Google Calendar not syncing on Android (FIX)

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Google Calendar is one of the most popular multiplatform organizers, because of its great usability and performance. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case every time. One of the repeating issues is the syncing of Google Calendar on Android devices. Sometimes Google Calendar won’t sync at all, sometimes it stops syncing without any special reason.

In case you’ve encountered a similar problem, we found some solutions that might be helpful.

Table of contents:

  1. Update the Google Calendar app
  2. Unsync the Google Calendar app temporarily
  3. Remove and re-establish your Gmail account
  4. Enable Calendar Storage
  5. Clear Google Calendar data
  6. Stop any other app that uses the connection
  7. Reset your device to factory settings

Why isn’t my calendar syncing on my Samsung?

If your calendar is not syncing on your Samsung or any other Android device, make sure to update the Calendar app, un-sync the calendar temporarily, and disable the power-saving mode.

If the problems started when you switched between the devices, use Smart Switch to transfer Calendar events with a loophole by following instructions our reader Artie provided in the comments. We are thankful for their input.

Solution 1: Update the Google Calendar app

Besides checking your Wi-Fi connection, the main step is updating the Google Calendar app. To do so follow this instruction:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap Applications or Application manager.
  3. Find the Google Calendar app and open it.
  4. Select Update if available.

Solution 2: Unsync the Google Calendar app temporarily

Maybe the problem lies in the misfunctioning of the all-around synchronization. This way you can reset it and, possibly make it work again. To do so, follow the presented instructions:

  1. Select Settings.
  2. Open the Accounts tab.
  3. Tap Google.
  4. Choose your account.
  5. Uncheck Calendar.
  6. Reset your phone.
  7. Follow the same path and check the previously unchecked Calendar tab.

Solution 3: Remove and re-establish your Gmail account

You can also try to reset your Gmail account because sometimes the problem occurs with Gmail synchronization. To do that, follow the instruction below:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap Accounts.
  3. Select Google.
  4. Choose your account.
  5. Tap Remove account.
  6. Follow the same path and sign in again with your Gmail account.

Solution 4: Enable Calendar Storage

If this option is disabled, Google Calendar won’t sync or show any events. So, be sure it is enabled. To enable Calendar Storage, follow the instructions:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Choose Apps or Application manager.
  3. In the top right corner tap More.
  4. Open Show System.
  5. Select Calendar Storage.
  6. Tap Enable.

Solution 5: Clear the Google Calendar data and cache

Clearing Google Calendar data and cache may help you with re-establishing synchronization. However, have in mind that this may erase some unsynced data. To Clear Google Calendar data, follow the steps below:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Choose Apps or Application manager.
  3. In the list of the apps installed, select Google Calendar.
  4. Tap Clear Data and confirm.
  5. Restart your device.

Solution 6: Stop any other app that uses the connection

Many users found social apps as one of the sources of the problem. These apps use a lot of system resources while maintaining the background connection as well. This can create a problem for both syncing and auto-updating apps. To stop the apps from working in the background, do as follows:

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Choose Apps or Application manager.
  3. Select the preferred app.
  4. Choose Force Stop.

Solution 7: Reset your device to factory settings

The last resort in any problem related to Android is factory settings reset. Some of the issues tend to stack up over time. To do the factory reset, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings.
  2.  Tap Backup and Reset.
  3. Back up your settings and data to Google servers via a Google account.
  4. Select Factory Data Reset.
  5. Tap Reset Device.
  6. Choose Erase Everything.

Keep in mind that resetting your device to factory settings will erase everything from your phone and that you might not be able to restore everything, in case you make a misstep. So, only do this if you know what you’re doing. If you want to learn more about the whole process, our article about resetting an Android phone to factory settings is a good starting point.

That’s about it. We hope at least one of the solutions helped you resolve the syncing problem with Google Calendar on your Android device. Thank you for reading and make sure to follow us in the comments section below and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in January 2021. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.

Aleksandar Ognjanovic

I’m in awe of the advancements and forever curious about the next big thing in the smartphone industry, and how it will reshape our lives. Lives that already heavily depend on those portable pocketable devices. That’s the main reason why I found myself writing instructive content on the subject for users who are not as familiar with all the bells and whistles. Besides smartphones, I love reading fiction and non-fiction, watching a plethora of sports, and learning new languages. Also, cats! Twitter: @lemmingspain

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17 thoughts on “Google Calendar not syncing on Android (FIX)”

  1. This is a bit lengthy, but absolutely worked for me and took me only 5 days to come up with a bonafide solution where all others failed. Please take 5 minutes to read carefully as it took me almost 40 minutes to write this all out after 5 days of “problem-solving.” It may look like a lot, but it only takes 20-30 minutes to attempt. Since this worked for me, I posted this solution to the Google community as well. If it works for you, please share and leave comment.

