Same Question as Others - but not on a Mac. I want the bright colors back instead of muted pastels on the New Outlook!

MINO, Madeleine 0 Reputation points
2026-10-02T18:23:50.5633333+00:00

Are there any workarounds to get the vibrant colors back on the new Outlook? The new muted colors are very hard to distinguish between when using categories which our firm uses.

Thanks!

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For business
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  1. Ryan-N 16,135 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-10-02T18:56:50.5766667+00:00

    Hi MINO,

    I understand that the colors appearing more muted may affect your experience and workflow.

    However, I hope you understand that this is a forum where users share information and support one another.

    To help ensure that your feedback and experience can reach the product development team more effectively, I recommend sharing this issue through Microsoft’s official Feedback portal.

    This is one of the channels through which Microsoft receives feedback and suggestions from users, allowing the team to better understand user experiences and consider potential improvements to the product.

    If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

    I look forward to continuing the conversation.

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  2. Ryan-N 16,135 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-10-02T18:34:14.3866667+00:00

    Hi MINO,

    Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

    I would like to provide you with the following information:

    At this time, there is no setting in New Outlook that allows you to adjust the contrast or increase the vibrancy of the colors used for Categories.

    In this case, I recommend sharing your feedback and suggestion with the Microsoft Outlook development team through Microsoft’s official feedback portal.

    This will help the development team better understand users’ needs and expectations, so they can consider improving or adding appropriate features and options to enhance the overall user experience.

     If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

    I look forward to continuing the conversation.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes" and kindly upvote it.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread. 

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  3. AI answer

    2026-10-02T18:24:03.2633333+00:00

    No documented setting in new Outlook for Windows restores the older bright category colors.

    Available workarounds in new Outlook:

    1. Rename categories with clearer labels
      • Go to Settings > Accounts > Categories.
      • Select Edit next to a category.
      • Rename it to something more descriptive and, if helpful, choose a different available color.
      • Select Save.
    2. Create additional categories and choose the most distinguishable available colors
      • On the ribbon, select Categorize > New category.
      • Name the category, select a color, and save it.
    3. Use category names and filtering instead of relying only on color
      • A Microsoft Q&A answer for a similar accessibility scenario notes using category names and the Calendar filter as a practical workaround when colors are hard to distinguish.

    If the issue is specifically the Out of Office calendar color changing unexpectedly in Outlook for Microsoft 365, that was a known issue and is fixed in Version 2406 Build 17726.20000. There is also a registry workaround, but it changes Outlook behavior through the Windows Registry, so it should be used cautiously.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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