Outlook Not Syncing with Phone

Question

Hello,

I must have done something to mess up my computer. My Outlook used to sync seamlessly with the Outlook on my phone. I have two Gmail accounts. Now they won't sync the calendar or contacts. I do received and can send email on both and they show up on the other.

Thank you!

[PII: Removed]

Answer 1

Hello, are your Gmail calendars and contacts visible when you sign in directly at Gmail on the web?

Open Outlook, go to File, Account Settings, then Account Settings again, select your Gmail account, and click Change. Choose More Settings, then go to the Advanced tab and ensure “Use Cached Exchange Mode” is not selected for Gmail accounts. Next, remove the account from Outlook, restart your computer, then add it again using the Google account option and complete the sign in through the browser window. This setup restores full sync for mail, calendar, and contacts with Outlook on your phone.

Answer 2

For Gmail accounts, email can sync even when calendar and contacts do not, depending on how the accounts are set up. IMAP and POP only sync email, not calendar or contacts.

To restore calendar and contacts sync between Outlook on Windows and Outlook on the phone, use an Exchange/ActiveSync-based setup and then verify sync from the mobile side:

1. Confirm the account type
   • In Outlook on the computer, open the account settings for each Gmail account.
   • If the account is configured as IMAP or POP, it will only sync email. Calendar and contacts from that account will not sync to the phone.
   • To sync calendar and contacts, the provider must support Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. Gmail does support this, but the account must be added using the correct method on the phone.
2. Check setup on the phone (Outlook mobile app)
   • Open the Outlook app on the phone.
   • Go to Settings.
   • Tap each Gmail account that is not syncing calendar/contacts.
   • Tap Reset Account, then check if calendar and contacts start syncing.
3. Remove and re-add the accounts in Outlook mobile
   • In Outlook mobile Settings, tap the Gmail account that is not syncing.
   • Tap Delete Account > Delete From This Device.
   • Re-add the Gmail account using the Gmail/Google option in Outlook for Android or Outlook for iOS so that it uses the proper sync method.
   • If prompted to set up the account as IMAP, be aware that IMAP cannot sync calendar or contacts. In that case, use the Google option or contact the email provider/admin for the correct server settings.
4. Verify sync end-to-end
   • On the computer, create a test calendar event in the Gmail calendar in Outlook.
   • Close Outlook, restart the computer, then reopen Outlook and confirm the event is still present.
   • On the phone, open Outlook and check the calendar for the same Gmail account to see if the event appears.
   • If it does not appear, go to Settings in the Outlook app and restart the app.
5. If this started recently and used to work
   • If calendar and contacts used to sync and then stopped, and the accounts are Outlook.com or Microsoft 365, use the Outlook.com sync troubleshooting guidance. For Gmail, verify that the accounts are still authorized in Google to share data with Outlook and that no recent security changes were made on the Google side.

If problems persist after these steps, use in-app Outlook support on the phone or contact Microsoft support for Outlook for more detailed, account-specific troubleshooting.

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References:

• Can't sync calendar and contacts with my phone or tablet
• Set up email in the Outlook for Android app