Q: Is iCloud compatible with Outlook 2016?

sandy7862 -

OK.  But how did you get your calendar and contacts from Outlook 2016 PC to Hotmail ?  I can do it once only but not as a continual update that responds to changes (IE add a contact and it turns up on on the phone etc...)

Outlook 2013 syncing worked fine for me on Windows 8.1, and many have reported that Outlook 2013 syncing works fine with Windows 10.  It is not clear which combinations of Outlook / Windows / iCloud versions work and which don't, but the Outlook 2016 / Windows 10 combination seems to be most often the problem.  I don't have enough data to define which Outlook, Windows and iCloud combinations work and which don't. or even whether the result is entirely predictable knowing the Outlook, Windows and iCloud versions.  But it is clearly an oversimplification to claim that Outlook 2016 is the sole predictor, as Apple is implying at Get help using Outlook with iCloud for Windows - Apple Support

Actually, the hotmail comment was just me thinking out loud.  I went through the setup again and realized it doesn't have anything to do with hotmail.  All I did was install Outlook for IOS on my iPhone and then run the setup for iPhones in Windows 10 Phone Companion.  My desktop, laptop and iPhone immediately started syncing.  What I was remembering is that one of the first steps in setup is to enter an email address, but it's only to send yourself a link to download the IOS version of Outlook.  Just to be clear on my previous post, this setup does not sync my MacBook Pro.  However, if I do want to sync an appointment to the MacBook, I can go into IOS Outlook settings and choose an iCloud calendar as default.  Actually, I think I saw a way to change the calendar on the fly.  Have you tried the Phone Companion setup, yet?  The first screen gives you options for a few different kinds of phones.

I just checked and there is a way to change calendars on the fly.  It's even really easy.  When you create a new event, near the bottom of the new event screen, there is an option to choose which calendar the event is posted on.

Final thoughts - what really baffles me is why it's working on my laptop - iCloud, I mean.  I have the exact same setup on my desktop and laptop.  I have Windows 10 (volume license), Office Pro plus 2016 (volume license), and iCloud v5.  All the other programs are almost identical.  I've never had a single problem with the laptop syncing since Apple released v5.  I only set up Phone Companion on it out of curiosity.  Both Windows computers are completely up to date-OS and other software.  I can't find a single reason why it works on one and not the other.

I installed the Outlook app on the phone and the mail service function essentially duplicates the default functions in Mail, Contacts and Calendars.  Its primarily an additional interface for an existing function.

Office 365

Outlook.com

Exchange

Yahoo Mail

Cloud

Gmail

IMAP

The app doesn't assist in the essential function that's broken (taking local info off of the PC and adding it to iCloud and or iTunes taking contacts / calendars off via USB)  I'm currently running a Gmail interface that takes the info off the local machine and adds it to Google.  From what I can tell the Exchange function (unless through a paid server) doesn't function with Outlook 2016 either as the Exchange Active Sync current incarnation in Outlook 2016 PC doesn't work at all connecting local to Outlook.com.

I suspect that part of the issue Apple is having is replicating machines that iCloud / iTunes will work on those that it wont.  Very hit or miss. Not having much of a use of iTunes books / movies / music etc. functions I may be all set.

An interesting feature I found is while making a hotel reservation yesterday and having the confirmation sent to my Gmail account it automatically appeared in my google calendar - then my phone.

I'm trying the approach of installing Office 2013 on my new Windows 10 computer using my Office 365 business subscription, but to do this you need a product key since Office 2013 is no longer offered on the general web page.  But as Microsoft's "Find your Office product key" pay says, Most  customers won’t receive (and don’t need) a product key to get started with Office. For instance, you don't need a key if  you bought Office from Office.com or the Microsoft Store online".  And when you log into https://portal.office.com there are opportunities for phone support, but due to the wall in Microsoft between home and business products, you are told that they have no access to information about business products, even if you logged in using information about a business subscription.  And when they try to transfer you to the business side, you are given a busy signal.  And when you try the same thing via chat, they give you a support URL that resolves to https://portal.office.com and you are back where you started.

