Google Calendar Reminders on multiple devices (Androids + Win desktop) - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Google Calendar Reminders on multiple devices (Android(s) + Win desktop).
Scenario: On your Windows desktop, in Google Calendar, you have created an appointment reminder for 3pm tomorrow (or 3 weeks ahead) .
You want that reminder to ring/vibrate your Android phone(s), including Androids in DND (do not disturb) mode.
To my knowledge, Google only lets you create a reminder for the same device. So you will see the event on all your devices calendars, but it will only ring one device.
Is there any way around still with Google?
Or, without Google, but on Android?

@rybshik I'm not using Google at all, neither on PC nor on Android, i.e. no Google calendar.
On Windows PC I'm using Outlook (from Office 2016 Pro) and sync with the calendar (and contacts) of my email provider (posteo.de) via CalDav Synchronizer. On Linux tablet, I'm using Thunderbird with the add-ons Lightning and TbSync (just search for them on Mozilla) to sync with the calendar and contacts of posteo.de.
For synchronisation of calendar and contacts of my Android device with posteo.de I use DAVX5 that is also available via F-Droid.
Works excellent and without any problems including reminders and categories.

Oswald Boelcke said:
@On Windows PC I'm using Outlook ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So after you have installed and configured the apps on your Desktop and Android., it goes like this:
On your Windows PC, in MS Outlook you create a calendar event (appointment) .
15 min before the appointment your Android plays a sound or vibrates to remind you of the appointment . All that happens without you touching the phone as long as phone is charged and running.
Correct?

rybshik said:
So after you have installed and configured the apps on your Desktop and Android., it goes like this:
On your Windows PC, in MS Outlook you create a calendar event (appointment) .
15 min before the appointment your Android plays a sound or vibrates to remind you of the appointment . All that happens without you touching the phone as long as phone is charged and running.
Correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I apologise for the delayed response, I've been busy with other stuff. And I hope you didn't mind that we moved this thread to Q&A and closed your other one.
Your assumption is correct. All this happens pending on the time you set in Outlook or Thunderbird how many minutes prior to an appointment you want to be alerted.
Android sound, loudness and vibration depend on your Android settings but the reminder/notification occurs without any requirement to touch the phone.
However, if you create an appointment in Outlook etc. and the synchronisation with your Android device hasn't occured yet (pending on the set synv interval) you obviously won't receive a notification/reminder.
My personal setup: Both, PC and Android, push a new or changed appointment to my posteo.de account immediately when it has been created/changed, but my PC sync's/pulls only every 15 minutes and the Android devices even only 240 minutes. By the way, same applies to my contacts.

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

leaving winmo!

