Outlook Show Two Time Zones: How to Set It Up

Updated 4 November 2026 · Standard formula, shown below

Yes, Microsoft Outlook can display two time zones in the calendar. You see your primary time zone on the left and a second time zone as a separate vertical band on the right, each with its own hour labels. This guide explains how to enable it, what the settings mean, and how to fix common issues.

Why Show Two Time Zones in Outlook?

People use the dual time zone view for three main reasons:

Working with remote teams in another country or region.
Scheduling calls or meetings across time zones without mental math.
Traveling and needing to see both home and destination times.

The feature does not change the actual time of your appointments. It only changes how the calendar grid is drawn. Your events stay stored in your primary time zone; the second zone is purely visual.

How to Add a Second Time Zone (Desktop App)

The steps are the same for Outlook 2016, 2019, 2021, and Microsoft 365 on Windows. For Mac, the menu names differ slightly (see below).

Open Outlook and go to the Calendar view.
Click the File tab in the top-left corner.
Select Options at the bottom of the left pane.
In the Outlook Options window, click Calendar in the left sidebar.
Scroll down to the Time zones section.
Check the box next to Show a second time zone.
Choose a Label (e.g., “London”) and pick the time zone from the drop-down list.
Optionally, check Swap time zones if you want the second zone to become your primary one.
Click OK twice to save.

Your calendar now shows two vertical columns side by side. The left column is your primary zone; the right is the second zone. The time scale on each column is independent, so 9:00 AM in New York lines up with 2:00 PM in London.

How to Add a Second Time Zone (Outlook on the Web)

The web version (outlook.com or the Outlook web app in Microsoft 365) has a simpler but less flexible approach:

Go to Settings (the gear icon in the top-right).
Search for “time zone” or click View all Outlook settings at the bottom.
Select Calendar > View.
Under Time zones, check Show a second time zone.
Pick the second zone and give it a label.
Click Save.

The web version does not let you swap zones or set a custom label for the primary zone. It always shows your device’s current time zone as the primary.

How to Add a Second Time Zone (Outlook for Mac)

Outlook for Mac uses a different menu path:

Open Outlook and go to Preferences (Cmd + ,).
Click Calendar.
Under Time zones, check Show a second time zone.
Choose the zone and a label.

Mac does not have a “swap” button in the same place, but you can change your primary time zone in macOS System Settings > Date & Time. That change will reflect in Outlook.

What the “Swap Time Zones” Option Does

Checking Swap time zones reverses the order. Your current second zone becomes the primary (left) column, and your original primary becomes the second (right) column. This is useful when you travel and want to see the local time as the main view without changing your computer’s system time zone.

Important: Swapping does not change the time zone of existing appointments. If you have a meeting at 9:00 AM in your original zone, it will still show at 9:00 AM in that zone’s time. The swap only changes which column is left and which is right.

Common Problems and Fixes

Here are the most frequent issues people run into:

Second time zone not showing: Make sure you are in Calendar view, not Mail. The setting only applies to the calendar grid.
Times look wrong: Check your primary time zone in Windows Settings (or Mac). Outlook uses the system time zone as the default primary. If your laptop is set to the wrong zone, both columns will be off.
Appointments moved after changing zones: This is normal. Outlook stores times as UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). When you change the primary zone, the displayed local time shifts. The actual instant of the meeting does not change.
Second zone missing on some views: The dual zone only appears in the Day, Work Week, and Week views. It does not appear in Month view or in the scheduling assistant.
Web version doesn’t show labels: The web app shows the label you typed, but it does not show the zone abbreviation (like PST or GMT). That is a known limitation.

Does It Work on Mobile?

The Outlook mobile apps (iOS and Android) do not have a built-in “show two time zones in calendar” toggle. However, they do show the time zone of each event when you open it. For a permanent dual view, you would need to use the desktop or web version. Some users work around this by adding a second calendar with a different time zone, but that is not a native feature.

Alternatives to Outlook’s Built-in Feature

If you need more than two zones, or you want a quick reference without changing your calendar view, consider:

Adding a world clock widget to your phone or desktop.
Using a browser extension that shows multiple time zones in the new tab page.
Creating a separate calendar in Outlook with events labeled in another zone (but this does not change the grid).
Using a time zone converter website for one-off calculations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will showing two time zones change my meeting times?
No. The feature is purely visual. It changes the labels on the calendar grid, not the underlying event times. Your meetings remain in your primary time zone.

Can I show three or more time zones?
No. Outlook only supports two at a time. For more, you need an external tool or a separate calendar view.

Why is my second time zone grayed out?
This happens when you are in Month view. Switch to Day, Work Week, or Week view to see the second zone.

Does Outlook for Mac have the same feature?
Yes, but the menu is under Preferences > Calendar. The feature works the same way, but there is no “Swap” button.

How do I remove the second time zone?
Go back to the same settings and uncheck “Show a second time zone.” Your calendar will revert to a single column.

Method: the standard formula for this calculation, rounded as each result states. See how the calculators work or report an error.