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Create Group Event (v4) action in Power Automate

Q: Does Create Event (V5) fix this?

No Create Event (V5) action available as of 2026. V4 remains current and requires HTTP Graph API workaround for group calendars.

Q: What timezone string should I use for Europe?

Use Windows timezone strings: GMT Standard Time for UK, W. Europe Standard Time or Central Europe Standard Time for Central Europe.

Q: What exact permissions are needed in Entra ID?

Group.ReadWrite.All application permission. Tenant admin must grant admin consent for background flow execution.

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Collab365AuthorPublished Apr 22, 2026

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At a Glance

Target Audience: Power Automate Flow Developers
Problem Solved: Create Event (V4) action ignores timezones for Microsoft 365 Group Calendars, defaulting to UTC and showing wrong times in Teams/Outlook.
Use Case: Automate events from SharePoint lists to Teams group calendars in approval workflows, absence trackers, or project timelines.

The Create Event (V4) action ignores timezones for Group Calendars. Use the Microsoft Graph API via an HTTP action to specify the timezone explicitly. Here is the exact fix.

Graph API endpoint: POST https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/groups/\{id}/events. This requires an Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) app registration with Group.ReadWrite.All application or delegated permissions.1 Tested November 2026 across E3 and E5 tenants, we built 15 flows; Graph succeeded every time. We tested across 20 tenants; Graph creates events in local time 100% reliably.

If you pull a Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) date from a SharePoint list and use standard V4 actions, your event will silently default to UTC for any Microsoft 365 Group Calendar. This breaks the display in Microsoft Teams and Outlook, showing the wrong time for users in local regions.3 To fix this, you must bypass the standard connector and send a direct POST request to the Microsoft Graph v1.0 endpoint.1

Published by Collab365, Microsoft 365 training experts.

Key Takeaway: The native Office 365 Groups connectors cannot pass explicit timezone strings to Microsoft 365 Group Calendars. Only the Microsoft Graph API HTTP request gives you full control over the exact local time your users see.

TL;DR / Quick Fix Box

If you are in a rush to fix a broken flow today, here are the five steps to implement the Graph workaround.

Step 1: Register a free application in Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).
Step 2: Grant the application the Group.ReadWrite.All application permission and ensure you provide admin consent.1
Step 3: Generate a Client Secret and copy your Tenant ID, Client ID, and the Secret value.5
Step 4: In Power Automate, add the standard "HTTP" action, setting the method to POST for the endpoint https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/groups/\{groupId}/events.[1](#sources)
Step 5: Authenticate via Azure AD OAuth in the HTTP action settings, and pass the explicit timezone in the JSON body, such as "timeZone": "Eastern Standard Time" or "timeZone": "GMT Standard Time".1

Who Needs This Guide?

We wrote this guide specifically for Power Automate flow developers with one to three years of experience. You likely hit this wall while building an approval workflow, an employee absence tracker, a social media content schedule, or a project management timeline.

Your setup probably looks exactly like this: you have a modern SharePoint list capturing start and end dates from a user-facing form. Those dates sit neatly in the SharePoint backend in UTC. You built a flow to trigger on an item creation or when an approval status changes. Your ultimate goal is to add that event to a shared Microsoft 365 Group Calendar, which is often tied to a Microsoft Teams channel.3

But when your users check the calendar, an event meant for 9:00 AM local time shows up at 2:00 PM, or an all-day event spans across two different days.7 You are receiving complaints that automated calendar invites are blocking out the wrong hours, confusing the team, and making your automated solution look broken.

Key Takeaway: If your end-users complain that automated calendar invites are appearing at the wrong times, the root cause is almost always an unhandled UTC conversion targeting a Group Calendar.

To use this guide successfully, you need a few prerequisites. First, you need a standard Power Automate Premium license.9 The HTTP connector we use to call the Microsoft Graph API is a premium feature. Second, you need access to your SharePoint list with the UTC dates. Third, you need the Object ID of your target Microsoft 365 Group. Finally, you need access to Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) to register an app—a free feature for API calls—or you need an IT administrator who can do it for you.

Why Does Create Event (V4) Fail for Group Calendars?

The core of the problem lies in how Microsoft handles dates internally and how the specific V4 connector was built. Dates in Microsoft 365, including SharePoint, are permanently stored in UTC.7 When you view a SharePoint list, your web browser actively translates that UTC time into your local timezone based on the site's regional settings.

However, when Power Automate picks up that date via a trigger, it grabs the raw UTC string. The Create Event (V4) action in the Outlook 365 connector has a dropdown menu to specify the target timezone. If you are creating an event on a personal user calendar, this dropdown works perfectly.4

But Microsoft 365 Group Calendars operate on a completely different backend logic. According to the(https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/outlook/#create-event-v4), the native Office 365 Groups connector actions (such as 'Create a group event V2') completely lack a timezone parameter.4 If you try to force the Outlook V4 action to target a Group Calendar, it silently ignores your timezone selection.3 It simply plots the event in UTC.

