The iPhone’s calendar app allows you to add events and appointments and keep track of your schedule. Adding events to your iPhone calendar is easy and only takes a few taps. Whether you want to add a one-time event like a doctor’s appointment or a recurring event like a weekly team meeting, your iPhone calendar makes it simple.
In this article, we’ll walk through the steps for adding basic events as well as recurring events to your iPhone calendar. We’ll cover how to add event details like date, time, and location. You’ll also learn how to set reminders, invite attendees, choose a calendar, and more. Follow along to master adding events to your iPhone calendar.
Add a Basic Event
Adding a basic one-time event to your iPhone calendar takes just a couple taps. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Open the Calendar App
Tap on the blue Calendar app icon on your iPhone’s home screen. This will launch the Calendar app and display a view of the current month.
Step 2: Tap on the Date
Tap on the date when you want your event to occur. This will open up an Add Event screen for that date.
Step 3: Enter Event Details
On the Add Event screen, tap on the Title field and type in the name of your event. For example, you may enter “Doctor Appointment” or “Lunch with Judy.”
Below the Title field, tap on the Location field and enter location details like the address or the name of the place.
Then tap on the Starts and Ends fields to set the date and time. You can change between date and time pickers to dial in the specifics.
Step 4: Tap Add
Once your event details are entered, tap the Add button in the upper right corner. This saves your new event to your iPhone calendar on the date and time you specified.
That’s all there is to adding a basic one-time event! It will now appear in your iPhone calendar on the appropriate date.
Add a Recurring Event
You can also add recurring events that repeat on a regular schedule. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Open the Calendar App
As before, tap the Calendar app icon to open the app and view the month.
Step 2: Tap the Date
Tap to select the date when the recurring event should first occur. The Add Event screen will appear.
Step 3: Enter Details
Enter your event Title, Location, Starts and Ends times as covered above.
Step 4: Tap Repeat
Now here’s where you indicate this is a recurring event. Tap on the Repeat field at the bottom of the Add Event screen.
Step 5: Select Frequency
Tap to select the frequency of the recurring event. Your options are Every Day, Every Week, Every 2 Weeks, Every Month, and Every Year. Choose the appropriate recurrence frequency for your event.
Step 6: Set Range
Set the range for how long you want the recurring event to repeat. You can choose to repeat it for a certain number of times, until a specific end date, or indefinitely. Tap the range that fits your needs.
Step 7: Tap Add
After configuring the repeat details, tap Add to save this as a recurring calendar event.
Your repeating event is now saved to your iPhone calendar! It will show up on all the recurring dates in your calendar.
Edit or Delete an Event
If you need to make any changes to an existing event, you can easily edit or delete it:
Edit an Event
To edit an event, tap on the event on your iPhone calendar. Then tap the Edit button in the upper right. This will reopen the Add Event screen where you can modify the title, time, location or any other details. Make your changes, then tap Done.
Delete an Event
To delete an event, tap on the event on your calendar, then tap Delete at the bottom. A confirmation prompt will appear – tap Delete Event to confirm. The event will be removed from your calendar.
That’s all there is to editing or removing events from your iPhone calendar when needed.
Add Event Alerts
You can add alerts to your iPhone calendar events to get notified before the event begins. Here’s how to add alerts:
Step 1: Open the Event
Tap on an existing event in your calendar to open the Details screen. Or create a new event if needed.
Step 2: Tap Alert
Scroll down on the event Details screen and tap Add Alert.
Step 3: Choose Alert Time
Tap the time before the event that you want the alert to go off. Common choices are 5 minutes before, 15 minutes before, 1 hour before, etc.
Step 4: Select Alert Type
Configure what type of alert you want. The options include Message, Email, and Sound. Select one or multiple types.
Step 5: Tap Add
Tap the Add button to save your new alert for this calendar event.
You’ll now get a notification at the selected time before the event starts. Alerts help you stay on top of your schedule!
