why can't I see other people's availabilities on classic outlook?

Question

why can't I see other people's availabilities on classic outlook?

Jason Smith 0

To whom it may concern, I can't see anyone else's availability in classic outlook when I open calendar or check schedule when I am organising a meeting on my work computer. My colleagues are listed in calendar view, but when I select them, their calendar opens it says "no connection" next to their name at the top of their calendar.

I can see everyone's availability on the online web version of outlook and the new version of outlook, but I do not like the new version, so I am using classic. My colleagues who use classic can see everyone's availabilities fine.

Can I please get some advice on how to fix this.

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Answer 1

Hani-Ng 1,410 Independent Advisor

Hi Jason Smith

Since you can see everyone's availability in Outlook on the web and in New Outlook, it sounds like your mailbox and calendar permissions are working correctly. The fact that other colleagues using Classic Outlook can also see availability suggests the problem is likely isolated to Classic Outlook on your computer rather than a Microsoft 365 service issue.

Here are some recommendations you can try first:

Check Outlook's connection status

Hold Ctrl and right-click the Outlook icon in the system tray > Select Connection Status.
Make sure Outlook is connected successfully and isn't showing any connection errors.

Try a new Outlook profile

You can follow this article: Create a profile in classic Outlook for Windows | Microsoft Support

Try disabling Cached Exchange Mode temporarily

Sometimes a local Outlook cache issue can affect calendar lookups.

Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Double-click your account.
Temporarily disable Use Cached Exchange Mode.
Restart Outlook and test again.

If the issue continues after these steps, I'd suggest reaching out to your IT administrator. They can check a few things that aren't easily visible from the Outlook client, such as:

Whether Autodiscover is working correctly for your account.
Whether Exchange Web Services (EWS) is available and functioning properly.
Whether any Group Policies, security software, or network restrictions are affecting Classic Outlook.
If your organization has a hybrid Exchange setup, whether there are any free/busy configuration issues.

I hope this information helpful and if you have any further questions, please feel free to ask via comment section.

Jason Smith 0 Reputation points

2026-09-13T23:16:28.17+00:00

Thanks Hani.

I tried the steps to check Outlook's connection status but the option of "Select connection status" does not appear (refer below). I also tried "disabling Cached Exchange Mode temporarily" but the check box for this is greyed out so I can't disable it. I have previously reached out to my IT department, but they haven't been able to find the solution to date. I believe they reset my outlook profile as one of the attempted fixes, but this didn't work. I will pass on your suggestions to them.

Thanks again.
Hani-Ng 1,410 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-13T23:57:03.68+00:00
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Hi Jason Smith

Thanks for the update and for sharing the screenshot.

If the Cached Exchange Mode option is greyed out, it is usually managed through your organization's policies or Exchange settings, so that's something your IT team would need to review.

Given that:

Outlook on the web works correctly

New Outlook works correctly

Other users running Classic Outlook can view availability without issues

Recreating the Outlook profile has already been tried

I'd recommend sharing these findings with your IT team. At this point, the issue seems more likely to be related to a configuration or policy affecting Classic Outlook, or something specific to the affected device.

One additional test that may help narrow things down is to sign in to Classic Outlook on another computer and see if the issue follows the account. If it works elsewhere, that would point to a problem with the original device. If the same issue occurs on another PC, that could indicate something specific to the account or environment.

In the meantime, since Outlook on the web and New Outlook are both able to display availability correctly, you may want to use one of those clients as a temporary workaround when scheduling meetings while the issue is being investigated. This won't fix the underlying problem in Classic Outlook, but it may make it easier to continue scheduling meetings and checking colleagues' availability while the issue is being investigated.
Jason Smith 0 Reputation points

2026-09-14T01:30:57.71+00:00

Thanks again Hani. I contacted IT again and was given the workaround options as per your suggestion. I have saved the classic web outlook as a favourite due to my disdain for the new outlook I have sent your suggested fixes to IT, so fingers crossed. I will try logging into another computer when my colleague returns.
Hani-Ng 1,410 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-14T02:58:17.6566667+00:00

Hi Jason Smith

Thank you for the update. If you have any questions, feel free to come back.