missing features : Calendar search, Exchange server search, Contact birthdays - Sony Xperia P, U, Sola, Go

WTF.
Having owned dozens of android phones - mostly HTC, I have never had issues with missing features.
Now sony come along, and you can no longer search your calendar, mail on exchange server, nor can contacts have birthdays.
Premium phone - i dont think so,

That's because Sony left the default Google apps mostly untouched, makes it easier to update.
HTC uses the sense overlay, they heavily modified their junk.

Yea...
Two different company's, two different overlays.
for your searching....there's an app for that!...well..several actually .

Most of my contacts have birthdays listed because they are picked up from facebook and dump them straight into your calendar. Can't say i have had too add any others.

surfnsnack said:
WTF.
Having owned dozens of android phones - mostly HTC, I have never had issues with missing features.
Now sony come along, and you can no longer search your calendar, mail on exchange server, nor can contacts have birthdays.
Premium phone - i dont think so,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's true, very lame. What apps you suggest to better calendar & contacts. There must be thousands of them. I already bought enhanged email for exchange.
edit: One more major shortness found, no separate media volume control for speaker and loudspeaker!

Related

Exchange pictures not syncing?

I have syncd with exchange ("corporate') but the thumbnail pictures have not syncd. anyone know why / have or have not got a similar issue?
Same here. Syncing to Exchange 2010, but I get none of my contact photos.
Ed
I'm using Touchdown, no issues with pictures downloading for contacts from Exchange... Must be a native Exchange client issue.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
i'm having the same problem with contact thumbnails from my Exchange contacts as well. no issues with my other Android devices, only the Atrix4G. it must be a MotoBlah issue...
Ditto and very disappointing.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
this is not a solution for the contact pic sync issue, it's more an option. i stumbled across an app called Enhanced Email 1.16.2 that allows you to sync multiple exchange accounts, integrates into the stock calendar and contacts apps and it also synced my contact pics as well. the app also uses the volume key to increase/decrease font size in the emails. i had to shell out $10 bucks, but that investment is making my Atrix experience a little better and the contact pic sync issue is behind me. other features of the email app i like: it gives you the option to use the Exchange Pin. i said no and am using pattern lock instead.
EDIT: i did notice a (minor to me) bug; not all of my contacts birthdays were synced.
cortez.i said:
i stumbled across an app called Enhanced Email 1.16.2 that allows you to sync multiple exchange accounts
Fantastic tip. It was well worth the $10. It's kind of ironic my old hacked up HTC HD2 with WinMo wiped and Android running off the SD card had better email than the Atrix.
I'm looking forward to an update that improves email and fixes the slow internet speeds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
umm, idk about you guys, but i have two exchange accounts synced off the stock rom.
my bigger issue is the lack of pictures.
cortez.i said:
this is not a solution for the contact pic sync issue, it's more an option. i stumbled across an app called Enhanced Email 1.16.2 that allows you to sync multiple exchange accounts, integrates into the stock calendar and contacts apps and it also synced my contact pics as well. the app also uses the volume key to increase/decrease font size in the emails. i had to shell out $10 bucks, but that investment is making my Atrix experience a little better and the contact pic sync issue is behind me. other features of the email app i like: it gives you the option to use the Exchange Pin. i said no and am using pattern lock instead.
EDIT: i did notice a (minor to me) bug; not all of my contacts birthdays were synced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you post the URL for where I can find this. thanks
BTW anyone know how I can reverse black and white in emails? I dont like white on black (Sense is black on white which I find easier to read)
theknub said:
umm, idk about you guys, but i have two exchange accounts synced off the stock rom.
my bigger issue is the lack of pictures.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep. knew this as well. 2 things i miss with the stock email app (compared to the HTC Sense email app) is the ability to increase font size in email and the "hack" to disable the Exchange Pin requirements. and then there's the picture issue.
ekerbuddyeker said:
can you post the URL for where I can find this. thanks
....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can find the app in the Market.
I am having problems with the pictures not syncing too. We are also on Exchange 2010. Is everyone else using 2010, or are all versions of Exchange having problems. I only ask because when I decided to check the Motoblur info it only mentioned supporting Exchange 2003 and 2007, which I thought was odd.
This is also my first Motorola (in a long while), but after doing some quick research via Google, I see a lot of people complaining about the same thing from as much as a year ago on other Moto phones. Despite being nice hardware, I'm really irritated with the Motorola "experience" after coming off of my Captivate on Cognition.
Del_Usion said:
I am having problems with the pictures not syncing too. We are also on Exchange 2010. Is everyone else using 2010, or are all versions of Exchange having problems. I only ask because when I decided to check the Motoblur info it only mentioned supporting Exchange 2003 and 2007, which I thought was odd.
This is also my first Motorola (in a long while), but after doing some quick research via Google, I see a lot of people complaining about the same thing from as much as a year ago on other Moto phones. Despite being nice hardware, I'm really irritated with the Motorola "experience" after coming off of my Captivate on Cognition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the problem of contact pictures not being synchronized affects Motoblur talking to Exchange 2007 servers (like mine) as well.
I heartily second the disappointment in the email. For Exchange users Motoblur is a FAR WORSE experience than directly syncing with Android's built in utilities. I really miss the email on my Captivate... but that is the only thing I miss.
acabtp said:
No, the problem of contact pictures not being synchronized affects Motoblur talking to Exchange 2007 servers (like mine) as well.
I heartily second the disappointment in the email. For Exchange users Motoblur is a FAR WORSE experience than directly syncing with Android's built in utilities. I really miss the email on my Captivate... but that is the only thing I miss.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You miss Exchange on Captivate? - I can't imagine why -
I couldn't see my read messages, I couldn't edit appointments i created, I could not mark messages as read in bulk. Worst of all was the lag - even with Voodoo lagfix if i attempted to delete 5 messages it took forever. No GAL access or it was for email address only. No subfolder sync support either. So the Atrix is missing picture sync, that i can deal with. I can't search the server, but again, a minor issue for me.
Del_Usion said:
I am having problems with the pictures not syncing too. We are also on Exchange 2010. Is everyone else using 2010, or are all versions of Exchange having problems. I only ask because when I decided to check the Motoblur info it only mentioned supporting Exchange 2003 and 2007, which I thought was odd.
This is also my first Motorola (in a long while), but after doing some quick research via Google, I see a lot of people complaining about the same thing from as much as a year ago on other Moto phones. Despite being nice hardware, I'm really irritated with the Motorola "experience" after coming off of my Captivate on Cognition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue occurs with Microsoft Exchange 2003 as well. I am facing this. It was working fine with my older phone the HTC Desire Z.
sekhar_777 said:
The issue occurs with Microsoft Exchange 2003 as well. I am facing this. It was working fine with my older phone the HTC Desire Z.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the reading that I did a few weeks back, it's a long-standing issue with the MotoBlur Exchange synchronization. HTC's Exchange synchronization does contact pictures, Motorola's doesn't.
We are using Exchange 2008 and my contact pictures also do not sync. This is a Huge thing for me.
Updated to 87, but no change in this feature. I was hoping this was a small thing that would be included when moving to 2.2.2. Looks like have to hold out hope until 2.3....
so I downloaded ENHANCED EMAIL, which IMHO has a better email handling program , but uses all the other stock programs for Contacts, Diary etc. it DOES SYNC pictures!
You need to remove your blur exchange account otherewise you get duplicates.
Enhanced email is easier to read, faster and just better IMHO
Hello, the Atrix has just been released in France and I'm fcacing the same problems : not possible to sync in Motoblur my contacts and Pictures of contacts.
Another big trouble, I'm not able to sort the contacts by Last Name/First Name : only First Name/Last Name.
It's a pitty as many other smartphones propose that (Samsung Galaxy S2,...)
BR
ludovic.audoin said:
Hello, the Atrix has just been released in France and I'm fcacing the same problems : not possible to sync in Motoblur my contacts and Pictures of contacts.
Another big trouble, I'm not able to sort the contacts by Last Name/First Name : only First Name/Last Name.
It's a pitty as many other smartphones propose that (Samsung Galaxy S2,...)
BR
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have got the picture issue. it's very annyoing!
we're using exchange server 2010
about last name / first name: i've been looking around forums but it seems to be not possible with this version of motoblur. i installed go contacts which can sort contacts by last name.