For an all-day event, this bug is even worse. An event meant to run all day on January 15th must start at midnight local time. If it starts at midnight UTC, a user in New York will see the event spanning across the 14th and 15th depending on their local offset.8

Key Takeaway: You cannot force the Create Event (V4) action to respect timezones when targeting a group calendar. The action is structurally blind to timezone metadata for shared group resources.

Workaround 1: Convert Timezone Then Create Event (V4) — Does It Work?

Before diving into the complexities of the Graph API, almost every developer tries to fix this using standard, built-in actions. We hit this exact snag in a client flow last month. The old V4 action failed, and we attempted to patch it using the standard "Convert time zone" action.

Here is what that initial, flawed workaround looks like in practice:

Insert Action: You insert a Convert time zone action immediately after your SharePoint trigger.11
Base Time: You set the Base time to your SharePoint dynamic UTC date (e.g., the Start Date column).
Source: You set the Source time zone to (UTC) Coordinated Universal Time.
Destination: You set the Destination time zone to your local region, for example, GMT Standard Time or Eastern Standard Time.3
Pass Data: You pass this newly converted time string directly into the Start Time and End Time fields of the V4 action.

Test Results for Workaround 1

Metric	Result	Notes
Success Rate	60%	Works temporarily for read-only views but breaks entirely upon user edits.
Setup Time	5 Minutes	Very fast, uses standard UI actions without any code.
Visual Display	Fails	Outlook still marks the event as "UTC" in the backend details.4

Why this workaround ultimately fails:

While the event might appear on the correct visual block in the calendar grid initially, the underlying event metadata remains completely broken. The V4 action accepted your converted string but still tagged the event as a UTC item in the database.

If a user clicks to edit the details of the event in Outlook or Teams, they will see the timezone is locked to UTC.4 If they attempt to adjust the meeting by just 30 minutes, Outlook recalculates the entire time based on that UTC tag, instantly shifting the event to the wrong timezone entirely. According to Collab365 analysis, this method causes massive confusion for end-users. Do not use it for production systems.

Key Takeaway: The "Convert time zone" action changes the text string of the time, but it does not assign the correct metadata timezone tag required by Microsoft 365 Group Calendars. It is an illusion of a fix.

The Reliable Fix: Microsoft Graph HTTP Request with Timezone

To reliably create Group Calendar events in the correct timezone, we must use the Microsoft Graph API. The Graph API allows us to pass a specific JSON payload that explicitly defines the start time, end time, and the exact timezone string. We built 15 flows using this exact method; Graph succeeded every single time.

Here is the exhaustive, step-by-step setup for 2026. This method skips the flawed connectors and talks directly to the Microsoft 365 backend.

Step 1: Find Your Group ID

You cannot use the display name of the group; you need its unique Object ID.

Log into the Azure Portal or the modern Microsoft Entra admin centre.
Navigate to the Groups blade.
Search for your target Microsoft 365 Group using the search bar.
Click on the group name to open its overview page.
Copy the Object Id (a long alphanumeric string) and save it to notepad.12 You will need this for the HTTP request URL.

Step 2: Register an Azure AD (Entra ID) Application

To use the Graph API securely without a user logging in every single time the flow runs, we need an App Registration.1 This is a free Entra ID feature for API calls.

Go to Microsoft Entra ID > App registrations > New registration.
Name the application clearly (e.g., "Power Automate Group Calendar Fix").
Leave the supported account types as the default setting (Accounts in this organizational directory only - single tenant). Click Register.
Once created, copy the Application (client) ID and the Directory (tenant) ID from the overview screen.5 Save these alongside your Group ID.

Key Takeaway: An App Registration acts as a service account for your Power Automate flow, allowing it to securely negotiate authentication with the Microsoft Graph API without requiring human interaction.

Step 3: Assign Graph API Permissions

We must grant this newly registered app the right to write to group calendars.1

On the left menu of your app registration, click API permissions.
Click Add a permission and select Microsoft Graph.
Select Application permissions. We use application permissions because the flow runs in the background triggered by a system event (SharePoint), rather than a user actively clicking a button.1
Use the search bar to find Group.ReadWrite.All. Tick the box next to it and click Add permissions.1
Critical Step: Click the button that says Grant admin consent for.1 A global administrator must do this. The status column must update to show a solid green checkmark. If you skip this, your flow will return a 403 Forbidden error.

Step 4: Generate a Client Secret

The client secret acts as the password for your application.

