Activesync is horrible on the Droid.

[Richard371]

I support activsync devcies for a major software company and this thing is horrible. When I make changes on my Outlook calendar sometimes it can take an hour or more to show on the droid vs a few seconds on the iphone. Mail delivery is slower. If I let it sit idle the battery will be dead over night. I have deleted and re added the Exchange account etc. I am going to try it wo active sync for awhile see how the battery life is.

Not to mention if you have a pw policy set in AS it will not work on the Droid and you can use it wo a pw. We allow unsupported devices at this time but that may change.

 

[johnnybirdman]

Maybe it's bad settings on your phone or your servers? I have had no problems with activesync. I get emails on my phone before they hit my outlook inbox and changes to calendar and contacts are instant.

 

[Richard371]

Well we have over 2000 activesynch devices. Iphones, win mobile, symbian and no problems.

Also I forgot the charger at work and am trying to charge with my mac and PC using the usb cable. The white light next to the port is on but I cannot get the device to come on or charge. Should it charge via the cable?

 

[Lisa W]

Can't help with active sync. But it does charge using the USB cable on my Macbook Pro.

 

[carnadi88]

I would have to disagree. I use outlook as well with my company and during the day I have my Droid sitting right next to me at my desk and numerous times my Droid has gotten my emails before my computer. If it doesn't get it before my computer it gets it within a minute or so of my computer.

 

[dbog]

I'm with the others on being satisfied with the Droid and syncing with our Exchange server. My syncs are instant, emails come to the Droid quicker than my desktop. I've got some issues with the Droid and Exchange, but the speed and accuracy are not on my list. Our IT guy actually has a Droid and has no complaints. It might be your particular Droid as there does seem to be some variances among them.

 

[jpc66]

Is there anyway way to sync a Motorola Droid and Outlook over a USB cable directly from your PC? I notice that active sync software is not included.

 

[SirVilhelm]

I use Touchdown Exchange for my sync and love it. I got it when it was on sale for $9.99, its $20 now but I would still pay for it. Works very well and has a butt load of features including security and remote wipe which I believe the iPhone does not support. Yes, I would like to see Android with better Activesync support but it will come as the platform matures a little more.

 

[vincentp]

Any possibility that it could just be bad hardware? I know I say that a lot, but I know people using the Droid with no issues, and others in this thread seem to be using it quite happily as well.

 

[messenger13]

Is there anyway way to sync a Motorola Droid and Outlook over a USB cable directly from your PC? I notice that active sync software is not included.

ActiveSync is freeware.

 

[virtus]

I'll agree that the default exchange integration is horrible. Yes - horrible. Touchdown goes a long way to fix it. Most serious corporate IT departments (esp. financial sectors) wouldn't dream of letting a device like the droid onto their system because they require PIN/Remote wipe, autosignatures containing disclosures, autosync of subfolders, the ability to save attachments onto the phone, and things like calendar invites and tasks. The droid does not do any of those.

Again, touchdown goes a long way to fix these problems. If you need those features, touchdown will work wonders. But most IT depts aren't too keen on a device requiring a third party app to do something that BB's and WinMo phones can do natively.

The default exchange integration works ok for smaller outfits that don't have security requirements. But even for them it can be annoying to give up autosignatures, the ability to sync your subfolders, and the ability to save attachments to your phone. There are also sync issues - email is generally very quick, but the calendar is often slow to update.

I would love to see the droid penetrate all markets, but until it comes ready to work with exchange out of the box, entire business sectors will ignore it. It would almost be better if they didn't advertise exchange integration.

 

[virtus]

ActiveSync is freeware.

Activesync only works with WinMo phones.

 

[barry99705]

Maybe it's bad settings on your phone or your servers? I have had no problems with activesync. I get emails on my phone before they hit my outlook inbox and changes to calendar and contacts are instant.

Same here, even though our exchange server is on the other side of the world from me.

Is there anyway way to sync a Motorola Droid and Outlook over a USB cable directly from your PC? I notice that active sync software is not included.

He means Exchange Active Sync, not the desktop application.

 

[oceanlight]

activesync works great. emails show up on my droid literally 1 second after i see it in outlook.

 

[barry99705]

My company kicked me and my droid off the pda email server. Oh well...

Did they say why?

 

[jpc66]

I use Touchdown Exchange for my sync and love it. I got it when it was on sale for $9.99, its $20 now but I would still pay for it. Works very well and has a butt load of features including security and remote wipe which I believe the iPhone does not support. Yes, I would like to see Android with better Activesync support but it will come as the platform matures a little more.

OK- My requirement is for a case when there is no corporate exchange server available. All data( contacts etc) is entered into outlook on a desktop PC and then needs to be synchronized to the Moto Droid via a USB cable. A desktop sync program would need to be run which syncs with the phone as I can do with my Blackberry.

Will Touchdown exchange do this?

 

[ParadingLunatic]

You can add me to the group of people who have NO sync issues at all. Now before the 2.0.1 update my google mail used to be slow on the sync, especially after a reboot. Sometimes it took over 15 minutes to start working correctly. But Exchange and Activesync has always worked perfectly for me, even better after 2.0.1. The attachment problem with 2.0 in Exchange was due to not support the transfer of attachements over SSL. Not sure why, but with 2.0.1 that is now fixed. I haven't tried saving the attachment but I haven't had a need to. That is what I have a computer for.

As for sychronizing over USB and Outlook, you'll need a third party software solution. There's a thread that talks about some solutions here. http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/13302-solution-syncing-outlook-droid.html

 

[Bg8780]

In terms of turning the phone back on via plugged in usb, you can't. There must not be enough power to charge and power the hpone. Many of my past phones were the same. You have to use the ac power to turn it on then charge it via usb. Hope this helps.

 

[SirVilhelm]

OK- My requirement is for a case when there is no corporate exchange server available. All data( contacts etc) is entered into outlook on a desktop PC and then needs to be synchronized to the Moto Droid via a USB cable. A desktop sync program would need to be run which syncs with the phone as I can do with my Blackberry.

Will Touchdown exchange do this?

I do not think so but haven't tried. You can access their google group and ask there. They usually respond withing 24 hrs

NitroDesk TouchDown | Google Groups

 

[SirVilhelm]

Here is from their official FAQ

1.4 Can I use TouchDown to connect directly with Outlook on my PC ?
There is an experimental effort towards this which is described here : PSST : USB Syncing - NitroDesk TouchDown | Google Groups
This should work with OutLook 2003 and Outlook 2007, but NOT Outlook Express.
But this is unsupported and something you might use at your own risk.