Troubleshooting syncing between your Mac, iPhone and iPad

Having trouble getting Fantastical to sync smoothly between your different devices? Follow the troubleshooting steps below to check your account and calendar settings.

Check your account settings

First, what type of account are you trying to use to sync your events? Are you using iCloud, Google, Exchange, or some other sync service? Keep in mind what service you're using throughout these steps to make sure you're always using the same service on each device.

Next, make sure that you have the same accounts set up on your Mac, iOS and iPadOS devices.

Mac:

1. Open Fantastical's Settings and select Accounts
2. Look at the accounts you have added to Fantastical and make sure the account you're trying to use is listed there
3. If the account isn't shown, click the add account button and add your account to Fantastical (we have more help with adding accounts available here)

iOS/iPadOS:

1. Tap the menu icon in the upper-left of the main screen
2. Tap Settings, then Accounts
3. Make sure the accounts that you have added on your Mac or other iOS/iPadOS devices are also listed here

At this point you should see your calendars in Fantastical on your iOS/iPadOS device.

Ensure your calendars are enabled and visible

Once your accounts are added, make sure you have the same calendars enabled and visible on all of your devices.

Mac:

1. Open Fantastical's Settings and select Calendars & Lists
2. Enable the calendars that you want to be shown
3. Make sure the correct calendar set is active (in the View menu under Calendar Sets)

iOS/iPadOS:

1. Tap the menu icon in the upper-left of the main screen
2. Tap Settings, then Calendars & Lists
3. Make sure the calendars you want to be shown have a checkmark next to them
4. Make sure the correct calendar set is active (the active set is at the top of the Calendars screen and will have a checkmark next to the set's name)

Check your default calendar

At this point you should see the same calendars across all of your devices. Now verify that your default calendar is set to the same calendar across all of your devices. This way when you add new events they'll all be added to the same calendar.

Mac:

1. Open Fantastical's Settings and select General
2. Make sure the Default calendar and Default task list is configured to a calendar under the the correct account
3. Open Fantastical's Settings and select Calendars & Lists
4. Make sure the Default calendar and Default task list for each individual calendar set is configured to a calendar under the the correct account

iOS:

1. Tap the menu icon in the upper-left of the main screen
2. Tap Settings
3. Tap on Default Calendar
4. Make sure the checked calendar is the one that matches your Mac and other iOS devices
5. Tap Calendars & Lists
6. Tap the red 'i' icon next to the calendar set name
7. Make sure the Default calendar and Default task list for each individual calendar set is configured to a calendar under the the correct account

Test adding a new event

You should now be able to add a new event on one device and see the event appear on your other devices. Try adding a new event on each of your devices and see if they appear everywhere else.

Keep in mind that it can sometimes take a few minutes for events to sync.

Look at the web interface

If events still aren't syncing as you'd expect, use the web interface of your calendar to test which device might be misconfigured.

• If you're using iCloud, log in to icloud.com and open the Calendar.
• If you're using Google, log in to calendar.google.com
• If you're using Exchange, log in to Exchange Web App or Microsoft 365

Once you've logged in, create a new event on your calendar and then see if it appears across all of your devices.

If the event appears on all devices, then that means your accounts are set up properly but your default calendar is probably not correct.

If the event appears on some devices but not others, then the devices where the event is not appearing are not syncing correctly. Make sure your calendar account is set up correctly and then try again.

Still having trouble?

Contact us and we'll help you out! Please include a summary what types of accounts you're using — such as iCloud, Google, or Exchange — and what you're tried already.

It's also helpful if you include screenshots of what you're seeing, and of all your settings from the Accounts and Calendars & Lists sections from each device's settings. That will let us see what you're seeing so we can give you specific suggestions.

Taking screenshots on macOS

Take a screenshot by pressing command-shift-4 and then dragging across the part of the screen you want to capture. This will create an image on the desktop.

Taking screenshots on iOS

If your device has a Home button, take a screenshot by pressing the power and Home buttons at the same time. You will see a white flash to indicate that a screenshot was taken. You can then find the screenshot added to your Photos app.

If your device does not have a Home button, take a screenshot by pressing the power and the volume up buttons at the same time. You will see a white flash to indicate that a screenshot was taken. You can then find the screenshot added to your Photos app.