[Q] Calender & Mail Help!!!

Hey Guys
Just joined the android bunch when the wife got me a new Xperia X10 for my b'day/anniversary. Its awesome and i'am loving every bit of it especially the personalization part of it.
However coming from the iPhone I have a few queries and would be great if someone could help me with it. Have searched the forums and haven't really got any useful info of it (mind you i could have terrible searching skill, btw did anyone see my keys??)
I have two mail id's like most people. One is my personal gmail id and the other is my corporate mail id. I have configured them both onto my phone and I'am indeed recieving all mails without a glitch. Unfortunately I don't have an option of sorts to configure my office calendar to sync with the native app. The calendar option does not exist for the second mail option(The option to sync my personal gmail calendar exists and is working fine).
However while using the iphone3g previously I was able to simultaneously use both the calendars (gmail & corporate) and an update on either of the two calendars from my desktop would show on the calendar.
Question1
Is it possible to have a similar system on the android as well. The backend for my corporate mail is provided by gmail and so is the calendar and everything in it. Someone suggested elsewhere that i could share the calendar to my personal mail and i could use it that way. Unfortunately it not enabled for me and the only option for sharing lets my personal account to see if I'm free or engaged at any time. This would be of very limited use to me.
Question 2
Whenever i receive a mail with a calendar invite on the corporate id, the mail appears empty with a small attachment. Using the preview option on the mail app displays text based data that pretty much random stuff overlaid on the meeting name etc(i guess this is the program info or something). Is there anyway if and when i receive an invite i would be able to add them to my calendar or refuse it right-away etc..
These two queries are the biggest of my worries as of now on the otherwise enjoyable experience. I'm terrible sorry for the long post but thought I'd give as much info as possible.
Thanks for your time and help!!
Cheers!!
PS: Some background info, Phone: Xperia X10i, Firmware 2.1-Update1(India), unrooted, baseband 2.1.54. If there is any other app that would help me do the same(Paid or Free), it would be awesome.
Hi there,
I use my phone in a similar way, I have 4 accounts in my gmail app. 3 corporate and 1 personal. If I can remember back to 2.1 (eclair) you can only have 1 gmail account in that app. Then you have to use the mail app for up to 5 more (not sure about moxier mail, I never used it).
Basically what your best doing is rooting the phone to get it up to 2.2 (froyo) that way use have much more control over what sync's from each account. I would recommend tripnraver's froyo. He has a new 1.2.0 coming tonight. You do have to put up with some minor bugs, but the benefits far out weigh the negatives.
A lot also depends on what type of email accounts they are. Either way froyo is way better for your needs.
If you don't wish to dabble with your new present, wait a few months when sony bring out 2.3.4 gingerbread!
I have had a few close shaves, while flashing my phone but approx 10 roms later, I'm pretty sure it's hard to brick it. Worst case restore it back using the sony software.
Hope that helps.
Sent from my X10 TripNMiUI using Tapatalk

