2

I am on Microsoft Outlook for Microsoft 365 MSO (16.0.13127.21452) 64-bit but had this problem for other Outlook versions also.

Problem

I would expect the Microsoft Outlook to pop up at exactly MM:00, however, they always pop up at around MM:44 or MM:45. For example, if I create a meeting for 09:00 CEST with a reminder 15min before I will get the reminder pop up only at ~08:45:45. And if say remind me again 0 minutes before the meeting, I get the reminder pop up at ~09:00:45. I would expect to get the reminders at 08:45:00 and 09:00:00.

Exclusion of potential source of errors

Since I've had this behavior in two different companies now I do not suspect server error with time synchronization (if the server even has anything to do with this). I have regular NTP updates and my time matches e.g. with https://time.is/ (however, I guess the Outlook client just takes the OS time so this should also not be a problem). Could only be a problem with the client somehow not handling CEST correctly but I would have no idea why there would be a 45s delay.

Question

So I am wondering, is there a setting that I am missing in Outlook that I can change to get the reminders always at MM:00? Or is this known intended behavior?

Used workaround for now

I just use the workaround for now to have a default reminder of 17 minutes before the meeting (works only for newly created/accepted meetings) and then remind in 15min again so I am roughly reminded at 08:58:45. However, if I do not click instantly, in 15min might be too late as to my understanding it is 15min from the time I snoozed the reminder, not when it originally popped up. So I am then left with a reminder much earlier or clicking 0 minutes before the meeting which is too late. Hence my question above.

bugybunny
  • 1,413
  • 1
  • 11
  • 24
  • Any difference if you try the reminder function via your web mail? – Jeff Yang7 May 28 '21 at 07:36
  • Good point. In the OWA I get the reminders at MM:00, like expected. From the client I get them later. Call me crazy but it seems that opening the OWA and getting the alert there helped. I tested around now for 40min (I am really so annoyed by this that I am wasting so much time with this) and had some strange behavior. I was quite certain that it matters when the event is saved. So if I created an event and saved it at MM:37 I would get the reminder at MM:37. I could reproduce this 10 times. But not anymore. I now always get them at MM:12 which is at least better but not understandable. – bugybunny May 28 '21 at 14:31
  • But sounds like a bug in the Outlook Client. Will test a bit more and then try to find where I can open a bug and post the link here. Edit: I am back again at the theory that it matters when I save it. Reminder will appear then (regarding the seconds) + around 6 seconds more. Maybe something from the logic "remind again in x minutes" swapped over to this, which it should not. – bugybunny May 28 '21 at 14:44
  • I also tested with my Outlook 365 Version 2015(Build 14026.20246), mostly it could work as expected, get the reminders at MM:00, while sometimes it will late for seconds like 4s and others. Guess that might also be related to Local device workload and network fluctuations？ – Jeff Yang7 May 31 '21 at 07:36
  • Any solution? I have the same issue, expect that I have a 60 seconds delay. I'm always late to the meeting which is more than annoying. – niks Jul 26 '21 at 07:44
  • -expect +except – niks Jul 26 '21 at 07:59
  • @niks unfortunately not. I wrote everything down after testing for around 4 hours and was ready to send it to Microsoft as a bug report. However, with my company policy (I guess) I am not able to send feedback and it seems I should only do it via Outlook itself. So I asked here https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/i-cannot-send-feedback-for-outlook-365-over-the/f928f4e6-5cd0-4c67-a634-1b0888ed3797?auth=1 how I should send the feedback (or could fix my other problem ) and just got a default non helpful answer. Then I just gave up reporting it and just live with it :( – bugybunny Jul 26 '21 at 14:57
  • Same here. IT support just told me "set your reminders 1 minute earlier" and "45 seconds is still within the minute, why are you complaining?". Super annoying and not a solution. Outlook Web Access in the browser shows the reminder exactly on the second. – knittl Oct 08 '21 at 07:58
  • This is still a problem (Outlook for Microsoft 365 version 2202 build 16.0.14931.20652) and is also discussed here without resolution sadly https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/all/outlook-reminders-always-1-minute-late/fd293b6e-f044-4e1f-afe9-5fcd4f868079?page=1 – sparrowt Sep 21 '22 at 10:04
  • For anyone else who this affects, if `File` > `Feedback` > `I Don't Like Something` is an option for you then do report the issue. – sparrowt Sep 21 '22 at 10:20

1 Answers1

0

This is reproducible though not always with consistent results - however there certainly seems to be a bug with the 0 hours before start snooze option, based on the behaviour observed below.

Observations

If I have a meeting with a reminder 5 minutes before, the initial reminder typically fires at exactly T-5:00 (correct) but crucially if you wait for N minutes (e.g. 1 or 2m, but less than 5m) before clicking Snooze with selected option: 0 hours before start, then the final reminder fires at N minutes after the event has already started (T+N) which is clearly wrong ⚠.

This suggests that the 0 hours before start option doesn't actually do what it says, but perhaps instead sets a timer for e.g. 5 mins (if the reminder you're snoozing was at T-5) starting from when you click snooze ⚠ rather than actually setting an alert to fire at T-0:00 which would be the correct behaviour. I found a similar suggestion in this answer on a related question.

Edit: in further tests I noticed a subtlety: the 1 Reminder(s) window actually appeared on time at T-0:00 but the audible alert sound did not play until the wrongly-delayed T+N (the window flashing in the foreground was also delayed in some cases but not others...).

(In my tests the lateness of the final reminder/sound was not precisely N minutes, but N plus a small, variable, number of seconds e.g. 8-10 which is odd, but the correlation is still suspicious.)

Possible workaround

Unfortunately I don't have an easy solution (other than "click snooze quicker"!) but perhaps it is a step towards identifying where the bug is in Outlook.

If it turns out to be consistent that the reminder window appears on time (and it's only the sound which is delayed) then perhaps one could write an AutoHotkey script which detects this kind of window & triggers an audible alert somehow?

Report it to Microsoft

Either way, if enough people report it via File > Feedback > I Don't Like Something perhaps Microsoft will investigate and fix the underlying issue.

The above was observed on Outlook for Microsoft 365 version 2202 build 16.0.14931.20652

sparrowt
  • 2,433
  • 1
  • 24
  • 23
  • 1
    The thing about the snooze functionality is definitely reproducible and also my observation from more than a year ago (and still today). But my problem is already the first reminder that does not pop up at xx:yy:00 seconds but at xx:yy:45 (seeming to depend on when I created the appointment). So for me it's not the case that the initial reminder generally fires at T minus N minutes but at T minus N but at T minus N + some seconds. Thanks for the answers.microsoft.com link. Did not find this one before. – bugybunny Sep 22 '22 at 14:13
  • Yes I have found the first reminder behaviour inconsistent - sometimes although the window appears on time I only hear the audible alert 45 seconds late. Seems like there are multiple bugs here with strange interactions. – sparrowt Sep 23 '22 at 09:38