How to Change the Time Zone in Outlook (and Show a Second One)

Meetings showing an hour out? A calendar that's still on New York time after a trip? Outlook's time zone is easy to fix — and if you regularly work with people abroad, you can show their time alongside yours so you never book a 3am call by mistake.

Outlook usually follows Windows, so start there: right-click the clock on the taskbar → Adjust date and time, and make sure Set time zone automatically is on (or the correct zone is selected). Nine times out of ten this fixes "all my meetings are an hour out".

1. Click Settings → General → Language and time.
2. Under Time zone, choose your zone, for example (UTC+00:00) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London.
3. Click Save.

If Outlook notices your Windows time zone is different, it may show a banner asking whether to update — click Yes.

1. Click File → Options → Calendar.
2. Scroll to Time zones.
3. Choose your zone from the drop-down and give it a label, such as UK.
4. Click OK.

When you open the calendar in Day or Week view, the times run down the left-hand side. You can add a second column showing another zone.

New Outlook: Settings → Calendar → View → under Time zones, click Add time zone, choose the zone and label it (Sydney, New York). Up to several zones can be shown.

Classic Outlook: File → Options → Calendar → Time zones → tick Show a second time zone, pick it and label it. There's room for a third too.

Now when a colleague in Sydney suggests "10am your time", you can see instantly what that is for you.

If you're abroad for a while, switch Outlook to the local zone so reminders fire at the right local time. In classic Outlook, click Swap Time Zones in the same settings page. In new Outlook, change the main zone and move your home zone to the second column. Change it back when you're home.

Windows set to Set time zone automatically handles the system clock; Outlook follows.

When you create an event, you can set its own time zone — look for the globe icon next to the start time (new Outlook) or Time Zones on the ribbon (classic). Enter the event in the other zone's local time and Outlook converts it for you. Good for flights: enter departure in the departure city's time and arrival in the arrival city's time.

Meetings are an hour out but my zone is right. Check Adjust for daylight saving time automatically is on in Windows. Also check the other person's time zone — if theirs is wrong, their invitations arrive wrong.

My phone shows a different time from my PC. One of them has the wrong zone. Phones usually get it from the network; check Settings → General → Date & Time on iPhone or Settings → System → Date & time on Android.

All-day events span two days. Classic symptom of a wrong time zone on the device that created them. Fix the zone, then open and re-save the event.

Let Windows set the time zone automatically, make sure Outlook matches, and add a second zone for anyone you work with regularly. One look at the calendar replaces a lot of mental arithmetic.