Develop Bugs

Problems: Google Exchange Server (Activesync)

Hey guys, since a few days I have massive problems with syncing my device with google (contacts, calendar, emails). I used activesync with the snyc settings to m.google.com and suddenly it tries to sync always the entire content from new, every time stating that there are changes done on the server side which requires entire resync. does anybody have the same issues and a solution to that?

I could never get it working right. I use goosync (payservice).

I use this for contacts and calendar but couldn't get the email portion to work reliably. I use IMAP for gmail.

mine syncs fine.

The Jack of Clubs said:
mine syncs fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same, works perfectly for me.
Although i only use google for calender and e-mail, i use dashwire to back up my contacts.
You have probably already tried it, but have you disabled all but one and checked it to see if you still have the same issue?
If it works properly with just e-mail for example, then add in calender and try it again. If it works then add contacts back in or if it breaks remove calender and try contacts instead.
Might help you track down whats causing the issue.
Just an idea.

Mine syncs fine as well. At first I had problems with syncing because I never set up a Calendar or Contacts with Google, so I unchecked everything except Mail. Try that.

Check this out from wmexperts.com:
Has anyone else noticed that they can't sync Google Gmail via Activesync over the past few days? At first I thought it was just me but soon came to find that the "Error Synchronization" message was being displayed on other Windows phones.
The official error code is 0x8600050c (Communications Error) and in looking over at Google Mobile's Help Forum, there are a few solutions available.
The first suggestion is to delete the current Exchange Server relationship and re-create it. Another solution suggests to un-check the email option in Activesync, reboot the phone, re-check the email option and sync. The latter seems to have the most success.
We couldn't find anything official from Google on the cause of these errors or of a "official" solution. If we hear of anything we'll pass it on.

you dont have tasks selected do you?

google sync is not up to snuff as it currently stands.
having tried it, doing this over & over:
The first suggestion is to delete the current Exchange Server relationship and re-create it. Another solution suggests to un-check the email option in Activesync, reboot the phone, re-check the email option and sync. The latter seems to have the most success.
Has been unacceptable.

perveeus said:
google syncis not up to snuff as it currently stands.
having tried it, doing this over & over:
The first suggestion is to delete the current Exchange Server relationship and re-create it. Another solution suggests to un-check the email option in Activesync, reboot the phone, re-check the email option and sync. The latter seems to have the most success.
Has been unacceptable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I agree, but to Google's defense, they say this is in Beta, but we are spoiled with great Google products so we are expecting too much. I do wish they would put more effort to it though, it has been like this since November when I tried it and I haven't seen anything improved in 3-4 months.

wpbear said:
Yes I agree, but to Google's defense, they say this is in Beta, but we are spoiled with great Google products so we are expecting too much. I do wish they would put more effort to it though, it has been like this since November when I tried it and I haven't seen anything improved in 3-4 months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh don't think I am bagging google & all their great products & freebies.
But it just seem they set expectations so high, that they use the excuse of "beta" forever before releasing anything (witness gmail was an invite forever!).
I'm just spoiled!

schoolio said:
Check this out from wmexperts.com:
Has anyone else noticed that they can't sync Google Gmail via Activesync over the past few days? At first I thought it was just me but soon came to find that the "Error Synchronization" message was being displayed on other Windows phones.
The official error code is 0x8600050c (Communications Error) and in looking over at Google Mobile's Help Forum, there are a few solutions available.
The first suggestion is to delete the current Exchange Server relationship and re-create it. Another solution suggests to un-check the email option in Activesync, reboot the phone, re-check the email option and sync. The latter seems to have the most success.
We couldn't find anything official from Google on the cause of these errors or of a "official" solution. If we hear of anything we'll pass it on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem a few days ago. I deleted the Exchange Server relationship and re-created it, and it's worked fine since. I've had similar problems periodically in the past - I chalk it up to it being a free service.

I got google sync to work, just got my touch pro2 on sunday. works with my main google calendar, saw a user around here recommend ActiveGCSync for additional google calendars, will try that tonight. The only problem I had is i initially synced all my gmail contacts to my phone (most without names or phone numbers), so then I unchecked 'contacts' thinking it would take them out, but instead it removed ALL the contacts from my phone But now all my phone contacts are backed up in my gmail I guess I will have to clean up the mess manually and sync them back up...