Hello all, i am leaving winmo this friday for a HTC Hero and i would like to know some things ahead of time.
1. Is ther a bing app for android. i use this every day and would like to continue.
2. how many email acct. can one have on the hero?
3. are there cab. files for android or is everything ran from the app store?
4. will pim backup work to transfer all my contacts, texts, email and so on?
5. are there any other roms to flash to to make it better, and where are they?
i hope some or all can be answered, and i hope this is not a repeat... if so i am sorry, hanx
1. For what purpose?
2. Same as WinMo... one Exchange and as many IMAP/POP3 as you want...
3. Not CABs, they're called APKs in Android, can be installed from device or PC (needs to be enabled in Settings) as well as the market
4. No
5. Modacos and Drizzys is available in the Development forum for Hero, they are custom made from HTCs latest update
Hey, thanks for the quick feed back. just what i needed to know. bing is windows mobile live search cab that give u everything in one place, movie times, weather, business and map searches, gas prices etc. is there anything like it or does google do it all as well? how is the sync feature with windows vista and xp. does android sync with your office suite like winmo does? can you sync calendar, contacts etc.?or will i have to start over with new contact client setup and calendar or something?
It would be in your best interest to set up a google account. I think it syncs your calendar and stuff with google.
Re Syncing of Hero
Yes you can sync your phone so that it gets all your contacts, calendar and emails.
I sync with Exchange to get my emails and calendar entries but use the HTC Sync program to sync contacts. I do this as for some reason I get various errors when syncing contacts through my Exchange account.
This is my first non winmo phone since the first HTC came out on orange and I was very hesitant to leave the platform, however after a week with my G2 (still waiting for T Mobile update!!) i am more than happy and doubt I will venture back unless Microsoft pulls a rabbit out of a hat (or their fingers out of theirs arses) and releases the operating system that people actually want!!
Syncing Hero with Google and Desktop Applications
d.raw24 said:
Hey, thanks for the quick feed back. just what i needed to know. bing is windows mobile live search cab that give u everything in one place, movie times, weather, business and map searches, gas prices etc. is there anything like it or does google do it all as well? how is the sync feature with windows vista and xp. does android sync with your office suite like winmo does? can you sync calendar, contacts etc.?or will i have to start over with new contact client setup and calendar or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Hero comes with HTC Sync which supposedly lets you sync the phone with the Office suite, but I haven't tried that - by the time I realised it was there, I had already migrated everything over to a mixture of Google and Mozilla.
The way I make it work is by using Google contacts and calendar as the 'central database' that you sync everything with. I use Thunderbird for email and contacts, and Sunbird or Lightning for the calendar. (Lightning is an extension for Thunderbird, and Sunbird is essentially the same program but set as a standalone application). Using the GContactSync add-on with the Thunderbird address book lets it sync with Google contacts, and Sunbird/Lightning can be set up already to work with Google calendar. Ideally you actually keep two calendars in Sunbird; one for your recent appointments, one for the archive. This keeps your life off of Google's servers, and makes the synchronising faster on the phone or desktop.
This setup works well even if you have multiple computers that you all want to sync together, though if some of the computers aren't always connected, such as a laptop, then you need another step. The issue is that Sunbird/Lightning connects directly to Google calendar rather than maintaining an offline calendar which it occasionally syncs with Google. So if your connection drops or you switch off wi-fi to save laptop battery, you lose access to the calendar. The solution is another add-on called GCalDaemon which downloads the calendar from Google and then works with Sunbird/Lightning, syncing with Google when it can.
It might sound complicated, but it's not too bad really!
so many questions?
moved to Q&A
Thank steven just what i was after and i never even asked...good man!
d.raw24 said:
Hello all, i am leaving winmo this friday for a HTC Hero
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having left Winmo for Android are you happy with your choice? I am currently running a HD and a Hero, I was intending leaving Winmo but I am a bit disappointed with Android.
Do you feel you can do everything with Android that you could do with Winmo?

Is MS retarded, or is it me ? Contact photos and some other things.

After using Google calendar for about a year, I finally gave up. The service, for most part, is reliable, the calendar loads fast, but there's no way to sync Todo's and I have tons of them. Used to work around this by using GogTasks but the latest change from Google broke the sign-in process so there's no (free) way now to sync tasks.
So, I decided to give MS another try. Synced to Windows Live - this time calendar sync worked (I had a major problem with it a year ago). Still, there's a few issues.
1) It appears MS no longer allows syncing multiple calendars to Win Mob device.
2) It appears MS no longer supports categories in Tasks or Appointments.
3) It appears there's no way to add contact photos unless contacts create a Windows Live account and set up a profile picture.
Now, I can live with 1 and 2. It sucks but I guess there are some underlying problems they were trying to get rid of - AS always used to choke on category sync.
#3, in our day and age, is completely, utterly retarded. I don't understand why they did it. I don't understand the thinking behind it. Do they seriously think everybody in my contact list will just stampede all over one another rushing to create their own Windows Live ID ? The only thing more retarded is Google's joke of a practically unusable task list.
I'll stick with WL for now - unless I get an Android device next, and unless I start having problems syncing, I'd rather have bastardized Contacts and ToDos than "normal" Contacts and no ToDos. Still, why isn't there a single online provider that just works for basic PIM info on WinMob ?
gmail?
I use exchange and pocket outlook to sync my calendar and contacts with my gmail account - google runs the exchange server for free. I add my todos to wm's built in calendar app and gmail syncs them with google calendar or put it in google calendar save then sync your phone. It also syncs all my contacts including contact pictures - when I hard reset I just sync and everything is there - the only thing it will not sync is tasks so I just put them as appointments in the calendar.
http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=138636&topic=14299
The first 2 I just learned of today, it is a pain it doesn't do that, and this is one huge deal breaker for me to go almost to another OS as a whole, this whole unintegrated Microsoft ecosphere. It seems like though that Microsoft finally understands how broken they are and are finally integrating things all together, but that's only in their new products.
As for your problems...
1) Windows Mobile devices never synced multiple calendars, even with Google Calendar (you could get around it with other programs though which I used to do but alas, that was broken like you mentioned when Google updated...)
2) I'm not sure but my categories sync, when I make them in WLM Messenger (Favorites category seems to be syncing). Maybe the work around is to make it in WLM or on Live. Doesn't seem to sync the categories from your phone though....
3) I don't know what exactly is wrong, because I have been able to sync contact photos on my phone. I'm not sure if you're trying to do it from the Live services side of things though, if so, then I think it's impossible unless you do it through Windows Live Messenger.
Wow! This is all very interesting. A few weeks ago, my company's Blackberry server was upgraded. At the same time, MS Activesync stopped working for me. It gave me an error message code 80004005. I Googled this and it said that some software needed to be upgraded or something like that. I had assumed that because the security in my company's IT department is so strict, this had put a spanner in the works somehow into Activesync.
From what you guys are saying, it is a microsoft thing. I thought it was a RIM thing.
I am currently syncing with Blackberry Connect for both appointments and contacts. This is an old and crap system.
The contacts don't sync with their photos and also they sync lastname, firstname whereas I have set my preference to firstname, lastname. I then have to manually change this on my WM6.5 phone
The calendar syncing is also crap. Catagories don't sync and also some annually recurring appointments show up on my WM6.5 phone one month early!
I don't have Windows Live installed on my phone. If I did, would Activesync then work? Would it get rid of the 80004005 error code?

