How to Add, Share, and Sync Calendars on Mac and iPhone

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 1

Utilizing your Calendar to maximum effect on your Mac or iPhone can really keep you on top of things. Today, we want to discuss how to add, share, and sync calendars on your Mac and iPhone so your agenda follows you wherever you go.

The Calendar that comes with your Mac and iPhone has everything you might need to create appointments, set reminders, and basically organize your life so you don’t miss important events and happenings.

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 2

In order to have a calendar that syncs across your devices, you must be logged into the same iCloud account. This will ensure that, just as with Reminders, everything you do on your Mac will appear on your iPhone or iPad, and vice-versa.

As always, if you’re not seeing your calendars or calendar events show up from device to device, then it might mean you’re not logged into the same iCloud account, or more than likely, you’re dealing with an iCloud sync issue.

We’ll review how to check to make sure everything is working properly later in this article.

Creating and Sharing New Calendars

To create a new calendar, click on the “File” menu, select “New Calendar” and then “iCloud”.

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 3

Your new calendar will appear under the iCloud list in the left Calendar pane.

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 4

You can name it to whatever you feel like and share it by clicking share icon to the right of the calendar’s name. You can even make it a public calendar, which means anyone can subscribe to a read-only version of your calendar.

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 5

You will now be able to access your new calendar on your iPhone or iPad. Open the Calendar app and tap the “Calendars” link at the bottom of the application.

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 6

Now you will see all your iCloud calendars listed including your newly created one. If a calendar is shared, you’ll be able to see who is sharing it or with whom it is being shared.

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 7

You can edit a calendar by either tapping the “i” symbol next to a calendar or by tapping the “Edit” button and then the calendar you want to attend to.

Once you’re in the edit screen, you can rename or delete your calendar by tapping on it or, more importantly, you can add people with whom you want to share it.

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 8

Scroll down to change the color of your calendar or make it public.

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 9

Remember, when you make a calendar public, anyone can subscribe to a read-only version of it, so make sure you don’t include any personal details or events.

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 10

Editing calendars is also how you add them, so just like on your Mac, when you create a new calendar on your iPhone, it will appear on any other devices connected to that iCloud account.

Making Sure it Syncs Correctly

If everything is syncing as it should, then you’re good to go. If you’re not seeing your new calendars appear on your other devices, then you need to make sure everything is connected to the same iCloud account.

If that isn’t the problem, then check your iCloud settings to ensure your calendars are set up to sync to iCloud.

On you iPhone or iPad, open the Settings, then tap open “iCloud”.

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 11

Scroll through your iCloud settings and ensure “Calendars” is enabled.

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 12

Next, on your Mac, open the System Preferences and then “iCloud”. Same as on your iOS device, go through the various settings and make sure Calendars has a check next to it.

how-to-add-share-and-sync-calendars-on-mac-and-iphone photo 13

That then is how you add, share, and sync calendars on your Mac and iOS devices. It works much like Reminders in that you can share with other people and sync across the entire range of your iCloud connected devices.

The nice thing about having all your calendars connected, is that you don’t have to spend time replicating your efforts, such as creating the same calendars, events, etc. Moreover, when you share a calendar, you will then be able to keep everyone else in the loop.

We hope then that you found this article useful and will be able to use it to keep your agenda more organized and effective. If you want to add a question or comment, we encourage your feedback in our discussion forum.

More stories

How to Play PC Games on Your TV

No need to wait for Valve’s Steam Machines — connect your Windows gaming PC to your TV and use powerful PC graphics in the living room today. It’s easy — you don’t need any unusual hardware or special software.

How to Eliminate SMS Fees and Text for Free

SMS fees are pure profit for the cellular carriers. They’re basically free for carriers to send, but they can often cost ten cents or more per message. It costs more to send a text message on Earth than it does to transmit data from Mars.

How to Run a Last Pass Security Audit (and Why It Can’t Wait)

If you’re practicing lax password management and hygiene, it’s only a matter of time until one of the increasingly numerous large-scale security breaches burns you. Stop being thankful you dodged the past security breach bullets and armor yourself against the future ones. Read on as we show you how

How to Place Your Speakers to Maximize Your Home Theater Experience

Whether you are setting up your computer speakers or a complex home theater bundle, understanding the art and science of speaker channels and placement is the most critical step in enjoying your new sound system. Read on as we guide you through a crash course in surround sound setup.

How to Reply to Emails on Your Apple Watch

Until watchOS 2, the “Mail” app could only show notifications for and display incoming emails. Now, you can reply to email messages in Mail using your Apple Watch the same way that you can reply to text messages on your watch.

How to Mount and Use an exFAT Drive on Linux

The exFAT file system is ideal for flash drives and SD cards. It’s like FAT32, but without the 4 GB file size limit. You can use exFAT drives on Linux with full read-write support, but you’ll need to install a few packages first.