I spent a good part of my day so far editing all my gmail contacts and merging duplicates and the last tihng I did was set up a bunch of new 'groups' under the contacts in gmail. I was hoping that after I sync'd back up that I would be able to use the google created contact groups as a means of filtering my contact list, but this seems not to be the case.
From searching around here I ran across a program called 'Seven' and others, which I will explore if there isn't another way. But I was hoping someone could give me some ideas other than individually editing the "Category" of each contact, which seems to be the field which it looks at for "Filter" under the menu soft key.
Thanks

I use Seven Beta to sync all my mail accs. On creation gives me the option for sync of contacts and calendar as well. Everything works great.

burtonsnow8 said:
I use Seven Beta to sync all my mail accs. On creation gives me the option for sync of contacts and calendar as well. Everything works great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you sync google contacts that you have put into groups, and then can you use the TouchFlo contact list to filter them by those groups?

[Q] Syncing Problems

Hey guys, I have tried taking care of my problem with sync'ing. I've searched the forums here on XDA, and searched Google. But I want to start using XDAndroid 2.2 regularly and I am having some problems with sync'ing.
I have three e-mail addresses from different domains. Do i need to sync all of these? or do I only need to sync the address that my android account is set up on on my phone? Also, It said I needed to enable Google Sync from my settings. Which I have been searching, and cannot find.. I feel like such a noob and once someone tells me, I'll do a big facepalm.
Please help me.

khoyifish said:
Hey guys, I have tried taking care of my problem with sync'ing. I've searched the forums here on XDA, and searched Google. But I want to start using XDAndroid 2.2 regularly and I am having some problems with sync'ing.
I have three e-mail addresses from different domains. Do i need to sync all of these? or do I only need to sync the address that my android account is set up on on my phone? Also, It said I needed to enable Google Sync from my settings. Which I have been searching, and cannot find.. I feel like such a noob and once someone tells me, I'll do a big facepalm.
Please help me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use gmail account
then
setting>accounts & sync
....allow me to face palm you

when I hit settings I only have "Accounts and Import". I guess I'm looking for a "Googly Sync" option.
Do I just have to enable IMAP or POP3?
Sorry, I've had a very off day..

khoyifish said:
when I hit settings I only have "Accounts and Import". I guess I'm looking for a "Googly Sync" option.
Do I just have to enable IMAP or POP3?
Sorry, I've had a very off day..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it is not like syncing with winmo, you only have to sync your phone with your google account....it syncs more than email
its the 7th option down under settings
are you using a current build?

I don't think I gave you enough information. I'm wanting to switch over to android. I'm currently using the latest build of the Energy ROM (SenCity style). The only reason I'm not using andriod is that I dont know how to send my contacts from Windows into the Android build.
I've been told that Google Sync does it. I was trying to enable it from my gmail account. Where do I go to get to the settings you were referring to?
Sorry about the confusion. the help is much appreciated! thanks

So if your contacts aren't already sync'd with your GMail account from WinMo, the initial sync will knock them out.
Setup PIM Backup or something similar so you can backup all your contacts. Then setup your GMail account in your Exchange settings for WinMo - so you go to Start -> Settings -> Connections -> Comm Manager -> MS Direct Push - from there you enter your GMail settings. m.google.com for the server, be sure to use ssl. I'm not positive if it does knock out your existing contacts, but if it does after you setup the server, import your contacts back from PIM Backup or whatever you used to backup your contacts, run another sync in ActiveSync (not with your computer, with GMail) - you should now have all your contacts in GMail under "My Contacts" - then you can just sync in Android. Easy.

Yeah I have all of that set up on my phone, It just says sync error.
I thought I would have to enable something in my gmail account on my computer for the sync to go through?

khoyifish said:
Yeah I have all of that set up on my phone, It just says sync error.
I thought I would have to enable something in my gmail account on my computer for the sync to go through?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you shouldnt have to, least i didnt
make you you are entering everything correctly

khoyifish said:
Yeah I have all of that set up on my phone, It just says sync error.
I thought I would have to enable something in my gmail account on my computer for the sync to go through?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you getting the sync error in Android or WinMo? I'm going to assume WinMo.
When you setup the exchange server, ONLY check email & contacts. You can sync the calendar, but I found if you just setup your gmail account without ever visiting your calendar, the sync will fail. Other than that, I don't think there's anything to enable assuming you're using the correct settings... Always make sure to put in the entire email address, w/the @gmail.com @ the end.

