Attempting to save Options always results in error message "the end date you entered occurs before the start date"

Question

Attempting to save Options always results in error message "the end date you entered occurs before the start date"

John M Meredith 10

Problem is ...

In Outlook, File | Options, any attempt to save by clicking the OK button (even if you have made no changes) results in the error message "the end date you entered occurs before the start date" and no changes to the Options can be made.

Solution is ...

Under Calendar, change the end of your work hours from the default 00:01 (ludicrous setting, considering that the default start time is 08:00) to, say, 18:00 - any time after the start time. All will then work as expected.

I suspect this problem is a function of what time zone your pc is operating in, but it is definitely a bug. What is more, the bug was first reported (as far as I can see) as applying to Outlook in Office 2010 as was its fix. Thus MS has known about this bug for 13 years but has so far failed to fix it (despite the fix being so very, very easy, once you know about it).

The bug is silly, and the error message downright confusing, since it occurs even if you have no appointments in your calendar, and have never entered any end date or indeed start date for anything!

So black mark, Microsoft. Please fix the bug to prevent future generations of users wasting hours of their precious lives trying to solve this problem. Do not let it persist for another 13 years.

Locked Question. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

Yuki Sun-MSFT 41,456 Reputation points Moderator

2023-01-23T02:42:26.4966667+00:00

Hi @John M Meredith ,

I suspect this problem is a function of what time zone your pc is operating in

I suspect the same as I myself haven't yet experienced this so far.

Would you mind sharing your time zone so that I can try changing it on my machine and see if the issue can be reproduced from my side?

By the way, what's the version of your Outlook? You can check it via File > Office Account > About Outlook.
Yuki Sun-MSFT 41,456 Reputation points Moderator

2023-01-26T01:36:24.02+00:00

Hi @John M Meredith ,

Just wondering if you have had a chance to see the reply earlier. Feel free to post back with the version information and time zone if you are still looking for help on this.
Hugh Stevens 0 Reputation points

2023-05-15T22:42:57.12+00:00

I'm based in New Zealand (GMT+12hours) and also get this error.

The problem is fixed if I change the Work Hours/End Time as suggested above by @John M Meredith . (thanks for that!)
Jon Williams 0 Reputation points

2024-07-12T09:02:40.5533333+00:00

Same issue, and it blocks saving all options (trying to have a view pane in Outlook and doesn't allow - must be manually done every load of Outlook). Also it doesn't allow access to work hours button but gives same message.... ie. "fix" suggested does not work....
Gunnlaugur Róbertsson 0 Reputation points

2024-09-05T10:44:56.08+00:00

Hi there,

when I try to change the work hours in outlook I am prompted with this. I have switched to new outlook and changed the work hours there but am still promted. Has anyone found a way to fix this bug?
Anonymous

2024-09-09T06:32:14.6966667+00:00

So how can I set my third shift schedule in the calendar without getting the end date before start date error message?!?!?
jared_123 0 Reputation points

2024-12-17T20:49:42.7533333+00:00

I have the same problem. I can't even change my work times because the same "end date before start date" message pops up.
GvdM 0 Reputation points

2024-12-30T16:20:53.9733333+00:00

This idiotic bug is still there, almost one year later. I think Microsoft does not care a bit
Paul Wintermeyer 0 Reputation points

2025-03-20T11:40:55.8466667+00:00

I was having this issue too, trying to click the button to change "Work hours and location" would generate the same error.

I was able to get round it by logging into OWA and changed the settings there. Waited a few moments for the settings to sync and the error no longer shows. even after then deleting the "Work hours and location" settings.
Nick Murray 0 Reputation points

2025-09-01T20:14:17.78+00:00

I, too, had the same problem & asked this question. By following some of the advice on this page, I was able to solve it.

Open Outlook, click on File, on the left-hand side at the bottom, click Options.

In the options box, click on Calendar, the 3rd option down.

