We can now synchronize Outlook & Android without a 3rd party app or Exchange Server!

[RazzMaTazz]

i have a motorola droid pro phone and a samsung galaxay 10.1 pad. will the sync using hotlmail sync two android devices?

Yes. You're syncing to Hotmail's servers so you can sync as many PCs and Android devices as you like.

 

[RazzMaTazz]

I would love to try this, but I have a couple concerns/questions first. With the most recent update to my Evo Shift, my email was all messed up for days. IMAP vs. POP is mentioned in this thread so my concern is messing up my email again.

The method described in the original post doesn't affect your existing email setup at all, so no need to worry.

What I'm looking to do is sync wirelessly between the evo shift and Outlook calendar/contacts, do I need to do all these steps or would someone mind cutting/pasting step-by-step instructions for syncing with Outlook?

The original post has the step-by-step directions that you would need to follow.

 

[LeslieS]

Well, I don't know what I did wrong but there are no new folders in the left side pane of my Outlook. Anyone know how to undo this? When I click send/receive in outlook, it shows the hotmail account but no new folders and nothing is syncing

 

[dheymann]

There is no BB desktop PIM app. Desktop Manager is a just a utility that allows sync with a PIM (such as Outlook).

I wasn't clear. I was not talking about a PIM app for a PC (like Palm desktop) I was talking about the PIM functions on the Palm and BB devices. They are built into the OS.

 

[RazzMaTazz]

Well, I don't know what I did wrong but there are no new folders in the left side pane of my Outlook. Anyone know how to undo this? When I click send/receive in outlook, it shows the hotmail account but no new folders and nothing is syncing

1) In Outlook, make sure that you have the Navigation Pane enabled. (The Navigation Pane normally appears on the left side of Outlook but it can be turned on, off, minimized, and customized.) Instructions for displaying the Navigation Pane depend on the version of Outlook. In Outlook 2010, it's under the "View" tab.
2) Try viewing Outlook in the "Folder List View" by pressing Ctrl+6. Personally I prefer the "Folder List" view because it conveniently shows all mail folders, contacts folders, calendars, etc, for all accounts in the Navigation Pane. But you may prefer the "Mail View" (mail folders only) by pressing Ctrl+1, or one of the other views.
3) Once the account appears in the Navigation Pane, note that you can expand/collapse it by clicking the triangle next to it. You can change the order in which the accounts are displayed by dragging the entire account up or down.

I'll update my original post to clarify the above.

 

[sjamie]

Yes. You're syncing to Hotmail's servers so you can sync as many PCs and Android devices as you like.

So, using your solution, we are still syncing to the "cloud", right? We're just syncing to Hotmail instead of Gmail which still makes our information hackable, right?

I'm looking for a solution that would allow me to directly sync my Outlook (non-exchange) contacts and calendar (including categories) to Android. Is this possible yet?

I'm using a Motorola Photon.

EDIT: I have been using CompanionLink which does work but it is a little clunky. Autosyncing doesn't work yet and syncing must be manually initialized on BOTH the phone and the PC for it to work. PocketMirror worked great on my Palm Pre (WebOS) because I only had to hit sync on my phone and not the computer for it to sync my phone with Outlook. A similar solution for Android would be great.

 

[dheymann]

So, using your solution, we are still syncing to the "cloud", right? We're just syncing to Hotmail instead of Gmail which still makes our information hackable, right?

I'm looking for a solution that would allow me to directly sync my Outlook (non-exchange) contacts and calendar (including categories) to Android. Is this possible yet?

I'm using a Motorola Photon.

EDIT: I have been using CompanionLink which does work but it is a little clunky. Autosyncing doesn't work yet and syncing must be manually initialized on BOTH the phone and the PC for it to work. PocketMirror worked great on my Palm Pre (WebOS) because I only had to hit sync on my phone and not the computer for it to sync my phone with Outlook. A similar solution for Android would be great.

Have been using hotsync since 1996 (PalmPilot). Used intelisync, companionlink, etc. Switched to a Handspring, then a Treo but kept syncing. Switched to BB which was not quite as good but almost. Now I have the MoPho and like you wanted my old sync capability. Of the 42 software solutions that are listed in the spreadsheet of Android sync systems, I have concluded Companionlink is the best (i am planning to make a post to this effect this week). It is one of the few that will sync without the cloud (very important to me) and will sync tasks and memos from outlook. It is clunky because it is new and they wrote their own device app (so they could give it away free). The good news is the tech support has been great and they appear to be updating the software almost weekly as they catch bugs. Plus it will sync with the Android contact database. You need that or your photo and caller ID won't work. After two weeks of work, I am now 95% satisfied with companionlink and I will probably be 100% satisfied once I get used to deja office (I keep finding new features every day that I was missing). I think the DejaOffice app is actually better than POS and BB but is still young. They seem really committed to it so I expect it will eventually be the gold standard (by version 2.0 or 3.0).

