_v1•ResyncGuide
Short answer: a calendar added From URL in Google Calendar is a read-only ICS/iCal subscription. Google re-fetches that feed on its own schedule. Changes can take hours to appear. There is no button to force a refresh and no setting to change the frequency. Fixes: confirm the link is a valid public or secret ICS address (https, not a webcal issue, and it returns .ics data), remove and re-add it if you need a fresher copy, and check that the source still publishes. When you need near-real-time updates between Google calendars, use sharing or an API-based sync tool instead of an ICS URL.
Importing a downloaded .ics file is a one-time copy that never updates. That path is in the copy events guide. Adding a work Outlook feed is in the Outlook guide. Overlaying a work Google calendar is in the work calendar guide.
Google Calendar Help documents two different ways to see another calendar. Sharing a Google calendar is an overlay: the other account adds it from a share email and then sees that same calendar. A calendar added From URL is a file Google downloads. Google Calendar Help says you enter the URL of a published calendar, and that you do this on a computer, not in the Calendar app.
That URL feed is a read-only copy. Google polls it. It does not get a push when the source changes. Microsoft documents the same limit for published ICS calendars: they are read-only, and how often they sync depends on the recipient's email provider. Edits you make on the subscribed copy in Google Calendar do not write back to Outlook, Apple Calendar, or another Google account.
Google Calendar Help and Microsoft Support steps checked Nov 2, 2026. Cited from Subscribe to someone else's calendar, Create and manage a public Google calendar, and Share your calendar in Outlook on the web.
Google Calendar Help does not publish a refresh interval you can set for a From URL subscription. It also does not document a refresh button or a sync-frequency control for those feeds. Google refreshes URL subscriptions on its own schedule, often hours later.
Microsoft is more specific about the other side of an ICS link. When you publish an Outlook calendar, Microsoft says how often the ICS calendar syncs depends on the recipient's email provider. Microsoft's calendar sharing in Microsoft 365 page says that if the recipient is Gmail.com, the calendar might be updated every 24–48 hours. That is Microsoft describing Gmail, not a Google Calendar setting you can change.
People sometimes remove the calendar and add the same URL again. That may pick up changes sooner because Google fetches the feed when you add it. It can also create a fresh copy and drop the color, notifications, and other settings you applied. Google Calendar Help does not document remove-and-re-add as a refresh control.
Google Calendar Help and Microsoft Support steps checked Nov 2, 2026. Cited from Subscribe to someone else's calendar and Calendar sharing in Microsoft 365.
Start with the symptom. Google Calendar Help does not publish a dedicated troubleshooting article for From URL feeds, so the likely causes below stay inside what those help pages do say about adding a URL, importing a file, publishing an ICS link, and mobile sync.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Never shows any events | The URL is not a reachable ICS/iCal feed, you imported a downloaded file instead of adding From URL, or the publisher stopped sharing. | Open the link in a browser and confirm it returns calendar data. Use https. Add it From URL on a computer. Check that an Outlook calendar is still published. |
| Shows old events | Google has not re-fetched the feed yet. A From URL calendar is a polled copy, not a live share. | Wait for Google's next fetch. There is no refresh button. Removing and re-adding the URL may fetch sooner, but it is a new subscription. |
| New events missing | The subscribed copy still has the last snapshot Google fetched, or the source has not published the new events into the feed. | Confirm the events exist on the source calendar. Then wait, or remove and re-add the URL. Sharing a Google calendar is faster than a URL feed. |
| Deleted events still showing | Deletes wait for the next fetch too. The subscribed calendar keeps the last copy until Google downloads a newer feed. | Wait for the next refresh, or remove the calendar and add the URL again. A shared Google calendar overlay updates without a file fetch. |
| Time zone looks shifted | The feed and your Google Calendar may use different time zones. Google Calendar Help does not document a separate time zone control for From URL calendars. | Check the source calendar time zone and Google Calendar Settings → Time zone. If an Outlook ICS feed looks off, confirm the Outlook calendar time zone before you republish. |
| Could not fetch URL | The address is not a public ICS feed, uses webcal://, was reset, or an admin unpublished it. Google Calendar Help does not publish a specific error string for this. | Try the same path with https://. Confirm the secret iCal address was not reset. Ask IT if Outlook publishing is disabled. |
| Works on desktop but not phone | You add a From URL calendar on a computer. The Google Calendar app does not subscribe. Mobile sync may also be off. | Add the URL on a computer first. In the app, select the calendar in the list. On Android, Menu → Settings, open the calendar, and turn Sync on. |
Google Calendar Help and Microsoft Support steps checked Nov 2, 2026.
Downloading an .ics file and importing it is not a subscription. Google Calendar Help says imported events do not stay in sync between two accounts, and that sharing is the built-in way to keep a view updated. Guests and conference data are not imported. A later export and import can leave a second copy of the same events.
A From URL calendar stays listed under Other calendars as its own calendar. Google re-fetches that URL later. An imported file becomes events on the calendar you chose and then never updates. If you expected the copy to follow the source and it never changes, you likely imported a file.
The computer steps for a one-event copy, an export, and an import are in the copy events guide. Combining two calendars into one view is in the merge calendars guide.
Google Calendar Help steps checked Nov 2, 2026. Cited from Import events to Google Calendar.
Microsoft documents a published ICS link for Microsoft 365 or Outlook on the web. Sharing an Outlook invitation to Gmail is not the same. Microsoft says when you share with someone who is not using Outlook on the web, for example someone using Gmail, they can only accept the invitation with a Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com account.
