I typically charge my iPhone using a USB cable that attaches to my computer but recently I have been using the wall charger because my computer wasn’t always close. After using the wall charger for a week or so without ever actually syncing my iPhone to iTunes on my Windows 7 computer I attempted to synchronize my iPhone to my computer but received an error related to synchronizing the calendar during the process. I hadn’t modified any settings that I was aware of on the iPhone or within iTunes on the Windows 7 computer so I wasn’t exactly sure what caused the issue to begin with. Below is more information related to the calendar synchronization error and how I was able to resolve the error with one simple setting in iTunes.
Error Synchronizing iPhone Calendar With Outlook Calendar Through iTunes:
Error Text: iTunes could not sync calendars to the iPhone “alex’s iPhone” because the sync server failed to sync the iPhone.
Resolve iPhone Calendar To Outlook Calendar Sync:
Resolving the issue was fairly easy however be aware that the solution below will overwrite any calendar items on the iPhone that are not in the mail client you are syncing with. In my scenario I am synchronizing the iPhone calendar with the calendar in Microsoft Outlook on Windows 7 using the iTunes client on the Windows computer. To resolve the issue connect the iPhone with the computer using the iPhone’s USB cable. If iTunes does not launch automatically double click the application to launch iTunes. Once iTunes is running click on the iPhone in the left navigation so you can configure the synchronization settings. Once the iPhone is highlighted click the Info tab and scroll to the bottom to see the Advanced settings as shown below.
iTunes: iPhone Advanced Info Sync Settings:
Click the check box next to Calendars underneath “Replace Information On The iPhone” which will cause the iPhone calendar to be completely overwritten with the calendar items from the calendar you are syncing with. Once you have added the check mark into the box click the Sync button located in the lower right corner of iTunes to begin the synchronization process. You should no longer receive the error and the events from Outlook or whatever calendar you are syncing with should now display on the iPhone.
iPhone: The Missing Manual, 3rd Edition (Paperback)
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Great – this worked for me (fortunately, I didn’t have too many items on my phone). After doing the sync to replace everything, I performed a “regular” sync and no error message! Thanks!
Hello Dagmar,
Good to hear! Glad you got all of your calendar items synced to your iPhone. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
thank you thank you…. i had tried several things and this worked…. great!
Thank you very much. I sync a iPad, iPhone & Outlook 2007 and the iPad calender sync went out. Been driving me crazy.
This corrected the isssue
thanks
Hello DavidT,
No problem. Glad to hear it resolved your issue syncing your iPad, iPhone, and Outlook! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
What if this doesn’t work? Is there another solution? I have Vista. Thanks.
Hello ramona,
The information listed in the article is what worked for me however if you provide more information on what has been done to date to resolve the issue I may be able to provide more suggestions. Also if you ended up resolving the issue we would love to hear what was done to resolve the problem so others will benefit from the information.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks for this solution. It solved my problem.
Hello Sandy,
No problem. Thank you for taking the time to post feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Awesome. You rock! Thanks so much.
Hello josh,
No problem. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks, Alex. I tried your solution above, I also restored to factory settings and also uninstalled/reinstalled iTunes. Still getting the error message.
Hello ramona,
You restored the phone to factory settings and reinstalled iTunes on your computer but are still unable to sync the iPhone calendar with the computer calendar? Are you syncing with Microsoft Outlook’s calendar or some other application? I am not sure I have any more suggestions if you have completely factory reset everything and wiped them clean but are still experiencing the same issue.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks for this help. I knew it had to be something easy, but haven’t been able to figure it out for over a month. Do you have to check those boxes every time you sync from now on?
Hello GayleV,
No problem. You should only have to do this once. If it continues to be an issue then that would point to there being another problem with the syncing process.
Thanks.
alex
Many thanks.
It’s worked.
:)
Hello Benny,
No problem. Glad to hear the article helped resolve your problem.
Thanks.
alex
Worked for me even beyond expectation because calendar entries in future where kept on i-phone.
thnks,
Hello Stephane,
Great to hear. Thanks or taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Finally found an easy answer to the problem. Thanks for taking the time to post the fix.
