Understanding calendar update intervals
Overview: Reported synch issues
Some users approach us regarding shared calendars not updating correctly or frequently enough.
In this article, we try to explain the background of these issues.
Update mechanism
Within freispace, you can export shared iCal links.
The links are then subscribed to by other services, meaning these pull the iCal link regularly to update the calendar entries. This means that Google and Microsoft retrieve the current calendar data themselves. freispace has no way of pushing changes to these services.
Within the iCal, we specify an update value of once per hours. This value was intentionally chosen to ensure that the load on our system remains within normal limits. However, most services disregard the set limit, including Google and Microsoft.
Update frequencies for different services
Google Calendar
- Typically updates iCal feeds every 8 to 12 hours.
- This update frequency is independent of settings such as
REFRESH-INTERVALorX-PUBLISHED-TTLthat we use within our iCals. - Currently, Google does not offer a way to accelerate this frequency.
Outlook (Web Version)
- Updates iCal feeds approximately every 3 hours.
- Changes occasionally can take longer than 24 hours to become visible.
- For more information, refer to Outlook Support.
Outlook (Local/Desktop Versions)
- There are no documented fixed intervals for updates.
- Based on our experience, the behavior is similar to that of the web version.
Limitations
There are thousands of reports online from users expressing concerns regarding update intervals with Microsoft and Google.
We understand that the update intervals can be frustrating, however freispace does not have direct control over these retrieval intervals.