How to Fix it When Google Reminders Are Not Working

Is your assistant not reminding you? Get back on track with these fixes

Updated on January 24, 2022

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If your Google Assistant suddenly stops notifying you about your reminders, there could be a few problems preventing the notifications. When notifications for reminders aren't working, you could experience:

No sound or other notifications for reminders that you've set up in the past
An inability to use "OK Google" to set a reminder

Regardless of how the problem presents itself, the result is the same. You can't use Google Reminders to help you keep track of the essential tasks you need to accomplish. Fortunately, you can run through these troubleshooting steps and probably get reminders going again.

How to Fix it When Google Reminders are Not Working

To get your Google Reminders working properly again, work through these troubleshooting steps, one at a time, until you find the solution to your problem.

Make sure Do Not Disturb is not enabled. If you've turned on Samsung's Do Not Disturb mode or maybe snoozed the notifications in other Android 12 devices, that could prevent your phone from showing you the alerts from Google Reminders. Make sure your notifications are enabled and then try to use Google Reminders again.
Make sure you haven't hidden your notifications on the lock screen. If you have, you might be getting notifications for your reminders and just not seeing them. Try unhiding them to see if Google Reminders will begin working again.
Reboot your Android phone. It still holds that sometimes a simple restart is all that's needed to get an application working right again. Turn your phone off, wait about 30 seconds, and then turn it back on again. Doing this could clear out any corrupt data that might be preventing your Reminder notifications from being sent.

If you don't already do it, it's a good idea to get into the habit of restarting your Android phone at least one time per week. This can help clear out any data that could cause issues with your phone and lets you start the week with a clean slate.
Make sure app notifications are enabled. On Android, you can turn off notifications for each app individually. Check to be sure you didn't accidentally turn off notifications or change the permission settings for the Google Reminders app.
Turn off battery optimization. Battery optimization can increase the life of the charge on your battery, but it can also delay or stop notifications as part of that process. Turn off Battery Saver Mode and then try Google Reminders again.
Check to see if your app is running in the background. If you disable the Google Assistant app from running in the background, it might not work correctly for reminders or even setting reminders. This issue goes back to your battery power settings, so as part of investigating your power saver settings, be sure you haven't accidentally prevented Google Apps from running in the background.
Make sure your Google App is up to date. A missing update could be the culprit if your Reminder notifications aren't coming through. Make sure the app is up to date, and then try Google Reminders again.
Clear the app cache data. The app cache data can become large or corrupted over time, which might interfere with your Reminder notifications. Clear the cache data for Google Reminders, and then try using the app again.
Make sure "OK Google" is enabled. "OK Google" or the Google voice assistant is the main component of the Google Reminders app, so if you can't get your reminders to work—especially if you suddenly can't set a reminder by voice—you may have accidentally disabled your voice assistant. Re-enable it and try again.

If something is wrong with your Google Voice assistant and it's still not working after you've made sure it's enabled, you might want to dig deeper into that problem by troubleshooting "OK Google." Chances are, fixing the voice assistant may fix your Reminders problems, too.
If all else fails, factory reset your Android phone. If nothing else seems to be working, a factory reset will set your phone back to factory standards and should get your Reminders app working again. Just be aware that when you reset your phone, you'll lose all data on it, so be sure to perform a full backup of the phone before you begin so you can restore your data from the backup once your phone is working again.

Even if you back up everything on your phone before performing the reset, you may still need to download your apps from the Google Play store to get them back on your device. A backup usually only includes your data like files, pictures, music, and videos.

Causes of When Google Reminders are Not Working

Any number of issues can cause your Google Reminders to stop working. You may have accidentally disabled reminders or turned off "OK Google" capabilities. Or something like a software update or corrupted app may be the culprit.

FAQ

How do I create a new Google Calendar?

Log in to your Google account then visit the Google Calendar website. Select the Plus (+) next to Other Calendars, then select Create new calendar from the pop-up menu.
How do I specify default reminders in Google Calendar?

Open your Google Calendar in a web browser and go to Settings > your calendar > Add a Notification to specify up to five default reminders. In the All-Day Event Notifications section, choose how you want to be alerted to events that occur on specific days without specific times. These default settings affect all events within their respective calendars, but reminders you set up for a specific event will override your default settings.
How do I edit my Google Calendar?

Go to Google Calendar on the web and hover your mouse over the calendar's name in the left sidebar, then select the three-dot icon. Select Settings and sharing to change the settings for your Google Calendar.

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