Hello Dan,
No problem. Glad to hear the article helped resolve your issue. We appreciate you taking the time to post feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks for the tip. I had this sync error but for my contacts. All worked as above.
Thanks again.
Hello Mary,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
God Bless You! As you suggested, I replaced the calander on the phone with the Outlook Calander and it works like a charm now. Thank you for taking the time to post your solutions. It seems that you have help many. It will all come back to you in good karma.
Hello Karen,
Good to hear. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much work you saved me!
Hello Kim,
No problem. We accept donations. :) Thanks for leaving feedback.
Thanks.
alex
This solution rocks! Thanks for your help.
Hello Jim,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to post feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Can I uncheck the ” Replace Information On The iPhone” box after the first sync? Since I prefer the outlook to be updated with what is on my iphone.
Thanks.
Ken
Hello Ken,
That should work fine. If you end up getting in the same situation you can just follow the above instructions again.
Thanks.
alex
Here is the FIX if you do not want to overwrite the calendar events on your iPod:
Remove the folder at Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Apple Computer\SyncServices. If you are not comfy with trashing it just yet, just drag it to the desktop where iTunes can’t find it. Then sync your iPod. iTunes will create a new folder like this, and your calendar will sync no problem.
Hello Heather,
Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to post alternate instructions for the scenario of someone not wanting to overwrite the calendar items on their iPhone. Much appreciated!
Thanks.
alex
There is no such path in Windows 7.
This is the closest I could find
C:\Users\MyUserName\AppData\Local\Apple Computer\SyncNotifier\SyncNotifier\Logs
But there is no SyncServices
I removed the SyncNotifier folder but I get the same error, that the calendar could not be synced.
Also I find it curious that when I try to exit iTunes I get this error:
You have changed the settings for the iPhone.
Would you like to apply these changes?
But I haven’t changed any settings. What on earth could charging an iPhone directly to a wall outlet have done to the settings? Very odd. Very odd indeed.
Hello Shannon,
There is a SyncServices folder at the below location in Windows 7 and I assume it exists in Windows Vista as well.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\SyncServices
I don’t think it is the same as described by Heather above though. You might try the steps in the article itself just to get back on track.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks, Alex. Found the folder, moved it to the desktop, and finally got a successful sync.
Hello Shannon,
Great news! Thanks for following up.
Thanks.
alex
Dude, you rock!
Hello Phil,
Heh. Thanks! Its nice to rock!~
Thanks.
alex
Ditto the above comments.
Hello MJ,
Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks, Alex for you help. It works even with Winsdows Vista. Have a nice day. Rodrigo
Hello Rodrigo,
No problem. Thanks for noting that this also works with Windows Vista.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks. I had been struggling with this for days. I used your fix in Vista, too, and it worked like a charm. FYI – the suggestions from Microsoft did not work – Yours did!
Hello Jan,
Awesome! It is always nice to hear when something we have written an article about does a great job resolving a problem. We really appreciate you noting that the above works in Windows Vista and also appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback at all.
Thanks.
alex
So sorry, Shannon; I should have mentioned that my path was in WinXP. Good luck
Hello Heather,
No sweat. I posted the path to the SyncServices folder above though I am not sure it has the same contents on Windows 7 and Windows Vista. Thanks for following up!
Thanks.
alex
Well done, thanks for posting this. Worked like a champ!!!
Hello Tim,
No problem at all. Glad to hear it worked out! Thanks for leaving feedback.
Thanks.
alex
worked perfectly and solved a frustrating problem. thanks much
Hello Chris,
Great to hear. Glad you got the issue resolved. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Many, many thanks!!! After looking at (but not attempting) several very complicated suggestions, this simple solution did the trick!
Hello Tom,
Awesome! No problem… it is great to hear that our instructions were easy compared to other possible solutions on the Internet. Thanks so much for leaving feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks for taking the time to post this! Simple and successful, just the way I like it! WOrked great!