[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?

Xperia X series sync with Outlook

G'day from down under,
I have just upgraded from a Xperia Z1 which had PC Companion (full outlook sync functionality) but the Xperia X Performance only has Xperia Companion which only backs up. I have found 1 app (akrutosync) online that proposes to do a full sync (contacts / calendar / etc) but they charge $34.95 a year. MobileGo is only an import / export app, not a sync app so it's useless.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Adrian
aeb001 said:
G'day from down under,
I have just upgraded from a Xperia Z1 which had PC Companion (full outlook sync functionality) but the Xperia X Performance only has Xperia Companion which only backs up. I have found 1 app (akrutosync) online that proposes to do a full sync (contacts / calendar / etc) but they charge $34.95 a year. MobileGo is only an import / export app, not a sync app so it's useless.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Adrian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exchange ActiveSync is supported on this phone. If you use Outlook.com, just open the stock email app and add your account - voila. Only thing I can't get working right are Tasks & Notes, but there's a great app from the Play Store (Tasks & Notes for MS Exchange) that does the trick.
aeb001 said:
G'day from down under,
I have just upgraded from a Xperia Z1 which had PC Companion (full outlook sync functionality) but the Xperia X Performance only has Xperia Companion which only backs up. I have found 1 app (akrutosync) online that proposes to do a full sync (contacts / calendar / etc) but they charge $34.95 a year. MobileGo is only an import / export app, not a sync app so it's useless.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Adrian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used that software for syncing Outlook calendar with my Xperia smartphone before switching to iPhone 7. It works like a charm, the only bad thing was that you can't switch between syncing via Wi-Fi and over the Internet on the go. Just checked their website and these $35 is still a one-time payment. However, syncing through Outlook.com should be a good alternative if you're not okay with paying for 3-rd party software.
josh_zombie said:
Exchange ActiveSync is supported on this phone. If you use Outlook.com, just open the stock email app and add your account - voila. Only thing I can't get working right are Tasks & Notes, but there's a great app from the Play Store (Tasks & Notes for MS Exchange) that does the trick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the outlook client on my PC. I am NOT using exchange (corporate server).
Hey everyone,
I found an app as suggested by a few on Sony Mobiles official forums where everyone was tearing Sony to shreds for ditching PC Companion's sync functionality & someone suggested MyPhoneExplorer. It's really damn good. It actually corrected some issues that PC Companion had created (anyone without a birthday automatically scored 1/1/1970 as their birthday upon the first ever sync when I got my Z1) and it has some quirks which I have overcome. All in all a great app.
Adrian
Manitoba_man said:
I've used that software for syncing Outlook calendar with my Xperia smartphone before switching to iPhone 7. It works like a charm, the only bad thing was that you can't switch between syncing via Wi-Fi and over the Internet on the go. Just checked their website and these $35 is still a one-time payment. However, syncing through Outlook.com should be a good alternative if you're not okay with paying for 3-rd party software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Outlook .com > isnt that just for hotmail or MS email accounts as that how i've used it up till now. I actually have office 2016 on my PC & have the Outlook 2016 client on my PC (not associated with an exchange server). Like you said iTunes is awesome but I left apple in my past (iPhone 4) and dont want to go back. LOL
aeb001 said:
Outlook .com > isnt that just for hotmail or MS email accounts as that how i've used it up till now. I actually have office 2016 on my PC & have the Outlook 2016 client on my PC (not associated with an exchange server). Like you said iTunes is awesome but I left apple in my past (iPhone 4) and dont want to go back. LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but you can setup Outlook.com like an Exchange account on the phone to sync email, contacts, & calendar.
josh_zombie said:
Yes, but you can setup Outlook.com like an Exchange account on the phone to sync email, contacts, & calendar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I realise the outlook app acts like that but only with your outlook.com account (hotmail etc). If it is able to do it with contacts & calendar of a pc running Office 16 (and office 13 as that operates the same way & will help many other users) then please advise how as thats all i'm chasing.
aeb001 said:
