User profile for user: AliciaWag
AliciaWag Author
User level: Level 1
52 points

Can't decline an event invitation in Calendar (NOT spam)

Hi - there's an event that shows up in one of the shared calendars that my band uses. This event is real, & it's not spam. However, this is just my bandmate sharing that he's not available that particular day. (BTW, only he can post to that calendar - it's read-only for the rest of us. It's just so we know if he's available or not.) That's all well & good. However, not for the first time (but so far only with this particular calendar) it shows up with an invitation to join the event. Not an e-mail invitation, ONLY an invitation in the calendar event. And I only know this because there is a blue dot next to his name, & a striped background behind it. When I click on it, it shows that he has invited me, but when I click on that to try to decline, there is no option to do so. It just brings me to his contact card in my phone, which is all red (only when I access it this way - normally, it's blue, like everyone else's). Please see photos below. Can anyone help me figure out how this is happening (he has no idea), how to decline the event, & how to stop it from happening again?


Here's what his contact card looks like when I click on it from the Calendar invitation.


Here's what his normal events look like - no blue dot next to his name.


This is what the event looks like opened up on my phone. You can see the striped area behind the event, & the dot next to his name. You can also see the "invitation from". When I click on that, I just get taken to his contact card in red, shown above.


And this is what the event looks like when that day isn't opened up (I have my calendar showing the whole month). The first event is mine; the second is his, & again, you can see the blue dot next to his name, & the striped bit behind his event (might be hard to see because my phone is in dark mode, but it's there), which he does not have in his other events as shown in the second photo.


It's not the end of the world, but it's annoying, & I'd like to fix it if I can. BTW, it looks the same on my iPad. On my Mac, it looks slightly different but has the same issue, & even when I go to iCloud dot com it still doesn't give me an option to decline. Many thanks!


-Alicia

iPhone 12 mini, iOS 16

Posted on Jul 17, 2023 9:27 AM

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User profile for user: SravanKrA
SravanKrA
User level: Level 10
432,840 points

Jul 18, 2023 2:24 AM in response to AliciaWag

You may try some of these steps, please check after each step...


  1. Open the iOS mail app and Accept / Decline it there as the invitation either arrives through an email or iMessage.See the pic below.
  2. Make sure your iPhone is connected to a stable internet connection, as declining an event invitation requires a network connection to communicate with iCloud servers.
  3. Force quit and reopen the Calendar app: Close the iCloud Calendar app completely and then relaunch it. To force quit an app on iPhone 12 mini, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the middle. Swipe left or right to find the Calendar app, and then swipe it up or off the screen to close it. Tap on the Calendar app icon to open it again.
  4. Open the Settings app on your iPhone, scroll down, and tap on "Calendar." Ensure that your iCloud account is the "Default Calendar" option is set correctly. You can also try toggling the "Calendars" option off and on again to refresh the data.
  5. Settings > Calendar > Time Zone Override > Time Zone Override [Enabled] --> Disable it
  6. Settings > Calendar > Alternative Calendar > Off [Tick]
  7. Settings > Date & Time > Set Automatically > [Enable]
  8. The invitation might have expired. Event invitations typically expire after 24 hours. If you don't respond to an invitation within 24 hours, it may be automatically declined.
  9. The invitation might have been sent to a different calendar. If you have multiple calendars on your iPhone, make sure that the invitation was sent to the correct calendar. You can check the calendar that the invitation was sent to by opening the Calendar app and tapping on the Inbox tab.
  10. The invitation might have been sent from a different calendar service. If the invitation was sent from a different calendar service, such as Google Calendar or Outlook, you might not be able to decline it from your iPhone. You will need to decline the invitation from the other calendar service.
  11. Sometimes, a simple restart can resolve temporary software glitches. Turn off your iPhone, wait for a few seconds, and then turn it back on.
    1. Restart the device. That's it.
    2. Still not solved --> Force restart iPhone - Apple Support
  12. If the issue persists, you can try resetting all settings on your iPhone. This will not erase your data but will reset all personalized settings to their default values. Go to Settings > General > Transfer & Reset > Reset > Reset All Settings and confirm the action. Note that you will need to reconfigure your settings afterward. All settings—including network settings, the keyboard dictionary, the Home screen layout, location settings, privacy settings, and Apple Pay cards—are removed or reset to their defaults. No data or media are deleted.
    1. Reset All Settings: Return iPhone settings to their defaults - Apple Support:- Return iPhone settings to their defaults
    2. You can return settings to their defaults without erasing your content.
    3. If you want to save your settings, back up your iPhone before returning them to their defaults. For example, if you’re trying to solve a problem but returning settings to their defaults doesn’t help, you might want to restore your previous settings from a backup.
  13. Make sure you have the latest updates installed.
    1. Update Over-the-Air (OTA) —> Update your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support (IN)
    2. Update using iTunes/Finder —> Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support (IN)


If none of the above steps resolve the issue, it is recommended to reach out to Apple Support or visit an authorized service center for further assistance. They can provide specific guidance based on your device model and iOS version.



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User profile for user: AliciaWag
AliciaWag Author
User level: Level 1
52 points

Jul 18, 2023 9:33 AM in response to SravanKrA

Hi SravanKra -


As I said, the invitation is ONLY in the calendar; I receive nothing via e-mail or iMessage. My internet connection is stable. Force quitting the Calendar app did nothing. There is no option to toggle off "Calendar". Time zone override & alternative calendar were already off. Date & time are already on "set automatically".


Great that the invitation may have already expired, but why is it still showing up like this? My bandmate did NOT actually send an invitation, he only put his event in the same way he normally does, but this happened this time & not in his other events as shown in my photos.


There was no invitation in the "inbox" tab of my calendar, but I can see what calendar this is in anyway - it's in his calendar, which only he can write to. I can only read.


It was just put in via his iPhone, not via another service. We both have iPhones, & NONE of his other events in that same calendar show up this way. Only this one.


I did restart my phone, & nothing changed. I force-restarted, & nothing has changed. I do have all of the latest updates installed. I do NOT want to reset all settings.


Do you have any other suggestions? It's got to be something between our phones, a miscommunication of sorts, but that's as far as I can think. Thank you.

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Can't decline an event invitation in Calendar (NOT spam)

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