How to sync Nextcloud calendars with Android

If you and your company use Nextcloud as your on-premises cloud server, you’ve most likely grown dependent upon the many features it delivers. With the inclusion of the mobile app (Android, iOS), you are able to get that cloud-based goodness on the go.

However, one thing you’ve probably noticed is the inability to sync the Nextcloud calendar feature with your default Google calendar on Android. The Nextcloud mobile app doesn’t include a calendar feature–what are you to do?

Fortunately, there’s a way to make this happen. The one caveat is that it requires the sideloading of an app from F-Droid. The good news is that F-Droid is a completely safe app store–it’s also the only app store outside of the Google Play Store that I would ever recommend.

With that said, let’s walk through the steps to get that Nextcloud calendar syncing to your Android device.

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How to install the F-Droid app

You won’t find the F-Droid app on the Google Play Store. Instead, head over to the F-Droid website on your Android web browser and tap Download F-Droid on the main page (Figure A).

Figure A

Once the download completes, you’ll find it in your Downloads folder. Tap that file and then tap Install when prompted (Figure B). 

Figure B

Walk through the various prompts to successfully install F-Droid. How Android will warn you will depend on what version of the platform you are using. 

How to install DAVx

The app that will sync your Nextcloud Calendar to the Google Calendar app is called DAVx. Open the F-Droid app, tap the search button and search for DAVx (Figure C).

Figure C

From the DAVx page, tap Install (Figure D).

Figure D

You will be prompted to allow the installation of apps from within F-Droid. Tap the On/Off slider until it’s in the On position and then tap the back button (Figure E). When prompted, tap Install and the installation will complete.

Figure E

How to add a calendar

After the installation completes, open DAVx from your Android App Drawer. You’ll be informed that battery optimization will prevent the app from syncing. To get around this, tap Turn Off For DAVx and then tap Allow (Figure F).

Figure F

From the DAVx main window, tap the + button (Figure G).

Figure G

In the resulting window, tap Login With URL And Username (Figure H). 

Figure H

Fill out the Base URL with the Nextcloud address like so:

http://SERVER/nextcloud/remote.php/dav​

Where SERVER is the IP address of your Nextcloud server. Add your Nextcloud username and password and then tap Login. Once the authentication process succeeds, name the account and then give DAVx access to your calendar (Figure I). 

Figure I

Next, tap Allow and you’ll then be presented with the CALDAV tab, where you can select which Nextcloud calendars you want to sync to your Google Calendar app (Figure J).

Figure J

Once you’ve selected the calendar, tap the Sync button and your Nextcloud calendar will start syncing with your Google Calendar app. 

It’s a bit of a drawn out process, but if you depend on your Nextcloud calendar, this is the way to go.

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