iSync Tips

Below are some general iSync Tips which can help solve occasional issues with iSync. These tips apply both to phones supported natively by iSync or via an iSync Phone Plugin.

• Quick Fixes for syncing problems
• Tips for setting up a successful first sync
• Make regular backups of your Address Book and iCal data
• Re-installing iSync

Quick Fixes

The quick fixes listed below solve the majority of common issues with iSync.

• Click Reset Sync History in iSync preferences
• Remove your phone from iSync by clicking its icon and choosing Remove Device from the Devices menu. Then set-up your phone again via the Bluetooth Setup Assistant.
• Backup anything on your phone you want to keep, then perform a Master Reset by choosing
  Settings > General > Master reset > Reset settings on your phone.
  Then set-up your phone again via the Bluetooth Setup Assistant.

Tips for setting up a successful first sync

From experience, we have found it is best to start with a fully up-to-date Mac Address Book and iCal, and a completely empty phone. Attempting to merge existing data on the phone and the Mac isn't always successful.

If you have existing contacts on the phone, transfer them to the Mac and import them into Address Book.

Create a group in Address Book containing only the Contacts you actually need on the phone. Then open iSync, click on the icon for your phone and choose to sync only this group.

Make regular backups of your Address Book and iCal data

It is very important to make regular backups of your Address Book and iCal data so that in the event of something happening during a sync, you can always easily revert to the backup.

• In Mac OS X 10.4.x Address Book, choose Back up Address Book... from the File menu.
• In Mac OS X 10.5.x Address Book, choose Export > Address Book Archive... from the File menu.
• In Mac OS X 10.4.x iCal, choose Back up Database... from the File menu.
• In Mac OS X 10.5.x iCal, choose Back up iCal... from the File menu.

Reinstalling iSync

If you have deleted iSync or your copy has become corrupted, you may need to re-install it.
You have three options for doing this:

1) Restore iSync from your Time Machine backup (or any other backup you've made).

2) Copy a fresh, unmodified version of iSync from another Mac running the same version of Mac OS X.

3) Re-install iSync from the original Mac OS X Installation Disks by following the instructions below:

• Download Pacifist (a program that allows installing parts of Mac OS X)
• Insert your original Mac OS X Installation Disk.
• Open Pacifist and click 'Open Apple Install Discs'.
• Wait while it loads the packages.
• In the window that appears, type 'iSync' into the Find dialog at the top and press return.
• Click once on the 'iSync.app' it finds, then click 'Install' at the top of the window.
• Follow the instructions to install it.
• Then you must download and install the latest Mac OS X Combo Updater for your Mac from Apple (even if its already installed), to update iSync from the newly installed version to the very latest version.