Comments on: Sync Google Calendar with Outlook

This article explains how to sync your Google Calendar with Outlook 2016, 2013 and Outlook 2010; it also provides an overview of free tools and services to help you choose the approach best suited for your needs. Continue reading

Comments page 9. Total comments: 454

  1. Has anyone compared OggSync to gSyncit? Both seem to enable mapping of Outlook Categories to a unique Google Calendar that is added to your account. IN Google, you can select all of the additional Calendars, and your Google Calendar display will show the same color-coding for your Outlook Categorized appointments.

    I find this feature worthwhile, and since both of these products employ it, I am curious of any other comparative that would make the decision of which one to purchase easier. (gSyncit = $20/year; OggSync = $30/year)

  2. after installing and updating the free version of gSyncit I find out that not only do you have to wait for 10 second every time you hit the synch button but you are limited to 50 contacts. that is a bit more limitation than the ones mentioned above.

    1. I've installed gSyncit, it works well, with the problem indicated by Fred on comment 136. To sync the contacts, I use Outlook4Gmail, free, works perfectly for more or less 500 contacts.

  3. Used the Google Calendar sync until now and was looking for alternatives since it's going away. Like the others am sorely disappointed that Google and Microsoft can't work together... but until they grow up and figure out how to share the sandbox, thank you for this information! I set up Gyncit and it's working great for my calendar betw my outlook on my laptop, gmail calendar, and iphone. I can add, delete and edit on any of those and it flows between them.

    thank you again!

  4. This post is gold. Thank you so much. Google Apps Sync for only paid customers - just another reason to fight the power!

    1. Question for both gSync and SynqYa - is the syncing automated and scheduled? I don't seem to see any option for frequency of syncing in gSync. Thank you again!

      1. Never mind! For gSync, I found it under the Application Settings tab! Thanks!

        1. Hi Phil,

          Thank you for this great question (and the answer : ) I will point out this option in the article for other users to know.

          1. How about for synqya (automatic sync)?

  5. Thank you so much for this post! I'd been burying my head in the sand a bit concerning Google's calendar sync being discontinued and it was only a heads-up email from them this week that finally got me looking for an alternative. Your instructions for gSyncIt were very clear and helpful - it looks like it's working so far! Cheers!

  6. Thank You Svetlana - your article will greatly assist us in getting through this impasse :-)

  7. Well, yes, gSyncIt works.
    But pops up a window requiring you to clik on "evaluate" (or something like that), preventing outlook usage for 15 seconds each time you restart outlook :'(

  8. It sounds like the free version of gSyncIt does everything that GCS does plus more (up to 50 contacts), but to get full functionality you must pay. On the other hand for one PC at $20 or two PC's at $30, getting all that functionality while precluding the need for a paid Google subscription, I'm inclined to just support the software, buy it, and be done with it all....

  9. Hi Svetlana, I've received, as all, the google email this morning...and after several attempts and search, I've finally found your blog with a lot of useful instructions ! I've installed "gsyncit" and it works GREAT ! Thanks to you :-)

  10. Hi all,

    I am trying to use Google Apps Sync to sync my Gmail calendar to my outlook calenders. My emails already come through but when I try to use Google Apps Sync an error message comes up with

    'Google Apps Sync is not enabled for your domain'

    Can anyone help me to solve the problem?

    1. Hi Diane,

      Please keep in mind that Google Apps Sync is available for Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government accounts only. If your domain is in this category, you should definitely contact Google support for assistance.

  11. Great blog, very clear, thanks a lot. But those solutions - synqya for instance - will they be useful after August 1, 2014? Thanks.

    1. Hi Laurent,

      At the moment there is no indication and no reason for Synqya and other 3rd party tools to stop working after August 1. This is the end of life of Google Calendar Sync only.

      1. Again, thank you very much! I'll try.

  12. Just received this email today. Are they going to break calendar so we can't use the old app?

    Important Announcement about Google Calendar Sync

    Almost two years ago, we announced that we ended support for Google Calendar Sync. Starting on August 1, 2014, this app will no longer sync events between your Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook Calendar.

    You can continue to access all of your Google Calendar events at calendar.google.com or on your mobile devices. Follow these instructions to uninstall Google Calendar Sync from your computer.
    - The Calendar Team

    1. Aaron, I received the same email. It looks like Google is going to break their system so that Google Calendar Sync no longer works at all. Not surprised; they want to charge for syncing calendar/tasks now.

      1. I received the same email too.. I only need google calendar sync from my outlook. Are there any option that still free for sync outlook -> google calendar.

        1. Hi Everyone!

          I've got my email from Google only this morning, but I was already prepared to it due to your comments : )

          As Rachel rightly noticed, we should not be surprised since it's obvious that Google would want to get paid for the job they do, especially after they released the Google Apps Sync for paid accounts.