Exchange Calendar help

I work for a government organization that uses android phones to sync with exchange. I currently have a customer with a Thunderbolt who has synced the mail, contacts, and calendar to exchange. The issue I'm having trouble resolving is that current month appointments sync fine, however anything older than a month, will only show reoccurring appointments. The customer claims they were there before, however I cannot confirm this. Anyone know of issues with exchange and this phone that would cause this problem. I'm an avid android user myself, however I'm not familiar with all the issues related to this phone.
SoCGHOST said:
I work for a government organization that uses android phones to sync with exchange. I currently have a customer with a Thunderbolt who has synced the mail, contacts, and calendar to exchange. The issue I'm having trouble resolving is that current month appointments sync fine, however anything older than a month, will only show reoccurring appointments. The customer claims they were there before, however I cannot confirm this. Anyone know of issues with exchange and this phone that would cause this problem. I'm an avid android user myself, however I'm not familiar with all the issues related to this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We've used HTC THunderbolt and HTC Droid Incredible 2 phones with exchange 2003 and 2010. It seems that there's a couple serious bugs in HTC's implementation of their calendar/task sync. The main problem we see is that appointments and tasks don't get updated once they're initially synced.
I've spoken to HTC (who is useless) and VZ doesn't seem to understand the issue. Frustrating.
THe touchdown application works, but I personally find it to be clunky.
Sorry that I don't have better news for you. Please keep this thread updated should you find a solution!!
The sync itself seems to work fine, it will update the calendar with new appointments via push messages. The problem is though old appointments drop unless they are reoccurring. Using a third part app from the market may not necessarily work for our customers since their accounts are business accounts, that the organization pays for.
SoCGHOST said:
The sync itself seems to work fine, it will update the calendar with new appointments via push messages. The problem is though old appointments drop unless they are reoccurring. Using a third part app from the market may not necessarily work for our customers since their accounts are business accounts, that the organization pays for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to hear that sync is working better for you than it is for us. I didn't mean to imply that you should use a third party service. I'm suggesting sticking with exchange but using Touchdown on the handheld to get the calendar items.
From memory, I think there might be a setting on the Thunderbolt to specify how long in the past calendar items show for. I think it's under sync settings (but I don't have a device to check it on).
I saw a setting for mailbox retention but not for the calendar. Touchdown would be fine except its a payed app. The free version is only a 30 day trial. I tried the normal remove and re-add account, this works 99% of the time on other android phones, but no joy. I have a feeling there is something in Android that limits the amount of past appointments, I just can't find any documentation on it.

[Q] Are there any sync solutions for Android that actually work?