 

[LeslieS]

I REALLY want to try this out but I just can't seem to get it to work. I have read the instructions several times and I have another question: The instructions say: add it to Outlook 2003/2007, those instructions say:
1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
2. Select Add a new e-mail account, and then click Next
I do not have that option under tools in Outlook 2007.

Also, once I've added the connector, I've read somewhere that the next time I open Outlook I would be prompted to add an account, I haven't been. When the Connector was visible on the tool bar, I click add a new account and nothing happens. What settings for the incoming and outgoing servers do you use when adding the Hotmail to Outlook, or is that not necessary?

Thanx.

Leslie

 

[LeslieS]

RazzMaTazz, Guess what? I finally did it!! I don't think my calendar is syncing but I got the hotmail added, contacts and calendar events transferred to those folders. It's late so I'll try figure out the syncng issue tomorrow. Thank you so much for all your help!

Leslie

 

[RazzMaTazz]

So, using your solution, we are still syncing to the "cloud", right? We're just syncing to Hotmail instead of Gmail which still makes our information hackable, right?

Theoretically anything is hackable, including whatever email service you're using (like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, your ISP's email servers, etc). If you've got your email, contacts, and calendar on Gmail's servers (like most Android users), Gmail's servers can get hacked too. But I'd say that your PC is a million times more likely to get hacked (and 100 million times more likely to get stolen) than Hotmail or Gmail getting hacked, and YOUR data (out of the millions of users) getting abused in some harmful way.

I'm looking for a solution that would allow me to directly sync my Outlook (non-exchange) contacts and calendar (including categories) to Android. Is this possible yet?...
EDIT: I have been using CompanionLink which does work but it is a little clunky.

CompanionLink is one pricey solution. MyPhoneExplorer is a free solution. Neither are perfect. CompanionLink has the option to sync through Gmail's cloud (so if you're worried about the cloud being hackable, be careful).

 

[RazzMaTazz]

I REALLY want to try this out but I just can't seem to get it to work. I have read the instructions several times and I have another question: The instructions say: add it to Outlook 2003/2007, those instructions say:
1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
2. Select Add a new e-mail account, and then click Next
I do not have that option under tools in Outlook 2007.

In the Tools menu for the Inbox, select Account Settings.
Select the "Email" tab.
Select "New..."
Input your Hotmail account & password.

Also, once I've added the connector, I've read somewhere that the next time I open Outlook I would be prompted to add an account, I haven't been. When the Connector was visible on the tool bar, I click add a new account and nothing happens. What settings for the incoming and outgoing servers do you use when adding the Hotmail to Outlook, or is that not necessary?

That seems like strange behavior by Connector. I think you only need to enter your Hotmail email address and password. Outlook should be smart enough to figure out your incoming/outgoing settings from that.

RazzMaTazz, Guess what? I finally did it!! I don't think my calendar is syncing but I got the hotmail added, contacts and calendar events transferred to those folders. It's late so I'll try figure out the syncng issue tomorrow. Thank you so much for all your help!

Leslie

Woo hoo!!! I'm glad to hear that you got it working. If you know what the problem was and how you got it working please let us know.

Upon the first syncrhonization (i.e. the first Send/Receive, F9 in Outlook) it may take a little while to sync your data to the Hotmail servers (especially if you have a lot of data). If you need to debug, you might want to visit Hotmail.com and login to see if your data appears in the web interface for your Hotmail account. Similiarly, upon the first synchronization of your Android device, it may take a while for all of your data to appear, though it should start coming in immediately.

 

[sjamie]

Theoretically anything is hackable, including whatever email service you're using (like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, your ISP's email servers, etc). If you've got your email, contacts, and calendar on Gmail's servers (like most Android users), Gmail's servers can get hacked too. But I'd say that your PC is a million times more likely to get hacked (and 100 million times more likely to get stolen) than Hotmail or Gmail getting hacked, and YOUR data (out of the millions of users) getting abused in some harmful way.

I really appreciate the effort you put into this solution. What are the advantages of syncing to Hotmail vs. Gmail?

 

[RazzMaTazz]

I really appreciate the effort you put into this solution. What are the advantages of syncing to Hotmail vs. Gmail?

