Outlook and Calendar Sync'ing

[mjt57]

I know that Outlook 2011 doesn't do it, but now that Outlook 2016 has been out for a while, who here is using it to sync Outlook calendars across machines?

I have an iPhone, iPad, Macbook and Mini. I use Thunderbird on the computers and the Apple Calendar and Mail apps on the handhelds. They sync their calendars via Google Calendar. It works but it isn't the most stable, nor pretty.

I was wondering if the latest version of Outlook has this feature (doesn't have to sync with Google, but it'd be nice if it did).

 

[BrianBaughn]

The only way to use Outlook for Mac (any version up to now) to sync to a cloud-based calendar is to be connected to an Exchange account. It works well.

I prefer using the stock Mac apps to access my Exchange based Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders and Notes...primarily because I also sync to Google and iCloud and can see everything in one place.

 

[mjt57]

Thanks Brian. Feared as much.

As a home user of these products unless I can get a cheap (or free) exchange service, then it's not worth my while.

Cheers

 

[BrianBaughn]

Thanks Brian. Feared as much.

As a home user of these products unless I can get a cheap (or free) exchange service, then it's not worth my while.

Cheers

That's the main reason I switched one domain I own to Office 365 hosted email...one person here uses Outlook on Windows.

Office 365 hosted email is $4/month per account. I don't think there are any setup fees. Additionally, you'd probably want to obtain control of a domain name you could use until the end of email. Otherwise, you'd be stuck with a convoluted email address such as "you@anameyoupick.onmicrosoft.com" that you can't move in the future.

 

[mjt57]

Thanks for the tips Brian. I just had a look at that link from your email to Office 365. $4/mth (requires a 12 mth commitment, so $48/yr, or about $70 AUD). Then I tried the "try 365" link. It opened a form page. titled "
Office 365 Enterprise E3 Trial"

It wants to know my business details, but I don't have one. Just want to be able to use Outlook for home/private stuff.

 

[BrianBaughn]

That link I posted was a US specific site. If you change "US" in the address bar to "AU" you'll see the prices in AU$. When I click "Buy Now" under Plan 1 it takes me to a page with "Exchange Online (Plan 1)".

It does have "business" info blanks but one just puts in a billing address. A variation of the "Company Name" will probably be suggested for the "@companyname.onmicrosoft.com" email address that is on every account. For that you might want to put the domain name you're going to use, but it doesn't matter. The assigned email isn't really a factor after you add a domain to the account.

 

[mjt57]

Thanks Brian. I did specify AU as my location. In any case, I don't have a domain. Being a home/private user I don't have a need for one.

I think that I'll stick with Thunderbird. Easier, not as pretty and it's free (sync'ing with Google Calendar). But I wonder for how much longer. Google killed off the Google Calendar Sync function that I used to use with Outlook (Windows) back when I was one of "those" people.