koalabear

I think one big advantage the Eris has over the Motorola Droid is the ability to easily sync your Outlook from your PC to the phone, without using Google or your Gmail account. I’m old school and don’t like the idea of all my stuff being in Google’s hands.

There is a little learning curve to this so here it is step by step to save you some time.

1. Gmail contacts/mail.
The reps at the Verizon store and Best Buy have been trained to get you set up on Gmail before you leave the store, either on your existing account or starting you out with a new one. If you have an existing account there is one caveat. Gmail creates contacts for you from email addresses automatically if you really want them as “contacts” or not. If you do NOT want all these people in your phone contact list (found under the “People” ap by the way then delete them in Gmail before you set up the account. You can do this by clicking the “Contacts” link in the left column, hitting select all in the middle, and delete. You can also selectively delete then and or/sort them here. If you already have all these contacts in your phone and want to get rid of them on the device go to the People ap, then hit the menu key, then delete contacts, then menu key again, then select all, then delete. I would also point out if you want to avoid the phone picking up your Gmail contacts in the future go to the settings menu, data synchronization, and Google and there you can uncheck syncing with Gmail contacts and Google calendar too for that matter.

2. Get the sync software from HTC.
Its not in the box and there is no mention of it in the Tips and Tricks guide (the only documentation that comes with the phone. It does get a description in chapter 9.3 in the full user guide (available here: http://member.america.htc.com/download/web_materials/Manual/DROID_ERIS_Verizon/DROID_ERIS_Verizon_English_UM_11_5.pdf)

The link for the software is here. (note this is only on the HTC US site.) On that page are the instructions on how to install it so I won’t go into that. But its important to note to install the software before you connect your phone to the computer.
HTC Sync Update 2.0.8 for DROID ERIS

3. Using the HTC Sync.
Once the software is running and you phone has been found and recognized by Windows you will notice the buttons in the software don’t do anything. You will see Synchronize Now and Sync Manager. The is because you now have to tell the phone what to do which is different from most sync managers. On the phone there is a notification bar – the very top bar with the icons showing your network, wifi, battery etc. That’s actually a pull-down. Touch and hold there and when you see the grey bar appear below it drag that down. Now you will see “USB connected” and “HTC Sync”. You can also get to this by hitting the menu button and notifications. If you touch USB Connected you will to another menu which will “mount” the phone as a drive on your computer – this is how you will then drag and drop items to the SD card in the phone. Docs, music, videos whatever. If you hit the HTC Sync button you will really be connecting the phone to the computer for syncing. On the phone you will get a sync now menu and on the computer you will see your HTC Sync has changed with the prior two buttons lit up and another button added “Application Loader”

The first time you do this you will get the Sync Manager settings dialog asking what you want to sync and from where. Be sure to hit the properties button to set these selections as you want. I had a problem initially getting my Outlook calendar to sync. If this happens to you under properties deselect “default calendar folder” and set the folder yourself to calendar – mine had defaulted to contacts which is why the calendar didn’t come in the first time.

That’s it, the rest is pretty intuitive. Have fun Eris brothers and sisters!

Last edited by koalabear; 03-10-2010 at 12:37 PM. Reason: added info

Needsdecaf

STICKY!!!

And thanks so much for the link to the UG. I was looking for that yesterday all day...

Nate

Thank you for the info!

paulhirdler

Thank you for this information. An additional request. Once I have synchronized Outlook to the HTC Eris, I'd like to list the Contacts by last name, first name...they seem to default to first name, last name. Is there any way to accomplish this? Thank you.

ljpape

I just wanted to thank you for your post about not using Google to sync my DROID with Outlook! I was so confused before and had to go thru many steps to finally get the Google sync working. It wasn't the way I wanted to use my phone since I totally prefer using Outlook. Anyway, I followed your instructions and was able to sync my phone book and calendar in only a few minutes instead of the many hours it would have taken me to organize and update through Google! I'm not sure how I found you, but very glad I did!
God bless!

koalabear

I will look into it. But remember Google/Android is all about search. Hit that search icon, type any letter and it will look at both the first and last name for matches.

marko

Thanks. Used this once and it worked fine. Now after one sync the option fails to show up on my notification at all. And it won't sync my calendar at all. I uninstalled and reinstalled HTC Sync on my PC (running Vista) and it still does this.