Over the last few weeks, I've been talking more about the things that make Android very annoying to use after I was forced to switch from regular Windows Mobile last October. So far we've covered forced roaming on the fly (still no conclusive answer to that one), programs that close themselves (also inconclusive), and broken update nagscreens. Today, I've decided to finally present to you guys the most difficult and most baffling problem yet - one that I've spent numerous hours on and reading countless threads asking the same question, but still not seeing any way to fix the problem, and that is one of the most simple things to ask from a mobile operating system: syncing.
That's right - you'd think it's that simple, right? Hit a button, and all the changes to your tasks, contacts, and calendar items that were changed last on the computer or the device should be properly updated. This feature is completely absent on a stock or custom setup of Android. I mean, it's not new - my Windows Mobile 6 Diamond had it, my Windows Mobile 2003 iPAQ had it, my Palm OS 4 Palm had it, and Palm OS has been around since what - 1995? How can something so simple present in as early as a 1996 handheld with a 16Mhz processor and 512KB of RAM and ROM running Palm OS 1 not be available to my 1000+Mhz Epic with half a gigabyte of RAM and ROM running the "latest and greatest" Android 2.3? Windows Mobile had it too, and my PIM stuff is still managed using a software called Microsoft Outlook in what I think is a pretty satisfactory means.
History aside, my question is this: Are there ANY good sync solutions for Android? I've tried numerous solutions including VCOrganizer, CompanionLink, MyPhone Explorer, and probably others. All I need is syncronization in some way with the computer (preferably USB) and the device that will sync my contacts, calendar entries (including recurring ones), and tasks (including categories and recurrences). Some of these software do some of the job right, wether it be just the contacts or just the calendar entries (none of them did the tasks right at all - and I need those the most), but none of them came close to doing everything right :: it seemed like they did five things wrong for every one thing they did right.
I didn't even realize the problem was this bad, after all, Windows Mobile did these right out of the box even on a stock "unmodded" device; you'd just plug in the USB cable and go - it would (usually) just sync itself, no questions asked. Hopefully somebody else knows what to do about this because I'm just at the end of my rope on these - I've put probably no less than a running total of five hours into figuring this out and I'd like to just be able to sync up my contacts, calendar, and tasks on Android - is it too much to ask?
Thanks in advance.
- 2 Bunny
An exchange email account.
Seriously, you can't do this on any current platform. Annoys the hell out of me - no local pc sync...
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Everything moved to the cloud instead of you having to remember to sync. You can have your contacts, email, calendar sync with a gmail account or other services. Are you looking for something that isn't connected remotely and only syncs local data on the phone with local data on a computer?
spunker88 said:
Everything moved to the cloud instead of you having to remember to sync. You can have your contacts, email, calendar sync with a gmail account or other services. Are you looking for something that isn't connected remotely and only syncs local data on the phone with local data on a computer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd rather have my information with me. After trolls/lobbyists shut down probably the biggest "cloud" in the world, MegaUpload, I don't trust "the cloud" for sync or backup of any kind. I just need something that will sync the contacts, calendar items (with recurrences), and tasks (with categories and recurrences) with my computer by any means (preferrably USB cable).
- 2B
kainppc6700 said:
I'd rather have my information with me. After trolls/lobbyists shut down probably the biggest "cloud" in the world, MegaUpload, I don't trust "the cloud" for sync or backup of any kind. I just need something that will sync the contacts, calendar items (with recurrences), and tasks (with categories and recurrences) with my computer by any means (preferrably USB cable).
- 2B
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand, long time Windows Mobile user as well if you noticed the Axim x50 in my signature. Still many things I miss from that OS like TCPMP and the taskbar based multitasking app Magic Button.
Anyways as far as what you want check out Android-Sync, it works with Outlook since you mentioned you use it. From their website:
Android-Sync account is an Android account, that stores your contacts, calendars, tasks and notes in your Android phone. It syncs with Outlook using your USB cable only.
The Android-Sync account keeps all your sensitive personal information, like contacts, calendars, tasks and notes from being transferred to the third party via public internet connections.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would something like this be what you want?
http://www.android-sync.com/
spunker88 said:
I understand, long time Windows Mobile user as well if you noticed the Axim x50 in my signature. Still many things I miss from that OS like TCPMP and the taskbar based multitasking app Magic Button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I was surfing on the Android XDA DEVELOPERS program (I probably could just use the full site while I'm at home where there's halfway decent bandwidth). I was actually thinking about TCPMP not that long ago and complaining in another thread about the inability to play streaming radio on Android (since the Epic has the internal FM Radio disabled) so that I can eat tons of data and kill the battery really fast.
spunker88 said:
Anyways as far as what you want check out Android-Sync, it works with Outlook since you mentioned you use it. From their website:
Would something like this be what you want?
http://www.android-sync.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll tell you what, I've been through so many of those software that I forget which ones worked or not, and the site for this one looks kind of familiar so I'll need to recap on this one. Is it free? If not, is there a fully functional trial? Have you tried it? If so, do you still use it?
Thanks.
- 2B
In the same boat