Hello Stephen,
Not a problem at all. Glad you found the article useful! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
thanks a million – after 2 weeks of having my head completey wrecked removing dlls and trying all these other complicated “fixes” – your tip worked perfectly !! thank you so much !!
Hello Paula,
No problem. Nice to hear that you were able to easily resolve the problem with your iPhone calendar by using our instructions. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Hi, thanks for the tip. Sad to say it did not wotk for me. I am running Vista not 7 and keep getting that error message abougt the sync server failing. Running a 3Gs and a Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop. AND I have a lot of grey hair!… maybe a clue? Thanks.
Hello Bill,
Is it specifically a calendar issue? If it is then the above steps should resolve the problem. If it is not a calendar issue unfortunately the article will not assist.
Thanks.
alex
Thank you very much for the tip. It worked as advertised though I wonder what caused it to start acting this way. I have been syncing successfully and effortless for weeks on end, then all of sudden I start getting the “unable to sync with calendar” message. Is it just bad karma, or climate change or the fact that it is getting close to the start of winter? Anyway – thank you again for this great, straightforward, easy to use, solution.
Hello Joel,
No problem. I believe it is caused by a sync operation that is interrupted in some manner either by USB being unplugged or anything else on the computer it is syncing with that could interrupt or delay the iPhone syncing to iTunes on the computer.
Thanks.
alex
Thank you very much, working good now.
Hello Erez,
Great to hear. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks for the tip! Appreciate it :) Was getting really concerned if I had to restore everything, or even re-install outlook !?! Thanks again!
Hello Henson,
No problem. Glad the article helped you out. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks. Worked for me too…
Hello Jose,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Finally a solution that works ~ thank you so much for posting the fix!
Hello T,
No problem at all! Thanks for taking the time to post feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Perfect explanation!
Hello Jason,
Thanks! Also thank you for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
thanks for the simple and accurate explanation to resolve about 3 weeks of irritation!
Hello Mark,
No problem at all. Thanks so much for taking the time to post feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Just wanted to say thanks for the help here! Great explanation, easy way to execute the solution, and great that people like you take the time to post stuff like this!
Hello Dr. Dan,
No problem at all. We appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback! We are definitely glad to know that you can sync calendars between your iPhone and your computer again!
Thanks.
alex
alex:
Thanks for the help. I was at the Apple Genius Bar TWICE and they couldnt figure it out! Thanks for your Help!
Hello robb,
Glad to hear our article helped you out! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Worked perfectly. Thanks for the post.
Hello Paolo,
No problem man. Thanks so much for taking the time to post feedback… it is always appreciated.
Thanks.
alex
Awesome!!!! Thanks so much…very clear directions and worked like a charm! You made my day.
Hello Lisa,
No problem. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Hi Alex,
I tried your solution, but everytime that I try to sync… it goes through the sync process, the sync complete and the boxes automatically unchecks itself and my calendar still will not sync. In addition, the calendar on my iPhone is now blank. Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Rob
Hello rob,
Unfortunately I have never seen this issue. How long has this been occurring? Is it possible the folders where the backups are written have been deleted or the permissions modified?
Once you get this resolved we would love to know the solution as I have yet to see this specific issue and I am sure if one person has the problem that there are many others with the same issue.
Thanks.
alex
Hello Alex,
I have exactly the same problem after on my new PC. The Synch for the contacts works perfect but the calendar will not synch. I have Win XP SP3 und Outlook 2003. Have deinstalled all Apple-relevant Software und reinstalled the itunes. Nothing happens. The Calendar on my iPhone is almost blank (only the birthdays from th contacts are visible).
Will try tomorrow to reset the iphone und export und import the calendar in Outlook. Hope that this may solve the problem.
Thanks
Meihua
Hello meihua,
It should solve your problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Hello rob,
I had probably the same Problem: contacts were synched but the calendar not. The synch completed without error. I had reset the iPhone and it worked. The calendar was synched.
meihua
Hello meihua,
Thanks so much for replying to rob’s comment. I am sure the extra information will be helpful to him and others.
