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Quick Answer

Check your Outbox folder. If the invite is stuck there, click Send / Receive > Work Offline, delete the stuck invite, go back online, and recreate the meeting.

How to Fix Outlook Calendar Invites Not Sending or Receiving ​

Estimated Time to Fix: 3 minutes

Applies to: Microsoft Outlook (Classic and New), Microsoft 365
Article Type: Troubleshooting
Last Updated: 2026-07-20

Summary ​

This article guides you through troubleshooting and fixing an issue where Outlook calendar invitations are stuck in your Outbox, fail to send, or do not arrive when others invite you to a meeting.

Symptoms ​

  • You create a meeting and click Send, but the invitees never receive it.
  • The meeting invitation is stuck in your Outbox folder.
  • Colleagues invite you to meetings, but the invites never appear in your inbox or calendar.

Prerequisites ​

  • None required.

Instructions ​

1. Check the Outbox and Work Offline Status ​

  1. Open Outlook and check your Outbox folder on the left sidebar. If the invite is stuck there, proceed to the next step.
  2. Click the Send / Receive tab at the top of the Outlook window.
  3. Look at the Work Offline button on the right side of the ribbon.
  4. If the button has a grey background, you are offline. Click Work Offline once to reconnect. The status bar at the bottom should change from "Working Offline" to "Connected to Microsoft Exchange".

2. Check Your Junk Email and Deleted Items ​

  1. If you are not receiving invites from others, check your Junk Email folder. Sometimes external meeting invites are flagged as spam.
  2. Check your Deleted Items folder. If you accepted an invite on your phone or another device, Outlook automatically deletes the email invitation by default. The meeting should still be on your calendar.

3. Clear the Outlook Cache (Classic Outlook) ​

  1. Close Outlook completely.
  2. Press the Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box.
  3. Type %localappdata%\Microsoft\Outlook and press Enter.
  4. In the folder that opens, find the folder named RoamCache and double-click to open it.
  5. Select all the files inside the folder (Ctrl + A) and delete them (Delete).
  6. Reopen Outlook. It will recreate these cache files automatically and attempt to sync your calendar again.

4. Verify Success ​

  1. Create a test meeting invite and send it to a colleague or to your personal email address to confirm it sends and arrives successfully.

Troubleshooting ​

WARNING

If your calendar invites are failing immediately and you receive a "bounce back" email (Non-Delivery Report), the recipient's email address might be invalid, or their mailbox might be full.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
Invites go straight to the calendar without an emailAuto-Accept settingGo to File > Options > Calendar > Auto-Accept/Decline and uncheck the automatic processing boxes.
Only fails when using Outlook on the webBrowser cacheClear your web browser's cache and cookies, or try using an Incognito/Private window.