I was getting the error in WinMo. Sorry about being so unclear! woops.
Hazzah! I disabled Calendars and Tasks. and now Contacts are currently being sync'd! woo! I wanted Calendars and Tasks to sync because Univ. of South Florida uses Google Apps and I had my calendar on my phone. Everyone who has android phones, just one touch and all of their calendar and schedule is on their phone. I'll just do this then haha.
Anyways, as soon as I log into Android with my gmail account will the contacts be there? Or I need to enable a sync through there? (I've had midterms this week and tonight ill be able to finally sit down and play with this).
Really Appreciate the help guys!
Edit: it is syncing but it is doing so at like one contact per 5 minutes. Maybe I need to go to an empty field to get decent reception with TMO. sigh

khoyifish said:
I was getting the error in WinMo. Sorry about being so unclear! woops.
Hazzah! I disabled Calendars and Tasks. and now Contacts are currently being sync'd! woo! I wanted Calendars and Tasks to sync because Univ. of South Florida uses Google Apps and I had my calendar on my phone. Everyone who has android phones, just one touch and all of their calendar and schedule is on their phone. I'll just do this then haha.
Anyways, as soon as I log into Android with my gmail account will the contacts be there? Or I need to enable a sync through there? (I've had midterms this week and tonight ill be able to finally sit down and play with this).
Really Appreciate the help guys!
Edit: it is syncing but it is doing so at like one contact per 5 minutes. Maybe I need to go to an empty field to get decent reception with TMO. sigh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hrm that seems odd to me. All my 100+ contacts sync in about a minute, on my cell radio's connection.
Tasks will never sync (I believe...) but Calendar can sync assuming you have used it on your GMail account. I'm pretty sure they mention this on the Google Sync help page
Easiest way in Android is to just setup the account in "Accounts & Sync".

If you're using an exchange account perhaps. Just sync your contacts with that account, then in android have it sync contacts.
That how I migrated from WinMo to XDANDROID. The only thing I use my gmail account for is the marketplace.

Currently, I have my contacts in my gmail account (i checked)
I booted up Android and went to Settings --> Accounts and Sync. I put in my email and password and then it asked for a username. I tried using just the begining of my email (khoyifish) and then I tried using my whole email ([email protected]) then it says retrieving account information and gets and error message. i enabled the two SSL options, because thats how the exchange works in WInMo. Any suggestions? thanks!
I'm frustrated, but I love android!
Edit: I let the WInMo Exchange run in the background, so I didnt have to worry about it taking a long time haha

khoyifish said:
Currently, I have my contacts in my gmail account (i checked)
I booted up Android and went to Settings --> Accounts and Sync. I put in my email and password and then it asked for a username. I tried using just the begining of my email (khoyifish) and then I tried using my whole email ([email protected]) then it says retrieving account information and gets and error message. i enabled the two SSL options, because thats how the exchange works in WInMo. Any suggestions? thanks!
I'm frustrated, but I love android!
Edit: I let the WInMo Exchange run in the background, so I didnt have to worry about it taking a long time haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So when you picked 'Add account' under Accounts & Sync, did you pick Google or Corporate...? Sounds like you picked corporate... you need to pick Google.

Umm... It didnt let me pick any?
I'm running 2.2 Froyo btw.

khoyifish said:
Umm... It didnt let me pick any?
I'm running 2.2 Froyo btw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We're talking about Android right!?!?
Settings -> Accounts & Sync -> Add Account. You should now have two choices, "Corporate" or "Google"... No?

Yeah.. haha I just booted up Android real quick to show you.
I go settings --> Accoutns and Sync and it asks for
Username : [email protected]____
Password: _____
next screen says
Domain/Username: \khoyifish
Password: ____
Server: gmail.com
[x] Use Secure Connection SSL)
[x] Accept all SSL Certificates
Connecting to incoming server settings ---- Setup could not finish. Unable to open connection to server.
Edit: just tried going into the market and it didnt open. Maybe I dont have good connection?

khoyifish said:
Yeah.. haha I just booted up Android real quick to show you.
I go settings --> Accoutns and Sync and it asks for
Username : <omitted>
Password: _____
next screen says
Domain/Username: <omitted>
Password: ____
Server: gmail.com
[x] Use Secure Connection SSL)
[x] Accept all SSL Certificates
Connecting to incoming server settings ---- Setup could not finish. Unable to open connection to server.
Edit: just tried going into the market and it didnt open. Maybe I dont have good connection?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May want to remove your actual email as web spiders can crawl these pages...
anyhoo, that's definitely not right. I don't know what would cause it to skip that page either... I don't know if the connection would have anything to do with it.
Also, the exchange server for GMail is m.google.com. But that shouldn't matter on Android, it should let you choose Google... Hmmmmm. Delete (move, rename) your data.img and start fresh. Cuz that's odd.

where is that data.img file? I was also thinking about formatting my SD card (after backing up cab files and pictures.
It wouldnt matter that it is the FROYO build? Should I try the other build?

khoyifish said:
where is that data.img file? I was also thinking about formatting my SD card (after backing up cab files and pictures.
It wouldnt matter that it is the FROYO build? Should I try the other build?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I'm using Froyo as well. There's two "main" builds of Froyo - reference and blazn. Shouldn't matter which one you're using. Data.img is created on first boot, and is located where you run haret.exe from...