Thanks.
alex
Alex:
I was about to open an apple care trouble ticket but decided to take a shot online. Your solution was very clear and concise and solved the problem without hassle.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience to help others. It’s greatly appreciated.
Hello David,
Awesome. It is always nice to hear when we save people time! Also we always appreciate when people take the time to leave us feedback!
Hopefully you continue to find useful article on http://www.Question-Defense.com. :)
Thanks.
alex
Thank you so much this fixed my little issue. Just one question, what happens after this if I add a calender item to my phone and sync then? Will it then sync correctly both ways.
Regards
Chris
Hello Chris,
No problem at all. It should sync without issue after you rid the system of the corrupt backup so I would imagine you shouldn’t see any further problems. If you do happen o run into this again simply follow the directions in the article again and you should be good to go. It has happened to me a couple times but it is definitely not on a regular basis and I sync my iPhone to iTunes multiple time a day.
Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Didn’t work for me. Have any other suggestions. Tried several times.
Hello Joan,
Have you read through all of the comments? If the directions in the article don’t work you should delete the backup manually and the location is mentioned numerous times in the comments section of this article for both Windows XP and Windows Vista/Windows 7.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks Alex – have done this and it has now synced again – phew.
Do I now need to “uncheck” those two boxes so that it sync’s properly each time i.e. taking new data from phone diary to sync with computer as well as new data from computer to sync onto phone diary as well.
Just worried that if I leave them checked any new data from phone diary that I add whilst I am out and about will get lost.
Thanks
Kate
Hello Kate B,
No problem.
You should be able to set it up any way you prefer after you get the issue fixed.
Thanks.
alex
Alex, thank you for posting this informative article. I was wondering if there was any way to save the items on my iPhone’s calendar? Sounds like I will not be able to save my appointments because I use my iPhone calendar then sync to the computer when home so everything is in my phone calendar, not the other way around.
Hello Lauri,
No problem at all. I would suggest not only backing up the calendar but also enabling syncing in both directions. That way everything sync’d to your PC will sync back to the iPhone even if the iPhone calendar items get erased. Again though if you are getting the above error it is possible to loose calendar entries.
Hope that helps. You might also read through all the old comments to see if others have had similar experiences and offered any good feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks Alex for you’re post, it worked fine for me …
Cheers
Hello Philippe,
No problem at all. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
I tried this before but my diary is no longer syncing onto my phone. It is only recently tried different docks / leads and sockets on my Windows 7 running PC
Hello Charles,
Unfortunately I don’t sync any diary that I know of and this article was written specifically for the calendar. If you find a solution we would love to hear what it is.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks for posting this – after not being able to sync my calendar anymore for the past few days I searched for the error message today and found your post – and voila… my calnedar is synced again:)
Hello Alexandra,
No problem! Great to hear our article helped you resolve the problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
‘Phew, thanks Alex – iPhone synchs ok but had this on the iPad – works there. Appreciated. I have always been careful re that iTunes>Info tab> Advanced ‘replace information’ as it seemed to carry an Apple Health Warning ;-)
Hello Dave,
No problem at all. Thanks for taking the time to post feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Hi Alex,
I had exactly the same error and your fix seems to have resolved that for me.
Many thanks for posting and for saving my last remaining hair :-)
Andrew
Hello Andrew,
We are always glad to know when we save someones hair! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Hi Alex,
Thank you so much – this was a great help which I have been trying to solve for a while. I am so greatfull.
Greeting from Denmark
Lotte
Hello Lotte,
No problem at all. Thanks for taking the time to post feedback.
Greetings back at you from Louisville, KY.
Thanks.
alex
hi, thanks for this, phone now has up to date calendar, but how do i ensure that entries made on the phone make it to the pc?
Hello caroline,
After fixing the problem just set it up however you want.
Thanks.
alex
Thank you. Worked beautifully.
Hello Daz,
Great to hear. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks Alex this fixed it for me.