    “My Calendar” Sync issues truly SOLVED!!  Please read this entire post to fully understand the magnitude of what is happening.  I just spent the past 4 or 5 days of countless hours trying to understand why my new Samsung A50 did not have any “Events” before December 11th, 2019 (the date I bought my new Samsung A50 cell phone).  My old phone, a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, had at least 7 years’ worth of “Events” in “My Calendar” (appointments, birthdays, deaths, special occasions, etc).  At the time I purchased my new phone, the Samsung A50, Sprint does their thing using an App from the Google Play Store called SAMSUNG SMART SWITCH MOBILE to transfer all your data possible; Apps, contacts, text messages, photos, videos, and yes, even the calendar.  However, one thing that is not revealed during this transfer to you as the consumer is that, when transferring this data, Samsung has a clear message that states “Find out what we can’t bring” and then reads as follows:  Apps:  “Calendar:  Events from Synched accounts, What’s App Chat History, data that can’t be transferred due to the App’s policies, Apps that can’t be transferred due to security or compatibility issues: Calendar, Music.  Another message that pops up states “Some app data can’t be transferred because of the app’s policies.  The following apps can’t be copied because they’re not compatible with your new Galaxy or there’s a security issue:  Calendar (Can’t send events from synched accounts).”  While this is 100% accurate, there is a bonafide way AROUND THIS that I finally figured out how to do and all my events prior to 11 December 2019 are now populated in “My Calendar” on the new Samsung A50 phone.  Please follow these steps exact as it was a long trial and error process.  Follow each step in order: 
    1.  You must have your old and new phone together, and working for this to happen.
    2.  Go to “My Calendar” on both phones and click Sync (just to be sure they are synched).
    3.  If you are not using the official Google Calendar (31) App, please download that from the Google Play Store and re-synch both phones.
    4.  Once both phones have had time to sync using the new Google Calendar (31) App, check your new phone for the lost events.  Did they populate?  If no, continue to the next step. 
    5.  Now, go back to the Google Play Store and download the Samsung Smart Switch Mobile App on both phones; old phone and new phone.
    6.  Once the download is complete on both phones, open the Smart Switch App on the new phone first.
    7.  There will be a prompt that says “Bring your data to your new phone.”  Click “Receive Data” and select one of the three options; Galaxy/Android, iPhone/iPad, or Windows Phone/Blackberry.
    8.  Click Wireless.
    9.  The page will show “Get connected” and “Open Smart Switch on your old device to connect.”
    10.  Open Smart Switch on the old phone and click “Send data.” 
    11.  Click Wireless (Your old phone will search for nearby devices using high frequency audio).
    12.  At this point, you should be ready to connect.  The old phone will say “Allow connection?” and display your new phone name (mine was [Phone] Galaxy A50 (5441) wants to connect to your phone.”  Click ALLOW.   Once you click ALLOW, the phones should be searching for data.  Your old phone will say “Connected to (Your Phone Name Here)” and your new phone will read “Choose what to bring.”
    13.  This is the most important step in data transfer.   For this tutorial and “My Calendar” purposes only, we will DESELECT everything, except Apps.  There may be a red ! to the right side of Apps.  Click to read that red ! message and you will see the same message I got that “Some app data can’t be transferred because of the app’s policies.”  Do not worry!!  And to make things simplified, please deselect everything down that list and only select “Calendar.”  I deselected 52 apps.  Yours may be more or less. 
    14.  At this point, click DONE.  It will take you back one page.  Scroll down and click TRANSFER.
    15.  Your phone will go through the data transfer process.  Be patient. 
    16.  Once everything has been transferred, you will get a message stating it has been completed, or something like that.  (I do not know the exact wording as I won’t do it again to screw up my success).
    17.  Once all data is transferred, go back to your new phone and look at your calendar.  Are your lost events now visible?  If not, go to the next and last step possible. 
    18.  On your old phone, go back to the Google Play Store and download another app called “Digical Calendar Agenda” by Digibites.  While I am not financially endorsing this App, I read about it during my 5 days of frustration and figured I had nothing to lose.  Besides, it is free from Google Play Store, so you have nothing to lose.  Download this app to your old phone first.  Once installed, sync it to your “Google Calendar.”  You should now see all your past events from “My Calendar” on the “DigiCal” calendar.  If not, make sure you go back to your “Google Calendar” and click “Sync.”  Then go back to your “My Calendar” and click “sync.”  By this step, all your past events on your old phone ‘should’ be visible across all three platforms; “My Calendar”, “Google Calendar”, and “Digical.”
    19.  Now that all three are synched, go BACK to the Samsung  Smart Switch App and redo steps 7-17 above to transfer the data one last time.
    20.  This exact process worked for me.  If it did not work for you, verify that you did all your steps correctly.  Folks, I’ve read so many countless issues with “My Calendar” losing past events and not synching.  This process described above, although semi-annoying, actually worked for me and every lost/missing event from my old phone over the past 7 years is now visible on my new Samsung A50.  I wish I had done screen captures prior to prove my integrity with you all but I did not know this would work until it actually worked.  Trust me.  Take your time.  One step at a time.  It works!!  I think the work around process I detailed above bypasses the Google app policies for the sync process.  But the key is, to ensure the old phone has several methods (“My Calendar”, “Google Calendar” and “DigiCal”) to pull data from in the Smart Switch process.  Once you see all your events in “My Calendar” on the new phone, simply delete whatever apps you don’t want anymore.  I suggest keeping “Google Calendar” App as this is the primary calendar used by Google.  But, (and this is important) *for every future event you add to your calendar (either “My Calendar”, “Google Calendar” or “DigiCal”), please, please, please ensure right below entering the title of your new event, there is an “Events” calendar type dropdown menu.  It is normally set default to “My Calendar.”  DO NOT SELECT “My Calendar” as this is the primary suspect in your past events not synching.  Ensure that the Events selection is selected/visible as a Google Email instead.  So whatever your primary Google Email is (for example:  jcdenton20X@gmail.com) ensure jcdenton20X@gmail.com is what you select in the Events dropdown before you click save to your new event.  Not “My Calendar.”

