate access? Also, have you had a chance to test with two newly created categories to see whether they display the correct colors?

If the issue continues after re-establishing delegate access, I'd recommend that your Microsoft 365 administrator open a support ticket with Microsoft. The Microsoft support team can investigate the mailbox's category mapping on the backend and determine whether there's an issue affecting category synchronization for delegates.