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How-to · iPhone and Android

See your Outlook work calendar in Calendar Catcher

For people whose organization won't let Calendar Catcher connect to Microsoft. You add your work account to the iPhone's own Calendar, and Calendar Catcher reads it from there. You keep using Outlook exactly as you do now.

TimeAbout 5 minutes
You needYour work email and the password you use for Outlook
In this exampleThe work calendar is called University Calendar. Yours may have another name.
1

Add your work account to the iPhone

This lets the iPhone's Calendar fetch your work calendar, where other apps can see it.

Open Calendar Accounts

  1. Open the iPhone's Settings.
  2. Scroll down and tap Apps, then Calendar.
  3. Tap Calendar Accounts, then Add Account.

On iOS 17 or older there is no Apps row: go to Settings → Calendar → Accounts → Add Account.

Tap Add Account

Choose Microsoft Exchange and sign in

  1. Tap Microsoft Exchange.
  2. Type your work email, leave Description as "Exchange", and tap Next.
  3. Tap Sign In. Your organization's normal Microsoft sign-in page opens. Sign in as you do for Outlook.

If you see a message that your organization doesn't allow this, stop here. Your organization blocks this method, and Calendar Catcher can't read the work calendar on that phone yet.

Example address only

Turn on Calendars only

  1. After you sign in, the iPhone lists Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders and Notes.
  2. Turn Calendars on. Turn everything else off, so you don't get a second inbox or duplicate contacts.
  3. Tap Save.

Your work calendar now appears in the iPhone's Calendar app, beside iCloud and Gmail. It's the same calendar Outlook shows, not a separate copy: changes made in Outlook show up here within a few minutes.

Only Calendars on
2

Stop double reminders for the work calendar only

Outlook already reminds you about work events. Without this, the iPhone's Calendar reminds you too. Your personal calendars keep their reminders.

Turn off Event Alerts for University Calendar

  1. Open Apple's Calendar app (not Outlook).
  2. Tap Calendars at the bottom of the screen.
  3. Under the Exchange heading, tap the ⓘ beside University Calendar.
  4. Turn Event Alerts off, then tap Done.

Do the same for any other calendar listed under Exchange. Leave the iCloud and Gmail calendars alone.

Event Alerts off for University Calendar only
3

Check University Calendar is on in Calendar Catcher

New calendars start switched on, but check it once.

Settings → Accounts → Exchange

  1. Open Calendar Catcher and tap the gear at the top left of HOME.
  2. Tap Accounts.
  3. Scroll to the Exchange group and tap Calendars to open it.
  4. Make sure University Calendar is switched on.

If Settings was already open while you added the account, go back to HOME and open Settings again so it reloads the list.

University Calendar on; leave Connect alone

Don't tap Connect on the Microsoft account

With this setup, your work calendar already reaches Calendar Catcher through the iPhone. Connecting Microsoft as well brings the same calendar in a second way, and Calendar Catcher can't yet tell they're the same. You would get:

  • University Calendar listed twice when you choose where to add an event, so it's easy to add the same event twice.
  • Every work meeting counted twice in the conflict check, so the warnings are noisy.

If your organization later allows Connect and you want it, first switch University Calendar off under Exchange in Calendar Catcher (Part 3), then tap Connect.

4

Check which calendars Calendar Catcher uses

While you're on the Accounts screen, open each account's Calendars list and decide what stays on.

What the switches do

  1. On: Calendar Catcher offers this calendar when you add an event, and checks it for clashes with what you're adding.
  2. Off: Calendar Catcher ignores it. The calendar itself is untouched, and you still see it in Apple's Calendar and in Outlook.

Keep on the calendars where your real plans live. Turn off calendars full of all-day entries you never plan around, such as holidays and birthdays. They clutter the list and set off clash warnings for nothing. At least one calendar must stay on.

Example calendars: holidays and birthdays off
Calendar (examples)SuggestedWhy
University Calendar (work)OnYour meetings. Calendar Catcher warns you before you add something on top of one.
Home, FamilyOnWhere you add personal plans.
Kids' soccer (shared)OnSomeone else adds to it, but the clash check needs to see it.
US HolidaysOffYou never add to it, and every holiday would read as a clash.
BirthdaysOffFilled in from your contacts automatically, and you can't add to it.
Siri SuggestionsOffGuesses taken from your mail and messages, not real plans.

Using Android instead?

You don't need to add an account. Open the Outlook app → your picture → Settings (gear) → Calendar → turn on Sync calendars. The switch is under Calendar, not under your account. Then follow Parts 3 and 4: on Android the group is named after your work email instead of "Exchange". The same warning applies: don't tap Connect with this setup.