I also come from the same background (HTC TP2 6.5.3 with Sense and Cookies, the most complete and uniform solution, too bad it was abandon ).
So I am also trying to figure out what is the best way to synch to Outlook, I understand the advantage of the cloud and do not mind that much if my data transit through the cloud, but it needs to end up in Outlook (I cannot live without Outlook, there is no cloud email, calendar or task that is as feature rich and efficient to use as Outlook from a business user perspective). Since I am a self-employed IT consultant, I do not have access to an Exchange server.
Basically I am looking for the same functionality that I had with ActiveSych (MobileCenter):
Bidirectional with a choice offered if changed on both side
Calendar to Outlook 2010 (full: recurring, category, attendees…)
Contact to Outlook 2010 (full: note, category, picture, anniversary…)
Task to Outlook 2010 (full: note, category, recurring…)
Files from a specific folder
Pictures would be nice…
So right now I am going through this list, from syncdroid.net, I will post my findings (please do the same):
Android-Sync
CompanionLink for Outlook
gSyncit
Mobisynapse
Moonrug
Moxier Mail
MyLink Advanced
MyPhoneExplorer
RoadSync
The Missing Sync
Touchdown
Triosync
VCOrganizer
---------- Post added at 05:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 PM ----------
2 Bunny,
Could you please expand on the problems/limitations that you found with:
VCOrganizer,
CompanionLink,
MyPhone Explorer,
Other...
Thanks,
ANDROID SUCKS SOMETIMES Reply
Stephane Dufault said:
I also come from the same background (HTC TP2 6.5.3 with Sense and Cookies, the most complete and uniform solution, too bad it was abandon ).
So I am also trying to figure out what is the best way to synch to Outlook, I understand the advantage of the cloud and do not mind that much if my data transit through the cloud, but it needs to end up in Outlook (I cannot live without Outlook, there is no cloud email, calendar or task that is as feature rich and efficient to use as Outlook from a business user perspective). Since I am a self-employed IT consultant, I do not have access to an Exchange server.
Basically I am looking for the same functionality that I had with ActiveSych (MobileCenter):
Bidirectional with a choice offered if changed on both side
Calendar to Outlook 2010 (full: recurring, category, attendees…)
Contact to Outlook 2010 (full: note, category, picture, anniversary…)
Task to Outlook 2010 (full: note, category, recurring…)
Files from a specific folder
Pictures would be nice…
So right now I am going through this list, from syncdroid.net, I will post my findings (please do the same):
Android-Sync
CompanionLink for Outlook
gSyncit
Mobisynapse
Moonrug
Moxier Mail
MyLink Advanced
MyPhoneExplorer
RoadSync
The Missing Sync
Touchdown
Triosync
VCOrganizer
---------- Post added at 05:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 PM ----------
2 Bunny,
Could you please expand on the problems/limitations that you found with:
VCOrganizer,
CompanionLink,
MyPhone Explorer,
Other...
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll tell you what - it's been a long time since I've been through those. All I know is that I've tried every single one that could possibly work and MyPhoneExplorer (the only one that is free without visiting shady "free paid software" websites) is the best. Here's what I observed in another test that I did today:
Installation:
On the desktop, you install a "MyPhoneExplorer" client which goes smoothly - you also install an apk on the device which installs three programs: The sync manager - which just shows you if it is connected and allows you to change various sync settings, and also dedicated "tasks" and "notes" programs (calendars and tasks are synced directly to their native android counterparts, which is a plus).
Use:
General
You click on the icon and do some setting up and you realize that it does a lot more than just syncing - you can not only manage your files without enabling the USB mode and monitor the device (battery, CPU use, signal, etc), but you can even make/receive calls and send/receive text messages right on your desktop while your handheld is connected which is a remarkable feature that I know for a fact none of the other software had. It is worth noting however, that this connection is relatively flaky and doesn't always connect right away and sometimes will stall and disconnect while you are syncing things.
Contacts
You get good control of your syncing on the contacts and the software asks for confirmation to each and every change made (for better or for worse, usually better) and it usually makes the right guess for which way each item needs to be synced. Unfortunately, it sometimes decides to add a "+" in front of some of my contacts' phone numbers; for example, "555.555.5555" might become "+555.555.5555" on the device, which will cause any calls or text messages to that number to fail. Oddly, this only occurs when you select it to import that number from outlook (and only some entries are like this) when they clearly aren't actually like that. It has no "full name" field, but they still show up okay on the Android contact list when synced.
Notes
Don't use, didn't test.
Tasks/Calendar
Tasks and calendar items are synced together under their own combined tab in the desktop client (which confused me for the longest time when I first installed it because I just couldn't find where the tasks got synced to since there was no option in the sidebar). First sync seemed to get everything from outlook onto the device, but it is worth mentioning that there are absolutely no categories or recurrences (this doesn't seem to be even available in the software). If you check a recurring task as complete, it will not "respawn" until synchronization is completed next (not good for say daily recurrences if you forget to sync on a daily basis). Tasks created on the handheld don't always get created, but usually they do. As for calendar items, they (astoundingly) all sync correctly.
If you want, I could take a look at the other softwares again and make an exhaustive description of each, but it is extremely time consuming. I would recommend experimenting your results, and if you learn anything from my mistakes, WRITE DOWN YOUR RESULTS .
Good Luck.
- 2 Bunny
ANDROID CAN'T EVEN SYNC IT'S SO PATHETIC Reply
If anybody has any updates on this, that would be great.
Thanks.
- 2B
