If you have been looking for a way to add birthdays in the Calendar app on your iPhone, you must have been left disappointed. You may wonder, “Where does the iPhone birthday calendar come from?” Well, things are a little different. iPhone Calendar app doesn’t offer a native option to add birthdays directly using any simple setting. You have to either use the Contacts app, create a recurring event, or import birthdays from sites like Facebook. Here are different ways to add birthdays on iPhone Calendar.
Table of Contents
1. Add Birthdays Using Contacts App
Typically, Apple devices like iPhones and iPads get birthdays from the Contacts app. That is you need to add the birthday in the contact card of the person and it will show in the Apple Calendar.
Let’s check the steps to add birthdays to iPhone Calendar using the Contacts app. For the sake of better understanding, we have divided the steps into three sections: add birthdays in the Contacts app, enable the Birthday calendar in the iPhone Calendar app, and turn on birthday notifications.
Step 1: Add Birthdays to the Contacts App
1. Launch the Apple Contacts app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on the contact whose birthday you want to add. If the person is not in your contact list, you can create a new contact and only add birthday details to it. Or, you can use method 2 shown below.
3. Tap on the Edit button at the top and press the add birthday option on the next screen.
4. Change the birthday date using the calendar at the bottom. You need to swipe up or down on the options to change them. Once you have set the birthday, tap on Done to save the birthday.
Tip: Tap on the birthday text to select an alternate calendar like Chinese, Hebrew, or Islamic.
Note: If the birthday doesn’t seem to be saving, make sure the contact is saved in iCloud and not in any third-party service like Google Calendar.
Step 2: Show Birthdays on iPhone Calendar App
After adding the birthday in the Contacts app, you have to enable the Birthday calendar once in the Apple Calendar app. If you don’t enable it, birthdays will not show up in the iPhone Calendar.
To enable the birthday calendar, follow these steps:
1. Open the Calendar app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on Calendars at the bottom and check the circle next to Birthdays. Press Done.
Now, birthdays will show up on your iPhone Calendar. However, you will not be notified about upcoming birthdays yet. To set up birthday alerts, follow the next step.
Tip: Check out the best calendar apps for iPhone.
Step 3: Setup Upcoming Birthday Notifications on iPhone
1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap on Calendar followed by Default Alert Times.
3. Select Birthdays. Here select the time when you want to be notified about upcoming birthdays. You can choose to be notified on the same day, 1 day before the birthday, 2 days, or even a week. Select the preferred option.
Congratulations! You have successfully added birthdays to the iPhone calendar.
Tip: Check out the best birthday reminder apps for iPhone and Android.
2. Add Birthdays to iPhone Calendar Without Contacts
If someone is not on your contact list, you can still add their birthday to the Calendar app on your iPhone by creating a recurring event. The only drawback is that this method will not show or update the person’s age, which can be seen if the birthday has been added using the Contacts app.
Follow these steps to add birthdays in Apple Calendar without adding as a contact:
1. Launch the Calendar app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on the (+) New Event icon at the top.
3. Here you need to enter the birthday details. In the Title field, add the name of the person whose birthday you are adding. Next, enable the toggle next to All-day.
4. Now, here’s the important part. Tap on Repeat and select Every Year. This is done so that the birthday event isn’t removed after it happens once.
5. If you want to be reminded about the birthday, tap on Alert and select the time when you want the Calendar app to notify you.
6. Finally, tap on Add to create a recurring birthday event.
3. Add Birthdays to iPhone Calendar from Facebook
Facebook doesn’t offer a native option to export birthdays. So you will need to take the help of a Chrome browser on your computer (Mac or Windows) and one of its extensions known as Birthday Calendar Extractor for Facebook.
Don’t worry. We have covered the steps in detail to import Facebook birthdays to iPhone Calendar. We have divided it into two sections.
Step 1. Export Birthdays From Facebook
1. Install Chrome browser on your computer.
2. Next, download and install Birthday Calendar Exporter for Facebook extension in Chrome browser. For that, click on the Add to Chrome button followed by Add extension in the pop-up that shows up.
3. Once the extension has been installed, open Facebook.com in Chrome browser and log in to your Facebook account.
4. Click on the Extensions icon in the top bar of Chrome and select Birthday Calendar Extractor for Facebook from the list.
5. Click on the Start Scan button. Make sure the Facebook website is open when you click on the button.
6. The extension will start looking for the birthday calendar in your Facebook account. It should take some time depending on the number of birthdays. Once it has found all the birthdays, click on Generate and Download. If you don’t see it or you get a pop-up warning, click on the Calendar Generator tab at the bottom and then click on Generate and Download.
7. Save the .ics file on your computer.
Step 2. Add Calendar File to iPhone
1. Now, you need to send this .ics file to your iPhone. You must send it so that it’s received via Apple apps only like Messages or Mail. The best option is to email it to the account that is added to the Mail app on your iPhone.
2. Once you receive the calendar file in an email, tap on it and press the Add button on the next screen.
3. Select the calendar to which you want to add the birthday list. You can also create a new calendar by tapping on Add Calendar at the bottom. Finally, tap on Done.
That’s it. The existing Facebook birthdays will show in the Apple Calendar app. However, please note that these birthdays are not synced to Facebook. That means if you add a new friend on Facebook, his/her birthday will not automatically show on your iPhone Calendar.
Tip: Learn how to import Facebook birthdays to Google Calendar.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How to fix notifications not working on iPhone Calendar?
If you aren’t receiving birthday or any other notification from the Calendar app on your iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Calendar. Enable the toggle next to Allow notifications. Also, check the box next to all types under the Alerts section. Further, tap on Customize notifications and enable the toggle next to preferred services.
2. How to edit or remove birthdays from iPhone Calendar?
To edit or remove any individual birthday, tap on the birthday event in the Calendar. If the event was saved from the Contacts app, the Contacts app will open. Tap on Edit in Contacts at the bottom and tap on the birthday date. Then, change or delete it. Alternatively, if the birthday was added manually as a recurring event, tapping on birthday will open the Event details. Tap on Edit or Delete Event.
Time to Wish
Once you have added birthdays to iPhone Calendar, know how to wish someone by adding a birthday hat to their photo. Also, if you prefer Google Calendar over iPhone Calendar, learn how to add Google Calendar to your iPhone.