Error when you view free/busy information in Outlook: We're checking everyone's calendars

Symptoms

When you view free/busy information in the Scheduling Assistant in Outlook, you receive the following error message:

"We're checking everyone's calendars"

Cause

The FreeBusySupport registry value could be missing after you install or reinstall Office applications. To verify that this is your situation, start Registry Editor (right-click Start, type regedit in the Run box, select OK), and then locate the following registry subkeys, depending on the type of your Office installation.

For Click-to-Run installations:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\REGISTRY\MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\SchedulingInformation\FreeBusySupport
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\REGISTRY\MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\SchedulingInformation\FreeBusySupport

For Windows Installer (MSI) installations:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\SchedulingInformation\FreeBusySupport

Note

The "16.0" path segment represents Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, and Outlook for Microsoft 365.

Resolution

Important

Follow the steps in this section carefully. Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Before you modify it, back up the registry for restoration in case problems occur.

Use one of the following methods.

Method 1

Reinstall the Office applications.

Method 2

Add the missing registry entries.

Note

Add the registry entries under the appropriate subkey for your type of Office installation, either Click-to-Run or MSI.

1. Close Outlook.
2. Start Registry Editor.
3. Find the location of the missing FreeBusySupport registry entry, and add the entry manually. You must add the SchedulingInformation entry first, and then add a FreeBusySupport entry beneath SchedulingInformation entry.
4. Select FreeBusySupport, select Edit, point to New, and then select String Value.
5. Set Value name to EX, and then double-click to edit the string.
6. Type {0006F014-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} in the Value data box, and then select OK.
7. Select FreeBusySupport, select the Edit menu, point to New, and then select String Value.
8. Set Value name to SMTP, and then double-click to edit the string.
9. Type {0006F049-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} in the Value data box, and then select OK.
10. Exit Registry Editor.