Hey guys, I feel your pain. A bit of background: I came from a HTC Touch HD WinMo6.1 and had problem-free usb sync with outlook (complete with Jeyo SMS sync add-in). Then moved to HTC HD2 WinMo6.5 and Office 365 to make use of the OTA sms sync feature but the phone just kept freezing. Gave that up and recently moved to HTC One X with Touchdown which I'm now testing.
SMS sync is my main priority so my problems are a little different.
My experience with Touchdown so far: It works smoothly with Exchange, quick and responsive, and syncs notes and sms too, which is great (apart from the usual mail, calendar and tasks). Working with email on Touchdown is much better than on the stock Email app on the phone. But I don't like the way it saves contacts from incoming calls and sms - a big issue for me because I get a lot of incoming contacts. Another big problem: sms sync is far from perfect (smses sent from the phone does not sync up to exchange and caller/contact IDs do not show when SMS is received).
My workaround was then to run Touchdown together with an Exchange Activesync account set up just to sync my contacts to the native phonebook (People App) but I'm having sync problems here too. (Just posted this issue on XDA on another thread).
It looks like I now need some combination of OTA sync plus some app for USB sync just to make sure everything is synced up properly. But all options seem to be a compromise so far and I'm pulling out my hair too.
Am prepared to test out a few apps and contribute my 2 cents. Will follow this post with great interest...
So because megaupload was shut down for storing absolutely massive amounts of illegal movies, tv shows, music, programs etc etc, you don't trust any part of the internet cloud?
Google is not illegal, it cannot be used in such a way as megaupload was used.
I personally sync my contacts, calendar, email, etc etc with my gmail. Completely flawless and syncs within 20 seconds of me changing something on my tablet and then looking over at my phone. Done.
And the best part? It's built into the OS. No need for sluggish 3rd party apps or programs that has bugs and flaws.
SYNCRONIZATION Reply
UKC1 said:
Hey guys, I feel your pain. A bit of background: I came from a HTC Touch HD WinMo6.1 and had problem-free usb sync with outlook (complete with Jeyo SMS sync add-in). Then moved to HTC HD2 WinMo6.5 and Office 365 to make use of the OTA sms sync feature but the phone just kept freezing. Gave that up and recently moved to HTC One X with Touchdown which I'm now testing.
SMS sync is my main priority so my problems are a little different.
My experience with Touchdown so far: It works smoothly with Exchange, quick and responsive, and syncs notes and sms too, which is great (apart from the usual mail, calendar and tasks). Working with email on Touchdown is much better than on the stock Email app on the phone. But I don't like the way it saves contacts from incoming calls and sms - a big issue for me because I get a lot of incoming contacts. Another big problem: sms sync is far from perfect (smses sent from the phone does not sync up to exchange and caller/contact IDs do not show when SMS is received).
My workaround was then to run Touchdown together with an Exchange Activesync account set up just to sync my contacts to the native phonebook (People App) but I'm having sync problems here too. (Just posted this issue on XDA on another thread).
It looks like I now need some combination of OTA sync plus some app for USB sync just to make sure everything is synced up properly. But all options seem to be a compromise so far and I'm pulling out my hair too.
Am prepared to test out a few apps and contribute my 2 cents. Will follow this post with great interest...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to the SyncDroid.net official chart, Touchdown doesn't seem to support USB sync or sync with outlook. If it can't do either of those, by what means does it connect to your computer and what software does it use instead?
So far, the best solution I've found after going through what seemed like the whole SyncDroid.net list was MyPhoneExplorer. It syncs SMS and even lets you send and receive it live, right on your desktop which is a huge plus. It syncs calendar and contacts nearly perfectly, and does a better job of syncing tasks then anything else (while it still pales in comparison to Windows Mobile), and the best part is that it is completely free from their website. I did a post on it earlier in this thread if you want to read my detailed observations on it.
That's what I'm using for now though, and it's where I'll probably end up staying (unfortunately) unless some actually useful software comes into the picture.
Moonbloom said:
So because megaupload was shut down for storing absolutely massive amounts of illegal movies, tv shows, music, programs etc etc, you don't trust any part of the internet cloud?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense, but you really need to get your facts straight. I see you're out of the loop on the whole MegaUpload debacle, so I would strongly recommend you read these articles before you think that the CNN or FOX NEWS report about it were the straight facts:
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Moonbloom said:
I personally sync my contacts, calendar, email, etc etc with my gmail. Completely flawless and syncs within 20 seconds of me changing something on my tablet and then looking over at my phone. Done.
And the best part? It's built into the OS. No need for sluggish 3rd party apps or programs that has bugs and flaws.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't find any semblance of sync software built into mine, is there some kind of key combo or something you have to use to unlock it? If this is true, it'll be good for a lot of people.
- 2B
Touchdown syncs over the air (OTA) with Exchange Server - which means I don't need USB sync anymore. I use Office 365 which comes with Exchange.
But as I said I can't find a reliable, full-featured Exchange Activesync client now for Android. I guess Touchdown is the closest but it's not perfect - or at least it doesn't work the way I like.
So that's why I'm now considering some form of USB or Wifi sync option now.
MyPhoneExplorer sounds interesting, especially since it's free. But what I'm not crazy about is that you have to install some desktop app/client which you need to open/run - correct me if I'm wrong?
SYNCRONIZATION Reply
UKC1 said:
Touchdown syncs over the air (OTA) with Exchange Server - which means I don't need USB sync anymore. I use Office 365 which comes with Exchange.