I also had another problem of my own making which may help some of those above.
When calendar is open if you click on the “calendars” button top left you get a list of calendars. These need to be ticked in order to display them. One of mine wasnt….
Hello Doc,
Great. Thanks for taking the time to explain another issue that may come up with the calendars for others!
Thanks.
alex
Thanks, I was frustrated that I finally had a problem with my i phone. (used to always have problems with syncing my blackberry). Everything works now!
Hello Mark,
Glad to hear you got it resolved. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks, easy to read and follow, and it appears to have worked. Seems as if it was related to using wall and other chargers, and therefore not syncing for a while. Nice to find an easily readable solution for the neophyte.
Hello Michael,
No problem. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
THANKS SO MUCH for the quick solution!
Hello Pamela,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks! Seems to have worked for me as well. Note to self: don’t go so long without a calendar sync… ;-)
Hello Sonni,
No problem at all! Thanks for posting feedback and for making a note we should all follow… :)
Thanks.
alex
It works! Thanks.
Hello George,
Great to hear! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks for these instructions! You helped me solve a frustrating problem!!
Hello Mary,
No problem at all. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks worked for me … nice ans easy!!
Hello Ben,
Good to hear. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Worked great – thanks, Alex, for sharing this info.
One question: will I have to keep doing this?
Hello Gloria,
No problem. You should not have to continue doing this however it will depend on what caused the issue to begin with.
Thanks.
alex
This is great, but the problem is I am mobile a lot and so use my iPhone Calendar tp update meetings etc so my iPhone is probably the more complete calendar.
If I do the above it will remove a lot of important meeting info for future calendar events. Suggestions?
Great tip on the wall charger thing though – will remember that.
PS My issue above started after upgrading Windows to Win 7 from Vista
Hello Jeff,
Try syncing in the opposite direction to overwrite everything from your iPhone to the Outlook Calendar. Also next time this happens fix it immediately before there are a bunch of new entries added in the iPhone so you don’t get caught in this scenario again. The longer it goes the more of an issue it can become.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks!
Hello Allen,
No problem. Thanks for leaving feedback.
Thanks.
alex
I also use more my iphone calendar, than my outlook calendar. In fact, I take de outlook calendar like a back up of my iphone.
I have information on my iphone that I don’t have on de computer.
But I didn’t understand how to “try syncing in the opposite direction to overwrite everything from your iPhone to the Outlook Calendar”.
Could you please explain to me ?
Sorry for my English, I’m from Brazil.
Thanks a lot !
Hello Karina,
Not sure what you mean. This will only modify calendar items that are synced between devices.
Thanks.
alex
Alex, you are a genius! I have been frustrated by this issue for many months now and have tried several individual “fixes” without success. Today inspiriation hit, and I typed in “iTunes could not sync calendars to the iPhone because the sync server failed to sync the iPhone” and found your brilliant post. Your fix totally worked for me, and I appreciate the time you took to post how to fix this error! My calendar on my iPhone is now completely synched with my Outlook calendar, which makes me very happy! Like you, I do most of my calendaring on my Outlook on my desktop vs. my iPhone.
Hello Jay,
Thanks man. Glad you found the article useful. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Hello Alex,
I like Jay have had trouble with this happening and it was a relief to fix the problem at last so thank you. I think Karina, from Brazil, wants to know how this solves the problem. It also seems she wants to fix this problem without overwriting her iPhone data. Hope she has some joy.
Thanks again,
John
Hello John,
Good to hear. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks! only thing that worked.
Hello adam,
Great to hear. Thanks for taking the time to post feedback.
Thanks.
alex
The advanced feature worked great for me. Thank You very much.
I thought I would post the fix again.
Click the check box next to Calendars underneath “Replace Information On The iPhone” which will cause the iPhone calendar to be completely overwritten with the calendar items from the calendar you are syncing with. Once you have added the check mark into the box click the Sync button located in the lower right corner of iTunes to begin the synchronization process. You should no longer receive the error and the events from Outlook or whatever calendar you are syncing with should now display on the iPhone.