          There are still several free alternatives that support both 1-way and 2-way syncing between Outlook and Google calendars. I'd recommend trying gSyncit or Synqya in the first place, as time-proved solutions.

          Anyway, I'm going to research for other free tools and in case I find any decent ones I'll post my findings here.

          I also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has posted feedback on this blog. THANK YOU!

  13. Great Blog!! I'm looking forward to what Svetlana's comments are and the best next steps and App's being used to continue syncing with Google Calendar.

    Tx Tom

  14. Google stop support for calender sync 1 Aug 2014

    Google is becoming more and more like Apple. They want to control everything so that they can make more money. When I chose Android, syncing was a great option. Now they are ending it, trying to force me to use Google apps, which will cost me $5/month, which translates to about $50 in my country because of our currency.

    Calender sync is such a simple and small software, yet they want so much money for it. I do not need the other services.

    Google, I have lost trust in you. You are now just like Apple. First you stole my 32G SD card with Kit Kat, now calender sync, what next. Now that you have grown up, you are becoming a bully. Well, you are losing me as a customer.

    There are other 3rd parties, but how long before Google puts an end to that? I am angry!!!

  15. Yup - same here :( Google Calendar Sync finally coming to an end...

    1. Same here, do you have a solution.

  16. Hi Svetlana,
    Thanks for all the great information in this column. I have been using G Calendar sync (old link) with Outlook 2014 for 8 month. I Received the note below from the Google Calendar Team today: I guess GOOGLE scanned computers looking for the old ap? Have any of your followers had real issues about using synqya? Do you still recommend it?

    "Important Announcement about Google Calendar Sync
    Almost two years ago, we announced that we ended support for Google Calendar Sync. Starting on August 1, 2014, this app will no longer sync events between your Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook Calendar.
    You can continue to access all of your Google Calendar events at calendar.google.com or on your mobile devices. Follow these instructions to uninstall Google Calendar Sync from your computer.
    - The Calendar Team"

    1. Hi Diane,

      Please don't worry, Google does not scan computers. I guess the message was sent to all Google accounts that got connected to gsync in the past months.

      As for synqya, I used it for a very short period, just to give it a try, and did not notice any issues.

  17. I have just received the following email from the Google Calendar team:

    Important Announcement about Google Calendar Sync
    Almost two years ago, we announced that we had ended support for Google Calendar Sync. Starting on 1 August 2014, this app will no longer sync events between your Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook Calendar.
    You can continue to access all of your Google Calendar events at calendar.google.com or on your mobile devices. Follow these instructions to uninstall Google Calendar Sync from your computer.
    - The Calendar Team

  18. Well, it looks like there could be another mass visitation to this site as Google has just announced that Google Calendar Sync (GCS) will be nonfunctional in little more than three weeks from the date of this post.

    I see that a few options beyond GCS have been discussed here, including gSyncIt, GO Contact Sync Mod and SynqYa. I am looking forward to further discussions of the options, and if I try one, I'll report back with my impressions.

  19. Did anyone else just get an email from google calendar team stating that the old sync app is going to cease functioning after August 1st?

    1. Yes, received the same email from Google.

    2. Just got the email from google that Mike G. got.

    3. Yep. Got mine. So mad. Guess I'll be trying one of the alternatives.

  20. Do any of these have an option to do a one-way sync, Microsoft Outlook calendar to Google Calendar, like the no longer supported Google Calendar Sync?

    1. Hi Nathan,

      gSyncit and Synqya support both 1-way and 2-way syncing.

  21. Thanks so much! Very helpful! I was going to spend hours transferring info from Outlook to Google but with your help, it took less than 5 minutes!

  22. Dear Ms. Svetlana, Thank you very much for your post.
    Now I can sync my google calendar with my work calendar in outlook 2014.

    1. Oops..Outlook 2013 I mean.

      1. Hi Lences,

        You can try Google Calendar Sync. Though the official support for Outlook 2013 is not stated anywhere, many of our blog readers pointed out in comments that it does work for Outlook 2013 too.

  23. I've been using calendar sync for years on my work desktop. I ALWAYS keep copies of programs like that when I download them because Google USUALLY makes changes that adversely affect my computer chi. However I haven't been able to locate it anywhere. THANK YOU for that backup link!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  24. I recently update my Outlook to 2013 version. Previously I had my google calendar linked to my phones and outlook. If a changes was made on the calendar (on any device) all calendars would update. Now the Outlook 2103 calendar will not update with changes made on google calendar nor will changes made on Outlook update on the google calendar. Is there a way to sync Outlook and Google Calendar with updates (not read only).

    Thanks!

    1. Use the backup link above, install calendar sync; it takes 2 minutes. It syncs calendars both ways between Outlook and your gmail calendar.

