How to Add, Delete & Sync Calendar Subscriptions

Whether following a favorite sports team or holidays for another country, subscribing to an online calendar is an efficient way to import a series of events at the same time. Once set up on your Apple calendar, these events will automatically update if an event time or location is changed.

Related: How to Create & Add Events to Calendar on the iPhone & iPad

If you want this calendar to appear on all your devices, it’s important to note that a calendar subscription must be set up on your Mac to sync through iCloud. We’ll start by showing you how to add and remove calendars directly on your iPhone, then we’ll cover how to manage calendar subscriptions on Mac. If you'd like to learn more about managing your Calendar app, subscribe to our free Tip of the Day

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How to Add a Calendar to Your iPhone

If you don’t already have the calendar you’d like to add, search the calendar you want and the term "subscribe to calendar" in an internet browser. An example might be: "US holidays subscribe to calendar."

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Once you find a website, you will see a button or link to the public calendar. (The link will likely be a .ics file, the standard format for calendars.)

  1. Tap the link, or in this case, the Subscribe to Calendar button.

    Tap the blue subscribe button
  2. A pop-up window will appear on your screen, asking whether you would like to subscribe to the calendar. Tap OK.

    Tap "OK" to subscribe to calendar
  3. A notice will then appear confirming the calendar has been added. Tap Done to close this window.

    Tap "Done" to confirm calendar subscription

You can then open your iPhone calendar and see the events that have been added. A handy tip: switch your calendar app into the list view or the weekly view to more easily see the added events.

How to Delete a Calendar on Your iPhone

Perhaps your interests have changed, or you’re simply trying to reduce the clutter in your calendar. In either case, we’ll walk you through how to unsubscribe from a calendar on your iPhone:  

  1. Open Settings and select Calendar in the apps section.
  2. From this screen, tap Accounts to open your list of Calendars.

    Tap "Accounts" to open list of calendars
  3. Scroll to Subscribed Calendars and select this. 

    Tap "Subscribed Calendars" button to edit list
  4. Tap the calendar you wish to delete.

    Select the calendar to delete
  5. Tap the Delete Account button at the bottom of the screen. After deleting, all events for this subscribed calendar will be automatically removed from your calendar app.

How to Add a Subscribed Calendar to Your Mac

  1. In Calendar, choose File, then click New Calendar Subscription.
  2. In the Subscribed to field, paste or type the calendar’s web address (usually ending in .ics).
  3. For the Location menu:
    Select iCloud if you wish to sync the subscribed calendar to your other devices.
    Select On my Mac if you only want the new calendar to appear on your computer.

    Set Location field for adding subscribed calendar

Once this is done, your newly subscribed calendar will appear in your Apple Calendar.

How to Delete a Subscribed Calendar from Your Mac

  1. In the Calendar app, right-click the calendar you want to delete.
  2. Click Unsubscribe.

    Tap "Unsubscribe" to remove calendar from Mac
  3. When the pop-up window appears asking you to confirm, click Delete. This will remove the calendar from your Mac and any device calendars synced through iCloud.

Read next: iPhone calendar disappeared? Here's what to do.

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Author Details

Ashleigh Page's picture

Author Details

Ashleigh Page

Ashleigh Page is an Associate Editor for iPhone Life. A longtime Apple enthusiast with a Bachelor's in English and Computer Science and three years of experience writing about tech, Ashleigh has written and tested hundreds of articles about devices and features within Apple's ecosystem. She specializes in iPhone, iPad, AirPods, and Mac content and has authored a 60-page in-depth guide about the Apple Maps app. Based in North Carolina, Ashleigh is often crafting whimsical (and sometimes nonsensical) short stories and hiking when she's not working.