the-calendar.net

Apple Calendar

How to Add Any Calendar Account to Apple Calendar (iPhone & Mac)

Apple Calendar can show calendars from Google, Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com, Exchange, Yahoo, AOL, iCloud and any CalDAV server side by side. The setup is the same for all of them; the only thing that changed recently is where Apple moved the menu in iOS 18.

Step-by-step

  1. On iPhone or iPad with iOS 18 or later: open Settings → Apps → Calendar → Calendar Accounts → Add Account. (On iOS 17 and earlier: Settings → Calendar → Accounts → Add Account.)
  2. Pick the provider: iCloud, Microsoft Exchange (also for Microsoft 365 and work accounts), Google, Yahoo, AOL, Outlook.com, or Other for a generic CalDAV server.
  3. Sign in. Google and Microsoft open their own sign-in page; approve access when asked. Two-factor prompts appear here as well.
  4. On the last screen toggle Calendars on (and Mail, Contacts, Reminders or Notes if you want them), then tap Save.
  5. Open the Calendar app. Tap Calendars at the bottom to check that the new account's calendars are ticked; pull down to refresh if the events are not there yet.
‹ CalendarCalendar Accounts iCloudCalendars, Reminders GmailMail, Calendars Add Account Tap here Default CalendarHome Fetch New DataPush ‹ BackAdd Account iCloudMicrosoft ExchangeGoogleYahooAOLOutlook.com OtherCalDAV
Schematic of the iPhone path: Settings › Apps › Calendar › Calendar Accounts › Add Account, then the provider list. On iOS 17 and earlier the path is Settings › Calendar › Accounts.

On a Mac

Open the Calendar app and choose Calendar → Settings → Accounts, click +, pick the provider and sign in. The same account list also lives in System Settings → Internet Accounts; adding an account in either place adds it to both. Tick Calendars for the account and it appears in the sidebar within a few seconds.

Google accounts: showing all your calendars

By default Apple Calendar syncs your main Google calendar plus the calendars you own. Shared calendars and subscribed calendars (holidays, a colleague's calendar, a sports feed) often stay hidden. To include them:

  1. On any browser, sign in and open calendar.google.com/calendar/syncselect.
  2. Tick every calendar you want on your Apple devices and click Save.
  3. Back in the Calendar app, pull to refresh. The extra calendars appear under the Google account in the Calendars list.

Microsoft 365, Exchange and Outlook.com

Choose Microsoft Exchange for work or school accounts (Microsoft 365) and for on-premises Exchange. Enter your email address, tap Sign In (not Configure Manually) and complete the company sign-in. Outlook.com is for personal Microsoft accounts. Both sync calendars, invitations and shared calendars; meeting responses you send from the iPhone reach the organiser like they would from Outlook.

Generic CalDAV (Fastmail, Nextcloud, Zoho, self-hosted)

Choose Other → Add CalDAV Account. You need the server address, your username and your password (an app-specific password if the provider uses two-factor authentication). Fastmail uses caldav.fastmail.com; Nextcloud uses your instance address followed by /remote.php/dav; Zoho uses calendar.zoho.com. Tap Next; if the app cannot find the server automatically, tap Advanced Settings and check that SSL is on and the port is 443.

Set the default calendar and sync frequency

  • Default calendar — new events land in the calendar chosen under Settings → Apps → Calendar → Default Calendar. Set it to the account you actually use, or every quick event ends up in iCloud.
  • Fetch vs. push — iCloud, Exchange and Google push changes instantly. For Yahoo, AOL and CalDAV accounts, check Settings → Apps → Mail → Mail Accounts → Fetch New Data and set the account to Fetch every 15 minutes if updates are slow.
  • Subscribed calendars (an .ics or webcal link, like a sports schedule) are added via Add Account → Other → Add Subscribed Calendar; see our sports schedule guides for examples.

Events missing? Work through this list

  1. In the Calendar app tap Calendars and make sure the account's calendars are ticked; Hide All is easy to hit by accident.
  2. In Settings → Apps → Calendar → Calendar Accounts, open the account and confirm the Calendars toggle is on.
  3. For Google, visit the sync-select page above; for Microsoft, ask the admin whether Exchange ActiveSync or Modern Authentication is enabled for your account.
  4. Check Settings → Apps → Calendar → Sync — if it is set to Events 1 Month Back, older events are deliberately not downloaded. Change it to All Events.
  5. Remove and re-add the account. This does not delete anything on the server.

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

Where is "Accounts" in iOS 18 Calendar settings?
Apple moved it: Settings → Apps → Calendar → Calendar Accounts. On iOS 17 and earlier it is Settings → Calendar → Accounts. The options inside are the same.
Can I add multiple Google accounts?
Yes. Repeat the steps for each one; every account appears separately in the Calendars list, with its own colors and toggles.
Why don't my Google shared calendars show up on iPhone?
Apple Calendar only syncs the calendars ticked at calendar.google.com/calendar/syncselect. Tick the shared or subscribed calendars there, save, then pull to refresh in the Calendar app.
Do invitations I accept on iPhone reach the organiser?
Yes, for iCloud, Exchange/Microsoft 365 and Google accounts. Responses are sent through the account the invitation arrived in.
How do I remove an account without losing events?
Settings → Apps → Calendar → Calendar Accounts → tap the account → Delete Account. Events stored on the server (Google, Microsoft, iCloud) stay there and come back if you re-add the account.