[Q] Direct synch with Outlook - Nokia Lumia 920

For what I read, direct synch with Outlook is not possible with Lumia 920, I would have to go through the cloud - which I refuse. Is there a go-around available? Please let me know such programs and explain how they work. Thanks for your most appreciated support.

nagging said:
For what I read, direct synch with Outlook is not possible with Lumia 920, I would have to go through the cloud - which I refuse. Is there a go-around available? Please let me know such programs and explain how they work. Thanks for your most appreciated support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MS Exchange? Hosted or otherwise...

Sorry, I didn't understand what you meant. Can you please ask a proper question? Thanks.

No, you cannot direct sync with Outlook. You will have to use your network connection to sync Mail/Calendar/Contacts. This will all be done through your Microsoft account (formerly Live account) on-line and over the network.

Didn't I say in my original post that I don't want to go through the cloud? I'm looking for an alternate (offline) possibilty - if there is one, please let me know how it's called and how it works.

nagging said:
Didn't I say in my original post that I don't want to go through the cloud? I'm looking for an alternate (offline) possibilty - if there is one, please let me know how it's called and how it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not an easy thing to accomplish. Microsoft is pushing strongly to have you store everything in the cloud. The best solution -- if you're up for it -- is for you to create your own private cloud. You can do this with a "hosted exchange" service; it is still online, but instead of a public service like live.com or google, it's your private calendar/contacts/e-mail.
If you don't want to do that, try this answer from the Nokia forums.
Hi wobblybob,
Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting!
When you are told you can sync a Windows Phone with Outlook that would be correct. What you are really asking is 'can I connect my Lumia to the PC with the USB cable and sync with Outlook offline'. The answer to that would be no.
How you sync with Outlook can be answered in a short and long version. The long and extensive version can be found here. The short version is:
For Outlook 2003 and 2007 install the Outlook Hotmail connector and setup an account for your LiveID, for Outlook 2010 just setup the account and it will prompt you to install the connector. A step by step guide can be found here.
Hope this helps, let us know how you get on!
Kosh

Thanks for all those links. After reading through their lenthy, very interesting and even emotional contents, my conclusion is that there is no way to synching Outlook via USB or even Bluetooth. Akruto Sync (http://www.akruto.com/get-akruto-sync/) which had been mentioned can't synch via USB, too. Are there any other offline synching methods out there? Please let me know.

nagging said:
Didn't I say in my original post that I don't want to go through the cloud? I'm looking for an alternate (offline) possibilty - if there is one, please let me know how it's called and how it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I kinda thought my response was pretty clear. As of now, no, there is no way to do this. I know, I asked the product group.

Never understood why people still want to do such an antiquaited thing. Cables?!
Youre email comes via SMTP over the net anyway, so security cannot be it. Can it?
And almost all phones will have a data plan.
Intruiged (or not) to know the reason.

hwangeruk said:
Never understood why people still want to do such an antiquaited thing. Cables?!
Youre email comes via SMTP over the net anyway, so security cannot be it. Can it?
And almost all phones will have a data plan.
Intruiged (or not) to know the reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I would think it is security and privacy . . . same reason I've had to roll my own cloud solution.
Yes, SMTP is fundamentally insecure, but the primary way information in e-mail leaks is not through interception or snooping into SMTP packets, but rather through hacking someone's e-mail account. If I have all my e-mail stored in g-mail and someone gets my password through social engineering, or just by knowing me really well and guessing "m0nk3y" -- they've got all my info. If however I'm keeping it all offline in my local outlook and syncing it to my phone that way, the attack surface is a lot smaller.
And that's just e-mail . . . outlook also manages calendar, and people may not want their calendar items listed in a google or outlook account, but rather kept locally, again for similar reasons.