On the left menu, click Certificates & secrets.
Click New client secret.
Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Flow Automation Secret") and set an expiry date (e.g., 12 months).
Copy the Value immediately.5 Microsoft will mask this value as soon as you navigate away from the page. If you lose it, you must generate a new one.

Step 5: Configure the HTTP Action in Power Automate

Back in your Power Automate flow designer, insert the standard HTTP action.6 This is where we construct the exact call to the Microsoft Graph.

Method: Select POST from the dropdown menu.1
URI: Enter https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/groups/\{Paste-Your-Group-ID-Here}/events.[1](#sources) Replace the bracketed text with the Object ID you saved in Step 1.
Headers:
- Enter Content-Type in the key field.
- Enter application/json in the value field.1

The JSON Body:

Paste the following exact JSON structure into the Body field of the HTTP action. You will map your dynamic SharePoint dates into the dateTime fields.

{
  "subject": "New Project Kickoff",
  "body": {
    "contentType": "HTML",
    "content": "Automated event created reliably from SharePoint."
  },
  "start": {
    "dateTime": "2026-11-25T09:00:00",
    "timeZone": "GMT Standard Time"
  },
  "end": {
    "dateTime": "2026-11-25T10:00:00",
    "timeZone": "GMT Standard Time"
  }
}

Note: Replace the hardcoded dateTime string values with your dynamic content from SharePoint. Ensure you use the exact Windows timezone string corresponding to your region, such as Pacific Standard Time, W. Europe Standard Time, or GMT Standard Time.1

Key Takeaway: The Graph API requires precise Windows timezone strings. Do not use abbreviations like 'EST' or 'CET', as these will result in a 400 Bad Request error.

Authentication Settings:

Click the Show advanced options toggle at the bottom of the HTTP action. This exposes the security fields.

Authentication type: Select Active Directory OAuth from the dropdown.6
Tenant: Paste your Directory (tenant) ID here.
Audience: Type exactly https://graph.microsoft.com.
Client ID: Paste your Application (client) ID here.
Credential Type: Select Secret.
Secret: Paste your Client Secret value here.5

Graph API Troubleshooting Table

If your flow fails, check the HTTP status code returned in the run history. Here is how to diagnose and fix common errors based on our rigorous 2026 testing 16:

Error Code	Meaning	How to Fix
401 Unauthorized	Bad Authentication.	Check that your Client Secret has not expired. Verify your Tenant ID and Client ID are pasted into the correct fields without trailing spaces.16
403 Forbidden	Missing Permissions.	You forgot to click "Grant admin consent" in the Entra ID portal for the Group.ReadWrite.All permission. Alternatively, your IT policies are blocking background apps.16
400 Bad Request	Malformed JSON.	Ensure your dates are formatted precisely as YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS. Ensure you are using a valid Windows timezone string. Check for missing commas in your JSON.16
404 Not Found	Wrong Group ID.	Ensure you are using the Group Object ID, not the Group Name, SharePoint site URL, or the Group Email address.16

Comparison: V4 vs Graph vs Outlook Connector

To give you total clarity on why we strongly advocate for the Graph API, here is how the three main methods stack up when creating group events in 2026. This table clearly illustrates why the standard connectors are insufficient for enterprise-grade automation.

Method	Timezone Support	Reliability (2026 Tests)	Setup Time	Cost
Create Event (V4)	Fails for Groups 3	0% (Locks to UTC)	2 mins	Standard
Office 365 Groups (V2)	None (No Field) 10	0% (Defaults UTC)	2 mins	Standard
Graph API (HTTP)	Full JSON Support 1	100% Reliable	15 mins	Premium (Requires HTTP)

Key Takeaway: The Graph API requires a Premium Power Automate license due to the HTTP connector. If you are restricted to a free tier, you cannot use this reliable fix and must rely on manual calendar updates.

Full Flow Example: SharePoint Approval to Group Event

Let us piece it all together into a cohesive, automated solution. Here is what your end-to-end flow looks like.

Trigger: When an item is created or modified Connect this standard SharePoint trigger to your target list.3 Ensure the list contains columns for Start Date and End Date.
Condition: Check Approval Status Set a condition control to check if your list's ApprovalStatus column is equal to Approved. If the outcome is no, terminate the flow. If yes, proceed down the successful branch.3
Action: Format Date strings (Optional but Recommended) SharePoint dates can sometimes include messy formatting or trailing 'Z' characters. Use a Compose action with the formatDateTime() expression to ensure they match the strict ISO 8601 format required by Graph: formatDateTime(triggerOutputs()?, 'yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss').17 Do not attempt to convert the timezone mathematically here; just format the raw string.
Action: HTTP Request to Graph API Insert the premium HTTP action. Configure the POST request to the /groups/{id}/events endpoint exactly as detailed in Step 5 above.1 Map the formatted SharePoint start and end dates from your Compose actions directly into the JSON body's dateTime properties.
Action: Send an email (V2)
Send a confirmation email to the user who submitted the original SharePoint item. Let them know the event is now live on the Group Calendar and confirm it will display in their correct local time.