The full Outlook and Google ICS steps, including the other direction, are in the Outlook guide. Resync does not connect Outlook or Microsoft 365. It writes Busy holds on Google calendars only.
Microsoft Support and Google Calendar Help steps checked Nov 2, 2026. Cited from Share your calendar in Outlook on the web and Subscribe to someone else's calendar.
The reverse direction uses Google's secret address in iCal format. Google Calendar Help says you copy that link from Integrate calendar and paste it into the other application. Those apps refresh the feed with their own settings. Google Calendar does not control how often Outlook or Apple Calendar fetch it.
In the new Outlook, Microsoft documents Add calendar → Subscribe from web, then paste the secret iCal URL. Outlook on the web and Outlook.com can take more than 24 hours to pick up a subscribed calendar. Microsoft also documents a one-time import for classic Outlook; that import is a snapshot and does not keep updating.
Apple Calendar on Mac lets you choose how often a subscription refreshes. Apple Support says to Control-click the calendar, choose Get Info, then use the Auto-refresh menu. You can also choose File → New Calendar Subscription and set Auto-refresh when you add the URL. View → Refresh Calendars refreshes calendars on that Mac. Google Calendar has no matching control for a From URL calendar.
Microsoft's Google-in-Outlook steps and the Outlook guide cover that direction in more detail. Resync does not subscribe Apple Calendar or Outlook to a Google iCal address.
Google Calendar Help, Microsoft Support, and Apple Support steps checked Nov 2, 2026. Cited from Sync your calendar with computer programs, Import or subscribe to a calendar in Outlook.com or Outlook on the web, and Refresh calendars on Mac.
Google Calendar Help says you must add a calendar from URL on a computer. You cannot subscribe in the Android or iPhone app. After the calendar is on the account, it can appear in the app.
Seeing several Google accounts in one app is in the multiple-accounts guide. That overlay still does not refresh a From URL feed faster.
Google Calendar Help steps checked Nov 2, 2026. Cited from Subscribe to someone else's calendar and Fix sync problems with the Google Calendar app.
Google Calendar Help says only you should know the secret address for your calendar. Do not share it. Anyone with the link can view that calendar in another app, including the events on it. If you accidentally shared it, click Reset to invalidate the old address and create a new one. After a reset, every app or Google Calendar that used the old URL stops updating until you paste the new address.
Google Calendar Help steps checked Nov 2, 2026. Cited from Sync your calendar with computer programs.
Use a From URL subscription when you only need a read-only view of a published feed and you can wait for Google to fetch it. Use Google Calendar sharing when both calendars are Google calendars and an overlay is enough. Use Resync when each Google calendar others book should treat the other account's busy time as busy.
Resync does not subscribe to ICS URLs. It does not connect Outlook or Apple Calendar. It reads when you are busy on Google calendars you mark as sources and writes hold events onto Google calendars you mark as mirrors. $1.50/month or $9/year after a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.
A calendar added From URL is a read-only copy. Google re-fetches that ICS/iCal feed on its own schedule. There is no refresh button and no setting to change the frequency. Changes on the source can take hours to appear. Confirm the link still returns a public or secret ICS feed, that you added it From URL rather than importing a file, and that the publisher still shares it. Sharing a Google calendar is a live overlay, not a polled URL.
Google Calendar Help does not publish a refresh interval you can set for a From URL subscription. Google refreshes those feeds on its own schedule, often hours later. Microsoft documents that how often an ICS calendar syncs depends on the recipient's email provider, and that a Gmail.com recipient might see updates every 24-48 hours. That is Microsoft's description of Gmail, not a Google setting you can change.
No. Google Calendar Help does not document a button to force a refresh or a control to change how often a From URL calendar is fetched. Removing the calendar and adding the URL again may pick up a newer copy sooner, but that creates a fresh subscription and can drop the color and notifications you set. Apple Calendar on Mac does let you choose Auto-refresh for a calendar you subscribed to there. Outlook on the web can take more than 24 hours to refresh a subscription.
Google Calendar Help says you add a published calendar From URL on a computer, not in the Calendar app. The link should be an https ICS/iCal address that returns calendar data. A webcal:// link, a page that is not a feed, an unpublished or reset secret address, or an organization that disabled Outlook publishing can all fail. Open the URL in a browser and confirm it downloads or shows calendar text before you add it again.
A published Outlook ICS link is read-only. Microsoft says how often it syncs depends on the recipient's email provider, and some organizations disable publishing or unpublish the calendar. Google then fetches that URL on its own schedule. If colleagues still see updates in Outlook but Google does not, wait for Google's next fetch or remove and re-add the ICS URL. Resync does not connect Outlook. The Outlook guide covers both directions.
Use From URL when you only need a read-only view of a published feed and can wait hours. Use Google Calendar sharing when both calendars are Google calendars and you want a live overlay. Use Resync when each Google calendar others book should show private Busy holds. Resync watches source calendars and writes holds titled Busy. It does not subscribe to ICS URLs and does not connect Outlook or Apple Calendar. $1.50/month or $9/year after a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.
Connect the Google calendars you want to keep aligned, then mark sources and mirrors on the dashboard.
Resync will ask Google for permission to:see your list of calendars; see events on the calendars you choose as Sources, to know when you're busy; and create, update and delete events titled "Busy" on calendars you choose as Mirrors. We never store event titles, attendees or locations. Privacy policy
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