Check the working day hours & adjust to something closer to what you actually do, during normal working with daylight hours day. For some reason, rather stupid hours had been entered for me.

Click 'OK' & everything should then be fixed.

I know that others have answered this, but sometimes the answers can be harder to understand in layman's terms!
Nick Murray 0 Reputation points

2026-03-24T21:26:20.7966667+00:00

Dear Mr Meredith,

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply to me, and quite a few others, too, it would seem.

Yes, it was as you said, a simple 'default' problem in the settings, which has now been resolved.

Thank you very much!

5 answers

Yuki Sun-MSFT 41,456 Reputation points Moderator

2023-01-23T02:42:26.4966667+00:00

Hi @John M Meredith ,

I suspect this problem is a function of what time zone your pc is operating in

I suspect the same as I myself haven't yet experienced this so far.

Would you mind sharing your time zone so that I can try changing it on my machine and see if the issue can be reproduced from my side?

By the way, what's the version of your Outlook? You can check it via File > Office Account > About Outlook.
Yuki Sun-MSFT 41,456 Reputation points Moderator

2023-01-26T01:36:24.02+00:00

Hi @John M Meredith ,

Just wondering if you have had a chance to see the reply earlier. Feel free to post back with the version information and time zone if you are still looking for help on this.
Hugh Stevens 0 Reputation points

2023-05-15T22:42:57.12+00:00

I'm based in New Zealand (GMT+12hours) and also get this error.

The problem is fixed if I change the Work Hours/End Time as suggested above by @John M Meredith . (thanks for that!)
Jon Williams 0 Reputation points

2024-07-12T09:02:40.5533333+00:00

Same issue, and it blocks saving all options (trying to have a view pane in Outlook and doesn't allow - must be manually done every load of Outlook). Also it doesn't allow access to work hours button but gives same message.... ie. "fix" suggested does not work....
Gunnlaugur Róbertsson 0 Reputation points

2024-09-05T10:44:56.08+00:00

Hi there,

when I try to change the work hours in outlook I am prompted with this. I have switched to new outlook and changed the work hours there but am still promted. Has anyone found a way to fix this bug?
Anonymous

2024-09-09T06:32:14.6966667+00:00

So how can I set my third shift schedule in the calendar without getting the end date before start date error message?!?!?
jared_123 0 Reputation points

2024-12-17T20:49:42.7533333+00:00

I have the same problem. I can't even change my work times because the same "end date before start date" message pops up.
GvdM 0 Reputation points

2024-12-30T16:20:53.9733333+00:00

This idiotic bug is still there, almost one year later. I think Microsoft does not care a bit
Paul Wintermeyer 0 Reputation points

2025-03-20T11:40:55.8466667+00:00

I was having this issue too, trying to click the button to change "Work hours and location" would generate the same error.

I was able to get round it by logging into OWA and changed the settings there. Waited a few moments for the settings to sync and the error no longer shows. even after then deleting the "Work hours and location" settings.
Nick Murray 0 Reputation points

2025-09-01T20:14:17.78+00:00

I, too, had the same problem & asked this question. By following some of the advice on this page, I was able to solve it.

Open Outlook, click on File, on the left-hand side at the bottom, click Options.

In the options box, click on Calendar, the 3rd option down.

Check the working day hours & adjust to something closer to what you actually do, during normal working with daylight hours day. For some reason, rather stupid hours had been entered for me.

Click 'OK' & everything should then be fixed.

I know that others have answered this, but sometimes the answers can be harder to understand in layman's terms!
Nick Murray 0 Reputation points

2026-03-24T21:26:20.7966667+00:00

Dear Mr Meredith,

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply to me, and quite a few others, too, it would seem.

Yes, it was as you said, a simple 'default' problem in the settings, which has now been resolved.

Thank you very much!

Answer 1

Mocobx 0

If you still struggle with this after trying all suggested solution/workaround

Here is what i did to fix it

1- Open Outlook Classic

2- Go to "Send and Receive"

3- Click "Work Offline"

4- Go to File > Options > Calander > Click "Work hours and location..."