Hotmail enables automatic synchronization of contacts between Outlook & Android, through any Internet connection (3G, 4G, WiFi, etc) without any third party software, or apps. Gmail does not.

Hotmail enables automatic synchronization of calendar between Outlook & Android through any Internet connection, without any third party software or apps. Gmail does not-- although Google does offer a free Outlook add-in that synchronizes Outlook calendar to Gmail. However, because the Hotmail solution doesn't require translation from Outlook's calendar format to Gmail's format, the Hotmail solution works better.

I use primarily use Gmail for email but I use Hotmail for contacts and calendar. It's free. It works great. All of my mail, contacts, & calendar are backed up to the cloud and perfectly synchronized between all of my Outlook-PCs and Android devices. I trust Microsoft with my contacts data far, far more than I trust Google. Microsoft has announced that they won't use your contact data to target you and your friends with advertising. Google has announced that they will.

You can instal third-party PC-software and apps that enable synchronization of Outlook calendar, contacts, tasks, notes, etc. using basically three different methods.

1) Programs like MyPhoneExplorer (free) and CompanionLink ($50) enable direct connection to an Outlook-PC (via USB or WiFi connected to the same router). That's good if you don't trust the cloud. CompanionLink enables synchronization of Tasks & Notes, whereas MyPhoneExplorer and Hotmail do not. The downside of those types of solutions is that you can only sync when you're near the PC, and you may need to initiate the sync manually. You also need to load their software onto your PC and their app onto your Android device.

2) Programs like GSyncit ($20), and CompanionLink ($50) enable synchronization of Outlook contacts, calendar, tasks, & notes, through GMail and through (a clever jury-rig of) Google Docs. Everything gets stored on Google's cloud. The downside is that you have to load their software onto your PC and their apps onto your Android device.

3) Programs like CompanionLink ($50+$10/month) enable you to sync contacts, calendar, tasks, & notes through CompanionLink's servers. Everything gets stored on CompanionLink's cloud. The downside is that it's expensive, and you have to download their software and apps onto your Android device.

 

[sjamie]

Does syncing via Hotmail retain Outlook calendar categories? If so, is there an Android calendar app that can use those categories. Currently, I'm using Deja Calendar which works PERFECTLY but it can only be used with syncing via CompanionLink.

P.S. I have no desire to create multiple calendars to distinguish appointment types (ie. business, personal, vacation, etc.). I live and die by color coded appointments in Outlook and would like to have that same functionality on my phone.

 

[RazzMaTazz]

You can categorize/color-code your Hotmail appointments on Outlook but those categories/color-codes don't get passed to Android devices (at least not with my stock calendar app).

The color-codes for Gmail calendar events also don't get passed to Android devices.

 

[sjamie]

You can categorize/color-code your Hotmail appointments on Outlook but those categories/color-codes don't get passed to Android devices (at least not with my stock calendar app).

The color-codes for Gmail calendar events also don't get passed to Android devices.

Thank you. In that case, it is probably best for me to stick with CompanionLink and Deja Calendar. Thanks again for letting everyone know about the free Hotmail alternative. If calendar categories weren't so important to me, I'd definitely try the process you outlined.

 

[dvlamis]

Folks, I'm a total Android newbie, don't even have my Android phone yet and came across this thread. I'm now concerned about syncing my Outlook contacts (and calendar) and re-thinking my choice of Android as a result before I commit (tomorrow!) to an Android-based phone! I currently use an iPhone 3g.

I have Outlook 2010 on Windows 7 64-bit. I store personal contacts in a local PST file, and contacts on an Exchange server (is also a favorite in my local PST file). I want to sync both of these to my android phone for easy dialing and lookup purposes.

On my iphone, these go to two different folders. Does the same concept exist on Android phones? I'm considering the HTC Incredible 2 and will be using Verizon if it makes a difference. For my iPhone currently, I have to manually copy all of my Exchange contacts to a local PST folder because the iphone only knows how to sync to one source - either a local PST file or Exchange, not both.

Ideally, I want two-way sync, but I'll accept one-way sync (PC to phone only). I use categories pretty extensively, so I want to keep that information intact.

I'd rather not have to buy an extra app to do this. Given the price of CompanionLink software Pro, I'm now rethinking all of this. Is there a good open source (free?) app to sync Outlook contacts and calendars?

Sorry if I missed the answer to my question in this lengthy thread. I know the Android marketplace is changing rapidly, so I thought joining this forum and posting might be the best way for me to get a good answer. Thanks in advance!

 

[dvlamis]

well, I went ahead and got the Android-based HTC ThunderBolt. Now I do need to find a way to sync Outlook contacts. Any suggestions? I can try HTC Sync if that's what I should use. Suggestions?

