Start with what Poppycal is already telling you. Open Settings from your profile picture and find the account under Connected Calendars. The line under the account name, or the button next to it, tells you which part of this article you need.
What the account is showing
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Connected | The connection is working. | Nothing. If an event still looks out of date, choose Sync to pull changes now. |
| "Not updated yet" | You've just connected and the first sync hasn't finished. | Give it a minute. |
| "Syncing is turned off for this calendar." | Someone in your household paused it. Nothing has been deleted. | Choose Resume. |
| "Connection lost. Reconnect to resume." | Poppycal's access stopped working. The permission was removed or expired, or for Apple, the password changed. | Choose Reconnect. See Reconnect an account. |
| "Something went wrong. Please try again." | A sync you started didn't finish. | Wait a minute and choose Sync again. If it keeps happening, reconnect. |
| "Couldn't load your calendars. Try reconnecting." (after choosing Edit) | Poppycal couldn't get the list of calendars on that account. | Reconnect the account. |
"Your calendar has stopped syncing"
If an account fails three times in a row, Poppycal puts a banner across the top of every screen that names it, like "Your Google calendar has stopped syncing." The person who connected that calendar also gets an email with the subject "Your Google calendar stopped syncing". Automatic syncs run every 15 minutes, so by the time you see the banner it's been failing for at least half an hour.
Your existing events are safe while this is showing. What stops is new changes: a two-way calendar stops syncing in either direction, and a view-only one stops bringing in new events. The banner can't be dismissed. It goes away once the account is reconnected, and its Reconnect button takes you straight to Settings.
Reconnect an account
- In Settings, under Connected Calendars, find the account that says "Connection lost. Reconnect to resume."
- Choose Reconnect.
- For Google or Outlook, sign in again and allow access. Use the same account you connected before. Signing in to a different one works, but your calendar choices start over.
- For Apple, the Connect iCloud Calendar form opens with your Apple ID email already filled in. Paste in a new app-specific password and choose Connect iCloud.
Reconnecting keeps the account set to two-way or view only, whichever it was before.
Why Apple needs a new password
When your Apple Account password changes or gets reset, Apple cancels every app-specific password on the account, including the one Poppycal was using. There's no way to bring the old one back, so make a new one: sign in at account.apple.com, open Sign-In and Security, select App-Specific Passwords, then Generate an app-specific password.
It won't connect in the first place
Nothing happens when I choose to connect
Poppycal won't start a connection unless your email is verified and your trial or subscription is active. Look for "Verify your email to unlock calendar sync, family invites, and more." at the top of the screen, and check your plan under Settings.
"Poppycal needs permission to see your calendar. Try again and leave the calendar box ticked."
Google's sign-in didn't finish. Usually that's because a calendar permission was unticked on Google's screen, though Poppycal shows this message for any Google sign-in that fails partway. Try again and leave every box ticked.
"Could not connect to iCloud. Check your Apple ID email and app-specific password."
Apple turned the details down. Check two things:
- The email is the one you sign in to Apple with.
-
The password is the app-specific one, and not your regular Apple Account
password. Those look like
xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx. If you're not sure, make a fresh one and paste it in.
"Too many Apple connection attempts. Try again in a few minutes."
After five tries in 15 minutes, Poppycal makes you wait before you can try again. Use the time to double-check the email and password.
"Couldn't connect Google" or "Couldn't connect Outlook" in the app
You signed in, but the connection didn't complete on the way back. With Google, the usual reason is a permission that was unticked on the sign-in screen. Choose + Google or + Outlook and go through it again, allowing everything it asks for.
A page that just says "Missing authorization code"
That's what you get if you cancel on Google's or Microsoft's sign-in page. Close it, go back to Poppycal, and start the connection again.
A work Outlook account asks for an administrator
Some organizations don't let outside apps reach their calendars without an administrator's approval, and Microsoft will say so on its own sign-in screen. Only your IT department can change that. A personal Microsoft account isn't affected.
Events look wrong
An event is missing
- Choose Edit on the account and make sure the calendar it's on is ticked.
- Poppycal only syncs from 3 months ago to 12 months ahead, so anything outside that range won't show.
- New events can take up to 15 minutes to arrive. Choose Sync to pull them now.
Events from my other calendar are all gray
That's expected. An event from Google, Outlook, or Apple isn't tied to anyone in your family yet. Open it and choose a person under Assign to, and it'll take that person's color.
"This occurrence was edited in Google Calendar. To change it, open it there."
One date in a repeating event was changed in the calendar it came from, so Poppycal leaves that date alone. Make the change in Google Calendar, Outlook, or Apple Calendar, whichever the message names, and it'll sync across.
My Poppycal events turned up on my work calendar
Your work calendar is connected two-way, and two-way calendars get every event made in Poppycal. Choose Edit on that account, then Switch to one-way (view only). When it asks what to do with the events Poppycal already added, choose Remove them.
Events disappeared after I disconnected an account
Disconnecting removes that calendar's events from Poppycal, and that's on purpose. Your own Poppycal events aren't touched. Connect the account again to bring its events back.
Still stuck
Email support@poppycal.com. It helps to say which calendar it is (Google, Outlook, or Apple), what the account shows under Connected Calendars, and roughly when it stopped working.