Invite Attendees
If you want to invite people to your calendar events, like for a meeting or party, you can add attendees in the iPhone calendar app. Here’s how:
Step 1: Open the Event
Open an existing event from your calendar or create a new event if needed.
Step 2: Tap Invitees
On the event Details screen, tap Invitees near the top below the title.
Step 3: Enter Attendees
Enter the email addresses or names of your iPhone contacts for the people you want to invite. As you type, matching contacts will appear to select from.
Step 4: Tap Done
After adding all your attendees, tap Done at the top right.
This will send your attendees an email invite through your default email account configured on your iPhone.
Step 5: Guests Can Accept
Your invitees can accept the event invite from their email. When they accept, the event will also be added to their calendars automatically!
That makes inviting attendees to your iPhone calendar events a breeze.
Add Events From Email
Many emails you receive — like flight itineraries from airlines or restaurant reservations from OpenTable — include a Add to Calendar button. Tapping this lets you easily add that event to your iPhone calendar with all the details pre-filled.
Here’s how to use the Add to Calendar feature from email:
Step 1: Open Email
When you receive an email with an event like a flight or dinner reservation, open the email on your iPhone.
Step 2: Tap Add to Calendar
Scroll down and tap the Add to Calendar button, usually near the bottom of the email.
Step 3: Review Details
A pop-up will appear with the event details like date, time, and location. Review to make sure everything looks correct.
Step 4: Tap Add Event
If the details look accurate, tap Add Event at the bottom to add this calendar invite right from your email.
The event will be synced automatically to your iPhone calendar for you!
Choose a Calendar
If you have multiple calendars configured on your iPhone, like separate calendars for Home, Work, School, etc., you can choose which calendar to add events to.
Follow these steps to change the calendar:
Step 1: Tap Calendars
When adding or editing an event, tap Calendars at the top of the Add Event screen.
Step 2: Select Calendar
A list of your available calendars will appear. Tap to choose the calendar you want to add this event to.
Step 3: Tap Done
Your calendar is now selected! Add or edit the event details and tap Done to save it to the chosen calendar.
Being able to organize your events into multiple calendars keeps things tidy.
Sync Calendars Across Devices
One advantage of the iPhone calendar is that it stays in sync across all your devices automatically using iCloud.
Here’s how calendar syncing works:
Enable iCloud Calendar
On your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and other Apple devices, turn on iCloud Calendar in your Settings app. This syncs your calendar data through iCloud.
Changes Sync Across Devices
Now when you add, edit, or delete calendar events on any device, the changes will sync across all your other devices through iCloud over Wi-Fi.
Access the Same Events Everywhere
You’ll be able to access the same up-to-date calendar events from your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and iCloud.com website after the sync.
It keeps your calendar seamlessly coordinated everywhere!
Integrate With macOS Calendar
You can integrate your iPhone Calendar app with the Calendar app on your Mac computer running macOS as well. Here’s how they work together:
Step 1: Turn On iCloud Calendar
As before, enable iCloud Calendar syncing on both your iPhone and Mac. This will make your calendar data available across devices.
Step 2: Create Shared Calendars
On your Mac, you can create shared calendars that others can subscribe to from their own devices. Family, team, or work calendars are examples.
Step 3: Subscribe on iPhone
In the Calendar app on your iPhone, tap Calendars > Add Calendar > iCloud to browse shared calendars from your Mac and subscribe to them.
Step 4: Shared Calendars Sync
Now when items are added to the shared calendar on your Mac, those events will automatically sync and appear in the iPhone calendar as well!
Shared calendars are a handy collaboration feature.
View Multiple Calendars
With multiple calendars like Work, Home, Holidays, etc. set up on your iPhone, you may want to view multiple calendars at once. Here’s how:
Step 1: Tap Calendars
From the main calendar view in the app, tap Calendars at the bottom.
Step 2: Toggle Multiple On
Tap to toggle on the calendars you want to view together. For example, you could show your Home and Work calendars together.