Backup Contacts

Hi I have a silly question: how do I backup the contacts from my phone onto my pc or internet?
I have acquired a lot of contacts post-getting the phone, and I want to backup my contacts before experimenting with it.
So, how do I backup all the phone numbers on my simcard, pc, or just the internet so i can retrieve it later?
I don't use outlook and stuff, but I don't mind using as long as someone cares to explain how.
thanks in advance

Hopefully there is some type of app or way through Zune. Don't have my phone yet but will let you know once I receive it.

Contacts should automatically be synced with Windows Live. Go to your windows live account on your pc and look at the contacts there to verify.

PG2G said:
Contacts should automatically be synced with Windows Live. Go to your windows live account on your pc and look at the contacts there to verify.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From windows live i can't see any phone numbers of people on my phone :/

How did you add the contacts, just import from SIM?

In my case it was done by Hotmail sync.

Yes. I imported from sim. how do i back up to sim now?
Or how do i do hotmail sync to backup?
when i got the phone i did this:
import from sim
add live account
add gmail account
add facebook
link everything as much as i could
but now i have more ppl's numbers, mostly just numbers no other linked accounts. how do i back these up to my simcard/phone/hotmail/whatever ?
cheers

Is your Windows Live (or some other account, like Google) setup to sync contacts?
I can't really say for sure, my process was a bit different than yours. I was waiting for the release date so I had everything already setup in Windows Live

Ahhh. I see. Nothing is synced to my windows live.
But even then, all i want to backup is phonebook/phone contacts to my sim. I don't care about anything else. Is it really that hard? Microsoft really thought it would be impossible anyone would ever have any reason to want to transfer their contacts from a one to another phone? wtf

ameel said:
Ahhh. I see. Nothing is synced to my windows live.
But even then, all i want to backup is phonebook/phone contacts to my sim. I don't care about anything else. Is it really that hard? Microsoft really thought it would be impossible anyone would ever have any reason to want to transfer their contacts from a one to another phone? wtf
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The cloud really has been perfect for handling contacts for me. For example, my phone was stolen a month or so ago, if the contacts were just on the sim they'd all be gone now. I had the phone replaced under insurance, added my Windows Live id, and all of my contacts were back within minutes.
I can't really think of a reason not to sync contacts to either Google or Windows Live nowadays. Let them handle your backup

PG2G said:
The cloud really has been perfect for handling contacts for me. For example, my phone was stolen a month or so ago, if the contacts were just on the sim they'd all be gone now. I had the phone replaced under insurance, added my Windows Live id, and all of my contacts were back within minutes.
I can't really think of a reason not to sync contacts to either Google or Windows Live nowadays. Let them handle your backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I get that. Sounds really great, but how do I get my phonebook from my windows phone 7 on the cloud now? :/
As in how do you do it in the first place?

You did setup a Windows Live account, right?

PG2G said:
You did setup a Windows Live account, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im using the windows live account that i usually use for everything else on my phone, yes

ameel said:
im using the windows live account that i usually use for everything else on my phone, yes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hrm, not sure what else you'd need to do. You can try long pressing on Windows Live to force sync.
When you add a new contact on your phone, it should have automatically been added to Windows Live (mine gives me a selection between Windows Live and Google).

PG2G said:
Hrm, not sure what else you'd need to do. You can try long pressing on Windows Live to force sync.
When you add a new contact on your phone, it should have automatically been added to Windows Live (mine gives me a selection between Windows Live and Google).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when you say windows live, where exactly do you go on your computer/online to find your windows live contacts?

ameel said:
when you say windows live, where exactly do you go on your computer/online to find your windows live contacts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
www.live.com Hotmail -> Contacts

PG2G said:
Hrm, not sure what else you'd need to do. You can try long pressing on Windows Live to force sync.
When you add a new contact on your phone, it should have automatically been added to Windows Live (mine gives me a selection between Windows Live and Google).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
crap you WERE RIGHT!!! IT IS ON MY WINDOWS LIVE ACCOUNT >_< it's just the mobile phone contacts are separate!! when i clicked on someone i thought i would see their phone number, but i didnt. it was just seperate entry. haha! then again, i can link them from windows live.
cheers mate

