Fixing the “Outlook end date occurs before the start date” issue is crucial. In this article, we will resolve this bug that has been present in the Outlook app for almost 13 years, despite being easily fixable.
I believe that Microsoft should address this problem promptly to save users unnecessary frustration and wasted time. Alright, let’s not allow this bug to persist for another 13 years and ensure a smoother experience for all Outlook users.
When I attempted to save the configuration changes made in the Outlook app, I got the message “The end date you entered occurs before the start date.” The changes weren’t saved, and this happened even after closing and re-opening the Outlook app. So, basically, my Outlook would not accept any configuration changes.
Also Read: How to Resolve Outlook Error 500
Resolve Outlook end date occurs before the start date
The error “The end date occurs before the start date” occurs because Outlook is unable to manage an overnight schedule, and this can be resolved by changing the Work Hours/End Time in the Calendar options.
Simply put, Outlook is unable to manage the work hours that are set in the calendar options. It cannot handle, for instance, setting 8 AM as the start time and 1 AM as the end time since it is evaluating those times within the framework of a single day that begins and ends at midnight.
To access the work hours, open Outlook and go to File > Options, then select the Calendar tab. In the below screenshot, we see my work hours were configured as follows:
- Start Time: 08:00
- End Time: 00:01
The above work hours are not something that Outlook can accept because it’s evaluating those times in the context of a single day starting at midnight and ending at midnight.
Under Calendar, I changed the end time of work hours from the default 00:01 to 20:00 and configured the start time to 10:00, and that worked for me.
Some sites advise you to adjust the working hours in the regional settings. However, I did not find it necessary to make any changes to the time settings in the Control Panel.
In summary, setting the proper work hours in the Outlook Calendar options resolved the error “The end date occurs before the start date” for me.
Fix The end date you entered occurs before the start date
The second scenario where you encounter the error “The end date you entered occurs before the start date” is while creating a meeting in Outlook calendar with an incorrect end time. This error will occur if you create a new meeting and set the appointment’s end time earlier than its start time.
For example, if you create an appointment that starts at 15:00 and attempt to set an end time earlier than 15:00 on the same day or previous day, you will receive the error stated above.
Though it seems illogical, Outlook has the ability to identify this and notify you of the incorrect end time by displaying that error message.
