Why Your Reminder Marks Itself Incomplete
Reminder unchecks itself is a recurring sub-reminder bug where completing a child task gets reverted on the next iCloud sync, fixed by flattening the structure or using a workaround app.
If you've watched a reminder un-check itself five seconds after you marked it done, you're not crazy. This is a real bug in Apple Reminders that has been documented since iOS 17 and persists, partially, into iOS 26 and macOS 26 as of May 2026. It mostly hits recurring sub-reminders, sometimes hits shared list sub-reminders, and occasionally hits standalone recurring tasks. The fix is rarely "wait for Apple to ship a patch", because they have shipped several patches and it's still around. The real fix is structural.
This piece walks through what's happening, the quick fixes you can try in three minutes, the deeper structural changes if those don't work, and where to escalate when nothing helps.
What's happening
Apple Reminders treats sub-reminders (the indented children under a parent task) as second-class objects. They sync independently of the parent. They have their own completion state. When the parent reminder is recurring, the system is supposed to roll the parent forward to the next occurrence and reset the children. In practice, the rollforward sometimes also overwrites your manual completion of a child, which appears to you as "I just checked this and now it's unchecked".
The mechanism is: you check the sub-reminder on your Mac. The completion state writes to iCloud. iCloud propagates to your iPhone. Meanwhile, a separate process on your iPhone is regenerating the recurring parent's children, and it generates fresh, unchecked children that overwrite the just-checked one on the next sync. You see the un-check.
This is not a setting you can toggle off. It's a race condition between two sync paths.
The bug surfaces most often when:
- A parent reminder is recurring (daily, weekly, monthly).
- The parent has 2-5 sub-reminders that are checked over the course of the day.
- The user is on multiple devices simultaneously (Mac + iPhone + iPad).
- iCloud sync is healthy enough to propagate fast (paradoxically, the bug is worse when sync is fast).
"Honestly, the recurring sub-reminders just reset themselves. I gave up after the third time it happened mid-quarter."
- paraphrased from r/macapps, March 2026
For broader context on the recurring bug landscape, the dedicated guide covers how to set up recurring rules that don't break.
Quick fixes
These are the things to try first, in order. Most cases get resolved with one of these.
Fix 1: Sign out and back into iCloud on all devices
System Settings -> Apple ID -> iCloud -> sign out -> sign back in. Do it on every device you use Reminders on. This forces a full resync and clears any stale sub-reminder state.
Takes about 5 minutes total. Resolves the issue maybe 30% of the time.
Fix 2: Check the recurring rule on the parent
Open the parent reminder. Tap the date. Confirm the recurrence is what you intended. If it's set to "Repeat: Daily" and you only meant for the parent to recur but not regenerate children, change it. There's no separate setting for "recur but don't reset children", which is part of the bug, but checking the rule sometimes reveals that you set up a more aggressive recurrence than you remember.
Fix 3: Force-restart the Reminders app on all devices
iPhone: swipe up and away on the Reminders card. Mac: Cmd+Q in Reminders. Wait 10 seconds. Reopen. Check the sub-reminder again.
This clears any in-memory race state. About 20% of cases resolve here.
Fix 4: Toggle Reminders sync off and back on
System Settings -> Apple ID -> iCloud -> Show All -> Reminders -> toggle off. Wait 30 seconds. Toggle back on.
Forces a clean sync handshake. About 25% of cases resolve.
Fix 5: Update macOS and iOS to the latest point release
Apple has shipped fixes in iOS 18.1, 18.2, 18.4, 26.0, and 26.1 that touched this bug. As of May 2026 the latest point release usually has the fewest sub-reminder issues. Check Software Update and install if you're behind.
Fix 6: Move the sub-reminders to be standalone tasks
This isn't a fix, it's a structural workaround, and it's the one that actually works. More on this below.
Deep fixes
When the quick fixes don't help, the bug is structural, not a sync hiccup. Here are the deeper paths.
Fix 1: Flatten your sub-reminder structure
Stop using sub-reminders for recurring tasks. Apple Reminders' subtask implementation is fragile (one level deep, no recurring child support, race conditions). Instead, use sections.
Inside your recurring list, hit Cmd+T to create a section. Name it "Daily". Put your recurring tasks at the top level inside that section instead of as children of a parent reminder.
You lose the visual nesting, you keep the grouping, and the bug goes away. This is the workaround most power users have settled on.
For more on the subtasks problem space and why Apple's implementation has been frustrating power users for years, the dedicated piece is worth reading.