Hello Judy,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to recap.
Thanks.
alex
I’ve been battling with this issue for weeks now, and now it’s fixed thanks to you :)
GENIUS!!! Alex thank you so much for your post!
Hello Michelle,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thank you, Alex! You are a genius!
Thanks also for leaving crystal clear instructions as to how to fix this issue. You make this an art form!
Hanif
Hello Hanif,
No problem at all. Thanks for taking the time to post such nice feedback.
Thanks.
alex
THANK YOU – this has been annoying me for over a month.
Clear and concise even for a technophobe – I didnt even realise that the that the advance page scrolled down to show more!!
Hello Simon,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback!
Thanks.
alex
OMG! YOU ARE A FRICKIN’ GENIUS! THANK YOU SO MUCH! (ALL CAPS BECAUSE I AM SHOUTING)!! I went to Apple, called their support checked all the forums and nothing. and it was as simple as what you said!!
Problem: (for other people should this happen to you)
Completely out of the blue, during sync, iTunes would throw out a message saying ‘iTunes could not sync iphone because sync server fail…’ All the information from my iPhone would transfer to Outlook, but notfrom Outlook back to my phone. So knowing that my calendar was uptodate with my iphone entries I replaced all the information on my phone with that from my Outlook Calendar, completed the sync and then tried a test entry with just my usual setting and IT WORKED!!
Prior to that I had uninstalled, reinstalled itunes, removed the .dll file that was much talked about, and checked security and add-in settings. Not sure if this success is a combination of all of the above, but whatever, it works. Thank you and I will be coming back for future advise ;)
Hello Reena,
No problem at all! Thanks for leaving such detailed feedback. Really glad it got your issue resolved easily.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks a lot for your suggest. It’s work for me.
Hello Akkapol,
Good to hear! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Hi Alex,
Thanks for posting this solution. It worked like a charm!
Hello SSBarney,
No problem. Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
thanks. worked for me too. cheers
Hello Rog,
Glad to hear it worked. Thanks for taking the time to post feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Fabulous. Been a problem for a while, and previous searches for a solution we to no avail. This worked. And was easy.
Hello smc,
Glad we were able to help get it resolved. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback!
Thanks.
alex
thank you was very helpful!
Hello Mary,
No problem. Thanks for leaving feedback!
Thanks.
alex
Thank you so much. That worked!
Hello Tony,
No problem. Glad it helped you out… thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
THANK YOU for posting this solution. I hadn’t thought about the fact that I hadn’t plugged my phone into the computer itself in a while… then lo and behold, I was having the same problem mentioned above. The suggestion for completely replacing the calendar info on my phone was a lifesaver. Many thanks!
Hello T,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Eeek!
It worked in that I no longer get the message – BUT – I now have no items in the iphone calendar at all.
My PC Outlook calendar is still intact and the settings in itunes still say sync with Outlook Contacts and Calendars.
Please help if you can!
Hello Bamfordo,
You should always make sure to back things up before deleting anything. If things were deleted from the iPhone without being on the PC calendar you are likely out of luck however you might try tracking down the iPhone backups and see if they are included in those.
Thanks.
alex
ALL the items I want are on my Outlook Calendar, everything is fine on my laptop. Don’t need a backup as its all there on the PC.
My problem now is that I have nothing (past or future) in my iphone calendar. Its just like a new device. So isn’t my problem something like a first time sync?
Can you offer advice please?
It worked in that I no longer get the message – BUT – it still does not sync
I think this happened since I installed the latest update 4.3.3
Do you know how you go back?
Hello michael,
Rolling back iOS versions is out of the scope of this article. You might try contacting Apple support if that is what you are trying to accomplish. Before you did that though you might try upgrading iTunes to see if that resolves the issue.
Thanks.
alex
Verizon didn’t have the answer. Your solution worked for me.
Hello Lionel,
Great to hear. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks for this – absolute sinch to do but saved me a lot of hassle – Cheers!
