Repeating events
Choose Days, Weeks, Months or Years under Repeats, then adjust “Every” to set the interval. For a weekly activity, choose Weeks and Every 1 week. Use No Repeat for a one-off occasion.
Your getting started guide
HowManySleeps
Your first countdown starts here.
Choose something to look forward to. Add a name and a date, then make it feel familiar with colours, icons and reminders.
Kevin’s inspiration for creating HowManySleeps was a wish to make important dates easier to understand for children and adults with special educational needs (SEN). Its countdowns are there for anyone who finds them useful.
HowManySleeps is available free on the UK App Store for iPhone and iPad running iOS or iPadOS 18 or later. No HowManySleeps account is needed.
01 / Start small
One name. One date. Ready.
In HowManySleeps, a task, trip or occasion is called an event. Open the app on your iPhone or iPad and follow along. You don’t need an app account or a PIN to get started.
Step 1 of 4
Tap Add Event
On the main How Many Sleeps screen, tap the + button. If your list is empty, you can also tap Add Event in the middle of the screen.
You’ll see the event editor. Keep the guide open while you try it in the app.
Give it a name and date
Tap Name and type something familiar, such as “Our holiday”. Tap Date and choose when it happens.
For your first countdown, choose a future date and leave Repeats set to No Repeat.
Choose a colour, if you like
Open Colour & Icon, then tap a palette colour or use Custom Colour. You can also choose an optional icon to help recognise the event.
A name and date are all you need. Leave these extra choices as they are if you prefer.
Tap Save
Tap Save to return to your list. Your event now shows how many sleeps remain until the date you chose.
That’s your first countdown. To change it later, swipe left on the event and tap Edit.
These buttons move through the guide. Create the event in the app.
02 / Make it familiar
A few options. Your way.
Find these in Add Event, or swipe left on an existing event and tap Edit. Tap Save when you’re done.
Colours & icons
Use a recognisable colour for each kind of event. Pick from the palette or choose Custom Colour. An Icon is optional; choose None for a simpler look. Change the available palette in Settings.
A tour when you need it
The optional first-launch tour shows Add Event, repeats, a saved countdown and Settings. Choose Not now or Skip tour whenever you like. Replay it from Settings → Help & About → Show Me Around.
A simple first setup
Start with one event, a clear name and a colour you recognise. Add repeats or reminders when they’re useful to you.
04 / Settle in
Find the setting you need.
Tap the gear icon on the main screen to open Settings. Choose a topic below for the exact route.
Change the colour palette
Settings → Colours
In Colour Palettes, use the Palette picker to choose a set of colours. Use Add Palette to create your own. Tap Done to return to Settings, then Done again to return to your events.
Events using a palette colour follow that palette slot when you change palettes. Events with a Custom Colour keep their chosen colour.
Turn on a daily reminder
Settings → Daily Reminders
- Turn on Enable Daily Reminder and allow notifications if asked.
- Choose your Reminder Time.
- Set Look ahead to between 1 and 30 days.
- Choose whether to Include events happening today.
Reminders are daily summaries of events within your look-ahead window. They are not separate alarms for each event, and there may be no summary on days without matching events. Open the app regularly to refresh the schedule.
Summaries are prepared for up to 30 days. If more reminders are needed, a Refresh your event reminders notification asks you to reopen the app when the prepared schedule ends. Notification delivery also depends on your device settings.
If notifications were previously denied, use Open Settings in the app’s notification alert to allow them in your device settings.
Set up a PIN and choose who can change events
Settings → Editing Protection → Set a PIN
You can use Full Editing without a PIN. To limit changes on this device, choose Set a PIN and create and confirm a 4-digit PIN, then choose an editing access mode in Editing Protection.
| Editing access | What the user can do |
|---|---|
| Full Editing | Add, edit and delete events. |
| Add Events Only | Add new events, but cannot edit or delete existing ones. |
| Viewing Only | View events without changing them. |
After choosing a mode, tap Save Editing Access and enter the PIN to confirm. Check the selected mode before handing over the device.
When a PIN is set, Editing Protection shows Change PIN and Turn Off PIN Protection to manage it. If you’ve forgotten the PIN, recover editing access without losing your events.
The PIN controls editing on this device. Events remain visible in the app, widgets, notifications and exported backups.
Keep a backup of your events
Settings → Backups & Your Events
Choose Save a Backup and save the file somewhere private, such as a folder in Files. It contains readable event details, but not your app settings or PIN.
Restore from a Backup replaces your current events, including on synced devices. Save a current backup first if you want to keep those events. Choose the saved file, review the warning and choose Replace Events to continue, or Cancel to leave your events unchanged. Enter your PIN if asked. Wait for Backup restored before returning to the list.
Backups use format 2 and preserve chosen calendar dates across time zones. Each file can contain up to 5,000 events and must be no larger than 5 MB. Older format 1 files are not supported; contact support before changing your data if you need help.
Delete All Events permanently removes events, including on synced devices. It is not needed for normal setup, and it does not delete backup files you saved elsewhere.
Find help and your app version
Settings → Help & About
Use Help with HowManySleeps, Privacy Policy or Email Support for help. Find the installed Version in About HowManySleeps; include it with your device model when asking for support.
If something looks different.
I can’t add, edit or delete an event
Check Settings → Editing Protection. Full Editing allows adding, editing and deleting. Add Events Only allows new events but blocks editing and deleting; Viewing Only blocks all changes. Choose a mode, tap Save Editing Access and enter the PIN to confirm. Forgotten the PIN? Follow the recovery steps below.
I’ve forgotten my PIN. Will I lose my events?
No. PIN recovery keeps all your events. It removes the PIN on this device and restores Full Editing.
Settings → Editing Protection → Change PIN → Forgot PIN?
- Open Settings → Editing Protection and tap Change PIN. You do not need to enter the old PIN to reach recovery.
- Tap Forgot PIN? below the keypad. Scroll down if you cannot see it.
- Verify with Face ID, Touch ID or your device passcode. Successful verification removes this device’s PIN, restores Full Editing and keeps all events.
- In the confirmation alert, choose Set New PIN to protect editing again, or Done to leave the PIN off.
If Set a PIN is the only PIN action shown in Editing Protection, no PIN is set on this device, so there is no PIN to recover. Choose it if you want to set one.
PIN protection controls editing on this device; it does not hide event details in the app, widgets, notifications or exported backups.
My event has disappeared from the list
Tap the up/down arrows beside + and set Show to All. Filtering does not delete events.
Earlier scheduled repeating dates appear in Past and All. Upcoming shows today or the next occurrence for each repeating series. Past repeating cards are read-only; find the series in Upcoming to edit or delete it, if your access level allows it. Read the sort and filter guide, including how history is calculated.
My events are not syncing
Check that both devices use the same Apple Account, iCloud is available for HowManySleeps, and you have an internet connection. Open the app on both devices and allow time for sync.
If an event remains after closing and reopening the app, it has saved locally even if a sync warning appears. For a persistent warning, export a backup and contact support with the exact message and app build.
Save isn’t working
Check that the event has a name and a valid date. Follow any message shown by the app. If editing is restricted, check Settings → Editing Protection.
Where do I add a widget?
Widgets are added from your iPhone or iPad’s Home Screen widget gallery. Look for HowManySleeps, choose a size and add it. They aren’t added from the app’s Settings screen.
If a widget looks out of date, open HowManySleeps and give your device time to refresh it.
Something to look forward to.
Open HowManySleeps and add your first event. You can come back to this guide whenever you need it.