Android notifications have continuously become more useful over the years, never more so than in Android 12, but one of the most useful features may be one that most users aren’t aware of. Or simply don’t know how to use it, as it isn’t the most intuitive feature. Namely, that’s the ability to create and set a reminder or Calendar event directly from an Android notification.
The feature, as might be expected, is most useful in that it allows those to be set with some details prefilled. Such as the date and time. So, summarily, without users having to remember all of the details of the event prior to entering them. Or, without forcing users to find another way around that. For instance, by jumping back and forth between the Calendar app and messaging app in the Recent Apps view.
All users need to do is to set a title for the reminder or event. And, of course, to set fine details such as repetition and ringtone. The feature enters the most important aspects automatically.
So, if that sounds like a feature that would benefit you, you’ve come to the right place. Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at how to use notifications to set a reminder or calendar event in the Android operating system.
Here’s how to set a reminder from an Android notification even when it doesn’t work as the system intends
Now, it’s important to note, right from the start, that this feature relies on the receipt of notifications containing a date and time. And, as noted later on, doesn’t appear to work for every app either. Our example uses Google’s Messages app for SMS. Summarily, it isn’t going to be appearing for everybody all of the time.
Instead, it will appear for conversations in which both a date and time have appeared. Such as for a discussion about making plans. Or about setting appointments.
Conversely, it also doesn’t appear to work every time either. Or at least it doesn’t always work as intended, as is sometimes the case with any “how-to” process. But we’ll also be covering that momentarily As well as a way to bypass the issue so that you can still set a reminder or event directly from your notification pane on Android, without having to remember all of the pertinent details.
- When the appropriate chat notification overlay appears — or conversely, in the notification shade — tap on the box-shaped icon with the down-right-facing arrow. The chat will open up in a chat bubble
- Now, in this step, for the messaging app used a small, button-shaped chip should appear near the bottom of the bubble UI. The oval-shaped chip should come with a label that reads “Create event,” indicating its intended use for saving an event directly from the message. In our case, the chip disappeared when we tapped the screen to move to select the chip. And then we couldn’t get it to reappear again. Instead, a chip to “Attach recent photo” appeared in its place. That’s specifically on a Google Pixel 5 handset running Android 12. So, ultimately, this could be hit and miss for some users. But there is still a way to schedule it directly from messages without using that chip, thankfully. So if you do see the chip, go ahead and use it. Then skip ahead to step six, as the steps from that point will be the same regardless of how the scheduling is initiated. If it doesn’t appear for you, we’ll be following some extra steps here to showcase how you can schedule an event even when that chip doesn’t appear. Although this doesn’t work, as we discovered, in all apps. Specifically, it didn’t work for Telegram or Twitter Direct Messages.
- Tap on the message, containing the date and time information
- Select the three-dot overflow menu, as shown in our sample images
- Select the “Schedule” option
- Google Calendar will open by default, showing the date selected and the time
- Enter an event title, adjust any other parameters such as how you’ll be notified and the notification ringtone, and tap the “Save” button at the top-right hand side of the UI. The Calendar event has now been saved directly from your messaging app
2021-11-17 15:07:34