Weather Bar and Weather settings missing in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, or Outlook for Microsoft 365

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Outlook LTSC 2021, Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013, Microsoft Outlook 2010, Outlook for Microsoft 365

Original KB number:   2975407

Symptoms

In Microsoft Outlook LTSC 2021, Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, Outlook, 2013 or Outlook for Microsoft 365, the Weather Bar does not appear above the calendar. Also, the Weather settings are not displayed in the Calendar section of Outlook Options.

Cause

This behavior will occur if the option to allow Office to connect to online services is disabled.

Resolution

To restore the Weather Bar settings and functionality, follow these steps to enable the option to allow Office to connect to online services:

  1. In Outlook, from the File tab, select Options.

  2. Select Trust Center, and then select Trust Center Settings.

  3. Select Privacy Options, and then enable the following setting depending on your version of Outlook:

    • Outlook LTSC 2021, Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, or Outlook for Microsoft 365: Let Office connect to online services from Microsoft to provide functionality that's relevant to your usage and preferences.
    • Outlook 2013: Allow Office to connect to the Internet.

  4. Select OK twice.

Note

If the Allow Office to connect to the Internet checkbox is grayed out, see the More information section below for additional details on this setting.

More information

The setting documented in the Resolution section corresponds to the following registry value:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\<x.0>\Common\Internet

or

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\<x.0>\Common\Internet

DWORD: UseOnlineContent
Value:

0 - Do not allow user to access Office resources on the Internet (checkbox is unchecked and grayed out)
1 - Allows the user to opt in to access of Office resources on the Internet (checkbox is unchecked)
2 - (Default) Allows the user to access Office resources on the Internet (checkbox is checked)

Note

The <x.0> placeholder represents your version of Office (16.0 = Office 2016, Office 2019, Office LTSC 2021, or Outlook for Microsoft 365, 15.0 = Office 2013).

This option can also be configured by using a Group Policy setting. This Group Policy setting is located here:

Group Policy Setting path: Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 20<xx>\Tools | Options | General | Service Options...
Group Policy Setting name: Online Content Options

Note

The <xx> placeholder represents your version of Office (16 = Office 2016, Office 2019, Office LTSC 2021, or Outlook for Microsoft 365, 13 = Office 2013).

Screenshot of a Group Policy setting Online Content Options.

This setting also affects other features in Microsoft Office, including:

  • Insertion of Online Pictures.
  • Insertion of Online Video.
  • Search for online templates.
  • Certain document review and proofing resources.