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New Outlook for Windows: critical RSVP failure for external Google Calendar invites

LowkeyHighbrow 0 Reputation points
2026-03-17T12:13:58.2766667+00:00

New Outlook is currently unreliable at a basic business function: confirming attendance for external Google Calendar invitations.

This is not a minor UX issue. It creates missed meetings, unnecessary back-and-forth, and avoidable trust problems with clients and partners. In my case, RSVP handling for Google Calendar invites is unreliable or unavailable, forcing manual confirmation by email.

That is not an acceptable state for a product positioned as a serious replacement for classic Outlook.

What needs a clear answer:

Is this officially acknowledged as a known issue?

Is a fix actively in progress?

What is the ETA?

Why is New Outlook being pushed forward while this core workflow remains broken?

Please do not respond with generic troubleshooting steps. This needs a direct status update and a concrete resolution timeline.

Cheers, adb

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For business
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  1. Tamara-Hu 13,395 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-03-17T15:21:04.77+00:00

    Hello @LowkeyHighbrow, 

    Thank you for raising this issue. 

    You're absolutely right to be concerned that reliable RSVP handling for external Google Calendar invitations is a core workflow, not a minor issue. 

    Here's the status update based on currently available information from my research: 

    At this time, Microsoft has not formally confirmed any specific bug in New Outlook that breaks RSVP handling for external Google Calendar invitations.  

    Microsoft has documented other Google/Outlook interoperability issues, such as problems caused by Outlook’s TNEF formatting and differences in how invitations are handled between platforms. These issues can affect how invitations sync or display, and while not identical to the RSVP failure you're facing, they may be related or contribute to the behavior. 

    Google has also published guidance on interoperability. To help invitations between Outlook and Google Calendar sync correctly, Google recommends turning off TNEF in Microsoft Exchange, since TNEF‑formatted invitations can break compatibility with Google Calendar. 

    For your reference:  

    (Note: Microsoft is providing this information as a convenience to you. The sites are not controlled by Microsoft. Microsoft cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety, or suitability of any software or information found there. Please make sure that you completely understand the risk before retrieving any suggestions from the above link.) 

    The New Outlook is still actively evolving, and Microsoft continues to refine features and address interoperability gaps based on user reports and real‑world usage. Since there is no official documentation or confirmation from either Microsoft or Google that specifically links this RSVP issue to the New Outlook, submitting feedback directly will have a meaningful impact. 

    I strongly recommend using the Outlook · Community  to report this behavior. User feedback is one of the primary signals Microsoft relies on to identify, prioritize, and escalate issues that are not yet formally documented. Providing clear examples and steps to reproduce will help the engineering team investigate and potentially include this scenario in future updates. 

    After submitting your request on the site, you can return here and paste the link into this thread. That way, other users who visit this discussion can click the link and upvote your request to help bring more attention to it.   

    Your input is valuable and helps improve the product for everyone. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. 

    If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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  2. Q&A Assist
    2026-03-17T12:14:14.7133333+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    The provided information does not contain any official acknowledgment, status, or ETA for an RSVP failure specific to external Google Calendar invitations in new Outlook for Windows.

    The only Google/Outlook calendar interoperability issues documented here relate to:

    • General known limitations when syncing Google accounts and calendars to the Microsoft cloud (for example, how invitations appear, shared calendar limits, visibility defaults, and unsupported features like attachments), but not a broken RSVP workflow in new Outlook.
    • A separate issue where Outlook does not show a reminder for a Google Calendar event invitation because Google’s ICS file omits a VALARM entry; this affects reminders only, not the ability to accept/decline.

    There is also no statement in the context about:

    • An officially logged bug for RSVP handling of Google Calendar invites in new Outlook for Windows.
    • Any fix in progress or planned release timeline for such an issue.
    • Product rationale for pushing new Outlook while this specific workflow is affected.

    Based on the available material, none of the requested status details (acknowledgment, active fix, ETA, or product decision rationale) are documented.

    References:

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