How to remember friends' birthdays on iPhone
Set up birthday reminders on iPhone with Contacts and Calendar, get an alert days before instead of on the day, and turn the reminder into a real message.
Tiewell shows birthdays on your Today list in the days before (the year is optional), next to what you last talked about, and can make a shareable birthday card.
1. Add birthdays in Contacts
Open Contacts, pick the person, tap Edit, then add birthday. If you don't know the year you can leave it out. Birthdays added here appear across your iPhone.
2. Check the Birthdays calendar is on
In the Calendar app, tap Calendars and make sure Birthdays is ticked. Every birthday from Contacts shows up there by itself.
3. Choose when you're alerted
The default alert can come on the day itself, which is often too late to plan anything. Set the Birthdays alert to a day or a week before, so you have time to post a card, plan a call or think of what to say.
4. Make the message about them
A birthday message lands better when it mentions something real: their new job, the race they trained for, the trip they're planning. Keep a line of notes about each person and the message writes itself.
Questions people ask
Why don't birthdays show in my iPhone calendar?
Check that the birthday is saved on the person's contact card and that the Birthdays calendar is ticked under Calendars in the Calendar app.
Can I get a birthday reminder a week before on iPhone?
Yes. In Calendar's settings, under Default Alert Times, set Birthdays to one week before.
Two minutes a morning
Add the people you'd hate to lose, choose how often for each, and Tiewell shows who's due each morning. You write the message yourself. On iPhone.