If you use Outlook to manage meetings and appointments, calendar reminders are essential. But depending on which version of Outlook you use — Outlook for Mac, Classic Outlook for Windows, the New Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the Web, or Outlook Mobile — the experience varies significantly.
And even with reminders enabled, Outlook doesn’t provide an easy way to automatically remind other people by email, SMS, or phone call. In this article, we’ll walk through:
How to set and manage reminders in each Outlook platform
The limitations of Outlook’s built-in reminders
A better way to automate reminders using Timelier.com
Outlook allows you to configure a default reminder time that applies to all new calendar events you create.
| Outlook Version | How to Set It |
|---|---|
| Outlook for Mac | Outlook > Preferences > Calendar > Default reminders |
| Classic Outlook for Windows | File > Options > Calendar > “Default reminders” checkbox |
| New Outlook for Windows | Use Outlook on the Web to manage calendar defaults |
| Outlook on the Web | Settings > Calendar > Events and invitations > Default reminder dropdown |
| Outlook Mobile (iOS/Android) | Use Outlook on the Web to manage calendar defaults |
You can customize or remove the reminder on individual events.
| Outlook Version | How to Customize Reminder |
|---|---|
| Mac | Open (double-click) event → use “Reminder” dropdown |
| Classic Windows | Open (double-click) meeting → change “Reminder” on the ribbon |
| New Windows | Open (double-click) event → set “Remind me” |
| Web | Open event → “minutes/hours before” dropdown |
| Mobile | Can view existing reminders but can’t edit them directly |
Microsoft is gradually standardizing the Outlook experience across devices. Most reminder and calendar settings — including default reminders — are now managed through Outlook on the Web or the New Outlook for Windows.
Outlook Mobile for Android and iOS reflects these settings but doesn’t allow users to configure them directly. The mobile apps are designed to act as clients that sync with your Microsoft 365 account’s preferences.
Outlook reminders are helpful for keeping yourself on track — but they fall short if you want to notify other people or use more flexible delivery options.
Only you get reminders — attendees must manage their own.
No SMS, phone call, or email reminders — Outlook only supports:
Pop-up alerts (on desktop or web)
Push notifications (on mobile via iOS/Android OS)
One reminder per event by default.
No conditional or rule-based reminders (e.g., reminders only for events with clients).
Mobile: Can’t configure reminders; shows only what’s been synced.
New Windows Outlook: Some settings missing — relies on Outlook Web.
Mac: Manages settings per calendar; not always in sync with other platforms.
Outlook allows you to flag email messages for follow-up, setting a pop-up reminder for yourself and (optionally) the recipient — but this feature comes with strict limitations.
You can only apply “Follow Up” → “Add Reminder” to regular email messages.
You cannot use it on calendar event invitations — neither sent nor received.
If you want the recipient to also see the reminder flag, your Microsoft 365 tenant must have the “flag for recipients” option enabled.
This setting is controlled by IT administrators and is often disabled by default.
If disabled, the flag will appear only for you, not the recipient.
Bottom line: Follow Up is not a substitute for calendar-based reminder emails or automated attendee notifications.
Yes — Outlook lets you manually email all meeting attendees from the calendar event.
| Platform | Manual Email to Attendees |
|---|---|
| Mac | “Email participants” button |
| Classic Windows | Open (double-click) event → “Contact Attendees” → “New Email to Attendees” |
| New Windows | Similar to Classic (may appear in overflow menu) |
| Web | Open (double-click) event → “reply all” |
| Mobile | May show “Email guests” option depending on OS/version |
This is a manual action — Outlook does not let you schedule reminder emails to go out automatically before an event.
If you need reliable, automated reminders for Outlook events, including emails, texts, or calls — Timelier.com is the solution.
Connects securely to your Outlook calendar.
Lets you define custom reminder rules based on:
Event subject, location, attendees, start time, and more.
Sends reminders via:
SMS
Microsoft Teams message
| Feature | Outlook | Timelier.com |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple reminders per event |  Not supported |  Yes |
| Reminder emails | Not supported | Yes |
| SMS / phone call reminders | Not supported | Yes |
| Remind attendees | Manual only | Yes |
| Conditional reminder rules | Not available | Yes |
Outlook provides pop-up and push notifications to help you remember upcoming meetings — but it doesn’t offer automation, multi-channel delivery, or reminders for attendees.
With Timelier.com, you can create flexible, automated reminders for yourself and your guests via email, text, or phone — with no extra effort.
Try Timelier.com — connect Outlook and start sending reminders in minutes →
No, unlike Google Calendar, Outlook supports setting only a single reminder on an event. Also, unlike Google Calendar, there is no option for the reminder to be an email rather than a popup.
No, Outlook does not have the feature to automatically send reminder emails to yourself or to other attendees before an event. You must manually send emails if you want to notify attendees again after the original invite.
The “Follow Up” feature lets you flag individual emails for a reminder. However, it is mainly for your own tracking. It does not automatically send a new email, and recipients outside your Microsoft 365 organization typically won’t see the reminder.
No, Outlook doesn’t offer recurring automatic reminder emails natively. You would need to manually send them or use third-party tools like Power Automate (which can be complicated) — or use a service like Timelier.com.
Not usually. Even inside the same Microsoft 365 tenant, whether a recipient sees the reminder depends on their Outlook settings. If the recipient is external (outside your organization), they likely won’t see the flag at all.
The best way is to use a service like Timelier.com. It connects directly to your Outlook calendar and sends automated reminders via email, SMS, phone calls, and more — based on rules you set, without needing manual emails or complicated workflows.