    *If this process worked for you, please share your testimony and post and share this accordingly.

    Reply

  2. Yes, this is a little LONG, but I hope it helps when trying to sync pre-installed calendar apps with Galaxy S series phones. Don’t know if it’ll work w/ all, but it did PERFECTLY w/ mine.

    I had a Galaxy S3 & it began hanging up during calls & suddenly shutting off for no reason, etc. Had it for abt 5 yrs, so I figured it was time for a “new” phone. I found a Galaxy Stellar (I know, it’s older than the S3) well worth the $$ & covered under my cell contract. I was trying to sync the pre-installed calendar I’d been using to the same app on the Stellar but couldn’t!

    I looked all over Google & finally decided to try something different. When I’d gotten my tablet a few yrs ago, I’d accidentally synced it’s Google Calendar w/ the S3’s calendar. So I thought I’d give it a try. Installed it on my “new” phone but couldn’t get it to sync. Finally got the idea to try installing it on my S3 & sync on it, during 1 of the FEW times the S3 would stay on long enough to download w/ wifi & open. Well, it worked!!
    Then I installed Google Calendar on the Stellar & it synced w/ the same app on S3. I was even more surprised when I opened the pre-installed calendar app & seen it synced w/ the Google app too!! Problem solved!!!

    I hope this helps others with this problem of the pre-installed app not syncing. Now, I have no worries abt trying to remember things bc I still have ALL the info/appts I’d put on the calendar, which is GREAT for dr appts.

    Reply

    • Use the app Copy My Data. MUST BE INSTALLED ON BOTH DEVICES TO WORK! Copies ALL Calendar info, Contacts, Photos, & 1 other thing (can’t remember) (has a list of the ‘categories’ ie Calendar, w/ a check box beside it). Check the box next to the info you want to copy (it goes MUCH quicker if you copy 1 @ a time). MUCH EASIER & QUICKER THAN ANYTHING ELSE I’VE TRIED! Good luck folks!!

      Reply

  6. Problem is, I removed and re-established my google account, and voila, everything is there. Three weeks later, still having the same problem and actually missed a meeting because it didn’t show on my phone. I shouldn’t have to reinstall the account every week.

    Reply

  9. My google calendar on my computer will sync with my Samsung S7 but if I add something in my phone calendar it does not sync with my computer….. I have tried all suggestions so far and nothing is working. Help please.

    Reply

  10. Thank you for putting this out there. One note to removing/adding account again. When I added it back, calendar was not in the list of syncing options. Frustrated I kept looking on my phone. When I opened the google calendar app again it asked me for permissions to sync there. I said allow and refreshed. It took a while because I have a TON of crap with multiple accounts shared with that one account for my family, but it worked! I switched to my non-google app and refreshed and it linked right away. Before all this began the last time my calendar synced was 12/19/17 and I couldn’t figure out why my ne Dr’s appts weren’t showing up on my apps across everything. Even the google calendar didn’t update. It was extremely frustrating because I couldn’t access the web interface quickly with my tablet and phone. I’m also going to have to edit a negative review I left on a calendar app now that I know it wasn’t the apps fault for my syncing issues. Thanks so much for the useful and successful information. And people if you follow all the above and it still doesn’t work, keep trying because each platform might be slightly different. If finally you can’t succeed, call the manufacturer and don’t hate on the publisher because they are just trying to help those by giving useful TOOLS for the problem, not a guaranteed solution. Use common sense!

    Reply

  14. Thanks! My problem was that I could only sync manually. What appeared to solve my problem was to enable calendar storage, Following your steps above, I selected “calendar storage” and storage was already enable. When I just went to the calendar app, I found that storage was not enable. By turning that on, sync is happening automatically now.

    Thanks!

    Henry

    Reply

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