How to Set or Remove Reminders in Outlook

Set reminders for calendar appointments

1. Go to Calendar in the navigation pane.
2. Double-click on the desired appointment. The appointment will open.
3. In the "Options" group in the ribbon, locate the "Reminder" drop-down box and select the time you want the reminder to display (i.e. "15 minutes" will display a reminder 15 minutes before the appointment begins.) Select "None" if you do not want a reminder for this appointment.
4. Click [Save & Close].

Change or turn off the default reminders

Outlook automatically sets reminders for new appointments you create. You can change the default settings in Outlook so that no default reminder is set or to change the default time for reminders.

To change the default reminder time:

1. Go to File > Options.
2. Click the Calendar tab on the left side of the Outlook Options Window.
3. Click the drop-down box next to "Default reminders" and select a new time.
4. Click [OK] in the Outlook Options box to save the settings.

To turn off default reminders:

1. Go to File > Options.
2. Click the Calendar tab on the left side of the Outlook Options Window.
3. Under "Calendar Options," clear the "Default reminders" checkbox.
4. Click [OK] in the Outlook Options box to save the settings.

Set reminders for tasks

When you create a task, you can add a reminder to it so that Outlook will remind you that you need to complete that task by a certain date.

1. Create a New Task or open an existing task that you wish to add an alarm to.
2. In the "Tags" group in the "Task" tab, click "Follow Up" and select "Add Reminder."
3. In the "Custom" box, make sure the box next to "Reminder" is checked.
4. In the date and time menus below "Reminder," select the time at which you want the reminder to display.
5. Click [OK]. A reminder has been added to your Task.
6. Save and close the task to save these changes.