Hello Enrico,
No problem at all. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
thank you so much… easily resolved the problem it does…!
Hello docron,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks so much!! I almost gave up :)
Hello Keren,
No problem… glad you didn’t give up!
Thanks.
alex
is the mark permanent? it means that information I write on the iPhone will never be synch to the outlook?!
did you ever get an answer to your question? i asked it again at the bottom of this page. thought i would ask you directly.
thanks a lot–iTunes is quite the pain in the ncek–for me, anyway!
Thankyou thankyou thankyou – everyone else’s solutions were so weird – and this worked perfectly & really quickly! (I also found stuff on there I didn’t know existed!)
Hello Carla,
No problem. Thanks for posting feedback!
Thanks.
alex
I was so stressed out today thinking about all of the processes that I was going to have to go through, since I am essentially computer illiterate. You have been my blessing today! The whole process took about 3 minutes, and it worked! God bless you for taking the time to share!
Hello Kim,
Great to hear! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Wow…worked fantastic. Apple should put this in the iPhone user’s guide.
Hello Tim,
Great… thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
That did it…thanks!
Hello John,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
hi-thanks, that worked very well, indeed!
similar question as one of the above comments; do i have to sync like this all the time? what if if add something to iPhone–will that show up on Outlook 2010, using Win7 also.
Hello ray,
No problem. You should be able to change the settings back after the sync is successful.
Thanks.
alex
It worked! Thanks so much!
Hello Candii,
No problem. Thanks for posting feedback!
Thanks.
alex
awesome…. thanks!
Hello Ferd,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Wow, easy fix thanks so much!
Hello Nina,
No problem! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
…but sadly this would lose the notes on my iPhone which I want to synch to my PC – anybody know any way to fix this without wiping data on iPhone?
Hello Cathy,
Bob replied below with what I also believe to be what would happen in this scenario. You won’t in fact lose your notes if you are only overwriting the Calendar items. No matter what though… make sure to perform a full backup before proceeding and worst case scenario you can restore the backup. Hope that helps.
Thanks.
alex
Hey Cathy,
When you do this it won’t actually touch any of your notes data it will only delete the Calendar events on iPhone and replace them with the Calendar data on your computer. Your notes are sync’d separately and won’t be touched so you’ll be safe to do this to fix your calendar issue.
Hello Bob,
Thanks for taking the time to answer others questions! Much appreciated. I also pinged Cathy directly under her post so she will get an automated email with the info you provided. Thanks again!
Thanks.
alex
After two days of frustration and anger a quick easy fix…THANK YOU!!!
Hello Steve,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
I’ve had this problem intermittently. At first it claimed the error message shown above, then when I re-synced it didn’t show and error message… but it didn’t truly sync, either. many calendar items in Outlook did not show up on my iphone calendar.
Hello Richard,
Did you try the solution mentioned in the article?
Oops… My first response to this comment was directed to a different article… Sorry about that. Anyhow did you try the solution in the article first?
Thanks.
alex
I did try the solution in the article and it didn’t work. I mean, I am looking at my outlook calendar with certain items showing for tomorrow, and when I tell it to overwrite, it doesn’t. I even had itunes stop syncing the calendar with the iPhone, where it essentially erasses all calendar items, and re-synced. verified iPhone calendar is blank. then I synced again, with the “overwrite” check-box selected, and it overwrites to my phone something other than what my outlook calendar shows. insane.
Hello Richard,
I have not seen that issue before. Let us know what the solution ends up being.
Thanks.
alex
Bless you!!!!!!!
Hello Ronald,
Thanks and thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
I tried erasing the sync history, then telling iTunes not to sync calendars. As expected, that erased the calendar on the phone. But when I then tried to sync again, overwriting the phone with what was in iTunes, it recreated events I had deleted from Outlook days prior. In other words, it was syncing a calendar other that what was reflected in Outlook at that time. I tried the uninstall/reinstall as described on the apple support page, and that failed too. Same problem. Ultimately I plunked down $70 for the two-year apple customer support agreement and called them. Turns out Outlook was using a cached .ost file, and we needed to delete that and have Outlook recreate a new one. Now it syncs as expected. After running around the last two days like a chicken with no head (indeed, the iPhone is my peripheral brain) $70 wsa a small price to pay for harmony at work and at home.
