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Apple Watch - Calendar notifications do not match phone calendar

Hi, I see this issue elsewhere, but those items are locked and nobody seems to have solved this.


I have a calendar on my iPhone. If i set an appointment, or somebody else sends me an appointment, regardless of whether the appointment has a 1hr or 15min notification, my Apple watch alerts me about the appointment 24hrs ahead of time. My phone gets it right, reminding me 15 minute before, but my Apple Watch cannot seem to work this out. Here is what I have done:


Set the watch calendar option to "Mirror iPhone" - no change.

Turned off all calendar notifications and turned them back on days later - no change.

Rebooted the watch and phone (multiple times), restarting them in different orders - no change

Deleted the whole calendar from iPhone and reinstalled from scratch - no change

Unpaired the watch and re-paired the watch, from a backup (takes HOURS) - no change.

Unpaired and re-paired, completely wiping the watch (takes HOURS) - no change.

Upgrades to the latest software version of watch - no change.


I'm starting to get pretty unhappy about how buggy the Apple watch is. Don't even get me started about the watch needing hours of messing around just to update the software because it has a bug that thinks there isn't enough room. That's a full unpair deal as well.


Can anyone help me and the buggy Apple Watch calendar notifications?


Thanks,

Patrick

Posted on Sep 9, 2021 6:59 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 18, 2022 6:29 PM

Winner winner, chicken dinner. Thanks for this. I went back and set my iPhone default calendar reminder to 2hrs.


Now, for the events where my Apple Watch was giving 24hr advance notice (instead of the time set by me or the meeting owner), the Apple Watch is now giving me a 2hr calendar alert.


You are right, this appears to be a bug, but at least we know what is causing it. Even though the Apple Watch calendar is set to "Mirror iPhone", my iPhone respects the alert that was set by the meeting owner (15 minutes, 1 hour etc.) The Apple Watch, however, appears to be looking instead at the phone's Default Alert Time and ignoring the meeting's actual alert setting.


I can reproduce this. It's occurring for certain meetings, whether set by me, or others.


This answer did solve my question, but it is still an unresolved bug. Go fix it Apple!

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8 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 18, 2022 6:29 PM in response to YDidIBuyApple

Winner winner, chicken dinner. Thanks for this. I went back and set my iPhone default calendar reminder to 2hrs.


Now, for the events where my Apple Watch was giving 24hr advance notice (instead of the time set by me or the meeting owner), the Apple Watch is now giving me a 2hr calendar alert.


You are right, this appears to be a bug, but at least we know what is causing it. Even though the Apple Watch calendar is set to "Mirror iPhone", my iPhone respects the alert that was set by the meeting owner (15 minutes, 1 hour etc.) The Apple Watch, however, appears to be looking instead at the phone's Default Alert Time and ignoring the meeting's actual alert setting.


I can reproduce this. It's occurring for certain meetings, whether set by me, or others.


This answer did solve my question, but it is still an unresolved bug. Go fix it Apple!

Oct 8, 2021 3:39 PM in response to JudeGuzlan

Thank you JudeGuzian.


I tried to toggle Calendar off then on from my iPhone. Unfortunately it is already set to the "off" position. This is probably because the calendar comes from my Office calendar, not iCloud.


In my watch app I also tired to Reset Sync Data, but tapping the link appears to do nothing at all. There is no confirmation, the link doesn't change state and my calendar on my watch looks the same.


I am still getting 24hr notifications for meetings that have a 15 minute notification set. They work fine on the phone. The watch is set to mirror the phone, but it does not.


As an update, I did also update the watch to the new watch OS8. Unfortunately, different number, same bugs.


Thanks for the help thus far


Nov 11, 2021 11:08 AM in response to patrickdotryan

I have this same issue. I had this issue on my prior watch (Gen4) and recently upgraded to Apple Watch 7 with GPS+Cellular and still having the same issue. I have tried all the same solutions and nothing solves this problem. The calendar that won't sync is my office Exchange calendar specifically. I have no issues getting this calendar on my phone. Would be nice if the brand new device I just purchased worked as expected and that support wasn't brushing this issue, which appears to be widespread, under the rug.

Dec 1, 2021 11:38 AM in response to Utterbsc

Thanks for the reply @Utterbsc. Glad to hear I'm not the only one with this issue. I have recently also updated to the latest OS for the watch and my iPhone. Still the same issue. Phone calendar correctly alerts 1hr before an event or 15 minutes before an event, as set in the calendar item. Watch alerts for the same event 24hrs ahead of time.


This is super annoying, especially for meetings that I have on Mondays, which I would love to be reminded of while I am at work. Instead, my watch is giving me reminders on Sunday and by the time the meeting is pending, I've totally forgotten the reminder from the day before. It's missing the whole point of alerts!


Would love if anyone has any suggestions of how to fix this Apple Watch bug that's been going on for months, maybe years!



Sep 9, 2021 7:50 PM in response to patrickdotryan

Hello,


There are two things that you should try!


1: Toggle Calendar on and off in iCloud on iPhone:

Navigate and open settings on iPhone > Click your name at the top > Tap iCloud > Toggle Calendar Off > Tap “Keep on my iPhone” > Then turn it back on!


If that doesn’t work try this:


2: Reset Sync Data on Watch

Open the watch app on your iPhone > Go to the the My Watch Tab > Click “General” > Tap “Reset” > Click “Reset Sync Data”

This May take a few minutes, but afterwards everything should hopefully works!


Wish you the best of luck! :)

Dec 29, 2021 1:22 PM in response to patrickdotryan

I am new to the Apple ecosystem. I have a similar problem to the one posted by Patrickdotryan. My iPhone Calendar app does alert me properly at 15 minutes in advance of the event, but the Apple Watch notifies 2 hours before the event.


I don't have a solution, but I might have a clue that helps a knowledgeable person find a solution. Patrickdotryan mentioned the 24-hour advanced notification on the Apple Watch. My advanced notification was 2 hours. That figure of 2 hours was my "Default Alert Time for Events." I found it under Settings, Calendar, Default Alert Times.

Dec 29, 2021 5:06 PM in response to YDidIBuyApple

Thank you YDidIBuyApple, that is very interesting. On my iPhone I have now gone to Settings > Calendar > Default Alert Time. Your guess was correct, my Events was indeed set to "1 day before". Just for fun I have now changed that to "2 hours before". I will give it a few days to see if suddenly my watch starts notifying me 2 hours before my events, because I know that I have very few calendar items set to this reminder time. Great suggestion. Maybe not a fix, but it might help understand why the Watch gives different alarms than iPhone calendar. Perhaps it's looking at the wrong alert location. I'll reply back to this group if I see the behavior change. Thanks!

Apple Watch - Calendar notifications do not match phone calendar

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