I realise the outlook app acts like that but only with your outlook.com account (hotmail etc). If it is able to do it with contacts & calendar of a pc running Office 16 (and office 13 as that operates the same way & will help many other users) then please advise how as thats all i'm chasing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to Android settings --> Account & sync --> Add account
Select Exchange ActiveSync (the stock email app should open)
Enter your email address --> NEXT
Enter password --> NEXT (if autoconfigure does not work, go to MANUAL SETUP at bottom of screen)
Domain\Username = \[email protected]
Password = should already be set, enter again if not
Server = outlook.office365.com
Make sure use secure connection (SSL) is ticked
Port = 443
josh_zombie said:
Go to Android settings --> Account & sync --> Add account
Select Exchange ActiveSync (the stock email app should open)
Enter your email address --> NEXT
Enter password --> NEXT (if autoconfigure does not work, go to MANUAL SETUP at bottom of screen)
Domain\Username = \[email protected]
Password = should already be set, enter again if not
Server = outlook.office365.com
Make sure use secure connection (SSL) is ticked
Port = 443
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said, I'm using Office 2016. I'm not using Office 365. Office 2016 is a PC client. Office 365 is a year by year licence & is a web based service, just like gmail etc.
aeb001 said:
As I said, I'm using Office 2016. I'm not using Office 365. Office 2016 is a PC client. Office 365 is a year by year licence & is a web based service, just like gmail etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't matter whether you have Office 365 or not... If you are using Outlook.com to send/receive email, the settings I provided will work.
Or change the server to m.outlook.com - it all works the same.
josh_zombie said:
It doesn't matter whether you have Office 365 or not... If you are using Outlook.com to send/receive email, the settings I provided will work.
Or change the server to m.outlook.com - it all works the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the billionth time i'm using Outlook 2016 on PC. It's a software application not a web client. It has absolutely nothing to do with outlook.com which is what microsoft replaced hotmail.com with in early 2013.
aeb001 said:
For the billionth time i'm using Outlook 2016 on PC. It's a software application not a web client. It has absolutely nothing to do with outlook.com which is what microsoft replaced hotmail.com with in early 2013.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I use Outlook 2016 too and also noticed that PC Companion from Sony does not sync your calendar, contact, notes, etc. It only backs it up. So I have made a long search how to sync my contacts, etc with Microsoft Outlook 2016. Well, the answer is simple, use a third party app for that called MyPhoneExplorer. You can download it from the App store for free. You also have to install the MyPhoneExplorer client on your PC. It works flawlessly, either by Wifi, bluetooth or USB. BTW, do not use PC Companion also for backing up your device, cause it does not work. I have had a crash with my Sony and tried to restore it with one of my six backups, none of them worked and all gave, sooner or later an error message. Use instead "Backup your Mobile", also availalble in the store and for free. This does the job properly and you can choose to place the backup either in Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and Orange Cloud.
kindest regards, kuzibri
kuzibri said:
Hi,
I use Outlook 2016 too and also noticed that PC Companion from Sony does not sync your calendar, contact, notes, etc. It only backs it up. So I have made a long search how to sync my contacts, etc with Microsoft Outlook 2016. Well, the answer is simple, use a third party app for that called MyPhoneExplorer. You can download it from the App store for free. You also have to install the MyPhoneExplorer client on your PC. It works flawlessly, either by Wifi, bluetooth or USB. BTW, do not use PC Companion also for backing up your device, cause it does not work. I have had a crash with my Sony and tried to restore it with one of my six backups, none of them worked and all gave, sooner or later an error message. Use instead "Backup your Mobile", also availalble in the store and for free. This does the job properly and you can choose to place the backup either in Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and Orange Cloud.
kindest regards, kuzibri
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already using MyPhoneExplorer as per much earlier comment
aeb001 said:
Already using MyPhoneExplorer as per much earlier comment
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, but just wanted to emphasize it, but the main part of my post is not to use PC Companion as your backup program,
kindest regards, kuzibri

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