My Outlook is failing to display the "Room Finder"

Question

My Outlook is failing to display the "Room Finder" pane when scheduling meetings, and the "Suggested Times" feature is completely blank despite the rooms having availability. This appears to be a specific WebView2 rendering failure or a broken REST API call to the room list on the backend, rather than a permissions issue, as OWA displays the rooms correctly. Since the "Classic" Outlook interface relies on a different rendering engine than the new web-based components, is there a way to force Outlook to re-register the Microsoft.WebView2 runtime or clear the specific Teams/Outlook add-in cache that controls the Room Finder overlay without reinstalling the entire Office suite?

Answer 1

Hi @Lambert reil

Thank you for posting your question in Microsoft Q&A.  

I understand that you are encountering an issue with Room Finder in Classic Outlook. Since OWA still displays the rooms correctly, this issue is likely related to the Outlook client rather than any server‑side configuration. 

You could try to follow these steps to troubleshoot it: 

Open Outlook in Safe mode: 

This can help you avoid any issues caused by add-ins in Classic Outlook. 

Press Windows + R 

Enter: outlook.exe /safe then select OK to open. 

If Room Finder works normally in Safe Mode, then an add‑in might be involved. You can try disabling add-ins one by one to determine which one causes the issue. 

Verify the Registry 

Note: Please back up the registry before modifying it:  Open regedit → File → Export. 

Open Registry Editor.

Then navigate to: 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Options\Calendar  

Ensure the following values are set correctly: 

RoomFinderShow > DWORD = 1 

RoomFinderForceDisable → DWORD = 0 

These values control whether the Room Finder pane is enabled in Classic Outlook. 

Reference: How to control the Room Finder in Outlook | Microsoft Learn 

For repairing or re‑registering the WebView2 Runtime 

If WebView2 is damaged or missing, the Room Finder pane may appear blank. 

You can try to run a WebView2 Repair: 

Go to: Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.

Look for Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime.

Right‑click it > Change. 

Select Repair.

If the Repair option does not appear or the repair does not resolve the issue, you can reinstall WebView2 and then try again. 

Please understand that our initial reply may not always immediately resolve the issue. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution. 

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Answer 2

If the "Room Finder" is not displaying in Outlook, it may be due to several factors. Here are some troubleshooting steps you can take:

1. Check Offline Address Book (OAB): Ensure that your Offline Address Book is generated by Exchange Server 2010 or later. If it's generated by an older version, the Room Finder may not function correctly. This is particularly relevant if you are using an Exchange cached mode profile.
2. Registry Settings: You can check the registry settings related to the Room Finder. The RoomFinderShow and RoomFinderForceDisabled values can control the visibility of the Room Finder. Make sure that the RoomFinderShow value is set correctly in the registry. If you are unsure about modifying the registry, it is advisable to back it up first.
3. Add-ins and Cache: If you suspect that the issue is related to the Teams/Outlook add-in cache, you may want to clear the cache for these add-ins. However, specific instructions on clearing the cache for the Room Finder overlay are not provided in the context.
4. Update Outlook: Ensure that your Outlook is up to date, as updates can fix known issues with features like the Room Finder.
5. Test in Safe Mode: You can try running Outlook in Safe Mode to see if the issue persists. This can help determine if the problem is caused by add-ins or custom settings.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, you may need to consider reinstalling the Office suite as a last resort.

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References:

• Outlook 2010 Room Finder doesn't show any conference rooms
• Room Finder isn't available on shared calendars when multiple Exchange accounts are added to the same Outlook profile