FAQ

Set CalAlarm Notifications and Sounds:
Settings > Notifications > CalAlarm > Alert Style > Alerts or Banners.
Settings > Notifications > CalAlarm > View in lock screen > ON.
Settings > Notifications > CalAlarm > Sounds > ON.

Set the built-in Calendar Notifications and Sounds:
Settings > Notifications > Calendar > Alert Style > None.
Settings > Notifications > Calendar > View in lock screen > OFF.
Settings > Sounds > Calendar Alerts > None.

Notification Center switch ON or OFF does not influence the performance of CalAlarm.

Why don't upcoming CalAlarm events appear in the Notification Center?

3rd party apps can only show an item in the Notification Center after a local notification has been fired. They also have no influence its visual appearance. The good news is that you can directly Snooze a missed alert by tapping on it in the Notification Center.

Can't add a new event because the calendar can't be found issue.

You get the following error message: Cannot Save Event. No calendar has been set.
This error is caused by an iOS 5 bug, which can be corrected by doing the following:
1. Remove CalAlarm from the background (tap red minus in upper left corner).
2. Go to System Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > scroll down to Default Calendar.
3. Change Default Calendar to another calendar.
4. Reboot your device completely (power cycle it).
5. Restart CalAlarm.

Cannot stop the alarm, it goes on for the full 30 seconds.

Your iOS is unstable and needs to be reinstalled.

Why can I only set 1 alert, when creating or editing an event in Exchange calendars?

This is an iOS 5 issue. Till the iOS fix, it will be possible to add only 1 alert when creating an event in these type of calendars. Multiple alerts is of course still supported for all other calendars.

General

What does CalAlarm - Calendar with Alarm do?

CalAlarm adds a notification with a sound of your choice to all existing calendar alerts. It is built on top of the iPhone calendar database so it sets alarms for all calendar apps that use this database. CalAlarm sets local notifications, which means you can switch to another app or lock your screen and still get alerted.

Can I temporarily switch OFF all CalAlarm alarms?

Tap the settings icon (bottom left) > Calendar Alarms > OFF > Done. The alerts will remain set, CalAlarm will only remove the added notifications and alarms. Switching the button to ON brings back the alarms and notifications.

What happens if I edit events in my built-in iPhone Calendar or CalAlarm?

Both the native iPhone calendar app and the CalAlarm app access the same database that stores all your events from the various calendars. Even iTunes syncs this database with calendars on your Mac/PC. So, when you edit events or alerts from within one of the apps it will reflect these changes in both apps.

Why should I start CalAlarm after editing events in the iPhone calendar, Google Calendar, Exchange, etc.?

CalAlarm can only set sounds and notifications according to the latest changes of the database automatically when it runs in the foreground.

Running actively in the background or waking up by a trigger from the system (iOS) is not allowed by Apple. So please start CalAlarm after making changes to your iPhone Calendar, Google Calendar, Exchange, etc.

Alarms

I don't hear any alarms.

First check your sound settings: try adjusting the volume with volume buttons at the side of your phone. Be sure the phone is not in silent mode (the button above the volume buttons at the side).
Then check if 'Calendar Alarm' is ON. 1st switch in the CalAlarm settings (settings icon bottom left).
Always open CalAlarm after syncing with your desktop computer or after you have entered new events into another calendar. With a non multitask device please wait till the progress bar is ready.
Make sure you saved the Quick Alarms by closing the Quick Alarm box before quitting CalAlarm.
Using iOS 5: Check in Notification Center if the CalAlarm sounds are switched ON. (Settings > Notifications > Calendar > Sounds > ON)

The alarms ring at unpredictable times.

Make sure the application you sync with has the same time zone as your iPhone.

Also set the Calendar Time Zone Support switch to off (Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Time Zone Support).
Or alternatively make sure that your Calendar Time Zone settings are the same as your general Time Zone settings (Settings > General > Date & Time).

The times on the native Calendar and CalAlarm don't match.

Same as previous. Make sure that your Time Zone settings for the native Calendar (Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Time Zone Support) are the same as your general Time Zone settings (Settings > General > Date & Time).

What's the difference between Repeat and Snooze?

The Repeat is automatic. If you do nothing or tap Close, the alarm will repeat every minute. To end the alarm tap Stop Repeat, or activate CalAlarm.

The Snooze only alerts you once. When you tap Snooze it will let you set an alarm again after an interval of your choice.

How do I

Change the tone and duration of the CalAlarm sound?

Tap sound icon (right bottom) > choose sound > set the duration switch to 10 or 30 sec > Done (don't forget this last step)
By Calendar OFF, means that all alarms will sound the same.

Customize sounds by Calendar?

Tap sound icon (right bottom) > By Calendar switch ON > choose calendar> choose sound > choose duration > back to Sound > Done

Import a ringtone sound from iTunes. (iOS 5)

1. Choose the Apps tab in the iTunes menu.
2. Scroll down to File Sharing and select CalAlarm.
3. Add your ringtones to CalAlarm Documents.

Use Music on my device as alert sound. (iOS 5)

Tap sound icon (right bottom) > Edit > "+" > Done. The sound will appear in My CalAlarm Sounds, where you can select it.

Switch OFF the built in iPhone Calendar tone?

From the Home screen choose Settings > Sounds > Calendar Alerts. Set the switch to OFF.

Add events in another year, say 2014?

In month view tap on the triangle (next to today) so that all months are visible. Scroll the months left / right to go to other years. Tap on the "+", the event will be added in that year. You can check this quickly by tapping the triangles again.

Let the week start on Sunday?

CalAlarm settings > Calendars > Week Numbers > set to US

Sync with Google Calendars?

1. Follow Google's setup instructions.
2. Go to CalAlarm settings > Calendars > tap on the checkboxes of the Calendars you want to see.
3.When you start CalAlarm it will automatically sync these calendars.
4. When you make changes in CalAlarm it will update your Google calendar but this can take some time.

Why can't

I configure the 1 minute Repeat?
You display the date on the icon?

Unfortunately at the moment Apple does not give these possibilities to third party apps.

Known issues

Birthdays November + December 1 year difference.

For birthdays in November + December: the age will change on the day of the birthday, instead of in the year of the birthday. Till day of birthday, birthdays show one year off.