5 Ways to Troubleshoot Undetected Calendar Events

Fix undetected calendar events in TidyCal by checking your calendar integration, reading status, event visibility, and sync settings.

How TidyCal Detects Calendar Events

TidyCal syncs with your connected calendars (Google, Microsoft 365, Apple) to detect existing events and block those time slots from being booked. For an event to block availability, it must meet these conditions:

• The calendar has "Reading enabled" turned on
• The event is marked as Busy (not Free/transparent)
• The event is not cancelled
• You have not declined the event (for external invitations)

TidyCal can detect recurring (repeating) events — daily, weekly, monthly, etc.

📺 Watch the video tutorial on YouTube

5 Ways to Troubleshoot Undetected Events

#1 Check if your calendar account is connected

If you have not completed the integration process, your calendar events cannot be detected.

1. Go to Integrations → Calendars
2. Verify your Google, Microsoft, or Apple account appears in the connected accounts list
3. If not connected, click "Add Google account", "Add Microsoft 365 account", or "Add Apple account" to connect
4. After connecting, enable "Reading enabled" on the calendars you want TidyCal to check
5. Set one calendar as your Primary Calendar
6. Allow a few minutes for the initial sync to complete

#2 Check if your calendar account is properly connected

If your account is connected but no calendars appear below it, the connection needs to be refreshed.

1. Look for a "Please Reconnect" button next to your account — this indicates an authentication failure
2. Click "Please Reconnect" (or disconnect and reconnect the account)
3. Re-authorize TidyCal to access your calendars
4. Once your calendars appear, enable "Reading enabled" on the ones you need
5. Set one as your Primary Calendar

TidyCal sends an email notification when a calendar needs reconnection. Check your spam or junk folder — adding service@tidycal.com to your contacts helps ensure delivery.

#3 Check if your calendar has Reading enabled

If no calendar has "Reading enabled" turned on, TidyCal cannot detect any events on that calendar.

1. Go to Integrations → Calendars
2. For each calendar, check the toggle — it should say "Reading enabled"
3. If it says "Reading disabled", click the toggle to enable it
4. Make sure the event you expect to be blocked is on a calendar that has reading enabled

Important: Your event must be on a calendar that has reading enabled. If you have multiple calendars in the same account, only the ones with reading enabled are synced.

#4 Check the event type and visibility

TidyCal only blocks time for certain types of events:

Tip: If you want to block off a day, create a regular timed event (not an all-day event marked as Free) and set it to Busy. Then wait for auto-sync to pick it up.

#5 Manually sync your calendar

If your calendar changes aren't reflecting in TidyCal, you can trigger a manual sync:

1. Go to Integrations → Calendars
2. Click on the calendar name (must have "Reading enabled")
3. You will see the events list for that calendar
4. Click the Resync button in the upper right

Note: After syncing, allow a few minutes for the process to complete. Avoid triggering multiple syncs in rapid succession.

Additional Troubleshooting

Events on the wrong calendar

• Many accounts have multiple calendars (e.g., "Work", "Personal", "Birthdays")
• Check that your event is on a calendar with "Reading enabled", not a different calendar in the same account
• Click the calendar name in Integrations → Calendars to view which events TidyCal has synced from it

Still not working after trying all steps

• Try disconnecting and reconnecting your calendar account
• Clear your browser cache and try again
• If the issue persists, contact support@tidycal.com — the support team can investigate your specific account

Use the Availability Troubleshooter

If you are logged in and viewing your own booking page, click the Troubleshoot availability button below the calendar to see a diagnostic view of all time slots with reasons why each unavailable slot is blocked (calendar conflict, booking conflict, schedule, notice period, booking limit, or fully booked). See How to Fix Missing Availability for a full guide.

Team booking types note: The troubleshooter checks only the plan owner's calendar events and existing bookings, not each host individually. For team booking types (Collective or Round Robin), the slots shown here may differ from what your public team booking page displays — each team member should also check their own Default Availability, connected calendar, and existing TidyCal bookings. See Simplify Team Scheduling for per-host availability details.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often does TidyCal sync with my calendar?

TidyCal uses automatic syncing via webhooks and periodic polling. Changes usually appear within a few minutes. You can also manually sync once every 24 hours.

Do all-day events block my availability?

Yes. All-day events that are marked as Busy will block availability for the entire day.

Does my Primary Calendar affect event detection?

No. The Primary Calendar setting only determines where new TidyCal bookings are written. Event detection depends on which calendars have "Reading enabled" turned on.

Can I connect calendars from multiple providers at the same time?

Yes. You can connect Google, Microsoft, and Apple calendars simultaneously. TidyCal checks all calendars with reading enabled for conflicts, regardless of provider.

Troubleshooting team booking availability

The steps above cover single-host calendar event detection. For team booking types (Collective or Round Robin), TidyCal checks each host's calendar, Default Availability, existing TidyCal bookings, and the booking type's restrictions individually. If a team slot isn't showing:

• Each team member must have their own TidyCal account with at least one calendar connected (Reading enabled).
• For Collective: every selected host must be free at the same time (intersection).
• For Round Robin: at least one host must be free (union); priority and ties-broken-randomly determine who gets the booking.

See Simplify Team Scheduling, Setup Team Booking Types, and How to Create a Round-Robin Booking Type for full detail.