But as I said I can't find a reliable, full-featured Exchange Activesync client now for Android. I guess Touchdown is the closest but it's not perfect - or at least it doesn't work the way I like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is Exchange server like a free software I can install?
UKC1 said:
So that's why I'm now considering some form of USB or Wifi sync option now.
MyPhoneExplorer sounds interesting, especially since it's free. But what I'm not crazy about is that you have to install some desktop app/client which you need to open/run - correct me if I'm wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't too excited about that either, but the good news is that it isn't a resource hogging program on the desktop end, and on the mobile end, it only installs a sync, tasks, and notes client (unlike some software that also supply a redundant calendar and contact software). You can choose to run the desktop or mobile software 24/7, but I only run them when I'm using them for the most part. The really cool thing about MyPhoneExplorer is that you can read and reply to text messages in real time right on the computer without having to use the more primitive input from the phone itself.
- 2 Bunny
Any updates on this?
Thanks.
- 2B
SYNCRONIZATION UPDATES Reply
Anyone found any updates on this?
Thanks.
- 2B
I went round this whole loop when I first moved from Windows Phone to Android, and after many years of being able to synchronise my data between my PC and my Phone, I also couldn't believe how difficult it was under Android.
I'm also old school, in that I like to manage my data myself and I don't trust the cloud.
After trying just about every solution out there, I now use VCOrganizer Pro. The developers seem to have put a fair amount of effort into improving it over the last few months, and it now synchronises Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Categories and Notes. There are also useful Android apps included (especially where Android doesn't have a native solution) and some widgets that I quite like.
Frustrating choices
Philip said:
I went round this whole loop when I first moved from Windows Phone to Android, and after many years of being able to synchronise my data between my PC and my Phone, I also couldn't believe how difficult it was under Android.
I'm also old school, in that I like to manage my data myself and I don't trust the cloud.
After trying just about every solution out there, I now use VCOrganizer Pro. The developers seem to have put a fair amount of effort into improving it over the last few months, and it now synchronises Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Categories and Notes. There are also useful Android apps included (especially where Android doesn't have a native solution) and some widgets that I quite like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too have been in serious bewilderment over Microsoft's choice to downgrade the scope of synchronization with Outlook when Winmo 7 arrived. What a joke! Picked up an HTC HD2 running Winmo 6.5 just to satisfy my business synchronization needs. Now, surprise, surprise, surprise, Winmo 8 is still impotent in regards to categories, which I use regularly. My HD2 has been a great phone but is now sliding into home plate. So, I have been scouring the web to find out which if any phone can sync with Outlook like Winmo 6.x does. At this point I have my fingers crossed for Blackberry 10, which is reportedly getting unveiled in a few days.
@Phillip: Can you please expand on your experience with VCOrganizer Pro? ie. accuracy/buggines and maybe how it compares to Winmo 6.x syncing if you have experience with that OS. Thx.
Android-Sync
I have been using Android-Sync (sorry can't post links, new user) for about 6 months now with my Motorola RAZR HD.
It syncs with Outlook via USB cable. So far I have not had any issues. No duplicates. No unexplanable deletions. It has worked very well so far.
It creates a generic "Android-Sync" account on your phone that syncs your Calendar, Contacts, Notes and Tasks. Or you can set it to sync with your Google account. I have only used the Android-Sync account, as that is the recommended. I am currently contemplating trying the sync to my Google account to try and get my Outlook contacts into my Google contacts.
Calendar and Contacts are synced to the stock Calendar and People apps in the phone. Notes and Tasks are synced to new apps called Android-Sync Notes and Android-Sync Tasks respectively.
You can set-up how much or how little get synced. For example you can sync all your calendar items or "Don't sync items older than ___ days."
Go through the setup page here: (sorry can't post links) which has a number of screen shots that help in explaining a lot.
I have used Blackberry Desktop extensively in the past and this is quite similar.
I have also used Companion Link for Outlook (sorry can't post links) with DejaOffice on an iPhone. (I have not used Companion Link to sync with my Android, so this is based on my used with iPhone)
This setup worked in terms of syncing, my only issue was with both the stock ios Calendar and Contacts apps the "Notes" fields would never display a full note, neither would the "Notes" fields the respective DejaOffice app, the note would just stop after a certain number of characters (kinda like twitter!). This was frustrating, as some of my Contacts have lengthy notes attached to them.
Neither Android-Sync or Companion Link are free though. I am fine with this, as long as it works.
Android-Sync is $29.99 and Companion Link is $49.99.
Android-Sync has a trial download here: (sorry can't post links) and also a 60 day full refund policy. I do not know if the trial version has limitations.
Companion Link also has a trial download here (sorry can't post links) which is fully functional for 14 days. At the end of 14 days you are asked to purchase a full license. They have a 90 day full refund policy.
Hope this was helpful.
Let me know if you have any questions. I'll try and help from my experience with these.
VCOorganizer but
Same here - VCOrganizer was more reliable than CompanionLink for me. I migrated to Android from Palm in 2009. non-cloud sync is necessary when traveling internationally, and to protect confidential client information. Sync by cloud, lose your license.
Still VCO sometimes does the wrong thing. It's almost always related to the Outlook interface (most recently after migration to Outlook 2013 which took me 2 months to unravel). So I would trust a Microsoft solution more than an independent. Lawyers and doctors can pay handsomely for this. Satya, are you listening? do you read xda-developers? Do any of your developers read this?