I've been on the phone with Microsoft and chats for the past 2 hours and they are unable to find anyone who can help.  They just keep asking for you to "hold on for a brief minute or two" and then come back to you saying that they are unable to reach anyone.  Part of this may be due to it being a weekend, but Microsoft is so disorganized that they waste 2 hours providing a third-world level of support.  And if you thought that buying the business version gets you better service, that is wrong; it sounds like the non-business accounts get 7 day a week service, but if you pay extra for the business version you get 5 day a week service.  And I got to a supervisor who claimed to be the highest authority available today, and all he could do was say he'd be frustrated too, but he has no ability to even get someone to call me back next week who could solve this.

I believe you can install Office 2013 from the 365 installation site.  I think in your post you said you have 365 Business.  I have the Home version, so I might be wrong in the following info.  When I go to the Office install site, there is an link "Language and install options".  I click on it and it takes me to a different installation page.  Here, I can select the language and there is another link "Additional install options".  I click on this link and it takes me to a page where there is a drop down menu with several version options for Office 365.

If this isn't available with the Business subscription, I'd be pretty annoyed with MS.

I"ll add my name to the problem -

Windows 10 64 bit

Office 2016 32 bit

iCloud not syncing with Outlook

As you might predict from Microsoft, there are multiple URLs with different behaviors.

https://portal.office.com allows me to login with the address the installation pushed me to use for Office 365, of the form  me@mycompany.onmicrosoft.com address, but only offers "Download the latest version of Office". 

https://stores.office.com/myaccount/home.aspx only lets me log in with my regular Microsoft address, of the form me@mycompany.com, not my Office 365 address as above, but seems aware that my Office subscription is not associated with that address.  It offers 2 approaches:

• Sign in with your other Microsoft account
• Enter your product key to activate Office, but this doesn't work if you bought Office 365 online (Microsoft announces on its "Find your Office product key" page "Most customers won’t receive (and don’t need) a product key to get started with Office. For instance, you don't need a key if you bought Office from Office.com or the Microsoft Store online")

The Microsoft support people with whom I spoke today told me I needed the product key to install Office 2013, making it seem like Microsoft thinks I both need and don't need the product key. But the Microsoft support people were unable to dig up my product key, but they said they were not the Business support team, who could help me, except that they do not work on weekends. 

The best spin I can put on this is that non-business customers get low-competence support 7 days a week, and business customers get better support, but only on weekdays.  But that is no excuse for the sloppy way everything is organized, with multiple overlapping systems of buying and activating that create a lot of blind alleys that waste everyone's time.  The low-competence non-business support people seem to be reading from scripts, doing all sorts of things like asking you to "hold on for a brief minute or two" even though they later admitted that they were not getting any response from the business side and kept calling and calling and stringing me along as if they were doing something, and reassuring me that they would get everything working.  These guys must get paid by the hour, so it is hard to consider them individually evil, but the system as designed is abusive to the customer.

Here is how to revert to Office 365 2013 from Office 365 2016; per my contact with Microsoft a month ago on my 365 Home Account.

Look at my post on 11/13 at 8.31am for process..

Performed these steps 4 times and forward to try 2016 and then reverting back to 2013.  Worked all 4 times.

You must have a product key in msn/outlook/Hotmail account and on this account for 365-2016; and if so, no need to get another dropping back to 2013.

I have installed Outlook app for iOS on both my iPhone and iPad. I then went to my POP3 email accounts and forwarded them to an IMAP account (Gmail or Hotmail / Outlook online). The sync occurred and all looks good until you try to sync in the desktop Outlook 2016. No amount of playing around with the calendars in the iOS devices or Outlook 2016 will get the calendar and contact ( I leveled each iCloud Primary). So, for the purpose of the device syncing these at the device level only this works.

Now here is the wild thing. If you open the built in Mail App in windows and create your accounts there. You can get the iCloud calendar and contacts to sync with Windows MAIL, in it the Contacts and from it or from the Windows Calendar the sync with the iCloud files works. The slowness is not to different from the slow syncing of One Drive to your desktop files as your work. But the point is, at the Windows Mail, Calendar and Contacts Microsoft did not make the same change in the files types as it did in Outlook 2016.

