How to Resolve Outlook Reminder Not Working Issue?

Updated on: April 15th, 2023Read Time: 6 min readOutlook Repair

Outlook Reminders is a feature in the application which pops up with the set event information on your email or Calendar section. It reminds the users about scheduled meeting, events with an alarm set at a certain time period. This is generally set to avoid missing the crucial events in the tight schedule.

But sometimes, instead of the set reminder message, users receive an error message stating “The Reminder will not appear because the item is in a folder that doesn’t support reminders.” It is directly indicating the issue in the reminder folder. While other reasons which can be responsible behind the issue where the Outlook Reminder not working are –

  • Disabled Reminders
  • Outlook Add-ins are faulty
  • Corruption in Reminders
  • Incorrect Folder saving location
  • Recent software update
  • Corruption in Outlook Profile

Some Do It Yourself Tactics to Fix Outlook Reminder Not Working Issue

Please find below the solutions to make your Outlook Reminders work again. But before trying these solutions, please take a backup of your Outlook data as a security measure. The processes explained are native ones and are completely free.

First check whether Outlook Reminder is enable

Sometimes by default or by external interference, the Outlook Reminder feature is disabled in the application which one should check upon before going to any resolution method to fix the issue “Outlook Reminder not working”. Carry out these steps in this context.

  1. Start the Microsoft Outlook application.
  2. Navigate to File>Options.
    Check whether Outlook Reminder is enable
  3. The Outlook Options wizard will get opened.
  4. On the left panel, click on the Advanced tab. Then from the right panel, go to Reminders section and make sure the checkbox Show Reminders is selected. If not, then select it and click on OK.
    Go to Reminders section and make sure the checkbox Show Reminders is selected
  5. Now, if the feature was disabled before, then your problem may be resolved now.
    Note: In Outlook 2010, users can find and select Show bell icon on the calendar for appointments and meetings with reminders option by following File>Info>Options>Calendar.

    6. In Outlook 2007 or 2003, users need to the Tools menu and select Options. Go to the Other tab and then select Advanced Options. Now reach Reminder Options.

Checking and Disabling Outlook Add-ins

Outlook Add-ins has the susceptibility to interfere with the application and its features. So, users must be aware of which Outlook Add-in is creating the issue and disable it at once.

The suspected Outlook Add-in can be removed completely using this process.

  1. Open the Outlook application and move to File>Options.
  2. Click on Add-ins option from the left panel.
  3. Click on Go against Manage Add-ins section.
    Click on Go against Manage Add-ins section.
  4. Unselect the Add-in which you suspect is creating the problem and click OK.
    Unselect the Add-in which you suspect is creating the problem
  5. Exit and restart the Outlook application.
  6. Check now if Outlook Reminders are working or not.

Another way to enable Calendar support to the Outlook PST file is visiting File>Open & Export>Open Outlook Data File and then right-clicking on the PST file to select the Data File Properties option from the drop-down list. From the General tab of the Properties dialog box, select the checkbox saying ‘Display reminders and tasks from this folder in the To-Do Bar’. Now, close the Outlook application and then start it again.

Reset/Clear Outlook Reminders

To resolve the issue, you can assume that the Outlook Reminder folder is corrupted and follow the cleaning and resetting procedure. Then there is a strong chance that the “Outlook Reminder not working” issue is fixed.

  1. Make sure that the Outlook application is closed.
  2. Then press Windows and R keys together, type outlook /cleanreminders and click on OK.
    Type outlook /cleanreminders and click on OK
  3. Start the Outlook application and check if it worked.
  4. If the success is not received yet, try typing outlook /resetfolders in the Windows run box and click on OK.
    Try typing outlook /resetfolders in the Windows run box
  5. Find that if the issue is resolved and you can access Outlook Reminders now.

Create a New Outlook Profile

This is a hit and trial solution which involves creating a fresh Outlook profile by using this process.

  1. Go to the Control Panel on your system.
  2. Click in Mail option.
  3. Click on Show Profiles option.
  4. Now click on Add and provide a name to the new Outlook profile.
  5. Add the account details to this profile and set it as the default one.
  6. Start the Outlook application and try to access Reminder now.

Modifying Windows Registry Key

Try editing the Windows Registry key for resolving the Reminder issue. Open the Registry Editor by typing regedit.exe in the Windows Run box (Press Windows and R keys together) and click on OK.

On the Registry Editor page, follow this path –

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\microsoft\office\a.0\Outlook\Options\Reminders

Next, on the right panel of the page, right-click the mouse and select New>DWord (32-bit) value.

Provide the name to it as Type, then right-click on Type and provide 1 as the value. Click OK. Now, exit the Registry Editor and restart the Microsoft Outlook application. Check if reminder is working now.

Note: If the reminder is followed by Group Polices, then follow this path –

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\Policies\microsoft\office\x.0\Outlook\Options\Reminders

And then perform the same process as above.

Repair PST File

It is the ultimate resolution if the above procedures have not been your help in fixing the problem. A corrupt Outlook file can affect the Outlook features as well to another level. So, it is to be confirmed from the end of the users that the PST file is healthy.

They can take help from the in-built Microsoft repair utility – scanPST.exe which can detects and resolves minor corruptions from small PSTs (not more than 2GB file size). The exact location of this application on your system is as follows:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office(x) – for 32-bit systems
C:\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office(x) – for 64-bit systems

Nonetheless we suggest you to try the most advanced and automated Outlook PST Repair solution to fix PST related errors and issues without any size limitations. The tool can handle high level corruptions in the file using advanced algorithms and makes the PST file healthy again. Users have choice to save the desired content via multiple filter options to the PST and more other destinations. To get the full information over this intelligent and useful utility, visit the home page of the software website.

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Summary

Outlook Reminder not working issue is manageable through certain native tricks like enabling Remainders, cleaning Reminders, creating Outlook profile, etc. as explained in this article. For the wider range issue related to PST corruptions, use of an ultimate utility is encouraged.

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About Elias Macclure

Elias has a sleek writing style, and the reader may find that the extensive nuances of the material are covered in the article. He changes the writing style according to the platform and writes fine for Office 365 and SharePoint. He is an active reader and reads books by renowned writers including Charles Dickens, Sidney Sheldon and Agatha Christie.