No problem, glad that worked out Managing contacts on the web is real nice, there are some nice combine/clean up features for linking different accounts.

ameel said:
crap you WERE RIGHT!!! IT IS ON MY WINDOWS LIVE ACCOUNT >_< it's just the mobile phone contacts are separate!! when i clicked on someone i thought i would see their phone number, but i didnt. it was just seperate entry. haha! then again, i can link them from windows live.
cheers mate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can also merge contacts from windows live as you may find duplicates. it may take a bit but i suggest merging your contacts if they're duplicated. these changes will be visible on the phone as well.

The Gate Keeper said:
you can also merge contacts from windows live as you may find duplicates. it may take a bit but i suggest merging your contacts if they're duplicated. these changes will be visible on the phone as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup i saw that!
cheers

syncing contacts ----- unbelievable

maybe its me but i find the way that the windows phone syncs with outlook to be unbelieveabley bad. this is the best that windows could do? jeeez guys you cant even get your phones from the same company to sync with your own applications any better than this? and i'm only talking about contacts at the moment.
let me get this straight, i have to do an export for my contacts, make a windows live account, upload contacts backup into windows live and then sync this, through windows live, to my phone. how many more steps could you possibly put in? unbelieveable. now if you are a businessman like me then you might have your contacts divided into different folders/groups which means you have to do a export for each group and go through the above steps to get them onto your phone. isnt that just fantastic! but wait there is more. once you get them onto your phone you then have to re-divide them into groups again. isnt that just fantastic. wait there is even more. lets say you add a new contact, you have to go through this whole BS again. this is the best that the minds at microsoft could come up with. but wait there is more. anything else you want to sync or add to your phone you have to use the zune software. this is just brilliant!!! way to go microsoft your the best....
now lets look at my IPhone. i plug it into my laptop, it automatically launches itunes and automatically syncs all my contacts into groups and adds any new ones i might have added and syncs everything else on the phone in one simple step. apple can sync to microsoft software better than microsoft? unbelieveable and i spent $600 for this crap?
i will have a HTC HD7 for sale if anyone is interested. it is unlocked.
regards

Ta ta then.

chatham;10985424now if you are a businessman like me...[/QUOTE said:
...then perhaps it's time to look into Exchange server instead. If you're a small business, get yourself a hosted Exchange server for a few bucks a month.
Anyway, all you really have to do is install the Live add-on for Office, then drag and drop all your contacts from the local addressbook to the live one. Wait a while and all your contacts will magically appear on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

adesonic said:
Ta ta then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazing! !!!

You can either sync with Windows Live (for average user) or with Exchange (which most businesses use). Within those two systems you can create categories, groups etc and it will sync with your phone wirelessly.
Let's take your steps and break them down.
i have to do an export for my contacts, make a windows live account, upload contacts backup into windows live and then sync this, through windows live, to my phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Export your contacts from Outlook - yes you need to do this.
Make a Windows Live account - no, you already have one if you want to use ANY of the services on Windows Phone 7. So, either you already have one or you haven't actually setup your phone properly. Even if you don't have one it takes less than a minute to get one.
Upload contacts - yes, takes all of 2 seconds on the Windows Live site.
Sync to your phone - big whoop, all you need to do is enter your Windows Live ID (which you should already have entered) and you'll get all of your contacts sorted.
But wait, there's more.
If you download the Windows Live connector for Outlook any changes made to your account will be automatically synced between your phone, computer and the cloud. Everything is backed up and you can gain access to your contacts from where ever you are in the world. Without even having to plug it in.
It's that simple.

chatham said:
let me get this straight, i have to do an export for my contacts, make a windows live account, upload contacts backup into windows live and then sync this, through windows live, to my phone. how many more steps could you possibly put in? unbelieveable. now if you are a businessman like me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Contacts are part of the standard featureset for email (both consumer and corporate). Modern consumer email is dominated by Google gmail and Microsoft hotmail/live mail. Corporate email is dominated by Microsoft Exchange. All of these services support exchange activesync, as do the main phone platforms. While support is often incomplete, it includes synchronization of contacts, which is basic.
If contacts are not part of your email system, or both are stored locally, you have a legacy system that needs upgrading. Probably this was the case.

i appreciate the above responses and it has given me additonal information that i did not have. but, as far as i can see i still have at least two to three additional steps that an IPhone does not require. i thought the windows phone would given me better intergration with microsoft programs but it doesnt. so i keep asking my self why would i keep this phone? they could of made it as simple but they chose not to.

