Why the app asks you to open it to keep reminders coming
This is the one limit worth understanding, because every medication reminder app on iOS lives inside it — most of them just do not say so.
The 64-notification limit
iOS keeps at most 64 pending notifications per app. Everything beyond that is dropped. An app cannot run in the background to send them itself, so a reminder that is not already queued with iOS does not exist.
How the budget is spent
- Doses nearest in time are queued first, so the next fortnight is always covered before anything further out.
- Doses at the same time for the same person are grouped into one notification — one slot, not five.
- A second reminder is added only for doses within 48 hours.
- Up to three slots are kept for medicines running low on stock.
- The last slot carries a reminder asking you to open the app, timed for when the plan is about to run out.
What refills the plan
The whole plan is rebuilt whenever you open the app, whenever you save a medicine, after you answer a reminder, when the clock or the time zone changes, and whenever iOS grants the app a background refresh. In normal use you will never see the “open the app” reminder — it exists for the phone left in a drawer.
If you see that reminder
Open the app once. That is all it takes; the plan is refilled before you reach the Today screen. Keeping Background App Refresh on for Pill Reminder makes it rarer still.
FAQ
- How far ahead are reminders planned?
- Up to a fortnight, and as far as the 64 slots stretch — someone with two medicines is covered much longer than someone with ten.
- Does this mean reminders stop if I don't open the app?
- Not while the queue lasts, and iOS also refreshes the app in the background. The warning reminder is the backstop for an app that has had neither for weeks.
- Do alarm-style reminders use the same budget?
- They are scheduled separately through the alarm system, but an ordinary notification is queued alongside each one.
Pill Reminder helps you remember your medicines and keep a record of them. It does not give medical advice, suggest doses or check interactions. If you are unsure about a medicine or a dose, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Never miss a dose again
Pill Reminder reminds you at the right time, records the dose from the Lock Screen, looks after the whole family's medicines, and keeps a history you can hand to a doctor — all on your iPhone, with no account.
Download on the App Store