Anyone seen similar problems.

rieltime

I am running XP and for some reason I can download the program but it won't launch as I receive an error message. Called both HTC and WZW to no avail.

Anyone else having issues with this software?

marko

Yes. I got it to run once properly synced to Outlook for both contacts and calendar. I couldn't get it to run again. I uninstalled and redownloaded. This time it doubled my contact list but would not sync calendar. Same thing several more times. Now I can't get the phone to even recognize HTC Sync. Anyone seen this or have a solution?

JerseyFF

I second that motion! I ran it successfully 11/18 (third consecutive day I ran it without a hitch) however now I cannot get it to sync.

When the notification pops up when I plug the USB into my Eris, I get the "USB Connection" notification that allows me to mount it as a storage device. The HTC Sync option is no longer there.

Suggestions?

rdalev

Yes , I followed the instructions to a T and the HTC Sync, on my pc says disconnected and neither the Sync manager or sync now buttons are clickable.

Also when I drag down the menu from the top of my phone, as implied in the instructions, the only thing that shows up is USB Connected !

I was able to mount the SD card though, but no sync ability !

Any ideas.....................anybody ?

Hope the update , due out on 12/11 fix this and poor battery life, cause I really like this phone !

Last edited by rdalev; 11-22-2009 at 06:12 PM.

JerseyFF

Try power cycling your Eris. I'm not sure if that is what did it for me but it was the only thing that I could think of that I did differently. I just sync'd it as I'm writing this.

I also installed Google Sync as an alternative to syncing with my desktop. That syncs outlook with google which gets stuff on the phone as long as you have it sync to Google.

JimmyRayBob

I don't know why, but sometimes my Eris won't sync with Outlook if Outlook is open and running. If I close Outlook, it works just fine.

majorkirkus

to those having difficulty syncing with outlook...im curious to see if you are getting the same issue as i am. when i start HTC sync, in the sync process it is stuck on the "preparing data from your phone..." prompt?
-kirkus

marko

This never worked properly so I gave up on Outlook and switched to Google Calender. I would still prefer Outlook. Recently I've gotten the following message on my Windows Vista PC:

Solve a problem with Sony Ericsson PC Suite

Sony Ericsson PC Suite has stopped working properly.
A newer version of this software is available for download that addresses this problem. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB recommends updating to take advantage of security and stability improvements.

Since I don't have a Sony ericson phone, the only software this might refer to is HTC sync. Anyone know whether HTC is using this as a sync software?

BuzzWhizzer

I'm new to the forum, and to Android. I installed and set up HTC Sync for my Outlook calendar and contacts and everything seemed to work properly. Oddly, what I found is that many of my appointments DO show up on Android's Daily calendar view but DO NOT show up on the scrolling Agenda view. What in the world? I normally only have 1-3 things per day so the Agenda view seems perfect for my use but not if it doesn't reliably display all the events.

I'm also experimenting with CompanionLink, third party software with a 14 day trial. It syncs Outlook Contacts and Calendar with gmail, and thus with Android, and kind of syncs Tasks too although it just tacks them on as a calendar entry (worth a little, not a lot). Based on my one-day's use CompanionLink syncs and displays everything the way it should. My hesitation with it is I don't love letting Google rummage around in my Calendar.

I'd like HTC Sync to do the job for me. Any clues on why some, but not all, daily calendar events wouldn't display in Agenda view?

erisuser1

Yes, it only shows up once when you initially plug in via USB. After you click it the first time, it disappears afterwards.

But all is not lost! - do this:

Settings... Data synchronization ... PC


Edit: I played with it a little bit more (Windows Xp), and came to a slightly different conclusion: you need to "start" HTC Sync on the handset from the notification area... and it will continue to run (almost like a service) until the USB cable is disconnected. By itself, it doesn't start the synchronization, but something else that allows the PC application and the device to "find" each other. That's why the message in the Notification area disappears - it is still "running" on the handset. On the PC side of things, it seems to recognize that the Eris is there, and you can start a sync from that side, or from the handset by going to Settings... Data synchronization... PC. If that doesn't seem to work, try Exiting the application on the PC, and restarting it from the PC's Start menu... or re-inserting the USB plug (after a "Safely Remove Hardware, of course).

I suppose it could behave differently on Vista or W7.

