iCloud calendars listed multiple times

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Level 1

19 points

iCloud calendars listed multiple times

I just updated my MBP (15" mid-2012) to El Capitan (from 10.8.5). I initially had the "moving calendars to server" problem that others have reported; I was able to resolve that by deactivating and reactivating my iCloud account as suggested elsewhere but somehow in the process now all of my iCloud calendars are listed multiple times (9!) in the Calendar sidebar and all of my events show up 9 times. So in other words, 9 Work calendars, 9 Home calendars, etc. This includes calendars just used by me, one shared calendar, and several that I'm subscribed to. (Non-iCloud calendars (e.g. "Found in Mail") are fine.) The calendars aren't actually duplicated in iCloud; they show up normally on my iPhone and my MacBook. If I add an event to one calendar, it shows up in all 9 of the listings for that calendar and syncs fine to my other devices. So it appears that the calendars themselves are ok but are being displayed multiple times on my MBP. I can deal with the clutter on the display by unchecking 8 of the 9 listings in the sidebar, but that's a clunky fix and I'd like to get things back to normal. I've searched here and elsewhere and haven't been able to find a similar problem reported anywhere. Any suggestions? Thanks!

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5)

Posted on Jun 16, 2016 7:53 PM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jun 16, 2016 8:48 PM in response to Lisa Hazard

Resolving duplicate calendars after setting up your calendar application for iCloud Calendar

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Answer 2

Lisa Hazard Author

Level 1

19 points

Jun 16, 2016 8:55 PM in response to Linc Davis

Thanks; I should have mentioned that I already tried refreshing Calendar. Also tried rebooting, and unchecking/rechecking Calendar in iCloud settings. The link discusses deleting calendars in the On My Mac section but specifically says not to delete calendars stored in iCloud; I'd be afraid to try it because the 9 calendars all seem to actually be the same calendar (changes to one affect all of them), so I could end up deleting all my data. (I would back up the calendars before trying anything like that, of course.)

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jun 16, 2016 9:13 PM in response to Lisa Hazard

Please sign in to icloud.com and launch the Calendar web app. Are the calendars duplicated?

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Answer 4

Lisa Hazard Author

Level 1

19 points

Jun 17, 2016 4:53 AM in response to Linc Davis

Nope.

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Answer 5

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jun 18, 2016 11:53 AM in response to Lisa Hazard

1. Calendars in the On My Mac or On My iPhone/iPad/iPod category, and calendars that sync with other network services such as Google, will not sync with iCloud.

2. Please back up all data, then take all the applicable steps in these support articles:

iCloud: Troubleshooting iCloud Calendar

iCloud: Advanced Calendar and iCal troubleshooting

Nearly all sync issues should be resolved that way. Please make sure you've taken all the steps and tested adequately before continuing.

3. If there are any calendars on your Mac that you don't synchronize with iCloud, export them by selecting them in the calendar list and then selecting

File ▹ Export ▹ Export…

from the menu bar. Quit Calendar.

4. Triple-click anywhere in the line of text below on this page to select it:

~/Library/Calendars

Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select

Services ▹ Reveal

from the contextual menu.* A Finder window should open with a folder selected. Move that folder to the Desktop.

5. Launch Calendar. Your calendars will initially be gone, but they should resynchronize with iCloud. If they don't, uncheck the boxes marked Calendars and Reminders in the iCloud preference pane, then re-check them.

6. Import the calendars you exported in Step 3, if any, by double-clicking the files.

7. If the issue is resolved, close the Finder window you opened in Step 4. Delete the exported files and the Calendars folder on the Desktop.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select

Go ▹ Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You may not see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

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Answer 6

Lisa Hazard Author

Level 1

19 points

Jun 17, 2016 6:01 AM in response to Linc Davis

Thanks! I suspect that will do the trick, but I won't have time to do it until this evening or tomorrow. I'll follow up later.

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Answer 7

Lisa Hazard Author

Level 1

19 points

Jun 18, 2016 11:55 AM in response to Lisa Hazard

OK, partial progress. I followed the steps above. Removing the Library/Calendars folder cleared all of my calendars out. I unchecked and rechecked Calendar and Reminders in the iCloud preferences, then rebooted. After a couple of iterations of that (and a couple of other, probably unrelated hiccups, like the time that System Preferences told me it was unable to display the iCloud preference pane), I've got back my subscribed calendars that are stored in iCloud, with just a single copy of each (yay!). However, my personal calendars (Home, Work, etc.) aren't there at all. They do still appear on the iCloud web interface and my other devices, just not the MBP. I'm going to go back through the links posted above from the start and see if any of those steps clear up my new problem, but meanwhile if anyone has other suggestions they'd be welcome as well. (I've already tried simply refreshing the calendar.)

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Answer 8

Lisa Hazard Author

Level 1

19 points

Jun 18, 2016 12:44 PM in response to Lisa Hazard

One more cycle of checking/unchecking/rebooting finally got all my calendars back, but also brought back the "Moving calendars to server" error. I was able to fix that following some of the advice here: I too am getting the "Moving calendars to server account" pane when I open iCal So far all seems well. I'm backing everything up again and crossing fingers that the problems are actually solved. Thanks for the help!

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