From what I understood reading between the lines, you guys are talking about different aspects.
Syncing is always done between the client and the mail provider. In that aspect it is useless to try to sync with your Outlook, which is only an application that manages your mails, calendar and contacts.
In my case, my Outlook has accounts for my work mail (through a dedicated MS Exchange server), my private (through a leased MS Exchange in the U.K.) and Google & Hotmail. The syncing is been done directly at the servers for the exchange accounts, which guarantees a perfect sync between my phone, laptops and desktops at home & office. No clouds involved here, so this is the perfect solution. Downside of having a leased MS Exchange server: the price tag!
Google, Yahoo and Hotmail accounts all go through the Cloud.
If you really want to have a grip on your data, I can only suggest to buy a NAS (i.e. Synology with Mail Server add-on), rent your own domain name, and set up your own mail server. A bit tricky, but worthwhile in the long running
reg's
Jo

Bringing an old issue back on top
I'm bringing this topic on top again by asking if there has been found a solution in the meantime. What I want to do: Synchronize Outlook and files via a USB cable (or via Bluethooth), therefore NOT going through the cloud. How about if an xda-developper would create an appropriate software (something like Mobile Device Center 6.1 that worked perfectly under Windows Mobile 6.5)?

nagging said:
I'm bringing this topic on top again by asking if there has been found a solution in the meantime. What I want to do: Synchronize Outlook and files via a USB cable (or via Bluethooth), therefore NOT going through the cloud. How about if an xda-developper would create an appropriate software (something like Mobile Device Center 6.1 that worked perfectly under Windows Mobile 6.5)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Not possible with email. The phone is a first class device now, as that's where the market took the functionality. People don't want to have to sync. Sync bad.
For files, there is no file explorer on Windows Phone. You can copy media to/from the device via USB, but not "files".

Only the contacts can be imported directly to the phone via Bluetoth without any sync with outlook or cloud. For the rest is not possible. For contacts I did this: I saved the phonebook from my old phone, copied to Nokia 6303c and after that I copied it to NL920 via Bluetooth.
All my 1051 contacts was in the phone without problems!

Some of you are plain wrong.
check out HTC's website. The HTC 8X can usb-sync with outlook through HTC sync software.
The Lumias with 7.5 and older can, too, with Nokia Suite.
but the Nokia win phone 8s can't (yet)

fuzzifikation said:
Some of you are plain wrong.
check out HTC's website. The HTC 8X can usb-sync with outlook through HTC sync software.
The Lumias with 7.5 and older can, too, with Nokia Suite.
but the Nokia win phone 8s can't (yet)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thaks for this answer.
Contact sync in the cloud seems enough tricky, as you loose your contacts pictures (I read). personally I just tried to put my contacts on my microsoft account unsuccessfully, having the error "too many contacts" I tried to sync half of them (about 450) and I never succeeded. tricky is tricky.
Till this kind of stuff is not resolved, I'll never get a Windows 8 phone.
With Android, it is also tricky as Google creates contacts on every email you send, and even if you disable this, groups are tricky in google accounts. for example I exported my Outlook contacts to my Gmail account. I lost the contact pictures and for every contact included in more than one group (for ex : friend music medical ) Google creates a new group called "friend,music,medical" , so if I search in friend group, I won't find that guy who is musician friend and doctor. Google is smart, no?
the good solution for me, as I have an Android phone, was to use MyPhoneExplorer that syncs perfectly (I mean all elements) Outlook and phone contacts. this can be done by cable or by WiFi been on the same network with a password.

