Subscribed calendar not updating in Outlook or Google? Here’s why
Short answer
Google Calendar and Outlook don’t fetch a subscribed calendar when it changes: they check the link on their own schedule. Google says changes can take up to 12 hours to show, Microsoft says Outlook.com can sometimes take more than 24, and neither has a refresh button. For dates that move, connect the calendar both ways instead of subscribing to it.
Why it happens
A subscribed calendar is a link to a calendar file (an .ics file, sometimes shown as a webcal:// address). The calendar that publishes it updates the file straight away; the delay is on the other side. Your calendar app downloads the file now and then, on a schedule it chooses, and shows you its last copy until the next download.
How often each app checks
| App | How often it checks a subscribed link | Refresh by hand |
|---|---|---|
| Google Calendar | Changes can take up to 12 hours to show, says Google | No |
| Outlook.com and Outlook on the web | Sometimes more than 24 hours, says Microsoft | No |
| Outlook for Windows (classic) | When it sends and receives, no more often than the publisher suggests | Send/Receive |
| Apple Calendar on a Mac | As often as you set it, from every 5 minutes to every week | View → Refresh Calendars |
| Kapcal, for calendars you subscribe to | Every 15 minutes | Sync now |
A calendar connected both ways (Kapcal’s Google Calendar, Outlook and Asana sync) isn’t a subscription: changes arrive within about a minute while the board is open.
What you can check
Make sure you subscribed, not imported
Importing an .ics file copies it once and never updates. A subscription is added with Other calendars → + → From URL in Google Calendar, or Add calendar → Subscribe from web in Outlook on the web.
Open the link in a browser
It should download a calendar file. If it shows an error or asks you to sign in, the link is broken or private: get a new one from the calendar that publishes it. If it starts with webcal://, try the same address with https:// instead.
Check the source
Look at the event in the calendar that publishes it. If it’s wrong there too, the subscription isn’t the problem.
Add it again if you can’t wait
Removing the calendar and adding the link again usually brings a fresh copy straight away. You lose its colour and notification settings, and it falls behind again until the next check.
For dates that move, connect instead of subscribing
A two-way connection goes through the calendar’s own interface, so it doesn’t wait for a download. On Kapcal’s Pro plan, connect Google Calendar or Outlook under Tools → Calendar syncing: changes made there reach the board within about a minute while it’s open, and what you add or move in that calendar’s category is written into it at once.
Other ways
Share a calendar inside one service
Sharing a Google calendar with Google users, or an Outlook calendar with Outlook users, updates in seconds, with no subscription involved.
A read-only web page
Kapcal’s share links always show the live board: nothing to refresh, no app to wait for.
Kapcal’s own calendar link
Puts your board in Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar, one way. It asks apps to check every hour, but Google Calendar and Outlook.com decide for themselves. Fine for keeping an eye on dates; change them on the board.
Questions
Can I make Google Calendar refresh more often?
No. Google Calendar has no setting or refresh button for calendars added by URL.
Is a webcal:// link different?
No. It’s the same link with a different beginning, which tells your computer to open it in a calendar app. The file and the delay are the same.
My phone shows the change but my computer doesn’t. Why?
Each app checks on its own schedule. Until both have downloaded the new copy, they can show different dates.