HTH


eu1

Last edited by erisuser1; 12-14-2009 at 10:45 PM.

sarasotarealtor

I just synced my Eris to Outlook for the first time and had the same problem. It synced all of my contacts from Outlook to my phone but alphabetized them by first name instead of last name. Have you heard or figured out how to fix this?

Also, a stupid question, is this sync only one-way? Just Outlook to phone? (It did not sync my phone contacts & calendar to my Outlook.) My old Palm Treo sync went both ways.

kalerina

OMG I am really having issues getting this to work.. For some reason my phone isn't recognizing the Sync.. I've tried powering off and all that.. any suggestions, I'd love to get my schedule sync'd with my phone.

erisdog63

I had spent about 2 hours trying to sync my eris with my pc and now I'm extremely frustrated. So, I decided that I would check out the forum to see if there was any feedback concerning this issue and wow......it seems that everyone is having this problem too. Well, I guess I will wait and see if someone can figure this issue out. I'm not real versed with all this up to date technology, so I hope somebody can help!!!!!

kalerina

You need to turn on application debugging in the settings. After that I had no issues.

BuzzWhizzer

That's been my experience, anyway. HTC Sync did not reliably sync my calendar and contacts and behaved erratically enough that I stopped fiddling with it out of concern it would corrupt my Outlook data. CompanionLink, on the other hand, has worked flawlessly for me so far. I did the two week free trial and liked it enough to shell out $40 to keep it. Even the "problem" I wrote about a while back, that not all events listed in the Calendar View showed up on the Agenda View, turned out to be nothing. Turns out the Agenda View only shows every event of the 4-5 days up-coming. I'd like to be able to adjust that element but it turns out to be by design rather than a flaw.

The original heading of this thread said "without Google". Let me be clear, CompanionLink DOES sync through Google, so while it does a good job, if you don't want Google to know your business my experience will not be useful to you.

kanman

im using outlook 2003 and windows xp service pak 3. I have no issues ..I had to change the location as the initial post said about the calendar but other than that it has worked fine for me.

I initially had the phone hooked up before while I installed the software....and that screws it all up..i disconected the phone and uninstalled the software....reinstalled the software and then hooked the phone up and like I said it was worked fine for me. I would be happy to check any settings if anyone wants me to let me know

kanman

__________________
HTC Eris Droid/Model ADR6200
Firmware 1.5/BaseBand Ver. 2.32.40.11.09
Kernel Ver. 2.6.27-v77ff39d htc-kernel@and18-2 )
Build # 1.17.605.1 CL104882 release-keys
Plan Verizon USA

manthony

This totally screwed up my calendar and contacts in Outlook as it kept duplicating items. Now I tried wiping my droid clean but can't erase the entire calendar. I'm now trying to reload everything but HTC Sync no longer gives me the option of selecting Outlook. Help????

kanman

thanks....thats what I had to do as well. I dont sync that much so its not a huge deal to me but I wish some of this software would work as advertised with out all these little glitches.

thanks for your idea though it works

manthony

i disconnected my google sync as i sync daily cause of all my activity. it was creating duplicates in my outlook. think i'm ok now as i removed all the htc software and reloaded everything. thanks for all your help folks. this is a good group.

majorkirkus

anyone running windows 7? i upgraded to windows 7 and now my eris can't find HTC sync. I tried uninstalling it and installing it again, hoping, to no avail.

any help would be greatly appreciated!

-kirkus

kanman

try powering off your droid and then turning it back on. it seems to fix some of this issue for some of us but I cant say for sure for windows 7. Did it work when you initial did the software install and now its not working? Thats the symptom I have had but again power cycling the phone fixed my problem....havent synced again but if I do Ill probably have to power cycle it again.

majorkirkus

nope...after i upgraded my comp to W7, it didn't want to work. i uninstalled, restarted, then reinstalled. tried the different drivers things with no luck. thanks for your input tho!

any other suggestions?

-kirkus

Unseen

Same problem here

Can't sync in W7 64bit.

It has worked a few times on and off, but tonight it just won't work.

Restarted phone and pc, same problem

cbanning

doesn't seem to work with W7 64 bit?

KevinM

Does anyone know if this application allows syncing with subfolders and shared team folders in outlook?

cbanning

it does do subfolers - but wont' automatically sync - gosh one should not type after a few wines............................