I have conditioned myself for the moment to open make changes to the calendar or contacts from my iOS devices. This is what I walk around with and have away from home (desktop PCs). But it is a lost of the integration of the meeting, calendar, contacts and groups as well as the use across email accounts that this failure of the Apple iCloud for Windows has caused.

Anyway, I wanted to share that you can make the Outlook App for iOS, Apple's calendar and contacts, and Windows Mail and calendar work together. I refuse to use the juvenile looking Windows Mail App although if you can get pass the icons and placement of features is unexpected places (not an Outlook 2016 or earlier substitute.

The Phone Companion in Windows is a joke to some extent. I had not even used it until I read of it here. I got my stuff to sync at the small device level with the desktop MAIL and Calendar App without it.

BWWIGGS

I got a subscription share from my office for Office 365. When I logged in to follow the link I went to my Microsoft account and there were two tabs. One for the new Office 365 and the other for my existing Office 2013 (that I can reinstall from that tab). I also have product keys for all my Office version written in a book or on the jackets of the disks. My Office 2013 was an upgrade from 2010 and it from 2007. But the 2013 was my first download of an Office version. Microsoft has these download available as part of my account. But, I took two nights to get Office 365 - 2016 to install and had to manually remove everything in the registry related to Office 2013 before 2016 would install. SO, I have a clean install of Office 365 - 2016 on this PC.

My sister, followed a link on the Office 365 download page that took here to the selection of versions and she did her Office 365 as a update to her desktop Office 2013. As a result in the product version in her Office components the build is listed as Office 365 (2013) with a build number different from the one for my Office 365. She was able after reinstalling iCloud for Windows twice to configure her connections and sync as usual. I walked her through it. I did not know when we did that that she had done this update and not an upgrade to 2016. This experience along with the many users who report that they are syncing with office 2016, Windows 10 or 10Pro and iCloud for Windows v.5.

I could use the energy I apply here with this discussion to uninstalling Office 2016 and reinstalling 2013. But, I think I would feel cheated of the connection with this group of nice people and of the improvements in Office 2016. So, I hold out some hope still that Apple's iCloud team will fix this very soon. BTW: there is a page at Microsoft support shared by someone in these post here on how to install and then reinstall the older version of Office if that is something folks may want to do. I am a hold out!

I hope this post makes sense and I have explained what MS meant vs.what it says about syncing your phone with Outlook (APP for iOS NOT Outlook 2016 on a PC or Mac) but that the Outlook app for iOS can be a little bit useful because it shows a unified calendar across your several calendars if you have more than one and same with Contacts. It does nothing with Tasks and Notes but they are in the planning stage with the team doing the Outlook app for iOS.

I looked at the instructions for moving to Office 2013 at https://support.office.com/en-us/article/How-do-I-reinstall-Office-2013-after-an -Office-2016-upgrade-a6ca92f4-cbb4-4609-….

This uses the https://office.com/myaccount version of logging in, which seems to recognize only my Microsoft account and not my Office account.  It also shows illustration for Office 365 Home, while I have Office 365 Business.

Microsoft seems to have 2 parallel universes for Home and Business, and I wonder whether some of the difficulty and the spaciness at Microsoft is that there are two different sets of support personnel and neither set is clued into the other parallel universe, and all their scripts allow them to do is say "hold on for a brief minute or two" as they try various things without having a clue what the problem is. 

The marketing geniuses who divided computer companies into Home and Business rather than more relevant distinctions may be the ones responsible for this confusion. 

I've decided to make a System Image and gamble on installing Office 2016, with the hope that Apple will release a version of iCloud soon.  If Apple messes up, I can restore to the System Image and then wade through the bureaucracy of Microsoft to get Office 2013.

In this context, I wonder whether order of installation is important.  There is the OS, Outlook and iCloud.  I wonder if there is some order of installing them that allows it to work.  It seems like a longshot, but if anyone has Windows 10 + Outlook 2016, and iCloud works, it would be good to know what version of iCloud you have and what order Windows 10, Outlook 2016 and iCloud were installed.

There were some who reported it was working, then Apple came out with the current iCloud, and it broke it for them.  Myself I have no problem staying on Office 2013 until the fix is published.  It should not be long now.