Creating tasks with Siri through Reminders (CalDAV)

Most people no longer need this page. On iPhone and iPad, TaskFire now talks to Siri directly, so there's no account to add. Just make sure Siri is allowed to use TaskFire. See Using Siri with TaskFire for what you can say.

This page covers the older route, where Siri puts a task into Apple Reminders and TaskFire collects it from there. It is still the way to get your TaskFire list into the Reminders app on a Mac, and some people prefer it on iPhone too. It needs a TaskFire Premium account.

Setting up a Mac? Skip ahead to Setting it up on a Mac below.

What you'll need

Your TaskFire email address and password, and the server address siri.taskfireapp.com.

Setting it up on iPhone or iPad

1. Open the Settings app. This is your iPhone's Settings, not TaskFire's.
2. Use the search bar at the top and search for Add CalDAV Account, then tap the result. Searching is the most reliable way to find it, because Apple has moved this menu several times over the years. To navigate by hand it currently sits under Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts > Add Account > Other.
3. Enter:
   • Server: siri.taskfireapp.com
   • User Name: your TaskFire email address
   • Password: your TaskFire password
   • Description: TaskFire
4. Tap Next and let it verify.
5. On the next screen turn Reminders on and Calendar off, then tap Save.
6. Go to Settings > Apps > Reminders and set the Default List to TaskFire. This is what tells Siri where to put new tasks.

Setting it up on a Mac

The TaskFire list you see in the Reminders app on a Mac comes from this CalDAV account, not from the TaskFire app. That's why reinstalling TaskFire doesn't bring the list back if it disappears.

1. Open System Settings, then Internet Accounts.
2. Click Add Account, then Other account, then CalDAV account.
3. Change Account Type to Manual. This step matters. The Automatic option tries to find the server from your email address and can't work here.
4. Enter:
   • User Name: your TaskFire email address
   • Password: your TaskFire password
   • Server Address: siri.taskfireapp.com
5. Click Sign In. Your TaskFire list appears in Reminders.

If a TaskFire entry is already listed under Internet Accounts and isn't working, remove it before adding the new one so you don't end up with two.

Using Siri once it's set up

"Remember to..." works better than "Remind me to...". Both do the job, but the second one makes Siri ask you about scheduling before it saves.

A simple task: "Hey Siri, remember to send the report." This goes into your default list.

Into a particular list: "Hey Siri, remember to call John caret Work." Say the word "caret" out loud and Siri types the ^ symbol. The task lands in your list named Work, which has to already exist in TaskFire.

A quick checklist: "Hey Siri, remember to go shopping colon milk comma bananas comma oranges." That creates a task called "go shopping" with milk, bananas and oranges as checklist items.

The caret and colon tricks are part of TaskFire's task parsing, which also understands dates and priorities as you type. There's a full guide here: Getting Started with Intelligent Task Parsing.

Where the task goes

It lands in Apple Reminders for a moment and TaskFire pulls it across into your Inbox. That usually happens fast enough that you never see it in Reminders at all. Open TaskFire and it syncs.

If it doesn't work

If the account won't verify, or your TaskFire list has vanished from Reminders, check the server address on the account you already have. It needs to read exactly siri.taskfireapp.com.

If it reads siri.todo-cloud.com, that's the older address we used to publish here. It works some of the time and fails the rest. When it fails, your iPhone or Mac says "Unable to verify account name or password", which looks like a password problem but isn't. Your password is fine. Remove that account and add it again with the steps above.

To remove it on an iPhone or iPad, open Settings, search for Mail Accounts, tap the TaskFire account, then tap Delete Account. On a Mac, open System Settings > Internet Accounts, select the TaskFire account, and remove it there. Then follow the setup steps above. Nothing in TaskFire is deleted when you do this. You're only removing the connection between Reminders and TaskFire.

If it still won't connect after that, write to support@appigo.com and we'll look at your account.