[Q] KitKat issue syncing contacts on an exchange server

My understanding is that this is a known issue, I'm looking for a workaround or resolution.
Using KitKat, and the standard AOSP email client, I setup my corporate email account in the usual way. Everything works the way it is supposed to except for syncing contacts.
Normally I have fewer than 100 contacts, but with KitKat I end up with over 600. From my research into this issue it is because KitKat is syncing the "suggested contacts" from exchange, not just the contacts listed in my address book. I'm not sure who made the decision to do that, but it doesn't sound like the best idea to me.
I see this problem on my tablet which is running the CM 11.0 nightlies, but I do not see it on my HTC One running AndroidNow, even though Android Now is at 4.4. That is what tells me that the problem is in Exchange Services for the standard AOSP client. I confirmed this by finding this site:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/1...4-4-with-gmail-style-ui-and-a-slide-out-menu/
I downloaded the appropriate files and installed the apks on my HTC One. When I setup my corporate email there I started seeing the same issue.
Does anyone have any news or recommendations on this issue? By the way, I'm not looking for "install such-and-such email client, it's better" type recommendations. I've tried the majority of them already.
Thanks
It is interesting to me that no one has anything to say on this issue. Perhaps no one saw my post?
At any rate, I found a "solution" which is clumsy but seems to do the trick. The suggestion I found in the google forums was to delete the "Suggested Contacts" folder (I did it in the Exchange web mail app), delete the Corporate account and recreate. I did and I now have the correct number of contacts.
From what I have found this problem is caused by code added to KitKat for syncing sub-folders. It is an issue that Google is aware of, but has marked at a very low priority. I assume that means that a real fix for this will be a long time coming.
dlbarron said:
It is interesting to me that no one has anything to say on this issue. Perhaps no one saw my post?
At any rate, I found a "solution" which is clumsy but seems to do the trick. The suggestion I found in the google forums was to delete the "Suggested Contacts" folder (I did it in the Exchange web mail app), delete the Corporate account and recreate. I did and I now have the correct number of contacts.
From what I have found this problem is caused by code added to KitKat for syncing sub-folders. It is an issue that Google is aware of, but has marked at a very low priority. I assume that means that a real fix for this will be a long time coming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In case you may not have noticed, there is a open issue for this now:
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=61979
Im having the same problem with you, but removing the "suggested contacts" folder from Outlook didn't work (not that I should have to do that). It was if the contacts were cached to the phone.... even after removing the account. I even tried disabling sync, putting it in airplane mode, and using "Contact Remover" from the Play Store to delete the contacts from my phone (disabling sync and airplane mode to prevent a total deletion of all contacts on next sync). After that, I removed the account from Android, removed all phone pairings from Exchange (through OWA), and cleared the cache of the phone. As soon as I resynced, they all came back.
I'm beyond pissed. I literally have 5,000 contacts, and I can barely open the People applet. This is ridiculous.
Flapjack said:
In case you may not have noticed, there is a open issue for this now:
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=61979
Im having the same problem with you, but removing the "suggested contacts" folder from Outlook didn't work (not that I should have to do that). It was if the contacts were cached to the phone.... even after removing the account. I even tried disabling sync, putting it in airplane mode, and using "Contact Remover" from the Play Store to delete the contacts from my phone (disabling sync and airplane mode to prevent a total deletion of all contacts on next sync). After that, I removed the account from Android, removed all phone pairings from Exchange (through OWA), and cleared the cache of the phone. As soon as I resynced, they all came back.
I'm beyond pissed. I literally have 5,000 contacts, and I can barely open the People applet. This is ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't argue with your assessment, especially since it is a known issue that is, apparently, not getting any attention from Google. That is disappointing.
dlbarron said:
I can't argue with your assessment, especially since it is a known issue that is, apparently, not getting any attention from Google. That is disappointing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this same problem, but it seems to be Exchange email address history (start a new email: start typing address and the autocomplete list appears)that is causing the problem for me. If I delete the history the contact is now longer shown in my contact list. The problem is this history list is ever growing and changing. It seems we are forced to live with excess users until Google gets this fixed.
zoaguy said:
I have this same problem, but it seems to be Exchange email address history (start a new email: start typing address and the autocomplete list appears)that is causing the problem for me. If I delete the history the contact is now longer shown in my contact list. The problem is this history list is ever growing and changing. It seems we are forced to live with excess users until Google gets this fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh, well that would make sense why deleting the "suggested contacts" folder doesn't fix it. I don't want to flush my autocomplete history. It's quite useful.
In the interim, I'm just 'pushing' my contacts from Touchdown using the "Copy to Phone" option, and not adding the corporate email option for now.
Here is a pretty nice work around to this issue.
Go into outlook and create a new category for all of the contacts you want to sync with your device. Once the contacts are part of the new category, go to your device and in the contacts>>accounts to display>>select the corporate account>> and select which list(select the category you created in outlook>> thats it and resync your contacts.
zoaguy said:
Here is a pretty nice work around to this issue.
Go into outlook and create a new category for all of the contacts you want to sync with your device. Once the contacts are part of the new category, go to your device and in the contacts>>accounts to display>>select the corporate account>> and select which list(select the category you created in outlook>> thats it and resync your contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A slick solution to the problem. To bad it is necessary.
dlbarron said:
A slick solution to the problem. To bad it is necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, a true fix is still needed. The biggest problem with this solution is making sure you put new contacts into the new category when they are being added.
I have the issue that my phone will not sync to the exchange contacts PERIOD.
It downloaded them fine apparently, but any changes made on the device do not get updated on the server.
WTF? How ****ing stupid is google to break activesync!?
I'm not just having problems with contacts... my entire calendar will not sync. I basically get no meeting reminders. I can log into exchange webmail and check my calendar there, but that is ridiculous.
As for the contacts, none of the tips and tricks in this thread have helped. I have completely deleted "suggested contacts" (which is a shame, because it was actually useful), but my phone is still pulling them from somewhere....
The only thing that works for me is installing Touchdown and using it to sync, then push the contacts to the phone. It does pick up the bullshvt ones...
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk
This is by far the most irritating part of KitKat.
I work for a mobile phone company with business customer and its a very common complaint.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
BazmanFoo said:
This is by far the most irritating part of KitKat.
I work for a mobile phone company with business customer and its a very common complaint.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't understand why it cannot be fixed. I don't even fully understand the problem, as I've gone through Outlook/Exchange multiple times cleaning out the "suggested contacts" and still had my phone's contact list spammed with every email address that is and ever was.
It took a long, long time... but I used "Contact Remover" from the Play store and just went down the list checking contacts I wanted to delete. It's much faster than going into each contact, hitting menu, then hitting delete. Still, you have to be careful not to delete contacts you want to keep. Many times, they're named exactly the same as the spam ones.
On a side note, I am struggling to understand why there are so many contacts that have been "augmented" by apps such as Facebook and Lync 2013. I never choose to sync those, but it appears to have done so anyway.
same problem here, contacts on phone (nexus 5) are filled with rubbish now

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