5 Ways to Fix Outlook Reminders Not Popping Up in Windows

Quick Tips

• Review Outlook’s reminder settings and make sure you haven’t turned off notifications for the Outlook app.
• Third-party add-ins can sometimes disrupt Outlook’s ability to display reminders on Windows.
• You can also modify certain registry files to enable Outlook reminders on Windows.

Fix 1: Check Microsoft Outlook Reminder Settings

The first thing you’ll need to do is review the Outlook reminder settings to ensure they are configured correctly. Here are the steps.

Step 1: Open the Microsoft Outlook app on your PC and click the File menu at the top-left corner.

Step 2: Select Options from the left sidebar.

Step 3: Switch to the Advanced tab.

Step 4: Check the boxes for Show reminders, Play reminder sound, and Show reminders on top of other windows. Then, click OK.

Fix 2: Enable Notifications for Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook may fail to display reminders on Windows along with other app alerts if you have disabled notifications permission for the app. Here’s how to enable it.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app and head to System > Notifications.

Step 2: Enable the toggle for Notifications if it isn’t already.

Step 3: Scroll down to locate the Outlook app on the list and turn on the toggle next to it.

Fix 3: Disable Add-Ins

It’s possible that one of your add-ins conflicts with Outlook and prevents your calendar and meeting reminders from popping up in Windows. To check for this possibility, consider disabling your add-ins for some time. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Open the Microsoft Outlook app and go to File > Options.

Step 2: In the Outlook Options window, switch to the Add-ins tab from the left sidebar. Click the drop-down menu next to Manage and select COM Add-ins. Then, click on Go.

Step 3: Clear all the boxes next to the add-ins listed to disable them and click OK.

If this gets Outlook reminders to work, re-enable your add-ins one at a time to find the one causing the issue. After you find the problematic add-in, consider removing it.

Fix 4: Clean Outlook Reminders

Outlook reminders may fail to pop up if the Reminders folder is corrupt. You can repair the folder by running a quick command.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.

Step 2: Type Outlook.exe /cleanreminders in the Open field and press Enter.

This command will re-create the Outlook Reminders folder and remove any invalid entries. Your reminders should then work.

Fix 5: Modify Registry Files to Display Outlook Reminders

On Windows, you can enable or disable Outlook reminders by modifying registry settings. Try enabling Outlook reminders via the Registry Editor and see if that solves your problem.

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type registry editor, and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: Paste the following path in the address bar at the top and press Enter.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Options\Reminders

Step 3: Right-click on the Outlook key, choose New, and select DWORD (32-bit) Value from the sub-menu. Name it Type.

Step 4: Double-click the newly created DWORD > change its value to 1 in the Value data box. Then, click OK.

After completing the above steps, restart your PC to apply the changes and check if your Outlook reminders work.