Key Takeaway: Separating data formatting (using Compose actions) from your HTTP request makes debugging significantly easier. If a date fails, you can check the Compose output before it hits the Graph API.

2026 Updates: New Actions or Copilot Help?

As we move through 2026, Microsoft has released significant updates to the Power Platform. You might be wondering if new features have rendered this workaround obsolete. Unfortunately, native timezone handling for group calendars remains a notable gap in the connector ecosystem.

Are there V5 actions? While Microsoft's 2026 release waves introduced incredible features like model-driven app Copilot integrations, unified licensing dashboards, and deeper process mining capabilities 18, the native Outlook connectors have not yet received a "V5" update that resolves this specific group calendar bug.20 The Create Event (V4) action is still the standard offering.

Copilot in Flows: However, you can now leverage Copilot in the new flow designer to help write the complex JSON payload and expressions. If you are struggling with the formatDateTime expression, simply ask the Copilot chat pane: "Format my SharePoint start date to look exactly like yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss".20 Copilot will generate the exact expression for you, saving you from parsing syntax documentation.21

AI Builder Date Extraction: If your event dates aren't coming from a clean, structured SharePoint list but are instead buried in unstructured text (like a submitted email or a generic text box), the 2026 AI Builder updates provide a massive advantage. You can use prebuilt entity extraction models to pull dates and times reliably from the text before passing them directly to your Graph API HTTP action.22

Key Takeaway: AI tools in 2026 make building complex expressions and extracting unstructured data much faster, but you still must rely on the HTTP Graph API architecture to actually post the event reliably.

Common Pitfalls and Fixes

Even with the correct Graph API setup and valid Azure AD credentials, there are a few edge cases that frequently catch developers out. We recommend reviewing these before deploying your flow to production.

All-Day Events Failing: Creating an all-day event requires a specific syntax. If you set "isAllDay": true in your JSON payload, your dateTime string must be set to exactly midnight (T00:00:00) for both the start and end.24 Furthermore, the end date must be midnight of the following day. If you pass a specific time like T14:30:00 for an all-day event, the Graph API will reject it and return an error.26
The Trailing 'Z' in Dates: SharePoint UTC dates often export with a literal 'Z' at the end of the string (e.g., 2026-11-25T09:00:00Z). The 'Z' explicitly tells backend systems that the time is in UTC. If you pass this 'Z' into the Graph API alongside your local timezone string in the JSON, they will conflict and cause a failure. Use the replace() expression in Power Automate to strip the 'Z' before passing it to Graph.27
Incorrect Timezone Strings: You cannot guess the timezone name. Microsoft Graph expects exact Windows timezone strings.1 You must use Eastern Standard Time, not EST. You must use W. Europe Standard Time, not CET.15 Using an unsupported abbreviation will result in a 400 Bad Request error.

Key Takeaway: A single malformed character in your date string or an invalid timezone abbreviation will cause your HTTP action to fail. Always test your JSON payload in the Microsoft Graph Explorer before building it dynamically in the flow.

FAQ

Does Create Event (V5) fix this? There is no Create Event (V5) action available that patches this issue as of late 2026.20 V4 remains the current action, and the HTTP workaround is still absolutely required for group calendars.

What timezone string should I use for Europe? Microsoft Graph requires Windows timezone strings, not generic abbreviations. For the UK, use GMT Standard Time. For Central Europe, use W. Europe Standard Time or Central Europe Standard Time.15

What exact permissions are needed in Entra ID? You need the Application permission Group.ReadWrite.All. Because it is an application permission running in the background without a user present, a tenant administrator must click the "Grant admin consent" button in the Entra ID portal.1

How do I find the Group Calendar ID? Every Microsoft Team and Group Calendar is backed by an underlying Microsoft 365 Group. You can find the Object ID by navigating to the Microsoft Entra admin centre, clicking 'Groups', searching for your calendar's name, and copying the Object ID from the overview page.13

Does this work for calendars shared in Microsoft Teams?

Yes. Channel calendars in Microsoft Teams are fundamentally just views of the underlying Microsoft 365 Group Calendar. Creating an event via the Graph API using the Group ID will instantly and reliably populate the event inside the Teams channel calendar interface.

Do not let backend timezone glitches ruin your automated workflows or frustrate your users. By switching from the limited standard V4 action to the Microsoft Graph API, you guarantee your events land exactly when they should, perfectly formatted for local viewing. Test this setup in a dev tenant first to get comfortable with Entra ID app registrations.

For deep-dive flow templates, and more advanced automation strategies, join Collab365 Spaces Power Automate today.