Android Phone Can't Send Outlook Appointments

Some Android owners are surprised to learn that they cannot send Outlook appointments directly from their Android devices. For example, Android-powered HTC devices do not support sending invitations directly from the phone, however, Samsung Android devices do support this functionality. Check your phone’s user manual to find out if you need to take additional steps to send meeting invitations for events created on your device calendar.

If you own an HTC phone, you can create appointments and invitations on your device, then use the PC Sync feature while the device is connected to your computer to sync the appointment and corresponding invitations with your Outlook client. The invitations are sent the next time your Outlook client sends email. The HTC Sync Manager software is required to use PC Sync (see Resources).

The HTC Sync Manager’s PC Sync feature enables you to sync appointments and invitations between your Android device and desktop email clients. Outlook is supported by default in the HTC Manager software. Download and install the free HTC Sync Manager software if you own an HTC device. To use PC Sync on the device, tap the Calendar arrow, then tap the “PC Sync” option in the Calendar Selection screen. Tap the “+" or “Add" button to create an appointment and invite participants.

Once you have created the event and invitations on the HTC phone, connect the phone to your computer with the USB data cable, then launch the HTC Sync Manager tool. Select the “PC Sync” option in the USB Connection menu when the device detects the connection with the computer. Click the “Sync” button in the HTC Sync Manager application to sync the device to your computer. When you sync your device, your Outlook calendar is updated with the appointment, and the invitations are sent to the recipients from your Outlook client.

The exception to the rule with invitations on HTC phones is when you have an Exchange ActiveSync account configured on the device. If your email account is an Exchange account, you can create appointments on your Exchange calendar, then invite participants from your phone. Your invitations are sent in real time. Just select the “Exchange ActiveSync” option in the Calendar Selection screen before creating the appointment.

If your Android phone does not automatically send meeting invitations to recipients from the device, you can add an interim step, such as creating your appointment in your Google calendar. You can send real time Google calendar invitations from Gmail. Just select the “Gmail” option in the Calendar Selection screen before creating your event. Your event will be immediately recorded to your Google calendar, and the invitations are sent to the recipients. Remember to recreate the event in Outlook, if you do not sync your Google and Outlook calendars.

You can also use Facebook as an interim step for sending event invitations. Just select the “Facebook” option in the Calendar Selection screen before creating your event. The appointment will be recorded on Facebook and in your device calendar. Remember to recreate the appointment if you need to retain a copy in Outlook.