A program called Akruto sync is the closest solution to this problem. It does not work over USB, but it will work over your local wi-fi connection. Assuming you use WPA2/AES with a strong password, there is little chance of your data being intercepted while you are synchronizing. It basically simulates Exchange ActiveSync on your PC, allowing you to use any mobile device that supports an Exchange account to synchronize with your local desktop installation of Microsoft Outlook. I've been using it for a couple of months now and it works flawlessly. They plan to implement synchronizing of notes in a future release. It is a 100% cloudless sync. As for privacy of cloud-based e-mail, there's always encryption.
The average user doesn't understand the true risks of using the public cloud. Those of us who do take the necessary precautions to protect ourselves. The unfortunate fact is that the other mobile devices on the market have similar native or third party cloudless synchronization options available, and better overall integration with Microsoft Exchange/Outlook. As an example, Windows Phone 8 does not utilitze the categories from Microsoft Outlook, though it synchronizes them in the objects through EAS. As a result, there are a myriad of users who choose a non-Microsoft device simply because it works better with Microsoft products. . Ironic and saddening that Microsoft doesn't seem to recognize this. It's likely the primary reason why all post-WM6.5 devices have trailed behind the competition. It is hurting their reputation and ultimtately results in lost revenue.

Related

Dificulty with ActiveSync, support code:85010017

Hi,
Any body can help to resolve this issue? This is a persistent problem between my SPV M3100 and all computers and laptops around me!
Thanks
Anoush
Hi, try witj this fix from MS:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/912242
Try deleting the partnership from both ends i.e from the device so also from teh computer or just run a repair of the ActiveSync.
2. Check the .PST file should be less that 750MB (Recomended)
3.Try a diffrent outlook profile.
SUCCESS
After 5 months of trying I have finally been able to get my wife's outlook calendar to sync with her HTC Touch Pro.
PROBLEM:
All we wanted was to sync the info on her Hotmail (er, Windows Live) account (mail, contacts, calendar) with her new 'smart' phone. Everything being Microsoft, this should be a piece of cake, right? Her Palm Pilot was able to do this 15 years ago, so one wouldn't think this operation to be too complex. Ohh, but enter Microsoft cluster**** world.
Windows Live does over the air sync mail and contacts quite nicely with Windows Mobile, no complaints there. Calendar, however, must only be for those wussy iPhone types. So, the solution is to buy Outlook (we got 2007), install it on a desktop. Then download Outlook connector, and sync Outlook with Windows Live. Now Outlook can be used to view Hotmail. We should be golden, right, with this unfortunate solution of having to cable-sync the calendar. Nope.
Every time the phone gets plugged in, WMDC gives the error 'Desktop Synchronization cannot be completed. Reduce your mailbox size by deleting some items and folders and try again Support Code 85010017'. Also, there was the problem of Outlook randomly locking up, and requiring a reboot to get it going again. My wife gave up trying to use Outlook, and just logged onto the website to do anything. It took a while to realize that it was after she plugged her phone in was when Outlook took a hiatus.
So, after researching, I tried all the tricks, and nothing worked. I was starting with a fresh install of Windows Mobile 6.5.x and a fresh install of Windows 7, so legacy data wasn't the problem, though I repetetivly tried completely removing all partnerships, removing WMDC and it's registry values, etc. I reduced my ost file from 200mb to 20mb (meg, not gig, how could it have a problem with that), to no avail. There wasn't even have a pst file.
SOLUTION:
When setting up a partnership using Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC), when selecting Calendar, 'Sync Settings' would become active. From that, changing from 'past 1 month' to 'past 2 weeks' eliminated the 85010017 error code, and supposedly the sync was successful.
It just didn't appear to be successful, since no appointments were transferred to the phone. However, I found that if I created a new appointment, it would sync over (both ways). This led me to find that if I edited and saveD the existing appointments, it would sync over. Apparrently, it just doesn't want to sync existing events. So after resaving all her existing events, we now have success. And Outlook doesn't freeze anymore.
