New Microsoft Outlook for Windows: Calendar notifications in the background

Coming soon for the new Microsoft Outlook for Windows: Users can enable Calendar notifications on their desktop when Outlook is not launched. Users can select the notification to open the Calendar event details.

When this will happen

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out in late November 2024 and expect to complete in late December 2024.

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): We will begin rolling out in early January 2025 and expect to complete in early February 2025.

How this will affect your organization

Steps for users to enable this feature:

1. In new Outlook, select the gear icon in the top right corner for Settings, search for Notifications, expand the Notifications in Outlook section and enable Send notifications when Outlook is closed. In the Notify me about section, expand Calendar and select Desktop. Select Save.

2. In Windows 11 Settings, go to System > Notifications > Select Outlook (new) and enable Show notification banners:

3. In Windows 11 Settings, search for Installed apps and then search for Outlook. Select the three-dot menu next to Outlook (new) > Choose Advanced options > Let this app run in background > Always

Background Calendar notifications are available by default to all new Outlook for Windows users.

What you need to do to prepare

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation.

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