Step 3: Tap Done
Tap Done to return to the calendar view. You will now see events from the selected calendars combined.
Step 4: Change Calendar Colors
Tap Calendars again at any time to choose different calendar colors if needed to help distinguish events.
Viewing multiple calendars makes it easy to coordinate different aspects of your schedule in one place!
Integrate Calendar with Other Apps
Your iPhone calendar doesn’t live in isolation. You can integrate your calendar with other apps on your iPhone like Reminders, Maps, Siri, and more.
Add Events With Siri
Use Siri voice commands to conveniently add events hands-free. Say something like “Add lunch with Judy to my calendar for Tuesday at noon.” Siri will take care of the rest!
See Event Locations in Maps
Tap a location link in an event to open that address right in the Maps app and get directions.
Create Reminders From Events
View an event, then swipe left and tap Create Reminder to automatically generate a Reminders reminder for that event.
Start a FaceTime Call With Invitees
Tap an attendee’s name on an event to initiate a FaceTime audio or video call with them directly from the event.
Integrations with maps, reminders, Siri, and more make your iPhone calendar even more useful!
View Your Calendar in Different Ways
The iPhone calendar offers different viewing options so you can see your schedule just the way you like:
Year View
Year view shows every month for the entire year on a single scrollable screen. Swipe up or down to quickly jump to different months.
Month View
Month view displays each day of the selected month in a grid. Tap a day to see its events. This is the default view.
Week View
Week view arranges each week vertically, with timeline slots for each day’s events. Swipe left or right to change weeks.
Day View
Day view presents a detailed scrollable timeline just for the selected day. All your events and available time slots are shown.
Schedule View
Schedule view shows upcoming events in a list. Scroll down to see your full calendar schedule by day or month.
Try out the different views and use the one that fits your planning needs!
Configure Calendar Settings
Take advantage of the various settings and options for customizing your calendar:
Change Default Calendar
Set which of your synced calendars you want to be the default for new events. Tap Settings > Calendar > Default Calendar.
Set Week Starts On
Choose whether week view should start on Sunday or Monday. Tap Settings > Calendar > Week Starts On.
Enable Time Zone Support
When traveling, turn on Time Zone Support to show calendars and events in the local time zone.
Modify Alerts
Customize how far in advance event alerts go off. Tap Settings > Calendar > Alerts.
Change App Icon Badge
Show a badge on the Calendar app icon indicating how many upcoming events you have. Toggle this in Settings > Calendar > Show in App Badge.
Take advantage of these options for tailoring the calendar to your preferences!
Troubleshooting Tips
If you encounter any issues while adding events to your iPhone calendar, here are some troubleshooting tips:
Check iCloud Sync Status
Ensure iCloud Calendar sync is turned on in Settings on all your devices. Check that you have an internet connection.
Force Close and Reopen the App
If the Calendar app is acting stuck, force close it and restart your iPhone to see if that resolves any problems.
Double Check Event Details
Verify the event title, time, date, repeat settings, and calendar are entered correctly without any typos or formatting issues.
Update Your iPhone
Install the latest iPhone software update in case a bug with the Calendar app was fixed in a newer iOS version.
Remove and Re-add Calendars
Delete any problem calendars from Settings > Calendar, then add them again fresh which may resolve sync issues.
Following troubleshooting basics often helps get calendar issues back on track!
Conclusion
Adding and managing events in your iPhone calendar is a breeze once you know the ins and outs. You can quickly add one-time and recurring events, set reminders, invite attendees, and more. Keeping your calendar up to date ensures you never miss an important appointment or occasion.
With the ability to add events from emails, integrate with other apps, sync across devices, and customize settings, the iPhone calendar provides a full-featured scheduling hub. Use it to organize your days, weeks, months, and years! Your calendar helps coordinate all aspects of your life on the go.
Now that you know how to expertly add any type of event to your iPhone calendar as well as troubleshoot issues, you can keep track of your life and schedule like a pro!