      1. Thank. After installation,there was not a pop up window. Only the option to close the download box.

        1. Hello Sara,
          You need to run the downloaded file and finish the installation. You should see the configuration settings during the installation as described in the article. Alternatively, you can right-click the Google Calendar Sync icon in the system tray and select Options. Choose 2-way syncing and click Save.

  25. Hi Svetlana,

    I just want to say a big thank you. Everything seems to be working perfectly now, albeit only as a one way sync from Google to Outlook, but I'm thrilled all the same.
    Linda

    1. Hi Linda,

      Yep, you did it! Thank you for the good news, I felt sort of responsible for this issue because of my incomplete information. Relieved now :)

  26. Hi Svetlana,

    I figured out how to import the file into the registry. Thank you for your assisting me with this process. I am now waiting to find out whether or not the sync is going to work. No error message presented, as it did previously, so I am hopeful that it is going to work as it should. I'll let you know. In the meantime thank you so much for your help.

    Linda

  27. Hi Svetlana,

    Thank you for providing the download. Sorry to be difficult but I do have a couple of questions. When I saved the file the ".txt" extension didn't show. On opening the file it shows that it is in Notepad format but the "File name" does not include the ".txt" file extension. In the "Save as type:" it indicates that it is to be saved in ".txt" format. I added the ".reg" extension, but got no further.

    I got stuck on point 4. Double clicking on the ".reg" file opens it but what steps are needed to import it to the registry?

    Hope you can help.
    Linda

  28. Hi Svetlana,

    Thank you for your reply. I followed your instructions, however, 9.5 has not been reinstated in the registry.

    The Google sync process in the Task Manager seems to be working but a sync does not occur & I continue to get the following Error message “Could not connect to Microsoft Outlook: error – 2147319779.”

    Prior to deleting 9.5 the sync was working, but only one way, even though the 2 way sync had been selected.

    Any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as I really miss the sync process.

    Linda

    1. Hi Linda,

      This is very strange indeed. Please try out the following steps:

      1. Close both Outlook and Google Calendar Sync and download this file (right-click it and select "Save link as"). The file contains the standard settings of the 9.5. branch.

      2. Save this .txt file to some location.

      3. In Windows Explorer, right-click the file and choose to rename it. Change only the file extension from .txt to .reg.

      4. Double click on the .reg file in Windows Explorer to import it to the registry.

      BTW, 2-way syncing works a bit slower than 1-way, that is why you should set the syncing interval 10 minutes or more. When done, please allow about 30 minutes for the syncing process to start.

  29. Do any of these work if you're using the web-based version of Outlook as opposed to the desktop version?

    1. You can try out this way:

      1. Set up 1-way syncing from Google to Outlook web app.
      2. Then subscribe to that calendar in Office 365 (Outlook Web App), as described here.

      You can also check with Synqya whether they support Office 365 syncing, I was not able to find any info on this.

  30. I am now impressed, gSyncit is brilliant and it now gives us an excellent method of automatically backing up our Google information, very happy teddy, thanks.

  31. Thank you, thank you , thank you. You saved the day.

  32. Hi Svetlana,
    As the outlook calendar/google calendar sync were not working properly, I followed the instructions

    1. Click the Start button, type regedit in the “Search programs and files” field and click on regedit.exe.

    2. The Registry Editor will open and you navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{00062FFF-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\

    I then deleted the folder 9.5 (leave 9.4 intact!).There was no 9.4 option.

    I now get the error message 214731977 & I am concerned that if I shut down the computer, I will not be able to reboot it.

    Do you have any suggestions, please?
    I am using windows 8 with outlook 2013

    1. Hi Linda,

      Oops, in that case you should not have deleted 9.5. And I should have added the corresponding notice to the article, sorry for that omission. I have just added more details pertaining to that fix so that others won't stumble on the same stone.

      Anyway, I believe that nothing wrong will happen to your computer. In the worst case, you would need to reinstall Google Calendar Sync. To do this, please perform the steps below:

      1. Close Outlook.
      2. Exit Google Sync. Find it in the system tray, right-click and select Exit from the context menu.
      3. Make sure there is no hanging Google Calendar Sync process in the Task Manager (right click the taskbar and choose "Start Task Manager", then switch to the Processes tab).
      4. Go to the Control Panel, Add/Remove programs, find Google Calendar Sync and click uninstall.
      5. Install it again.

      FYI, Google Calendar Sync does not always work in system configurations like yours (Office 2013 and Win8). It works for some users and does not work for others, no one knows why...

  33. I just downloaded and installed Google Calendar Sync and it's on my pc, but I don't know how to "run" it. I've clicked on the icon on the Start menu, but nothing happens. I've looked in Outlooked (yes, I've restarted both Google and Outlook), but don't see anywhere to launch Google Calendar Sync. Help?

