Your iPhone can show every Canvas due date right in the Calendar app, next to your classes and plans. It takes about two minutes, and you only do it once.
Step 1: Copy your Canvas Calendar Feed link
The Canvas phone app doesn't show this link, so use a browser.
- Open your school's Canvas site in Safari or on a computer and log in.
- Tap or click Calendar.
- At the bottom right, click Calendar Feed and copy the link. It ends in
.ics.
Stuck? Here's where to find your Canvas Calendar Feed link.
Step 2: Subscribe on your iPhone
- Open Settings.
- Go to Calendar (on newer iOS: Apps > Calendar), then Calendar Accounts or Accounts.
- Tap Add Account > Other > Add Subscribed Calendar.
- Paste your Canvas link in Server and tap Next, then Save.
Open the Calendar app and you'll see your assignments. Tap Calendars at the bottom to give the Canvas calendar its own color.
Faster: subscribe on a Mac
If you use a Mac with the same Apple Account, open Calendar, choose File > New Calendar Subscription, paste the link and set Location to iCloud. Set Auto-refresh to every 15 minutes or every hour. Because it lives in iCloud, it shows up on your iPhone and iPad too.
How often does it update?
A calendar subscribed directly on the iPhone updates when your phone fetches new data. You can check this under Settings > Calendar > Accounts > Fetch New Data. The iCloud route from a Mac lets you pick the refresh rate, which is usually faster and more reliable.
Want reminders too?
Subscribed calendars are read-only, so you can't add alerts to each assignment, and you can't check anything off. Three ways around it:
- Default alerts: some setups let you set default alerts for all-day or timed events in Settings > Calendar > Default Alert Times. These don't always apply to subscribed calendars.
- Canvas notifications: turn on due date reminders in the Canvas Student app. They tell you about changes more than upcoming due dates.
- A to-do app that reads Canvas: lum9a uses the same link, turns each assignment into a checkable task, and sends alerts before things are due. On iPhone, add lum9a to your Home Screen to get alerts.
Common problems
"Unable to verify account" or nothing appears: make sure you pasted the full link, starting with https://. If it still fails, try changing the start to webcal://.
Old assignments still showing: the feed includes past items. Hide the calendar for past weeks, or use a to-do list that clears finished work.
Missing an assignment: it may have no due date in Canvas. See why Canvas leaves assignments out.