Q: iphone 4s calendar alert issue

I changed my calendar alert default to "none" as suggested.  However, the alerts are still unreliable.  The first and second alerts will still swap.  I am using the most current iOS.  Very frustrating.

Well, here it is July 12, 2013 and I'm running IOS 6.1.3 and its doing the same thing for me.  Guess not enough people are the "squeaking wheel", or Apple doen't think its important since there's a workaround!

I'm with the attitude that they aren't ready for business sector or there's a better calendar for business?

When I create an Alert, now I just enter in the first one, what I really want on the second one, so that when it reverses, it comes exactly like I intended it too!

It bad when you have to use reverse psychology on a system to make it work!!!

Setting your 2nd alert as first alert does not work most of the time.

I really did not know which comment to reply to.  I was apparently the first to report this to an Apple Sr. Tech about two years ago.  It was escalated up to engineering immediately and Nick (the Sr. Tech) and I conversed for over 6 months and he with engineering.  I also used the feedback to independently report the problem. 

After 6-7 months, Nick and I finally gave up realizing that either Engineering did not care, think it was not important enough, or that it would come out as a fix in iOS 5.  Then iOS 6, but nothing. I would not get your hopes up for any fix in iOS 7, either.

The only solution is to set the alarms in reverse; i.e., if you want a first alarm for 1 hour and a second for 5 minutes and let them reverse.  But this is not foolproof because reads this as an error and does not change them, reverse them, that is.

Best remedy is to set the alerts how you want them, let iOS reverse them, then change the second alert to be what you want it to be, then reset the first alert to the correct time, and in 99 percent of the cases, this will hold and work.  BUT, go out of the settings, re-enter and confirm the alerts are now correct.

I have written both Jobs and Cook about the issue, but nothing came about from their special Executive Support team. 

Bottom line, try getting by with one alert and keep in mind there will be no second or go through all this rigmarole evert double alert setting.  The issue is nearing 2.5 years since I first reported it and Apple has not seem fixed to fix it.  If it can't be fixed, then remove the second alert, Apple!!!

RLB

My apologies,,I often transposed Alarm for Alert and later caught my error.  But, I was always referring to Alerts.

RLB

This happens to me all the time. Alerts are reversed and it is extremely annoying and poor programming. My workaround was to enter the alerts backwards so that when they ineviably get reversed they are in the right order. Take that iPhone!

iPhone 4, iOS 6.1.3

Even with the iOS 7 update on my iPhone 5, this bug is still there.  Provided feedback to Apple, showing how easy it is to recreate this issue.

Hoping (but not holding my breath) that this will get fixed soon.  I only use one alert per calendar item these days.  Just can't trust using two.

I've had the same problems 6.0.1 and others, but now I just updated to 7.0.3 and is doing the same thing. 

I'm speculating it has to do with iCloud's sync and the rules and/or defaults are different and overwrites and/or confuses iPhone or the other way around.  It's NOT even consistant.  Change 1st or change 2nd they might reverse or reset both to the same.  I need an alert 5 min before scheduled appointment and an alert at the time of appointment.  Sometimes I get both set to 5 mins and don't relize that the alert at the time of appointment is never going to alert me since it went off at the 5 min mark as well.  Othertimes they both get set to at the time of the appointment and I still think since it's the 1st time it's alerting me that this alert is the 5 mins before the schedule appointment and then if I relize it I'm REALLY late.

Seems many have reported this and it's still not fixed!

I am having the same problem. iPhone 4S with all latest iOS. Very frustrating.

Peter - turn off the default alerts, and set the alerts you want manually. You won't have any problems.

Still doesn't work.  I set the 3 default alerts to "none" and added a test item for tomorrow and set the first alert to 2 hours before, and the second to 5 minutes before.  Saved it and went back to edit it, and they had swapped.  Based on my experience, this will end up with neither of them going off.

I'm going to add another comment to the feedback page.  Really is unbelievable that something as simple as this has been broken so long...

Agreed. This is so idiotic. I turned of the defaults as well and continue to have the swapping issue and no alerts. I am wondering if it has anything to do with how we set alerts with the calendars that we synch with our phones? My iphone calendar synchs with my gmail calendar, but they have entirely different alerts.

No, I wouldn't think it has anything to do with synching.  I don't sync my calendar with any other accounts.

I guess we will have to wait until 7.1 to see if Apple fixed it.  As a long time programmer, I just can't believe this would be difficult to recreate/fix.

This is so exceedingly frustrating. I'll finally get my alerts where I want them, but if I make any sort of edit to my appointment the alerts mysteriously change and it's back to spending minutes trying to get the alerts back to where I need them. This is such an issue for me I'm contemplating Android for my next phone.

I am also having this problem and it still isn't working for me after 3 years of dealing with this. iOS 7 has been a disaster on iPhone 4S. My calendar alerts are unreliable & even iTunes purchases are becoming a pain with constant error messages. This is ridiculous. Apple needs to address these problems or I'm done with their products and will move to a competitor like Android.