How to sync a calendar from your Mac computer to an iPhone, to access calendar updates on both devices
- You can sync a calendar from your Mac computer to your iPhone, so any calendar updates are reflected on both devices.
- There are two different ways to sync a calendar from your Mac to your iPhone - through iCloud or iTunes.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
With the ability to sync your calendar across Apple devices, it's easy to make sure that meeting you accepted on your work email also goes to your iPhone to actually remind you to show up.
You'll have to activate this sync using either iCloud or iTunes. Both techniques take several steps on your Mac or iPhone, and both have pros and cons, including the fact that Apple is ending iTunes soon.
Check out the products mentioned in this article:
iPhone Xs (From $999.99 at Best Buy)
MacBook Pro (From $1,299.99 at Best Buy)
How to sync your calendar from Mac to iPhone using iCloud
To do this, you have to make sure your iPhone and your Mac share the same iCloud account.
However, once they're synced, updates made on your Mac should automatically update on your iPhone.
The first few steps involve your Mac.
1. Click on the Apple icon in the upper left hand corner.
2. Click on System Preferences.
3. Click on iCloud to get the list of everything syncing to your iCloud.
4. Click on the box next to Calendars to ensure that it makes it into your iCloud.
Then, activate the calendar on your iPhone.
1. Tap on Settings.
2. Tap on your iCloud profile name ("Apple ID, iCloud, iTunes & App Store").
3. Tap on iCloud (the top of the second list).
4. Tap on Calendars to toggle it green.
Calendars will be officially synchronized from your Mac to your iPhone.
How to sync your calendar from Mac to iPhone using iTunes
One benefit of using iTunes instead of iCloud is that you can share your calendar from your Mac to your iPhone even if they're not on the same iCloud account.
A downside is that you have to connect them physically, with a USB cable, to update the iPhone's Calendar. There's also the fact that Apple is soon killing the iTunes app on Mac computers and iPhones.
1. Open iTunes on your Mac.
2. Connect your iPhone to your Mac using the USB cable.
3. Click on the iPhone icon in the top, just next to Music (it is an icon of an iPhone).
4. Click on Info in the list to the left.
5. Click on the box next to Sync Calendars.
6. Click on Done in the lower right hand corner.
7. A box will come up asking if you want to apply these changes to your iPhone. Click Apply.
Your iPhone will now have synced with the Mac's current Calendar.
Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:
How to back up your text messages on an iPhone, using iCloud or a Mac computer
How to mirror your iPhone's screen onto a Mac computer, using QuickTime or a third-party program
How to backup an iPhone to iCloud, your computer, or an external hard drive
How to free up space on an iPhone that's running out of storage