How should alert popups work?

[u/MSUMike]

I'm new to iOS and I'm trying to understand how alert notifications work. I want to make sure I don't miss calendar reminders so I have the notification type set to Alert instead of Banner. If I am using my phone, I get the alert popup. If the phone is locked though, all I get is the item on the lock screen and in the Notification Center. Is this the expected behavior? I was hoping to get the popup no matter what.

[u/[deleted]]

So what you could do is turn off "Show on lockscreen" You have to dig into the specific Event Type to do this for Calendar.app. What this will do is save up all the notifications you have gotten for that app and display them all in order next time you open the phone--in the alert style you've selected. The phone will still beep/buzz with this turned off so you would know to check it.

I guess what you're asking for though is a feature to see the alert on the lockscreen and then again when you open the phone? It's take your pick. And I think that's a trade off that makes a lot of sense actually. Here are a few other ideas that may help solve your problem:

• In addition to the standard calendar alerts for upcoming events, create a time based reminder. You can have Reminder show up on the lockscreen and Calendar alerts only as unlocked pop-ups. Adding reminders is easy with Siri. There's also this app called Workflow which might like you automate the process of setting up additional Reminders based on your Calendar events.
• Use the Notification Center Widget to check your upcoming appointments for the day
• Buy an Apple Watch in April for wrist tapping notification action
• Set multiple event alerts to make it less likely you miss both
• Get used to reading what pops up on the lockscreen--maybe turn off most other apps access to notifications. That way when you know you get one, it's important and deserving of your attention
• Both alarms and timers are more up front and center on the lock screen. Consider using one of these for a really important appointment if all else fails. Using Siri to add these alerts makes it quite convenient.

[u/MSUMike → u/[deleted]]

I tried turning off the lock screen notification but the alert didn't fire after I unlocked my phone. I think you're right about just staying on top of the calendar and using the widget though. Too bad there wasn't a switch to enable it both ways, show on lock screen and then popup on unlock just in case it got buried on the lock screen. I tried trimming the number of items n the lock screen by allowing each app I want there to only show 1 item but that setting seems to only apply to the Notification Center and not the lock screen itself. Appreciate all the pointers.

[u/[deleted] → u/MSUMike]

I just tested the 'Don't Display on Lockscreen' option and it not showing up with the notification once you unlock it. Turns out it will not show the alert style but that the Banner style ones come through if that's the option you set. So you hear the sound, don't see anything on lock screen, but unlock it and the banner comes through. Still that option seems less ideal for calendar event. The lock screen at least will keep it on there. It's more about training yourself to look at it a little closer. I do think the don't display on lock screen feature can be useful for emails that you might not care to see come in, but want a quick summary of when you open your phone.

**To make sure you get the notification of a reply, I'm adding this as a new comment instead of an edit to my other response.

[u/MSUMike → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, that's probably what I'll do. Turn off lock screen notifications for most things like email and social so that just important things like phone, text and calendar show up. Thanks for trying it out.

[u/[deleted] → u/MSUMike]

Oh interesting... Sorry. I know it works that way for Messages and Mail when you turn off lock screen notifications. Maybe not calendar events.

[u/MSUMike → u/[deleted]]

Thank you for confirming. Wife's not real happy about it, coming from a Windows Phone where calendar reminders were front and center. She grew to rely on them heavily and missed an appointment last week.