You may need to silence all calendar alerts in Outlook for a meeting, a focus session, or a vacation. Calendar reminders are managed through a combination of global settings and individual appointment rules. This article explains how to disable reminders for all new and existing calendar items at once.
Key Takeaways: Disabling Outlook Calendar Alerts
- File > Options > Calendar > Default reminders: Sets the default alert time for all new calendar items; set to ‘None’ to stop new reminders.
- Calendar view > View > Change View > List > Reminders column: Lets you review and bulk-edit reminders for existing appointments and meetings.
- Ctrl+A to select all items > Right-click > Categorize > All Categories: A method to apply a category and then use Search to find all items for batch editing.
Understanding Outlook Reminder Settings
Outlook manages reminders on two levels. The first is a global default that applies to every new calendar item you create. The second is a property attached to each individual appointment or meeting. To stop all alerts, you must address both. You need edit permissions for any shared calendars you wish to modify. The following methods work for Outlook as part of Microsoft 365, Outlook 2021, and Outlook 2019 connected to Exchange or Microsoft 365 accounts.
Steps to Disable Default and Existing Reminders
Follow these steps to turn off the default alert and then find and silence reminders on existing calendar entries.
- Open Outlook Options
Click File in the top-left corner of the Outlook window. Then select Options from the left-hand menu. - Navigate to Calendar Settings
In the Outlook Options dialog box, select the Calendar category from the left sidebar. - Turn Off the Default Reminder
In the Calendar options section, locate the ‘Default reminders’ dropdown. Click it and select ‘None’. Click OK to save this setting. New calendar items will now be created without an alert. - Switch Your Calendar to List View
Go to your Calendar module. Click the View tab on the ribbon. Click Change View and select List. This view displays all appointments in a table. - Add the Reminders Column
Right-click any column header like ‘Subject’ or ‘Start Date’. Select Field Chooser from the context menu. In the dropdown menu at the top of the Field Chooser window, select ‘All Appointment fields’. Scroll down, find the ‘Reminder’ field, and drag it to your column headers to add it. - Sort and Select Items with Reminders
Click the new ‘Reminder’ column header to sort items. All entries with ‘Yes’ have an active alert. Click the first ‘Yes’ item, scroll down, hold Shift, and click the last ‘Yes’ item to select them all. - Bulk Clear the Reminders
With all ‘Yes’ items selected, right-click on any of the highlighted rows. Hover over Follow Up, then click Add Reminder. In the pop-up dialog, uncheck the ‘Reminder’ box and click OK. This clears the alert for all selected items at once.
Common Mistakes and Limitations
Reminders Still Appear for Specific Appointments
If an individual appointment’s reminder was manually set, it overrides the global default change. You must edit that specific item. Open the appointment, and on the Appointment tab, uncheck the Reminder box in the Options group. For recurring meetings, you must open the series, not a single instance.
Cannot Edit Reminders on a Shared Calendar
You can only modify reminders on a calendar where you have editor permissions. If you only have reviewer access, the reminder settings will be grayed out. Contact the calendar owner to request edit rights or ask them to disable the alerts.
Outlook on the Web Reminders Keep Appearing
The desktop client settings are separate from Outlook on the web. Changing the default in the desktop app does not affect the web interface. To manage defaults in Outlook on the web, go to Settings > View all Outlook settings > Calendar > Events and invitations, and set ‘Default reminders’ to ‘None’.
Methods for Managing Calendar Reminders
| Item | Disable Default for New Items | Bulk Edit Existing Items |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Method | File > Options > Calendar > Default reminders set to None | Use List view with Reminders column, select all ‘Yes’, clear via right-click |
| Best For | Preventing future alerts from the moment it’s set | Cleaning up a calendar with many old appointments that have alerts |
| Key Limitation | Does not affect appointments already in your calendar | Requires manual selection; cannot edit items in read-only shared calendars |
| Permanent Effect | Setting persists for your profile on that computer | Changes are saved to the calendar items themselves on the server |
You can now work without interruption from calendar pop-ups. Remember that disabling the default only applies to new items. For a complete silence, always combine it with cleaning up existing appointments using the List view method. An advanced tip is to use the Outlook macro recorder to automate the bulk-clearing process if you need to do it frequently.