Rollo_Tomasi

Having same issues here, Win 7 64 Bit, HTC Sync installed and the phone does not find it on the PC. I read somewhere there was a driver issue, but i can only find Vista drivers to replace...

looks like we'll have to wait for updated drivers or use Google sync as was stated earlier in the thread..

cbanning

HTC support rep told me Friday that they are working on the software, but no date when it will be ready. DUH!. At least I was able to export contacts and appointments that were already on outlook, but no actualy syncing.

Bogeyjoker

I really love this device, but I don't, for the life of me, understand why someone hasn't developed a decent full sync (contacts, calendar, email, tasks, and notes) app for Android and Outlook. I'd pay more for that app than I paid for the phone! I've tried syncing with "the cloud", but neither Google nor any other app I've tried integrates all these organizational tidbits together as beautifully as Outlook does.
I fully understand that Google has a vested interest in keeping Outlook and other MS products away from Android, but with the tens of millions of people worldwide using Outlook, I can't believe there aren't more people like me screaming for a better option. I don't even really care if that option includes Outlook...just give me something that works as well, and I'm in! Sorry for the rant.
Oh, and btw, I was using HTC sync with XP, but just upgraded to W7, and am having the same problems as others getting the Eris to find HTC sync on my PC...so now I don't even have a contact/calenar sync .

phorts

Have you tried CompanionLink? Others in this thread have mentioned it and it does exactly what you're describing you want it to do. And only costs $40, not more than the Eris, so you're in luck.

I havent tried it, yet, and rely heavily on Outlook for day to day. So this is key for me. I'm still deciding if i'm going to keep the Eris Droid, go back to BBerry, switch to Moto Droid or wait for Nexus1..

lol

brett1778

I don't understand. I got the sync to work but what exactly is synching, just contacts and calendar. How do I use Outlook on Eris? I've read thru these posts but no one is mentioning exactly what to do. In the last paragraph it doesn't give enough details. Properties menu where? outlook? htc sync? phone? what? what file am i to add to phone? help please.

Gink

This is great, thanks for the info. Have only tried syncing once so I don't know if I have any other issues but my question is: is this 2-way syncing??? From the Eris to Outlook and vice versa? TIA.

Cellmate

That's all HTC SYNC syncs is Contact and Calender, There is no Outlook on Eris, just your contacts and appts in the calender program. When you open the program on your PC you will see the Sync Manager...that is where you will see settings

vanvooren

I cannot get this app to work, and HTC support seems stumpped as well.

The app installs fine, and launches fine. It sees my Eris, and then goes into the wizard to define the information source - Outlook 2000 on XP Pro, in my case. The second I attempt to confirm or save my choices, I get:

Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library

Runtime error!

Program:... Files\HTC\HTC Sync\Sync Manager\syncmldesktopserver.exe

This application has requested the runtime terminate in an unusual way.
Please contact the application's support team for more information.


They had me go through a process of uninstalling the app, making sure I had the right C++ runtime library, cleaning up the installer files, and reinstalling the app, but I get the same result.

I get it on two different, nearly identical, machines, and wonder if anybody else has seen this issue. Also tried it on a third machine, an IBM G40 laptop, and the Settings screen won't even come up.

Thanks in advance to anybody with any ideas...

3xBlessed

koalabear -- MUCHAS GRACIAS! I followed your "tutorial" and I FINALLY got my Eris to sync with OL contacts and calendar. I will tell you this much...I tried to delete all my gmail contacts that were already in my phone first, as you suggested...and that did NOT work. I had to back that deletion request out, then followed the rest of your steps. I had 112 contacts to delete, and it kept telling me it exceeded the # allowed. to delete all at once. Flat out wouldn't delete them and allow me to continue on. I'll have to manually delete the gmail contacts, I suppose. Still -- as of 12:50pm CT -- I'm sync'd! YES! Here's hoping it doesn't get cantankerous and syncs again -- I usually sync at least once a day so I have my work calendar items up-to-date. Thank again!

Craiz

I had the same issue as well... (Outlook 2007 and Windows XP SP2)

What worked for me was uninstalling HTC Sync AND the HTC Drivers
Reinstalled HTC Sync with phone unplugged.

Following the posts above, it still didn't work right away either (after plugging the phone in and waiting a few seconds), but once I select the HTC Sync on the phone, it executed the sync manager which allowed me to set up everything manually, it did however, make duplicate entries on some reoccuring appointments/meetings due to the ones in my phone were newer than the ones in Outlook.