How to set up call reminders on Android and iPhone

Call reminders can save your bacon, especially if you’re prone to forgetting work calls or important anniversaries. They’re easy to set on both iPhone and Android — never again will you be embarrassed by calling hours past due.

How to set up call reminders on Android

There are two natural call reminder options for Android devices — both from Google, of course.

Google Assistant

Google Assistant adds whatever you tell it to your Google Calendar. So after waking it with “Hey Google/OK Google,” just ask it to remind you to call Person X at a specific time, and/or a specific date if it’s not the same day. You’ll get a notification as appropriate.

You can also add a list of all your outstanding reminders to your homescreen, and cancel any you don’t need anymore.

Google Calendar

If you’d rather not talk to a voice assistant, or there’s more information than you can reasonably enter that way, then you can of course manually add a reminder to your Google Calendar. Tap the plus icon to start, followed by Reminder.

Tap the Remind me to… field to enter primary info, such as “Call Roger about the new review work.” For a call, you’ll probably want to toggle off All-day, then choose a date and time. When you’re finished, tap Save.

How to set up call reminders on iPhone

Technically there’s no reason you can’t use the Google-based methods above, since both Google Assistant and Google Calendar have their own iOS apps. That’s a little convoluted, however, unless you absolutely need sync with Google-based devices such as a Nest Hub. In most cases it’s simpler to rely on Apple’s native options, namely Siri and the Reminders app.

Siri

Siri is probably the easiest solution on an iPhone. In fact, adding reminders is one of few things Siri is truly excellent at. Say “Hey Siri” (or in iOS 17, just “Siri”), then “Remind me to call [person] at [date/time].” You’ll get a Reminders pop-up confirming the addition.

Make sure you still have the Reminders app installed, otherwise the request will fail. The app comes pre-installed in iOS, but it’s one you can optionally delete.

Reminders app

Manually adding items to Reminders offers a few advantages, including not just correcting misunderstandings, but options to trigger a reminder when you message someone or arrive at a particular destination. You can add locations to Siri requests, but unless they’re simply labeled places like “Home” or “Work,” it’s better to enter info yourself. However you add location data, you’ll need Location Services enabled.

To add anything to the Reminders app, open it and tap New Reminder at the bottom of the screen. To access date, time, and/or location controls, tap the i (info) button next to your new entry.

Bonus tip — use Slackbot in Slack

If you use Slack for work, one potentially overlooked option is Slackbot. While it serves a variety of purposes, Slackbot can also act as a personal assistant, including reminders.

Simply tell Slackbot what you want to be reminded about, and at what date/time. When that time comes, you’ll get a notification on all the Slack clients you have installed.

Read more: The best reminder apps for Android