Calendar re-set wiped out all my events

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Level 2

304 points

Calendar re-set wiped out all my events

When I launched Apple Calendar today it gives me a message "Updating Calendars". Apparently "updating" means it has wiped out all my current, previous and future calendar events. Is there any way to restore my old calendars? I couldn't find anything helpful in preferences. I tried syncing with my iPhone 6 to no avail. I'm afraid to trying syncing with my iPad for fear it will wipe out everything; the iPad has the most complete record of past calendars, so if push comes to shove I will manually transfer info from there to my calendar.

Or maybe I'll just switch to Google calendar. 😉

Thanks in advance.

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), (15-inch, 2.53 GHz, 4 GB RAM)

Posted on Jan 11, 2017 2:50 PM

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Answer 1

Eric Root

Level 10

685,257 points

Jan 11, 2017 7:49 PM in response to MacMom

Go to iCloud.com using a computer and select Settings. When that page loads, look at the bottom left side under Advanced and see if you can restore from there.

How to Recover Files, Contacts, Calendars and Reminders in iCloud

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Answer 2

MacMom Author

Level 2

304 points

Jan 11, 2017 11:25 PM in response to MacMom

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, I can't use it.

I saw that suggestion to recover from iCloud when I was searching around for a solution to my problem. Unfortunately, my calendar is not backed up to iCloud, because when I tried to sync via iCloud when I first got my iPhone, it totally messed up my calendar events. It was a pain in the neck to get my calendar back the way I wanted it, so I've been backing up my phone to my MacBook, the old-fashioned way, with a USB cable. 😉

My calendar events should be backed up in Time Machine, and I assume there's a way to restore them that way.

The other problem is that the calendar updates every time I launch it now. Is that cause it's expecting to sync with iCloud? How do I know my events won't be wiped out each time I re-launch it?

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Answer 3

MacMom Author

Level 2

304 points

Jan 11, 2017 11:26 PM in response to Eric Root

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, I can't use it.

I saw that suggestion to recover from iCloud when I was searching around for a solution to my problem. Unfortunately, my calendar is not backed up to iCloud, because when I tried to sync via iCloud when I first got my iPhone, it totally messed up my calendar events. It was a pain in the neck to get my calendar back the way I wanted it, so I've been backing up my phone to my MacBook, the old-fashioned way, with a USB cable. 😉

My calendar events should be backed up in Time Machine, and I assume there's a way to restore them that way.

The other problem is that the calendar updates every time I launch it now. Is that cause it's expecting to sync with iCloud? How do I know my events won't be wiped out each time I re-launch it?

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Answer 4

Jan 11, 2017 11:49 PM in response to MacMom

I lost all my email contacts after upgrading to El Capitan and installing iCloud -- I learned after the fact that once you start using iCloud any data you upload is held hostage and deleted on your devices if you try to back out of iCloud.

El Capitan also killed Image Capture so I'm now searching for a replacement because I do not want to use the new "improved" Photos that also forces you to upload to iCloud, which is free to get you started but obviously will become a fee-based subscription once you reach the limit.

I should have known by now not to upgrade when things are all working, lured by the promise of improved securities and flashy bells and whistles. All the "new improved" add-ons other than minor cosmetics to the recent system upgrades are all designed to hook you in deeper to the "Brand". It's almost enough to drive one to Windoze or Unix but the corporate Cloud scam has no doubt taken hold there too. Nickel and dime scammers rule the world.

Maybe the hard drive companies will develop software to allow users to direct their data to safe in-house harbors. Otherwise their only remaining customers will be the owners of Cloud servers. It's disgusting.

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Answer 5

MacMom Author

Level 2

304 points

Jan 12, 2017 12:29 AM in response to bozo-a-gogo

That's not what happened to me. I backed up to iCloud one time, when I first got my phone 2 years ago, but when backing up to iCloud messed up my calendar, I went back to backing up to the computer and have been doing so continuously until today, when I launched calendar and saw that all my events had been wiped out for some reason I haven't yet figured out.

If you use Time Machine regularly to back up, you should still have a copy of your information there.

I still have and use Image Capture on El Capitan. I never cared much for Apple's photo app, so I've always used Image Capture.

I am not using this thread to complain about Apple upgrades, as you seem to be doing. I am using it to find a solution to my problem.

Thanks!

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Answer 6

Jan 12, 2017 1:09 AM in response to MacMom

Apple's just one of many companies driving me up the wall these days. Banks, cable, insurance, government, healthcare... they all try to squeeze every penny they can while presenting a helpful smile. It's getting old.

I'm happy that you can still use Image Capture but mine no longer works. So I can either submit to the Cloud or buy an app at the app store... and the most likely app available has horrible user ratings. You'd think they'd be happy with the fees generated by bubble heads who need to snap pics of every burger they eat and shoot them online and would let people who just want to work and maintain their own data free to work as they please. it's not Apple I hate, just the Cloud mentality. The more "convenience" they build into their products the more annoying they are to use.

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Answer 7

Eric Root

Level 10

685,257 points

Jan 15, 2017 1:04 PM in response to MacMom

Do a backup, preferably 2 backups on 2 separate drives.

Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J. When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Select Library/Calendars. Enter your backup and restore.

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Answer 8

MacMom Author

Level 2

304 points

Jan 15, 2017 1:12 PM in response to Eric Root

Hi, Eric,

Thanks for the reply. I had already grabbed a backup of my calendar events from Time Machine, intending to do as you suggested. I'm sure it would work, but in the end I didn't need to use that solution. 🙂

Oddly, my calendar events restored themselves, without any intervention from me, after several reboots. I don't know if the reboots were what solved the problem, as I didn't actually check at the time I restarted the computer. I was busy with other things and shut down the computer several times for various reasons, intending to deal with the calendar issue at a different time. (Calendar was still fine on my phone, so I wasn't really worried about totally losing my calendar events.) I just happened to go to check my calendar this afternoon and saw that everything was back.

Not sure what happened or why, but glad it's back.

I'm still a little worried about backing up to iCloud, given the mess that was made of my calendar the last time I tried. I think I'll make another backup before I try that, so any mess-up will be easier to fix.

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Answer 9

MacMom Author

Level 2

304 points

Jan 15, 2017 1:13 PM in response to Eric Root

Just want to add. I also don't know what cause the Calendar to keep re-setting itself the day I posted this problem. It literally happened every time I re-launched Calendar. Any ideas on what would have caused that?

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Answer 10

Eric Root

Level 10

685,257 points

Jan 15, 2017 4:14 PM in response to MacMom

You are welcome. Gremlins? 😝

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Answer 11

MacMom Author

Level 2

304 points

Jan 18, 2017 4:08 PM in response to Eric Root

Ha, that made me laugh. Must have been the gremlins. 😉

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