ALTERNATIVE:
So, one way to avoid all this hassle would have been to use Google Calendar Sync to sync her data to a Google Calandar, then add an ActiveSync Exchange serve to the Google Calandar, which would have provided over the air syncing of her calendar to her phone. So the chain would have been Windows Live> Outlook Connector> Outlook> Google Calendar Sync> Google Calendar> ActiveSync/Exchange Server on the phone> Outlook Mobile. Simple as can be, right? I did try this, and it does work well.
But my thinking was this was too much room for error, I would be better doing it the proper way and just syncing her phone directly to the computer with a cable and all Microsoft software. Silly me, I should have known that third parties can make more reliable use of Microsoft data than Microsoft can.
BONUS:
The one nice thing is I found a way around Windows Mobile limitation of only one calendar, sort of.
I wanted to have multiple calendars in Outlook, so we could have shared items on one (like bulk trash pickup) that both of us would see (I also have a WM phone, an HTC Touch Diamond), but I wouldn't have to look at all her daily events, and I wouldn't have to see hers.
So, the work around for two calendars is to use catagories in her Outlook, with one being a 'Shared' category. When she syncs her phone she gets all items on her phone, and can even create new events on her phone with categories. So she is good. Then I installed gSyncit on the desktop, which allows us to sync specific categories to a Google calendar. One calendar is free, and to do additional calendars would mean paying the $14.95 for the program, which I don't think was bad, even though I stuck with the one free one. Then, gSyncit is again installed on my work computer, again having those Google calendar events go to a Shared category. Then, all those events are nicely sync'd over the companies exchange server to my phone, again in categories.
Another way to get multiple calendars to sync with the phone would have been to use almost all of these same steps, but with OggSync replacing gSyncit and ActiveSync, but at $30 per year, there is no way I am going to pay that much for conveluted patch. Which brings me to the moral of the story:
DO NOT BUY A WINDOWS MOBILE PHONE:
It is the worst excuse for an operating system that I have seen since DOS. There is no way Microsoft should be allowing it to exist. It does more harm for them than good.
I've suffered through over a decade of God-awful Microsoft Word. I've suffered through the Vista. But WM is the elephant that broke the camel's back. After an eternity of being a Windows promoter, I am now telling everyone to avoid Microsoft at all costs. As the guy that everyone goes to for advice, I am now sending them to Apple, be it Mac or iPhone. Or Android. Or simply forgo the technology, you'll be better off without the extreme amount of maintenance it requires to keep Windows going.
Goodbye, Microsoft. You've past critical-mass, and can no longer function.
Goodbye, Microsoft. You've past critical-mass, and can no longer function.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I lol'ed.
Also, I agree. Did you know that live mail accounts (hotmail) don't support ActiveSync, M$'s own syncing protocol? GMAIL as well as most other email services support it, but microsoft's biggest email service does not.
If you would like to be entertained/depressed, check out
windowslivehelp.com/community/t/100579.aspx
It is a microsoft help forum thread which embodies the failure of microsoft. It gets funnier as it goes on.
My experience now.. HTC TP2 and ActiveSync
mikgyver said:
Goodbye, Microsoft. You've past critical-mass, and can no longer function.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to quit MS too now - made a bad mistake to buy an new Touch Pro 2. After trying to sync with Blackberry Client for windows, which took me 2 days but was successful in the end - I tried to sync with 2 Windows XP Computers via ActiveSync 4.5. One works, the other doesn't - no chance. Can't see why - with the HTC Kaiser this worked - not really without problems over the years - but mostly it worked.
Now the trial to sync just contacts and calendar ends with "85010017" and I see afterwards that 1600 contacs are synconized but about 20 empty contacts are added and the caledar did only sncronize the Birthdays - so nothing, because the birthdays will come from the calendar.
Don't know how to go on..
Best regards,
Waka

