Family Calendar – Microsoft breaks another feature w/ new "solution"

Can Brad or Paul please bring some attention to the latest Family Calendar solution that Microsoft decided to blow up and destroy? 

I’m talking about the family calendar mess with this new groups feature, and which now doesn’t work with the Windows 10 Mail app or the Microsoft Launcher app or the Outlook Desktop app.  

That’s right, Microsoft’s own calendar “solution” no longer works or is available to use with its very own products and services as it did before the change. Just a mess once again! Had a similar experience after Windows Phone was ramped down.

Go ahead, read some of stories from users here and the ridiculous “Yeah, this works now as designed” answer from a Microsoft employee:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/all/family-calendar-not-showing-up/ae244e83-6ba2-4e25-8ec7-226815046c88

Conversation 13 comments

  • simont

    Premium Member
    01 October, 2020 - 7:22 am

    <p>Easy thing to do would just be to move to Outlook. </p>

  • goodbar

    Premium Member
    01 October, 2020 - 9:21 am

    <p>I've been up in arms about this too, finally cracked and made a new shared calendar then recreated my events over there. Microsoft should have added their new family group feature without automatically (and without notice) migrating everyone's old shared family calendars to the new family calendar.</p>

    • johnny777

      01 October, 2020 - 2:21 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#581125">In reply to goodbar:</a></em></blockquote><p>Totally, this should have been user controlled or at least a warning that you need to take action by such and such a date. </p><p><br></p><p>The other thing is that you now have that now outdated and newly named "Your family" calendar under your "Groups" for extra confusion on yours and your family members' devices where it does function, since there's apparently no way to delete it. Clown antics for a company the size of MSFT.</p><p><br></p><p>Looks like I'm in the same boat as you having to recreate a shared calendar and manually add all our future events, although I'm hopefully (stupidly) waiting for them to put a solution here.</p>

      • lwetzel

        Premium Member
        01 October, 2020 - 3:38 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#581385">In reply to johnny777:</a></em></blockquote><p>"although I'm hopefully (stupidly) waiting for them to put a solution here."</p><p>Define "them".</p>

        • johnny777

          02 October, 2020 - 6:29 am

          <blockquote><em><a href="#581399">In reply to lwetzel:</a></em></blockquote><p>"them" meaning MSFT (although Paul and Brad bringing more attention to this would be appreciated by probably thousands :/ )</p>

  • wright_is

    Premium Member
    01 October, 2020 - 10:03 am

    <p>It is still available in Outlook on my systems, although we've never used it.</p>

    • simont

      Premium Member
      01 October, 2020 - 10:43 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#581131">In reply to wright_is:</a></em></blockquote><p>According to the link that Johnny777 posted, it will only be available from Outlook and Outlook.com – and not with Microsoft Windows Calendar.</p>

      • johnny777

        01 October, 2020 - 2:13 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#581192">In reply to simont:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yes, so their own services this new wonderful "solution" it now doesn't work with, but the old one did — Windows 10 Mail/Calendar app, Outlook Desktop, Microsoft Launcher (Android) or other third party apps either.</p><p><br></p>

  • yoshi

    Premium Member
    02 October, 2020 - 9:52 am

    <p>I'm actually surprised this hasn't been a bigger story. I use Google for my shared family calendar and I'd be extremely upset if one day I could not access that calendar from iOS default calendar app or any other 3rd party app. Even Apple let's you sync their family calendar to third party apps. I wonder what was Microsoft's thought process here?</p>

  • staganyi

    Premium Member
    02 October, 2020 - 6:16 pm

    <p>It makes no sense especially when you think about the Windows Calendar integration with the date/time in the taskbar. Can't be used anymore without creating your own shared calendar.</p>

  • johnny777

    17 December, 2020 - 7:43 am

    <p><img src="">*****UPDATE*****</p><p><br></p><p>It seems Microsoft is pushing out a solution to this issue in early 2021, according to Microsoft Employee "Jad G." </p><p><br></p><p class="ql-indent-2"><em>Jad G.</em></p><p class="ql-indent-2"><em>Microsoft Employee</em></p><p class="ql-indent-2"><br></p><p class="ql-indent-2"><em>Replied on December 17, 2020</em></p><p class="ql-indent-2"><br></p><p class="ql-indent-2"><em>Hello Everyone,</em></p><p class="ql-indent-2"><em>We want to give a quick update on this issue and how were working to resolved it. We're in the final stages of testing to restore access to your family group calendar in the calendar app on windows, outlook desktop and the native clients on iOS and Android devices. If testing goes well, we hope to be able to release this update to you in early 2021. We understand how frustrating this is and appreciate your continued patience.</em></p><p class="ql-indent-2"><em>- The Family Calendar Team</em></p><p><br></p><p>Apparently the many complaints I've seen about this in various forums (here and elsewhere) were heard.</p><p><br></p><p><a href="https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/ocalendar-oimportcal/family-calendar-not-showing-up/ae244e83-6ba2-4e25-8ec7-226815046c88?messageId=cb4f0866-3467-4b14-bdd4-b644793baa73&amp;page=13&quot; target="_blank">Family calendar not showing up – Microsoft Community</a></p>

  • dougkinzinger

    17 December, 2020 - 8:20 am

    <p>We use it, although not much. Instead we do meeting requests between family members to get it on everyone's calendar and in front of their eyes.</p>

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