iPhone won't remove deleted calendar from iCal

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Level 1

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iPhone won't remove deleted calendar from iCal

I had a calendar that I created in iCal which was somewhat experimental (had a lot of work related events). After viewing it on my iPhone, I decided that it really wasn't going to work out (long story). So I deleted the calendar in iCal and synced my iPhone. The problem is that the iPhone still has the deleted calendar on it.

It does not appear to be an iCal problem. As an experiment, I synced iCal with my 5th gen iPod and it synced correctly which leads me to believe that it's not some iCal glitch.

In iTunes, the iPhone is set to sync all calendars, not just select ones. One odd thing though, if I click on Sync Selected Calendars, the old deleted calendar (which is no where to be found in iCal) is listed in the choices of calendars to sync.

Any ideas as to how to fix this? Yes, I understand that I could simply check the boxes on all the calendars but the deleted one, but that it more of a bandaid fix.

Thanks in advance.

Robert

MacBook 2.0GHz Core Duo, 1GB RAM, 160GB HD, Mac OS X (10.5), 8GB iPhone | 5th Gen 30GB iPod

Posted on Nov 10, 2007 8:33 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Nathan C

Level 5

6,260 points

Nov 10, 2007 9:00 AM in response to RobertM

RobertM,

iTunes reads the available calendars to sync with the iPhone or iPod Touch from SyncServices that are used by .Mac, iSync, and others. To sync with an iPod, it actually just reads the iCal files to sync one way only.

This article discusses how to reset sync services to clear up that phantom iCal calendar:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306484

The article is for Mac OS X 10.5, if you are using Mac OS X 10.4.x, I would recommend contacting AppleCare and referencing this articles that recommends staying away from the SyncServices folder like it was a "swarm of bees":
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301920

Hope this helps,

Nathan C.

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Answer 2

RobertM Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 10, 2007 9:34 AM in response to Nathan C

First off, thank you tremendously for the help!
Reseting the Sync Services in iSync did solve the problem of the phantom calendar on my iPhone, but iTunes still lists the deleted calendar in the calendars list (it just doesn't sync it). Any ideas?

The deleted calendar was a .mac subscribed calendar from my work machine if that makes a difference (my personal MacBook which is having the problem was subscribed to the calendar which originates on another machine).

Any ideas on the iTunes problem?

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Answer 3

Nathan C

Level 5

6,260 points

Nov 10, 2007 10:13 AM in response to RobertM

RobertM,

Trying logging out, and logging back in to your user account on your computer.

After reseting sync history its sometimes needed for applications to go back and actually check what's there in the SyncServices folder, especially if they were open when Sync history was reset.

Hope this helps,

Nathan C.

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Answer 4

RobertM Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 10, 2007 10:30 AM in response to Nathan C

I just tried logging out and even restarting my computer. No luck; it still shows up in iTunes. Any other ideas?

Thanks.

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Answer 5

Nathan C

Level 5

6,260 points

Nov 10, 2007 12:48 PM in response to RobertM

RobertM,

Do you have any third party syncing software installed, for example for syncing with a previous phone or PDA?

Do you have Entourage's option to sync with sync services enabled?

Another step we can try that won't be affected by the above, is try deleting the Caches folder located in ~/Library. (~ indicates your home or user folder)

Hope this helps,

Nathan C.

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Answer 6

RobertM Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 10, 2007 1:03 PM in response to Nathan C

No, I don't have any third party syncing utilities and I don't use Entourage. I deleted everything in my user Library/Caches folder, then logged out and back in...still no luck, the old deleted calendar still shows in iTunes. Anything else to try?

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Answer 7

RobertM Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 14, 2007 8:46 AM in response to RobertM

I finally got my iCal/iTunes/iPhone issues resolved. In addition to this phantom calendar issue I discovered that events on my iPhone were not syncing with iCal either. After reading many other posts on Apple Discussions, I have resolved both problems at once.

Incase anyone else is experiencing similar problems, here is how I fixed mine (note that I'm using OS X 10.5 Leopard):

1. iCal > File > Back up iCal...
I backed up iCal to my Documents folder from the beginning as a safety precaution incase something were to get screwed up.

2. Click on a calendar in the left menu (so that it is highlighted) > File > Export
I exported each of my calendars to the Desktop (4 calendars in my case).

3. Click on a subscribed calendar > Right-click > Get Info > Copy URL to a text file
I copied all the subscription URLs for my subscribed calendars to a text file.

4. Close iCal.

5. Finder > User/Library/Calendars > Delete everything in this folder

6. Finder > User/Library/Application Support/iCal > Delete this folder

7. iSync > Preferences > Reset Sync History

8. Restart computer

9. iCal > File > Import > Import an iCal file > Select one of the exported iCal calendars from earlier
I imported all my orginal calendars. When i first launched iCal, by default there is Home folder and a Work folder. But mine also had my phantom calendar that I couldn't get rid of. I deleted the phantom calendar from iCal and it hasn't came back. iTunes no longer sees it (Hooray!!).

10. iCal > Calendar > Subscribe
I resubscribed to all my previously subscribed-to calendars with the saved URLs from my text file.

11. Close iCal

12. iTunes > Preferences > Syncing > Check "Disable automatic syncing for all iPhones and iPods"
I did this step so that when I connect the iPhone it will not automatically sync before I can tell it to replace the calendar information on the iPhone.

13. Connect iPhone to computer

14. iTunes > iPhone > Info tab > Check "Calendars" under "Replace information on this iPhone:" > Apply

15. iTunes > Preferences > Syncing > Uncheck "Disable automatic syncing for all iPhone and iPods"

16. Later, a message popped up asking me what to do about .mac, I told it to replace all .mac information with the information on my computer (the message was obviously due to clearing the sync information in iSync).

All seems to be working. No more phantom calendar and the iPhone is properly syncing with iCal (bidirectionally).

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Answer 8

Nov 18, 2007 5:47 PM in response to RobertM

Thanks for posting this information. This was very helpful. My ghost calendar was driving me nuts.

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Answer 9

Nov 26, 2007 5:14 PM in response to RobertM

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so frustrated trying to fix this phantom calender, but now it finally works!

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Answer 10

RobertM Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 30, 2007 6:07 AM in response to Leeiscoolcoins

No problem at all. I figured I wouldn't be the only one who had ever had the problem. Glad I could help you guys!

Robert

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Answer 11

stvnjns

Level 1

4 points

Feb 16, 2008 7:22 PM in response to RobertM

Your posting has also helped my remove my phantom calenders. However, I am also having the same problems with my address book groups. Can you suggest a corrective action for this?

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Answer 12

Mar 15, 2008 1:33 PM in response to Nathan C

I'd been seeing duplicate entries in my iPhone calendar for awhile now, and this tip helped solve that, it seems. Thanks!

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Answer 13

Mar 19, 2008 5:44 AM in response to RobertM

Awesome! Worked like a charm for me. Apple should throw you a free iPhone for figuring that one out. I've been struggling with this issue since the iPhone came out!

Phil

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