Why your free slots show as Busy

Check Free or busy in the sync's What copies look like section. On Same as original, a copy carries the same free-or-busy status as the original, so an event marked Free stays Free. On Always busy, copies land as Busy, because Busy is what every calendar provider gives a new event by default.

New syncs use Same as original. If yours says Always busy, it's either a sync you made before the default changed, or it got turned off at some point.

The setting people usually mean insteadCopy Anchor Link

Two settings sound like they do the same thing. They don't.

Busy, under Title, changes the name. It replaces the event's title with the word "Busy" so nobody reading your calendar sees what the meeting actually is. The slot is still blocked either way.

Free or busy changes the free-or-busy status: whether the slot blocks your time at all, and whether scheduling tools consider you available.

If your problem is "my colleagues can see my dentist appointment", you want the title setting. If your problem is "I marked this Free but it's still blocking my day", you want Free or busy. Masking the title does nothing for the second one, which is where the confusion usually starts.

If Free or busy is already on Same as original and slots still show BusyCopy Anchor Link

Check the original event. Google, Outlook and iCloud all default new events to Busy, so an event you assumed was Free may never have been marked Free in the first place. Open it on the source calendar and look at its own free/busy setting.

If the original really is Free, the copy was probably written before you turned the setting on. Existing copies aren't rewritten the moment you save a setting — they update on the next run. To push the change through now, open the sync's menu and choose Re-sync.

Two cases that are working as intended even though they look wrong:

• All-day events. Most calendar apps show all-day events as Free by default and draw them in a banner at the top rather than blocking hours. If a copy blocks the whole day, check whether the original was actually all-day or just a long timed event.
• Declined and unanswered invitations. Those are governed by the sync's accepted/tentative filter, not by availability. If unwanted invitations are blocking your time, that filter is the setting to change.

Known limitationsCopy Anchor Link

• Free or busy applies to a whole sync, unless you're on Pro, where you can set it per destination calendar with the Settings for chips.
• Switching to Always busy resets copies to Busy rather than leaving them as they were. It means "everything lands as Busy", not "stop managing this".
• Only two states cross between providers, Free and Busy. Outlook's finer settings (Tentative, Working elsewhere, Out of office) arrive as one or the other. Nothing carries the exact original label.

Related

Appearance: how copied events look

Every setting that decides what a copy looks like when it lands: title, availability, privacy, colour, guests and reminders.

Different settings per destination calendar

Set a shared default for a sync, then override it for one destination calendar. What you can vary, what you can't, and which way round it works.

Personal → Work, shown as Busy

Your work calendar shows "Busy" when you have a personal appointment, and nobody at work sees what it is. Nothing is written to your personal calendar.

Big meetings always block your time

Meetings with ten or more guests copy as Busy, even when you marked them Free. The rule is already written. You pick the calendars. Needs Plus.

Show evenings and weekends as Busy at work

Events that start at 18:00 or later, or on a weekend, show as Busy on the calendar your colleagues see. The rule is already written. Needs Plus.

Block long events as Busy and label focus time

Events of two hours or more always block your time, and guest-free Focus events read Focus time. The rules are already written. Needs Plus.