 

[RazzMaTazz]

dvlamis: You can sync your "personal" (non-Exchange) contacts and calendar through Hotmail (without any 3rd party apps) as is described in the original post at the top of this thread.

If you have access to an Exchange server (I assume through your company) then you can also sync you Exchange account's contacts, calendar, & email through your Exchange server.

If you want to do both, you simply need to create accounts for both on your Android device. Android will dump all of the contacts into one folder on your phone, but you could choose to only view or sync one or the other accounts' contacts (or neither) per the original post at the top of this thread.

 

[carawlins]

How exactly do you copy and paste from Outlook 2003 into your Hotmail account? I have over 1,500 contacts to import into Hotmail so I am over the limit. Thanks!

MaxBuck: I'm sorry to hear that you had so much trouble. Did you follow the instructions in my original post? I didn't suggest exporting or iimporting CSV files. The easiest way to move contacts to Hotmail is to simply copy and paste them.



Where do you have two complete contacts lists, on Outlook or on your Android phone? If on Outlook, then feel free to delete them or hide them. If on Android, then you may wish to stop syncing your Gmail contacts. (Note that this won't delete them from the Gmail server. It just won't sync them to the phone.) Please note that in step #2 of the instructions in my original post I wrote:

2) Delete all of your Gmail contacts from your Gmail account and your phone (if you don't want duplicates) or change the ActiveSync settings to stop synchronizing contacts with Gmail.
​

In my original post, I provided the following instructions for moving your calendar to Hotmail.
To move your calendar from your Outlook Personal folders calendar to your Hotmail-based calendar:
1) Export your calendar as a PST file.
2) Then go to your Hotmail calendar and import that PST file into your Hotmail calendar.

 

[RazzMaTazz]

How exactly do you copy and paste from Outlook 2003 into your Hotmail account? I have over 1,500 contacts to import into Hotmail so I am over the limit. Thanks!

The solution for that issue is covered in my original post (at the top of this thread on page 1) under the following heading:
"To migrate from Gmail-based contacts to Hotmail-based calendar & contact from Outlook:"

 

[Ernie_P]

I appreciate the effort - but you are essentially replacing GMAIL contacts with HOTMAIL contacts.

I WANT TO SYNC BETWEEEN OUTLOOK TO MY PHONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (PERIOD!)

NO Gmail! NO! Hotmail! NO! Yahoo!

Otherwise - while your documentation and investigation is very thorough and complete - it doesn't solve the problem at hand: Which is there is no standard included (free) manner method for syncing Outlook Contacts to ANY Android phone?!?!?!?!?!

IT IS INCREDIBLE!

(Frustration not directed at you - but at Android!)

Thanks!

 

[Ernie_P]

well, I went ahead and got the Android-based HTC ThunderBolt. Now I do need to find a way to sync Outlook contacts. Any suggestions? I can try HTC Sync if that's what I should use. Suggestions?

Unfortunately HTC is the only "free" application that I have found - and it hasn't been updated in quite a while - so there seems to be limited support for it. I am now testing CompanionLink - but it costs $50!

You would think something as standard as Outlook synchronization would be included in all phones now a days.

I am returning my Droid Bionic because I cannot synchronize from Outlook to the phone without going "up to the cloud" either Gmail, Hotmail (as in this post) or something else....

 

[chanchan05]

@Ernie_P I already answered your thread.

anyway:

Android is made by Google, naturally, since Outlook to Google sync already exists, and the Android phone is designed to be used with a Google Account, they dont really need an offline solution. Plus Google earns if you use its services. An Android phone without a Google account is SEVERELY HAMPERED.

 

[Ernie_P]

@Ernie_P I already answered your thread.

anyway:

Android is made by Google, naturally, since Outlook to Google sync already exists, and the Android phone is designed to be used with a Google Account, they dont really need an offline solution. Plus Google earns if you use its services. An Android phone without a Google account is SEVERELY HAMPERED.

Yes - I am discovering this - so is the recommendation I am making to all is to not purchase an Android phone for business use!

I know most business users do not use Gmail and do not want to load sensitive business information to Gmail contacts/calendars, etc.

In addition I have tried the synchronization between Outlook and Gmail contacts and many fields are dropped off or truncated - again limitations of Gmail's contact system because it is made to track casual basic information but not business related info....

Bottom Line: Android is not for business and really for playing games and watching movies?! Disappointing!

This really needs to be announced loudly before folks invest considerable money in a phone that doesn't meet their needs!

Thanks!