Hello Richard,
Glad to hear you got it resolved. Thank you so much for taking the time to provide the info above. I was not aware that the Outlook .OST file might cause this problem. Now when others issues are not resolved by the article above they can try to remove the .OST file to see if that also resolves their issue.
Thanks again!
alex
Thanks. it worked.
Hello XOBA,
No problem. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
This is a VERY ROUGH outline of the steps I took to get my sync working again. You should do some additional research, but this is correct to the best of my knowledge. definitely back up your .pst and .ost files before attempting this. in the instructions below I identify the point beyond which it’s a little fuzzy. Proceed with caution – you were warned!
To be clear, my issue was that iTunes was syncing outlook such that what was displayed on my phone and what was displayed in outlook were different. it was like iTunes was syncing to a cached data file instead of my actual outlook file. This will only be useful if you are using Microsoft Exchange with Outlook.
For Windows 7
control panel
may need to change view to “small icons” instead of category
mail
E-mail accounts
Data files tab
select the default mailbox
click “settings”
click advanced
Not absolutely certain from here on out – proceed with caution and back up the relevant files first!
uncheck “use cached exhange mode”
Click Apply/OK
click “settings”
click advanced
check “use cached exhange mode”
click on “Outlook Data File Settings”
click browse
select a new .ost file location
pretty sure beyond this stage you select a new folder and click ok and it will create a new ost file
NOTE: this is not a temporary .ost file location, it’s what Outlook will use from now on, so “desktop” is probably not a good place to put it.
back to iTunes
plug in phone
select phone
info tab
uncheck “sync calendar” ONLY if you have all the events off the phone – this will delete the calendar on the phone!
it will ask if it’s OK to erase the calendar on the phone. click ok and it will sync.
verify calendar is erased from phone
back to info tab
select “sync calendar” with Outlook
scroll down
under advanced settings, select the box to overwrite the iPhone with what’s currently in outlook
sync again
Voila!
Perfect and easy, thanks so much!!!!
Hello Dan,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Awesome guys, fixed my issue straight away. Note I had already amended outlook via Tools, Trust Centre to include Itunes as an allowed programme. No idea if it made any differnce
Hello Greg,
Good to hear. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
It worked just like you stated!
Thanks!
John
Hello John,
Good to hear. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
yay
Hello Kevin,
Wooohoo!
Thanks.
alex
you rock!!!
Hello Gordon,
Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
fine and good but my most up to date calendar is on the iPhone not on my cpu;
how do i save what is on the iPhone?
Hello Jim,
fine and good…. ….
Thanks.
alex
WORKED GREAT!!!!!
T H A N K Y O U ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Hello Kurt,
No problem. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Problem solved! THANKS for the step by step instructions!
Hello Isa,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks! This is the only fix (of many I tried) that worked.
Hello eisiger,
Great to hear. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
So then did you lose information from your phone?
Hello mylyndabeth,
This is explained in the third paragraph in the article.
Thanks.
alex
worked really fine & I could fix iPhone’s sync problem.
Hello renè,
Glad to hear the content assist with resolving your problem. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks buddy!!
That was a great solution! I’m so thankfull, that I mustn’t reinstall iTunes or iCal!
Greetz!
Hello FlavourFlave,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
So many solutions, but yours is the one that works! Thanks, it would be nice if all of the bogus solutions could be wiped from the internet. Such a waste of time until I got to yours!
Thank you so much! This was so easy. The last 2 articles I read wanted me to delete a bunch of data and try several different complicated tasks. On my pc I just had to scroll down to the advanced settings. I didn’t even know that those items were down there. Thanks Again!
Thank you so very much for this fix. My spouse’s iPad stopped syncing the calendar. Your fix solved this problem. Thank you again.