You will get pop-up saying "You can't use the Work hours and location when you're working offline"

5- Close Pop-up and Outlook completely ( Check Task manager to make sure its killed )

6- Go to "Send and Receive" and remove "Work offline"

7- Go to File > Options > Calander > Click "Work hours and location..."

This time it should work and open the "Work hours and location..." and you can fix the time

Good luck

Thema IT Support 0 Reputation points

2026-07-05T17:27:35.8133333+00:00

Sadly I do not get the popup saying "You can't use the Work hours and location when you're working offline", it is the same old "the end date..." error

Answer 2

We found a fix for this today!

Log into OWA
Make sure in Settings > General > Language and time > make sure the "language" is set to English UK (or whichever your time zone is)
Then go to settings > calendar > Work hours and location (https://outlook.office365.com/calendar/options/calendar/workSchedule)
Once in here untick "Monday" "Tuesday" "Wednesday" "Thursday" and "Friday" The Time zone then changed to our time zone instead of -08:00 Canada
Tick "Monday" "Tuesday" "Wednesday" "Thursday" and "Friday" and set the times.
Back in outlook, try opening the setting in options again now and it should be fixed!

We did also run this PowerShell command at the same time so not sure which helped however the above seemed to work. Change the <emailaddress> below to the email of the user in question.

Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration -Identity <emailaddress> -WorkingHoursStartTime 08:00 -WorkingHoursEndTime 17:00 -WorkingHoursTimeZone "GMT Standard Time"

Mick Churchill 0 Reputation points

2026-01-06T12:02:29.4466667+00:00

This has fixed the issue for us today!

Answer 3

Joseph Bueno 0

I had the same issue, and this is what worked for me:

In Outlook, go to File > Account Settings > Account Name and Sync Settings.
Uncheck "Use Cached Exchange Mode."
Close Outlook.
Open Run and execute: Outlook.exe /cleanreminders
Once Outlook reopens, go back to the account settings and re-enable Cached Exchange Mode.

After doing this, the issue was resolved for me.

0 comments

Answer 4

Anonymous

It's not a function of the time zone, it's if the END time is BEFORE the START time in any given day (thinking about from 00:00 to 23:59).

Basically outlook can't handle an overnight schedule. For example if I set 9PM as a start time, and 6AM as the end time, it can't handle that because it's evaluating those times in the context of a single day starting at midnight and ending at midnight.

Steven Ebbrell 0 Reputation points

2023-10-02T09:21:42.71+00:00

John, thanks for sharing this bug fix.

The fix is simple but I'd have spent ages trying to resolve this without your article.
Anonymous

2024-09-09T06:31:50.5033333+00:00

So how can I set my third shift schedule in the calendar without getting the end date before start date error message?!?!?

Answer 5

Thema IT Support 0

I have this "the end date you entered occurs before the start date" bug and I am not even trying to change the calendar. I am trying to change an Add-in.

This is infuriating, I have online repaired, full repaired Office, checked for updates and tried EVERYTHING suggested above but still it is the same "the end date you entered occurs before the start date".

I do not have the options under Work Time to change the working hours without getting the "the end date...", so it leads me to wonder if I have an older version of Outlook? The version is Microsoft® Outlook® for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2606 Build 16.0.20131.20112) 64-bit (on Win11 25H2)

What can I do to get to modify an Add-in that may get around this highly annoying bug? Oh and it would be great to get a fix to the bug at the same time too!

TIA

Hornblower409 15,140 Reputation points

2026-07-06T22:37:38.2266667+00:00

@Thema IT Support

You will probably not get any help for your issue by adding to an old post. I would suggest that you start a new thread using the "Ask a question" button at the top of this page to create a new Question and include the details for your specific problem and what steps you have already tried to fix it.

(You can put the link for this page in your new Question for reference)