There are some weird quirks with accounts for sure. I understand the requirement for a Live account, but I still can't believe that you can't disable non-email sync on the primary live account or at very least delete it without resetting the entire phone.
Sent from my GT-I9000M

chatham said:
i appreciate the above responses and it has given me additonal information that i did not have. but, as far as i can see i still have at least two to three additional steps that an IPhone does not require. i thought the windows phone would given me better intergration with microsoft programs but it doesnt. so i keep asking my self why would i keep this phone? they could of made it as simple but they chose not to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WP7 doesn't even have the normal amount of features most modern smartphones have. Stuff like you are talking about is probably not even a consideration with MS. WP7 is "supposed" to be a non-smart smartphone...for the grandmas and grandpas and those who aren't computer literate. From all the excuses I've been battered with over the last 2 months, that seems to be the main one.
If T-Mobile ever gets the iPhone...or if I ever switch carriers, I will put WP7 behind me in favor of a new iPhone.
By the way, don't bother stooping to the level of the fanboys...or fangirls... by responding, just ignore them and they'll go away. Or at most just tell them to keep it on topic.

MartyLK said:
If T-Mobile ever gets the iPhone...or if I ever switch carriers, I will put WP7 behind me in favor of a new iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The sooner the better.

chatham said:
i appreciate the above responses and it has given me additonal information that i did not have. but, as far as i can see i still have at least two to three additional steps that an IPhone does not require. i thought the windows phone would given me better intergration with microsoft programs but it doesnt. so i keep asking my self why would i keep this phone? they could of made it as simple but they chose not to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Synchronization of contacts and email via a USB cable to your pc is not a good idea.
Yes you can do it with some phone platforms, yes not with WP7, yes a lot of people complain, but in this one instance they are wrong. They want to use a flawed and obsolete method.
Basically you need to choose a modern email service, where that includes contacts, calendaring, etc.. If you have WP7, go with Live mail if you want something free, Exchange if you want something good. You have to go through an extra step now, but you should really do that anyway. This should replace what you have at the moment.

Jonno2343 said:
You can either sync with Windows Live (for average user) or with Exchange (which most businesses use). Within those two systems you can create categories, groups etc and it will sync with your phone wirelessly.
Let's take your steps and break them down.
Export your contacts from Outlook - yes you need to do this.
Make a Windows Live account - no, you already have one if you want to use ANY of the services on Windows Phone 7. So, either you already have one or you haven't actually setup your phone properly. Even if you don't have one it takes less than a minute to get one.
Upload contacts - yes, takes all of 2 seconds on the Windows Live site.
Sync to your phone - big whoop, all you need to do is enter your Windows Live ID (which you should already have entered) and you'll get all of your contacts sorted.
But wait, there's more.
If you download the Windows Live connector for Outlook any changes made to your account will be automatically synced between your phone, computer and the cloud. Everything is backed up and you can gain access to your contacts from where ever you are in the world. Without even having to plug it in.
It's that simple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the problem is if you don't have Exchange syncing isn't that easy. Even after you export the contacts out of Outlook into Hotmail if you add a new contact later you have to manually add them in Hotmail, I don't think Connector will automatically sync them.
If you need to sync your calendar the best way is to add the Live calendar to Outlook then when you create an appointment in Outlook you either have to send an invite to your Hotmail account or drag it to the Hotmail calendar. These options are not that easy.

ok, but considering how long installing and setting up itunes takes, I still think wp7 is faster. And it really isn't that difficult to export your contacts from outlook and open that file in a live account.
Or you can use www.soocial.com to do it for you.

