Work around for the Ical not sending invitations problem

You can invite people to events using their names or their email addresses. To invite people by name, they must be in your Contacts app with an email address, or they must use the same CalDAV or Exchange calendar service as you (for example, employees at your company).

Invite people using the Address panel

1. Choose Window > Address Panel.
2. Search for people, then drag them to the event.

Send an email or message to invitees

1. Control-click the event.
2. Choose Email All Invitees or Message All Invitees.

Add invitees to Contacts

1. Double-click or force click an event.
2. Hold the pointer over an invitee, then click the pop-up menu .
3. Choose Add to Contacts.If you don’t see Add to Contacts, but you do see Show Contact Card, the invitee is already in Contacts.
4. An apple article is there : Calendar (El Capitan): Invite people to events

I would agree that using the "Send email" option isn't an option. The email that's sent generally isn't formatted so that other email/calendars can easily parse it and make an event. You end up having to retype the pertinent information.

I have found that if you look in the console that many, but not all times, that invitees don't get their invitations that the calendarAgent is timing out trying to send. It has been the general suggestion of support in the end to delete the calendar after backing it up and reloading it. Support has even gone as far as having me re-upgrade El Capitan, which also hasn't fixed the issue.

Support & Community have suggested it's because my invitees were using Outlook, which they aren't they are all other Mac's.

I've also been told that it's because I am using or not using iCloud.

I share this not as a solution, but in the hopes that others see that there are and have been systemic problems with the Apple calendar software.

Also getting super frustrated. On 10.11.6 no security or os updates outstanding. Started the day off doing my events for 2017 and sending invites to relevant people. All gmail addresses but mine and one other it is also the apple id address. After 12 invites it stopped working. Ran whole lot of test invites. Every one which I added a note to did not go through. Ones without notes fine, even could amend and resend. Now nothing works.

OMgosh! I officially have engineering looking into this issue up from of course Advisor and Senior Advisor and get this: they called me back last week saying that, "Engineering has no ETA on when this issue will be solved for you." So what is everyone's alternative? Microsoft office 16 for Mac will not import ical. I need to send people meeting invites!!! Anyone use third party software that at least integrates and synchronizes with ical?

I found this solution, which worked for me. - http://ternarylabs.com/2015/01/30/fix-missing-ical-to-gmail-invites/

After some research, it turns out that if the recipient is using a Gmail email address as their login for iCloud, somehow iCal invites never get emailed but end-up directly in the corresponding iCloud calendar. Most Gmail user will not check the iCal calendar and assume that the invite has been lost.

Here are some simple instructions how to fix this.

Go to icloud.com and log into the calendar, select preferences

Select "Email to ..." option and save

This won't affect previously sent invitations but new invitations should now be delivered into your email and picked up by Google calendar.

That's exactly what's happening to me, so frustrating

Do you if people upgraded to Sierra if this is fixed???

Upgraded to Sierra 10.12.1 and have the exact same problem: set-up a call on Calendar with dial in bridge, invited two external users via their emails, they never received the emails. Embarrassing. Wouldn't have happened on Steve's watch.

I am "trying" to set up our small business to use iPhone/iPads and have the SAME frustrating issues with Apple iCal / Calendar. When I started, the owner was using Gmail and Google Calendar and wanted to use the native applications on the iPhones. I suggested we redo everything and switch...seems like a BIG mistake now.

We all have the latest iPhones/iPads running iOS 10 and I have created Apple ID's/iCloud user names. One persons calendar shared easily, but the other will not send an invitation or I don't receive it.

In the iPad, I try the SHARE WITH and it does everything until I click ADD...it disappears at that point and no invite is sent. And I agree with another statement that this wouldn't have happened when SJ was leading. Or if it did, it would have been QUICKLY resolved. I must have a full 40 hour week invested into trying to get this to work, reading, searching and no answers yet.

😟

I'm considering moving everything across to Google Calendar. It's what I use for work, anyway, it would definitely play more nicely... I don't want to, though!

Currently I've set up calendar so invites come through as emails rather notifications. I don't really like this, as the way the emails are sent, the process of accepting an invite seems to be different to actually adding it to your calendar...

However I have two iCloud aliases username@me.com and username@icloud.com (obviously not really 'username') if I turn on the treat invitations as notification option, invites to the icloud address work, and invites to the me.com address simply disappear.

No idea, why.

I FOUND THIS POST BELOW... and this would be a nightmare to do.

WHAT I THINK....I am "thinking" that the (1) Calendar that DID share was the ONLY account created on the actual device. All the rest of the accounts were created on "other" devices and then changed back to the original user. I did this in an effort to "set up" the devices for other users whose devices were not available at the time.

From a post I found....

Bewlay Brother

Has anybody found a way around this?

Invitees are not getting meeting invites.

Apple products are becoming a pain to use.

With every upgrade they change how things used to work. No explanation or proper communication

This appears to be a server-side account issue with Apple's iCal services. My wife now has this issue with her account. My account works fine. All settings (aside from the account info) are the same. I obviously am using the software correctly since I have no problems sharing my calendar with her or others. We've tried with different computers and devices, we've tried via Calendar app and via Safari iCloud login... the same issue persists, but only for her. The specified email address/user with which my wife tries to share her calendar is not saved and no invitation is sent. The problem does not occur with my account. Her account will not allow her to share her calendars anymore. This seems like some odd permissions problems with the accounts in question on Apple's calendar server.

This problem is exacerbated since Apple does not allow the deletion of iCloud accounts for various reasons, so if you tied your main business email address (which is printed on all your business stationary, business cards and other collateral) to an iCloud account that later becomes problematic, Apple products can become as dysfunctional as the related account, leading to a sometimes miserable experience across the product range (and I am a die-hard mac user since the SE who is stating this... as well as a long term Apple stock holder.) If Apple continues to tie more and more functionality to the cloud, they need to address these and other related problems which are amplified in such a situation.

I am very concerned with the quality control of Apple software products since Steve Jobs passed away. Software has devolved or become buggier. (Photos is a step backwards from both iPhoto and Aperture. Basic functions, like importation of previously archived Contacts, doesn't always work on 10.11.6 or 10.12.4., etc.)

Not fixed as far as I am concerned. Same thing happens using macbook air running OS Sierra 10.12.2