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Reminders - cannot create a subtask

I am unable to make a task a subtask of another using Reminders on both iPhone as well as on my Mac. Both are connected to iCloud and only icloud and tasks are syncing between the devices properly.


On the Mac (10.15.4), if I right-click on a task, the "Indent Reminder" and "Outdent Reminder" are greyed out. Dragging one task on top of another does nothing.


On my iPhone (IOS 13.4.1) swiping right on a task does nothing at all, so there's no option to indent/subtask. Dragging one task on top of another does nothing.


I don't see any way to accomplish this with the web UI, not that it would be an acceptable workaround in the long run.


I see no settings on any device that I can change that would correct this behavior. How can this functionality be enabled?

Mac mini, macOS 10.15

Posted on Apr 22, 2020 10:52 AM

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Posted on Apr 25, 2020 8:19 AM

...and the fix is hitting the "upgrade" button I had been ignoring and following the prompts. I mis-read the upgrade information to mean that I needed to upgrade IOS on my other devices to access the data, not the reminders data itself. It is all working properly now.

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5 replies

Apr 23, 2020 5:19 PM in response to Mark Tucker1

Hello, Mark Tucker1.


I understand that you are unable to create subtasks in Apple Reminders. I’m glad to look at this with you.


I have the same iOS and macOS installed as you, and I was able to create subtasks without issue. I did find it easier, personally, to use the Information button (I in a circle) than I did with swiping.


My advice to you would be first to try creating a brand new reminder and see if the functionality works with it. If it does, you may need to recreate existing reminders. Failing this, I would go ahead and delete the app and reinstall it.


Remove built-in Apple apps from the Home screen on your iOS 10 device or Apple Watch


Redownload apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books


The Apple Support article, If an app unexpectedly quits, stops responding, or won’t open, has a great way to delete an app and add it back quite quickly.


iPhone, iPad, iPod touch: Open the Settings app. Tap General, then tap iPhone Storage (or iPad Storage). Tap the affected app, then tap Offload app. Tap Offload app again. Wait a moment for the app to offload, then tap Reinstall App.


Further down the line, I might look at restoring your iPhone, but I don't think we’re there yet.


I hope this helps!


Be Well.

Apr 25, 2020 5:43 AM in response to sterling r

I have the same iOS and macOS installed as you, and I was able to create subtasks without issue.

My work laptop, also on the same version of MacOS, the Reminders app works fine but that is with a different icloud account.

I did find it easier, personally, to use the Information button (I in a circle) than I did with swiping.

When I tap on the information button, there is no option to "subtasks" option at all.

My advice to you would be first to try creating a brand new reminder and see if the functionality works with it. If it does, you may need to recreate existing reminders. Failing this, I would go ahead and delete the app and reinstall it.

I have tried creating a new reminder and new lists several times, on both IOS and MacOS without any improvement. I Removed the reminders app from my iphone, disconnected the other reminders apps from icloud, and then restored the app. No change. I created a new list and new reminders and still do not have the option of indenting/subtask.

Further down the line, I might look at restoring your iPhone, but I don't think we’re there yet.

This is a brand new phone just over a week old - I'm extremely reluctant to consider restoring my phone. Also, the fact that this behavior is also present on my Mac desktop seems to indicate that the problem exists with my iCloud account

I hope this helps!

Unfortunately, it hasn't yet, but I do appreciate the assistance. Is there anything else that can be done to enable the subtask functionality?

Apr 25, 2020 6:20 AM in response to Mark Tucker1

Since I've confirmed that the Reminders app works correctly on my work laptop (with my work iCloud account), I created a non-work account on that machine and connected that account with my personal iCloud account, the same one I'm using on my iPhone and desktop. The problem with being unable to create subtasks was also present on the laptop with that account (but not with the work account). Considering that application itself works fine on the same laptop, this seems to confirm the idea that this is a problem with something in iCloud, not the application.

Reminders - cannot create a subtask

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