    1. Hello Brendan,

      Usually, the Google Calendar Sync starts syncing automatically at the time interval you set during installation (step 3 in this article). If this does not happen, check out Outlook's Disabled Items (File tab -> Options > AddiIns > Disabled Add-ins > Go). If you see Google Calendar Sync in the list, enable it. If it is not there, then most likely you will find its icon among hidden icons in your system tray.

  34. Hi Svetlana. Great page. Finally got Google Calendar Sync to work. Thanks.

    But I did try the first option and when I came to "5. In the Subscriptions Option dialog box" I couldn't find that box in the Outlook 365 that I am using. Am I missing something?

    1. Hi Jack,

      This option is available in the desktop version of Outlook 2013, which is included with some Office 365 plans. If you are using the online version, this method of importing a calendar is not available, sorry.

  35. HI,
    I have Outlook 2010 and had been using Google Sync. Yesterday I tried to sync and the Google login window popped up. (This did not happen before.) I tried logging in but every time my email and password would not save and just disappear. Could this be something related to security settings on my computer or something related to my google account? Thank you.

    1. Hi Matt,

      Try to log into Gmail via web. It it works fine, then most likely the problem is in the 2-step authentication feature on your Google account. Comments 31 and 37 above explain how to get it fixed. Hopefully, these solutions will work for you too.

  36. Hello, I am curious if you think the Google Apps Sync for Outlook will work ONLY on hosted exchange, or will it also work if we ran Office365?
    Thanks in advance, great post!

    1. Hello Tom,

      To my best knowledge, the Google Apps Sync works only on the desktop version of Office 2013 included with Office 365 subscriptions.

      BTW, to connect calendars on an Exchange Server to Google Apps, you would need to use Google Calendar Connectors.

  37. Thanks! The first method did the trick!!!

  38. Thank you Svetlana, the "back up link" was very helpfull to me!

    A big hug from Chile!

  39. Hello Svetlana,
    I downloaded and installed Google Calendar Sync: it worked like a charm and now I have the 2-way synchronization OUTLOOK - GMAIL calendars I was looking for.
    A big thank-you from Grenoble!

  40. I followed your instructions on 2-way syncing using the old Outlook Sync tool. Am Running Outlook 2007. Get this message:

    Task 'Internet Calendar Subscriptions' reported error (0x0004002B) : 'Outlook cannot parse the property "CREATED", near line 17486. The property is being ignored.'

    What am I doing wrong?

    1. Hello Tom,

      I have done some research on the web and found out that this bug with Google calendar/Outlook integration has been around for quite a while. In a nutshell, an all day appointment, probably with an associated reminder, can cause issues with Outlook. The easiest way to fix this is to find any all-day-appointments with reminders and delete the reminders. You can find more details here: https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/calendar/a4hWVIA_kw0/agpTocSPlFAJ

  41. Great Post! Helped a lot!

    hugs from Brazil!

    B.

  42. great explanation thank you! but do you know if there is a way to have an update made to my phone calendar automatically show up on my outlook calendar too? it never works 2 way it seems.

    1. Thank you Alice,
      Please verify whether your phone calendar allows two-way syncing with google calendar. If it does, then it should work with Outlook too if you use Google Calendar Sync.

  43. Hi dear
    Thanks for this helpfull info, i was looking for quit long timd
    and it worked for me with outlook 2013 without any errors
    old good Google Calendar Sync

  44. You are just great! I have tried so many of the ways but it didnt work until I have found your ways. Thanks. As it is only a "Read only" option, can you advise a way to make it workable to read/write also? Great help thanks.

    1. Hi Feroz,

      Thank you for your kind words. Regrettably, writing is not possible because of the limitations of the iCalendar protocol that is used for syncing Google Calendar and Outlook.

  45. Thank you for the link to sync outlook and google. Do you have an active blog for I would like to sign up and learn more from you.

  46. Svetlana

    Excellent piece of work, very generous of you to share, well done

    I have for many years been frustrated that I can't see what is in my work (company secured) MS-Outlook schedule calendar when arranging things in my personal (Google) calendar and to a lesser extent, vise versa

    Now I can. I have set up a monthly reminder to respectively export / import both calendars, which whilst not as perfect as real-time syncing, is a million times better than having to make tentative arrangements and then try to remember to check my work calendar the next time I am in the office....and then remember to firm up with my friends / family the previous 'tentative' status of our arrangements!

    well done you!

  47. Thank you Svetlana. Your post has saved my day. I had to upgrade my OS to Windows 7 and thought I'd never get my calendar sync to work again.

  48. Thanks, that was very helpful!

  49. YES! Thank you!
    now i can see what our cubscouts are doing when my boss asks, are you busy next week.
    super easy too!

  50. A big Thank You to you, Svetlana!

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