How to Change Time Zones in Outlook?

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Time Zones are not an easy topic. With many people working from home and not traveling, keeping track of different time zones might become tedious and puzzling, especially when creating a meeting in Outlook for two different time zones. It is easy to get lost in a long list of different time zones while scheduling an appointment or joining one. Luckily for everyone, modern technologies make planning meetings in different time zones in Outlook much easier. Still, some may get a bit confused.

This article will show you everything you need to know about time zones in Outlook, how to create meetings in two time zones, and how to change the time zone in Outlook.

Outlook Time Zone Hierarchy

Note that time zone behavior in Outlook depends on the Outlook version, mailbox config, and deployment model. In Microsoft 365 environments, the following components can influence how calendar times are displayed:

• Exchange mailbox regional config
• Outlook on the Web (OWA) calendar settings
• Outlook desktop client settings
• Windows system time zone

Keep in mind that depending on config, higher layers (Exchange/OWA) can override local OS settings.

Checking Mailbox Time Zone Settings

In Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online environments, you can check mailbox regional settings with the following command:

Get-MailboxRegionalConfiguration cyril@theitbros.com

You can use the following command to change mailbox-level time zone settings in Exchange Online and on-premises Exchange environments:

Set-MailboxRegionalConfiguration cyril@theitbros.com `
-TimeZone "Eastern Standard Time"

To check time zone in Outlook on the Web, open Settings > General > Language and time. Here you need to check if the configured time zone matches your mailbox and regional settings.

Outlook Version Differences

Also pay attention that time zone behavior may vary between Classic Outlook and the New Outlook for Windows.

Classic Outlook relies more heavily on Windows regional and time zone settings, while New Outlook uses Microsoft 365 cloud-based settings and sync mechanisms more extensively.

If you notice different time zone behavior between Outlook clients, you need to check both local Outlook settings and Exchange mailbox regional config.

Does Outlook Adjust Time Zones?

Yes, it does. In case you wonder how Outlook converts time zones for meetings, here is a simple and brief explanation:

Exchange-based mailboxes (Microsoft 365 and on-premises Exchange) store calendar items using UTC timestamps together with time zone metadata for the originating time zone. But note that time zone interpretation depends on multiple layers like:

• client time zone settings
• Exchange mailbox regional config
• Outlook on the Web (OWA) calendar settings

Keep in mind that the displayed time is dynamically converted based on these settings rather than relying only on the local system time zone.

When you open Outlook, create an appointment, receive an invitation, or perform other tasks with your Calendar, the app checks your computer time zone and automatically converts time. That simple. Probably, you can already guess that changing the system time zone may affect Outlook behavior in classic desktop mode, but in Microsoft 365/Exchange Online environments the result depends on mailbox and web-based settings and is not guaranteed.

Also note that shared mailboxes and resource mailboxes can have their own regional config settings. If meeting times appear inconsistent only for a specific shared mailbox, you need to check its mailbox regional config separately.

Schedule a Meeting in Outlook for a Specific Time Zone

Suppose you have a meeting with people who live in different time zone. To avoid confusion and ensure everyone arrives on time, you must specify the time zone in the Outlook calendar. Here is how to set up a meeting in Outlook with a specific time zone.

1. Launch the Outlook app and switch to Calendar view using the small Calendar icon in the side pane. If you use Outlook 2019 and older, the Calendar icon will sit in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
   

   

2. Right-click the day when you want to request a meeting and click the New Meeting Request or New Appointment, depending on what event you want to add to your Outlook Calendar. The action will open a new window with all the meeting details.
   

   

3. Next, you need to specify the meeting time and tell Outlook that you want to use a specific time zone. To do that, place a checkmark next to the Time Zones option.
   

   

4. What you will see next is the long list of time zones on our planet. Locate the one you need. If you are not sure which time zone to use in Outlook, use one of the websites to find the time zone you need.
   

   

5. Fill in the rest of the details and send the request to all the participants.

That is how you create a meeting in Outlook in different time zone.

Note. When Windows time zone changes after a meeting was scheduled, Outlook may display a banner stating “This meeting has been adjusted to reflect your current time zone”. This indicates that Outlook has automatically recalculated the local display time (and the original meeting time saved on the server has not changed).

How to Change the Time Zone in Outlook?

If you travel a lot, you probably often need to adjust time zones and ensure all your meetings are up to date with your current time zone. Although our smartphones nowadays can automatically detect and change the time zone, you may find it necessary to adjust the Outlook time zone manually. It is not difficult and takes only a few clicks to do.

1. Launch Outlook and go to settings in the menu File > Options. No need to switch to the Calendar view.
   

   

2. Go to the Calendar section.
3. Scroll down a bit and find the Time Zones section. Select the time zone you need from the Time zone drop-down list. For your convenience, create a label for it. For example, My local time.
   

   

4. Click OK.

You can tell Windows to do everything for you if you want to avoid manual time zone adjusting. All you need to do is to enable automatic time zone detection in the Windows Settings.

Note. Time zone behavior in Outlook depends on config. In classic Outlook, the time zone is primarily inherited from Windows system settings. However, in Microsoft 365/Exchange Online environments, you can control Outlook time zone separately through mailbox regional settings and it does not always automatically follow Windows changes.

Note that in case you configured mailbox-level settings (for example via Set-MailboxRegionalConfiguration/Outlook on the Web settings), they can override local system behavior.

As a result, time zone sync between Windows and Outlook is not guaranteed in all enterprise cases.

How to Enable Automatic Time Zone Detection in Windows 10

1. On your keyboard, press Win + I to launch Windows Settings.
2. Go to Time and Language > Date and time.

   

3. Enable Set time zone automatically.

   

How to Enable Automatic Time Zone Detection in Windows 11

1. Right-click the Start menu and select Settings. You can also press Win + I.
2. Click Time & Language.
3. Select Date & time.
4. Toggle on the Set time automatically option.

   

5. Enable the Set time zone automatically option.

Important. Note that automatic time zone detection in Windows is not guaranteed to work in all environments.

The “Set time zone automatically” feature depends on:

• Location Services being enabled
• Availability of accurate geolocation data
• Administrative Group Policy settings (commonly disabled in enterprise environments)
• VPN/virtual network configs that may mask real location

In corporate environments, this feature is often disabled by IT policy/restricted for security and compliance reasons.

As a result, Outlook does not always automatically update its time zone based on Windows settings, especially in managed Microsoft 365 environments. In enterprise environments, time zone behavior is primarily controlled by policy and cloud mailbox config rather than Windows location detection.

Keep in mind that you should not consider Automatic syncing as a reliable mechanism in enterprise deployments.