Sync a list with Apple Reminders

Link a Plannie list to an Apple Reminders list and the two stay in sync — add, edit, check off or delete a task on either side and it shows up on the other. Anything that reaches Reminders (Siri, HomePod, Apple Watch, a Mac, a shared iCloud list) reaches Plannie too. The syncing itself happens on an iPhone, so linking, importing and unlinking are done from the Plannie app on iPhone.

Linking a list

Open a list, tap the gear/Customize button, and look for the Apple Reminders section.

• Not synced yet? Tap Sync with Apple Reminders…. The first time, Plannie asks for permission to access Reminders — allow it, or the list of your Reminders can't be shown. Pick an existing Reminders list to link, or tap Create "list name" in Reminders to make a matching one automatically.
• Already synced? The section shows who linked it, when it last synced, and gives you Sync now and Unlink.
• Someone else already synced it? If another family member links the same list from their own iPhone, you'll see a note saying so — the sync only ever runs on their phone, not yours.
• Broken? If the Reminders list was deleted, the section shows Reminders list not found with a Reconnect… button to point the link at a different Reminders list.

On Android and the web, a linked list shows a read-only line naming which family member syncs it from their iPhone — there's nothing to link, unlink or reconnect from those devices, since the sync only ever runs on the linking person's own phone.

Unlinking never deletes anything on either side — it just stops the two lists from talking to each other.

Importing existing Reminders lists

Already have lists in Reminders you'd like to bring into Plannie? On your iPhone, go to Settings → Integrations → Apple Reminders → Import lists from Reminders…. You'll see every Reminders list, grouped by where it lives (iCloud, On My iPhone, …), with how many open items each has. Lists you (or someone else in the family) already sync are shown greyed out with "Already synced."

Tick the lists you want, then set the two choices at the bottom — they apply to everything in this import: whether the new Plannie lists are Shared with the family or Just me, and Keep in sync, which is on by default. Leave it on to keep changes flowing both ways from now on, or turn it off to make this a one-time copy. Tap Import and Plannie creates a matching list for each one you picked, with its open items, then offers to open the first one.

Only a list's open items come across — anything already checked off in Reminders is left behind, since it's history rather than something still to do. A reminder with no title imports as "(untitled)."

The same Apple Reminders section in Settings also shows every list your family currently syncs — the Plannie list, the Reminders list it's paired with, who linked it, and whether that link is Active or Broken.

What syncs, and what doesn't

Plannie keeps a task's title, whether it's done, and its due date in sync with the matching reminder. Headers, notes, dividers, photos and subtasks in a Plannie list never leave Plannie; a reminder's notes, priority, flags, alarms, URL and any sub-reminders never come into Plannie.

When the same task changes on both sides

If you edit a task in Plannie and the matching reminder in Reminders before the next sync, Plannie keeps whichever change was made more recently. A change made on only one side always comes across untouched. Deleting a task on either side deletes it on the other too — nothing comes back from the dead on the next sync.

The badge

Any list that's synced with Apple Reminders shows a small link badge next to its name — in the sidebar and at the top of the list itself — on every device, including Android and the web. If the link has broken, the badge changes to a warning colour. In a browser, hover it to see who's syncing that list; on a phone or tablet the same wording is read out by VoiceOver, and the full picture is in Settings → Integrations → Apple Reminders on the iPhone doing the syncing.

Good to know

• The sync runs on your iPhone while Plannie is open, when you background/foreground the app, right after you make a change, and every so often in the background (iOS decides exactly when — think "within the next hour or so," not instantly). It's not a substitute for opening the app if you need to see a change from Reminders right away — bring Plannie to the foreground and it catches up immediately.
• Each Reminders list can only be synced by one person's iPhone at a time. If two family members both use Reminders' own list-sharing to share a list via iCloud and then each link it to a different Plannie list, you'll be warned before creating the duplicate.
• A device in kiosk mode — a shared family screen — has no Apple Reminders section and no import, since a link belongs to one person rather than the household. Set the device to personal mode, or do it from your own iPhone.

See also: Shopping and custom lists.