Exchange and PIM Questions

Can you create repeating Tasks with alarms? Can you assign categories to Contacts, Appointiments, and Tasks. Can all this information sync correctly and directly with an Exchange server?
Exchange Support
My question too, my boss just got one today, and I have to set it up to sync to our exchange server. Has anyone been able to do this successfully?
Well it depends...
If you need a security certificate there might be a slight problem. You'll need to contact the admin of the exchange server and have him approve the phone. I never got that far with my sysadm - I just got a blank "no"!
So I searched for an alternative and came up with two apps that'll do the job:
-Touchdown - didn't work with my mail, but got the contacts and the calendar.
-RoadSync - works beautifully, but has issues with contacts. It's still beta and free for another month so they might come up with a fix before the full version airs.
Get'em both in Market.
Mobile-Review has an in-depth review of the Hero, and a two-part look at Android (the Hero is the first Android device in Russia).
There's bound to be some answers to what the PIM apps can do and what not.
The text translates pretty good in google translate! Take a look:
Hero-review: http://74.125.79.132/translate_c?hl...le.com&usg=ALkJrhg8qM_iQ9guL49UOIUiRaM35o64rw
Android part one: http://74.125.79.132/translate_c?hl...le.com&usg=ALkJrhjqSDygag5z8ACv7CTxhPWh9eXU0Q
Android part two: http://74.125.79.132/translate_c?hl...le.com&usg=ALkJrhhc24NUZ-8f2BpO3gI7m8COcKeMLw
kvist80 said:
Well it depends...
If you need a security certificate there might be a slight problem. You'll need to contact the admin of the exchange server and have him approve the phone. I never got that far with my sysadm - I just got a blank "no"!
So I searched for an alternative and came up with two apps that'll do the job:
-Touchdown - didn't work with my mail, but got the contacts and the calendar.
-RoadSync - works beautifully, but has issues with contacts. It's still beta and free for another month so they might come up with a fix before the full version airs.
Get'em both in Market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that a security certificate will not be a problem for me. I have an account on a hosted exchange service, thru Sherweb, for my personal use.
Outlook 2007
I'd like to ask if it is possible to synchronize directly with Outlook 2007 (cable or bluetooth), thanks and sorry for my english

[Q] No active Sync?

There's no active sync available on the Radar?
Does 7.5 not have this feature?
Anyway I can sync my personal Outlook calender etc (no exchange)?
i don't believe it's avail. i sync my outlook to htc radar thru MS live which sync with local outlook. google on this topic on you will be shown the way.
it's not as bad as people on this forum made it out to be. i actually like this feature.
Windows Phone does not sync to a PC, (mostly - Zune being the exception). Which makes it a pain for people who keep all their important information on a PC rather than "in the cloud".
There is a work-around - you can sync your PC Outlook info to your Windows Live account with the Microsoft Office Outlook Hotmail Connector.
Tip: You need to add your Live account as an additional account to Outlook, and then make it the primary account for this to work seamlessly. Well, semi-seamlessly. Otherwise you will have an experience similar to Tony Bradley at PCWorld.
This has also been taken up by third party software, like CompanionLink who do a much better job of bridging the gap than Microsoft.
In the end this means that people who have already moved their e-mail, contacts, and calendars into web services like Exchange, Live, Google, Yahoo, and Office365 have a very smooth transition into Windows Phone. People who have their primary information on a local PC are left to fend for themselves.
As you can tell, this is a big change in philosophy. Once upon a time, the world was PC-centric. People had one PC, and mobile devices were satellites that only had to give the user a copy of their PC data on-the-go. The Blackberry broke out of that mold. It was a completely functional e-mail/PIM device that needed no PC "middle man".
Now people have a PC at home, at work, a laptop, and maybe a tablet or smartphone - and they expect to have up-to-date information no matter which device they pick up. Microsoft saw that the old sync-to-PC paradigm no longer worked. They picked up the Android model, where contacts, calendar, and e-mail are all kept in the cloud and pushed or pulled down to the mobile device as needed. (Apple, oddly, as been the slow mover here. They required an iTunes PC sync for all their devices until this year.)
This does work better for people with multiple devices. But they really didn't address the people who still consider the PC their "gold" standard of information and expect the mobile device to conform to that. I'm guessing that doing both got too complicated to meet their 2010 deadline, and as that number of users gets smaller and smaller, there is less incentive over time to go back and add that feature back in.
On a positive note, once you do this you will be all set to move seamlessly to your next phone, whether it's another Windows Phone, iPhone, or Android.
Anyway, you are not alone. There has been much debate over this, and many long-term Windows Mobile users are still steamed.