MartyLK said:
WP7 doesn't even have the normal amount of features most modern smartphones have. Stuff like you are talking about is probably not even a consideration with MS. WP7 is "supposed" to be a non-smart smartphone...for the grandmas and grandpas and those who aren't computer literate. From all the excuses I've been battered with over the last 2 months, that seems to be the main one.
If T-Mobile ever gets the iPhone...or if I ever switch carriers, I will put WP7 behind me in favor of a new iPhone.
By the way, don't bother stooping to the level of the fanboys by responding, just ignore them and they'll go away. Or at most just tell them to keep it on topic.
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chatham said:
i appreciate the above responses and it has given me additonal information that i did not have. but, as far as i can see i still have at least two to three additional steps that an IPhone does not require. i thought the windows phone would given me better intergration with microsoft programs but it doesnt. so i keep asking my self why would i keep this phone? they could of made it as simple but they chose not to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, having to set something up once and then never worry about it again is by far the easiest. All you have to do is migrate your contacts over to Windows Live and you will have them kept in sync WITHOUT plugging them in.
Windows Phone also supports Wireless Sync for Music, Videos, etc and so the way they have done it, they do not require you to plug your phone into your computer unless you're updating or doing the initial setup.
To me, this is the simplest, most user-friendly way imaginable.
If you contacts are only locally stored and you happened to have a computer crash or hard drive corruption, those contacts would be lost. If you have them on Windows Live, all you'd need is to sign in with your Windows Live ID on Outlook once you've sorted it out and everything will be back up and running.
Using a Windows Live ID will also alow you to keep your work PC, Laptop and home PC all in sync if that's what you would like. There really are no disadvantages of doing it like this. Try it, I'm sure you'll all agree with us then that it really isn't hard at all.
MartyLK, I don't know why you're calling those who provide clear, logical explanations and solutions a fanboy when you come in here and just say go to iPhone.

rsacipher said:
I think the problem is if you don't have Exchange syncing isn't that easy. Even after you export the contacts out of Outlook into Hotmail if you add a new contact later you have to manually add them in Hotmail, I don't think Connector will automatically sync them.
If you need to sync your calendar the best way is to add the Live calendar to Outlook then when you create an appointment in Outlook you either have
to send an invite to your Hotmail account or drag it to the Hotmail calendar. These options are not that easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to set your Live account as the default account for data files by following these steps.
Tools->Account Settings
Data Files tab
Select Windows Live account and click Set as Default
Then calendar and contacts will show up from Windows Live.
The one thing they really need to add is the ability to sync multiple calendars, I can't for the life of me figure out why they'd opted to leave this out.

Jonno2343 said:
MartyLK, I don't know why you're calling those who provide clear, logical explanations and solutions a fanboy when you come in here and just say go to iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh come now! You're just making that up...lol...I know you are...I can tell!

MartyLK said:
Oh come now! You're just making that up...lol...I know you are...I can tell!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh joy, the person who gets half the threads he posts in locked striked again. Just because you want android and all its flaws doesnt mean we do. Enjoy your iphone and its ugly UI/OS and tiny screen or your android and its overall lag. The sooner you ditch the HD7 the sooner the WP7 community loses a member thats worse off than these "elderly dumbphone" users. Being technology illiterate > being socially incompetent.

rsacipher said:
I think the problem is if you don't have Exchange syncing isn't that easy. Even after you export the contacts out of Outlook into Hotmail if you add a new contact later you have to manually add them in Hotmail, I don't think Connector will automatically sync them.
If you need to sync your calendar the best way is to add the Live calendar to Outlook then when you create an appointment in Outlook you either have to send an invite to your Hotmail account or drag it to the Hotmail calendar. These options are not that easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand the problem here.
Ok, so you've been using an old school POP or IMAP account with locally stored Outlook contacts and calendars. As people have been saying this is something one should really consider moving away from anyway.
Since you have to create a Live Account to use your WP7 device fully (i.e. marketplace access and so on) you've got everything you need. Install and configure the Hotmail connector (the Social connector is also nice), open Outlook, go to Contacts (local ones), select ALL, drag and drop these onto "Contacts - [email protected]". Wait a while and they will sync up, wait a little longer and they will automagically appear on your phone. Once they have, delete your local address book from Outlook - ALL your contacts are now stored on the cloud and you can access them from your PC, your Phone and any other PC in the world with internet access.
Now move on to your calendar. This is a little more tricky, as you cannot select ALL and move them across (afaik), so your best bet may be to work your way from today and forward moving all and any entries to the Live calendar. Again, wait a while and they'll all automagically show up on your phone. When they have you may want to disable the local calendar (ie. remove it, but do not delete it if you want the opportunity to go back and check history), finally set your default calendar to the Live one. Any new entries will now go directly to the cloud.
That's it. You're done. Using your Live account for contacts and calendars does not mean you have to send/receive email thru it. You can pick and choose which parts you'll use by default. If you don't make use of it for email, simply remove the Hotmail tile from your home-screen and replace it with your POP/IMAP account.
Like others have said, you do this once. That's it. Everything is now in the cloud and you can sync it up to any device you want.

