How to change the time zone in Outlook

Microsoft Outlook has been the de-facto email client for many people, especially for those working in the corporate sector, those dealing with a large volume of emails, and those with multiple email addresses to keep track of. If you count yourself as a regular Outlook user and someone who has to travel with their laptop for work frequently, you’d prefer if Outlook displayed the time zone you are currently in. Here’s how to change the time zone in Outlook, as well as add multiple time zones.

How to change the time zone in the Outlook desktop app

On Windows with Microsoft Office 2007 and newer, you can change the time zone in Outlook to match that of your current geographic location. This is especially helpful if you frequently travel across time zones and your laptop isn’t automatically updating the time.

Note that changing the time zone in Outlook has the same effects as changing the Windows clock settings through the Control Panel. The changes done through Outlook reflect across all time displays in all other Windows programs and the OS itself. Further, all Calendar views and Calendar items within Outlook are also updated to display details in the new time zone.

Here are the steps you need to follow to change the time on the Outlook desktop app:

• Open the Outlook app on your desktop.
• Go to File > Options > Calendar > Time zone.
• Select the new time zone you want to set to, in the Time zone list.
• You can type a label for this time zone.

When you set the time zone through this setting, it automatically takes into account any daylight savings time applicable. You can turn off the adjustment, although it is not recommended to do so.

How to change the time zone on the Outlook website

Outlook on the web allows you to set a different time zone from that of your system OS, which can be useful in situations where you don’t want to change the setting for your entire system. Here’s how to change the time zone on the Outlook website:

• Open Outlook on the web by going to www.outlook.live.com and signing into your account.
• Click the Gear icon on the top right, which will open up the Settings pane.
• Navigate to View all Outlook settings > Calendar > View > Time zones.
• Select your new time zone.
• You can also type in a label for this time zone.

How to add different time zones to the Outlook calendar

In newer versions of Outlook, you can display two and even three time zones in Calendar. The second and third time zones are only used to show a second and third time bar in the Calendar view and do not affect your OS-wide time settings. Here’s how to add a different time zone to the Outlook calendar:

• Open the Outlook app on your desktop.
• Go to File > Options > Calendar > Time zone.
• Select the Show a second time zone check box. If needed and available, you can also select the Show a third-time zone check box.
• You can type a label for these time zones.
• You can also select the Adjust for daylight saving time check box if you want your computer clock to automatically adjust for DST changes. This option is available only in time zones that make use of daylight saving time.

This option is really useful if you want a different reference point for planning your calendar but do not want to change the time zone setting for the entire system.

How to stop Outlook from changing time zone automatically

If you want Outlook to stop changing the time zone automatically, you can either stop Windows from updating your time zone on the OS level, or use Outlook on the web and set your preferred time zone once.

To stop Windows from updating your time zone on the OS level:

• On your Windows desktop/laptop, open the system Settings app and navigate to Time & language > Date & time.
• Unselect the Set time zone automatically option.
• Set your preferred time zone.

Now your Windows computer will not automatically update its timezone, and Outlook’s desktop app will follow the same settings.

If you are traveling on vacation, you can set automatic out-of-office replies in Outlook. You can also consider setting up an automatic email forwarding on Outlook and pair it with some filters to ensure only the most critical emails can disturb you on your vacation.

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