[Q] First thing you do when receiving your Lumia

Hi.
On tuesday I'm receiving my first Window Phone, the Lumia 800. What is the first thing I should do with it after receiving the device.
I'm coming from android and the the first step with them devices where rooting it.
Are there something similar I should start with on tuesday with the Lumia?
Thanks in advance
Pemell
1) Run diag tool (##634# in dialer), check screen and full battery charge (must be > 1000mAh), audio. Try other tests.
2) There are no "root" for this moment, so you don't need this step.
3) Create and link your lumia to live.com account.
4) Update via Zune if there is some update.
5) Fall in love with wp7 and lumia design.
Before it even arrives, you should decide which web service you'd like to use to store your contacts (google or Live). Clean up the contacts on that account so that they'll already look good when they sync to your Lumia. If you use Outlook, then install the Microsoft Outlook Hotmail connector and it will sync your calendar/contacts from outlook to Live (again, make sure to have cleaned out Live first so that you don't get blending that you don't want).
Have fun with your Lumia. It's so nice to just hold on to.
Thanks! Really great answers.
I use google for storing contacts and calendar posts so I will clean this up before I get it, great tip. I know many of them need some updates.
As regard of the diagnosis, I read somewhere about a battery problem. Chipsaru: Is this a fact if I can't charge it with more then 1000mAh? I'll check it when it arrives.
Thanks again folks,
Pemell
With normal lumia you'll be able to charge it more than ~1200mAh.
But there are some faulty devices which has some problems with battery controller and it responds to diagnostic app value of full charge capacity less than 1000 mAh. It's known defect and nokia replaces this devices.
anseio said:
Before it even arrives, you should decide which web service you'd like to use to store your contacts (google or Live). Clean up the contacts on that account so that they'll already look good when they sync to your Lumia. If you use Outlook, then install the Microsoft Outlook Hotmail connector and it will sync your calendar/contacts from outlook to Live (again, make sure to have cleaned out Live first so that you don't get blending that you don't want).
Have fun with your Lumia. It's so nice to just hold on to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does all of the Google Contacts fields synchronize properly with Windows Phone 7.5?
How about Windows Live Hotmail Contacts? I would presume that everything in the fields will synchronize properly due to the fact that it's a Microsoft controlled product.
I don't use too many fields. Just name, number, email, and address. Those seem to sync just fine.
I can't give specifics, as I started with Google and thought it was doing a good job... until I tried to migrate my calendar to Live using outlook. Had to change data files, but my contacts wouldn't just move right over. So, I figured since I have GOcontactSync that I could delete from outlook and resync. Yeah, big mistake. Google was syncing as planned and I lost a lot of data.
NOW? I use Outlook with the hotmail connector software and everything syncs seamlessly between phone, cloud, and pc.
There are some limitations in syncing with gmail. In google contacts you can set more than one mobile number for one person (phone number with badge "mobile"), but wp7 would not synchronize additional mobile numbers, only the first one. And there wouldn't be any error messages.
So be careful with gmail and check contacts with not usual fields.
What if have mobile, home, work?
Will all be synced?
Do I need to create new account or I can use existing hotmail?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
newabv said:
What if have mobile, home, work?
Will all be synced?
Do I need to create new account or I can use existing hotmail?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
m/h/w will all be synced. "other" will not be synced until you correct the category. This is what happens w/ google, I think.
Yes, you can use your existing hotmail account.
Thanks
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Chipsaru said:
1) Run diag tool (##634# in dialer), check screen and full battery charge (must be > 1000mAh), audio. Try other tests.
2) There are no "root" for this moment, so you don't need this step.
3) Create and link your lumia to live.com account.
4) Update via Zune if there is some update.
5) Fall in love with wp7 and lumia design.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When have to make the charging test- before charging it need to be full charged?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

[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?

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