MartyLK said:
WP7 doesn't even have the normal amount of features most modern smartphones have. Stuff like you are talking about is probably not even a consideration with MS. WP7 is "supposed" to be a non-smart smartphone...for the grandmas and grandpas and those who aren't computer literate. From all the excuses I've been battered with over the last 2 months, that seems to be the main one.
If T-Mobile ever gets the iPhone...or if I ever switch carriers, I will put WP7 behind me in favor of a new iPhone.
By the way, don't bother stooping to the level of the fanboys...or fangirls... by responding, just ignore them and they'll go away. Or at most just tell them to keep it on topic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can we stick to topic here folks

Downside to syncing contacts with Live

I've had a hotmail account for more than a decade. Probably 13 or 14 years. But I didn't use it often, and never stored contacts online (I use Outlook for my mail, and sync it with gmail, and don't store contacts online there). But now, in order to sync Outlook contacts with Windows Phone 7, I set up hotmail to sync with Outlook, and now all of my contacts have been sent a spam email through my hotmail account. Spam is why I rarely used hotmail to begin with. GRRR!
Thumbs down to MS for making us use Live.com!

looks like you have a trojan on your PC. Check your anitvirus and check if you have all the Windows and Outlook updates installed.
Sorry, but this is not a problem with live.com it is with your computer.
BTW, you can sync your contacts without configuring/syncing mail etc... check out http://www.soocial.com/

You also may want to change your hotmail password to something you don't use (and have never used) elsewhere.

GRRR...
Ok... I guess I was too quick to blame Live... Malwarebytes is running now, for about 15 minutes, hasn't found anything yet, but we'll see. Password changed as well.

My Live contacts contain the same amount of contacts as my gmail account for many years and never got spam emails for that. It is typically caused by malware on your PC that uses your outlook (or even worse, outlook express) as gold mine to send out spams.

One thing I've noticed is that in my call log all the entries are numbers. Numbers don't seem to match up to names and show the Names and Pictures - like... ever... They're just a bunch of numbers and who the hell remembers all of everyone's phone numbers (some people have home work and two mobiles ).

Almost done with the second scan - still nothing found. :/

Probably caused by one of your emails that contains malware and you clicked on it. The embedded malware will execute (sending out emails from your address book) and it will be gone afterwards. I'll be supprised it can be detected by any software. Besides, a few trojan I encountered in the past can't be detected by anything either. But those are much more dangerous than just sending out the spam mail.

I find Live Service is really helpful on Storing my contact. I don't have to worry about backing 'em up on my simcard. I can have all my contact number even i change the simcard...

hopmedic said:
Almost done with the second scan - still nothing found. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try Microsoft security essentials. I have found it to be quite good with detecting things that went unnoticed with my previously installed software (mcafee)

Before I synced my info I went through and did some cleaning on my contact list on live. I love that it is all on live and I can remotely wipe my phone and have my contacts on a new phone in a matter of minutes.

i love the live sync as well, i was not for it until i got my HD7...

arkavat said:
looks like you have a trojan on your PC. Check your anitvirus and check if you have all the Windows and Outlook updates installed.
Sorry, but this is not a problem with live.com it is with your computer.
BTW, you can sync your contacts without configuring/syncing mail etc... check out http://www.soocial.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows Phone 7 is not supported on their website yet..

Thanks for all the good input.

I see that Calendar and Contact sync is good in a way it quickly transfers necessary data to your new device.
But WL has two big down sides.
* Limitation of about 1000 contacts. If you go above that expect errors
* You can't sync separately Email, Contacts and Calendar when you want but just all at once.

Also: they *don't* force you to use Live to sync your contacts. You can sync them to Gmail or any number of similar services, as well as anything that supports the Activesync protocol. I sync exclusively to Google Contacts and have since the day I got the phone, problem free

Purple11 said:
Windows Phone 7 is not supported on their website yet..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's for syncing outlook contacts to Live contacts or any other service. Once you sync your contacts to live or gmail account, Windows Phone 7 can sync with them.

doministry said:
* Limitation of about 1000 contacts. If you go above that expect errors
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had more than 1500 contacts since day 1 and haven't had an issue. I used Outlook Connector to sync the to my Live account and my phone was automtically populated with all of them.

wspaw said:
I've had more than 1500 contacts since day 1 and haven't had an issue. I used Outlook Connector to sync the to my Live account and my phone was automtically populated with all of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you're lucky! 1000 contacts limitation is well known in Hotmail accounts.
In my case until I cleaned manually my Contacts list the phone was performing looped sync of contacts resulting in endless sync (reaching 25000 contacts synced and still going on......)

Windows Live is always evolving and like other limitations, the 1000 contacts do not exist anymore, and its going to be at least 2 years now that limitation does not exists...