Accepting Google Calendar Invites to a Non-Gmail Account
[updated 03/24/21 for Google business email new name, updated 05/04/2017 to include screenshots, updated 12/16/2014 to reflect changes in the settings]
Gmail is a fantastic tool for managing all your emails, and email addresses. However, it can prove a little tricky when calendar invites are sent to an alternate email address you own that you’ve set up to deliver to your Gmail account. You want to accept and put them in your Google Calendar, but you can’t!
Typically when that happens, and you try to click on an attending status, you get an ugly error message saying you can’t respond. I personally kept running into this problem and finally found the answer!
How to Accept Calendar Invites Sent to Your Other Email Address(es)
Google has fixed this, all you have to do is enable a setting in Google Calendar to be able to respond to any calendar invite sent to any of your Gmail alternate addresses. Here’s how you do it:
- In Google Calendar, click the gear icon and choose Settings.
- Select the Calendars tab.
- Find your primary calendar in the list and then look to the right to fin the “Edit notifications” link in the “Notifications” column. Click it!
- The notifications settings page will open. Scroll to the bottom of the page (it is the last setting on the page). Check the box next to the Alternate email address setting, “Allow me to respond to event invitations forwarded from these addresses. My attendance response will come from [your Google Account].”NOTE: If you do not see this setting either
a) you don’t have an alternate email address set up for your Gmail account or
b) you are using Google Workspace (formerly known as G Suite and Google Apps) and this doesn’t apply.
c) you need to be patient – if you’ve just added an alternate email, it can take about 15 minutes for this option to show up.
- Click “Save”
Once you enable the setting you can use your Gmail account to respond to event invitations forwarded from your alternate email address(es). Keep in mind, event responses will be sent back to the organizer from your Gmail address, not the alternate email address on the original event invite. But now, you can respond to all those Google calendar invites!
Navigating the world of technology can sometimes feel like sailing through uncharted waters, especially when integrating various tools and platforms into your daily routines. Whether it’s mastering Google Calendar across multiple email addresses or leveraging the latest software solutions for your business, there’s always something new to learn. But you don’t have to navigate these waters alone. Dive deeper into the realm of technology and discover actionable tips, cutting-edge strategies, and insightful tech tips on our podcast. Check out our podcast, where we explore the intersections of technology, business, and productivity to empower you and your team.