Fix 2: Use templates for recurring routines instead of recurring parents
Apple Reminders supports templates as of iOS 17. A template is a saved list structure you can re-instantiate.
Build your routine as a template (Mac: File menu -> Save as Template; iPhone: list options -> Save as Template). Each morning, generate a fresh list from the template. The new list has no recurring rules, so no race conditions. You manually generate it, which is friction, but it's reliable.
This is the path therapists, caregivers, and anyone with a strict daily checklist tend to use.
Fix 3: Use a third-party app that handles recurring sub-reminders properly
Several apps in the EventKit ecosystem implement their own recurring logic on top of Apple Reminders, sidestepping the native bug. GoodTask is one. Ultra Reminders is another. Both let you define proper recurring patterns including hourly and "every Nth day" that Apple does not support natively, and both manage child task state in a way that avoids the un-check race.
Ultra Reminders specifically flattens the sub-reminder model into its own multi-level subtask system, then writes back to Reminders in a way that does not trigger the iCloud regenerate path. The 14-day free trial covers the test window if you want to verify it fixes your case.
Fix 4: Avoid simultaneous device editing
If the bug only hits when you're actively editing on Mac and iPhone within seconds of each other, the workaround is to commit to one device per session. Open Reminders on Mac. Make your edits. Wait 60 seconds for sync to settle. Then open on iPhone if needed.
Annoying but reliable.
Fix 5: File Feedback Assistant report with your sample
Apple does respond to Feedback Assistant reports, especially well-documented ones. Open Feedback Assistant (it's a built-in app on Mac and iPhone), file a report with screenshots showing the un-check happening, list your devices and OS versions, and reference the bug ID FB13284619 if you can (which is one of the known submissions for this bug).
Don't expect a quick fix. Do expect the issue to make it onto the team's radar.
When nothing works
When all of the above has been tried and the bug persists, the realistic options are:
Switch your recurring sub-reminder workflow entirely off Apple Reminders. Use a standalone app like Ultra Reminders, GoodTask, or Things 3 for recurring tasks specifically. Keep Apple Reminders for one-off captures and shared lists.
Replace the recurring sub-reminder pattern with a daily template. Manual instantiation each morning. More friction, zero bugs.
File Feedback Assistant report and accept the bug for now. If you only hit it occasionally and the workaround is a re-check, this is the lowest-effort path.
Check the reminders reset today bug guide which covers a related but distinct bug where the parent itself resets to today instead of advancing to the next scheduled date. Different bug, similar root cause, partially overlapping fixes.
Read the broader apple reminders limitations write-up which catalogs the things Apple Reminders doesn't do well, including this one. Sometimes seeing the full list reframes whether to keep investing in workarounds or move to a different tool.
"I switched my morning routine from sub-reminders to a Shortcut that builds a fresh list each day. Bug gone forever. Took me an hour to set up. Should have done it a year ago."
- paraphrased from r/macapps, February 2026
"Filed a Feedback Assistant ticket about the unchecking bug in 2023. Still open. Apple acknowledged it but it has never been a priority for them."
- quoted from a Hacker News thread, January 2026
FAQ
Q: Does this bug affect all sub-reminders or just recurring ones?
A: Mostly recurring ones, especially when the parent has 2+ children. Standalone (non-recurring) sub-reminders are usually stable. If you're seeing it on non-recurring sub-reminders, double-check that the parent reminder is truly not set to repeat.
Q: Will Apple fix this in a future iOS update?
A: Possibly. They've shipped several partial fixes since 2023, none have fully resolved the issue. As of May 2026 it's still present in macOS 26.1. Don't structure your workflow around the assumption it'll be fixed soon.
Q: Is the bug worse on shared lists?
A: Yes, somewhat. Shared lists involve a third sync path (the other person's iCloud account) and the race conditions multiply. If you're hitting the bug on a shared family list, restructuring to flat sections (no sub-reminders) is the most reliable fix.
Q: Does Apple Intelligence change anything about this bug?
A: No. Apple Intelligence does not touch the sub-reminder sync path. The bug exists at the EventKit/CloudKit layer, below Apple Intelligence.
Q: Can I see which version of Reminders I'm running?
A: There's no public version number for Reminders. It's part of the OS bundle. The Reminders version is effectively the macOS or iOS version. Check Software Update for your current OS version, which determines which Reminders fixes you have.
Ultra Reminders solves completed tasks that actually stay completed. Free 14-day trial at ultrareminders.com.