Help Solution to Syncing Outlook on the Droid

[Stangs55]

I remain baffled that we can have a device so advanced as the Droid in our hands...yet Google has yet to release an easy way for us to sync our Microsoft Outlook contacts...

I am in NO way affiliated with this guy, but I think I've found the best/easiest way for those of us that rely on Outlook for our contacts and calendars to stay in sync. Checkout gSyncit.

Yes, it's $15. But for that price, you get an integrated solution to Microsoft Outlook that will sync your contacts and calendar to you gmail account. So even if you don't have a gmail account for your email...setup a dummy account and set gSyncit to sync your contacts/calendar to it. Then just setup your Android device to sync with the same account. In the end, you basically end up with a free push system that will always keep your desktop and Android device wirelessly synced.

There are several other free sync solutions out there...but I've found most of them to be rather abysmal in their consistency and usability. In addition, gSyncit will sync contact pictures.

/2_cents

 

[Carmen]

I have a question please. I use my outlook with a yahoo account and have had this address for work for a long time. I am trying to figure out how to keep this address and utilize outlook as well as show that is my sending and receiving address.

As of now I have dumped my yahoo account into gmail which seems to be working. Then I added my gmail account to my outlook. Somehow I can't figure out which account I am viewing since I now have over 2000 old emails being retrieved by outlook. I installed gsyncit.

Which email do I use in outlook to make it look like it is coming from my yahoo address?

Thanx in advance if you can help

 

[kramerica]

I pulled the trigger and purchased last night. I like the integration and my calendar synced like a dream. However, my contacts are struggling mightily.

I keep getting error after error and it gets hung on sporadic contacts that have different "type" of contacts. I have to task manager and kill gSyncit, which in turns, kills my Outlook and therefore, never shuts down properly.

I have sent the reported errors to the developer and will wait for a response.

 

[kramerica]

Just downloaded the trial version of Companion Link and it managed to capture ALL contact information, contact pictures and ALL categories. For all the positives, the big difference is the cost. gSyncit and $15 and Companion at $40.

Companion synced everything I wanted to, but will be for a price in the future. Great software, just wish I hadn't blown $15 on gSyncit. Live and learn and will hope this helps anyone looking for a solution that isn't free.

 

[troybal]

Are you stating that only the Contact are not being synced or the email and calendars as well?

I am stating that as my email stays synced as well as my calendar. I have yet to start working on the contacts but will attempt tomorrow.

 

[Carmen]

I will try campanion tomorrow! That was the app I was going to use to begin with.

gSyncit is currently deleting contacts (lucky I have back-up on other devices), I have had to stop my PC from scheduled pulls and go to mannual because I will lose emails and when it sync's sometimes my contact photo's are there and then the next they will not and last the sync with google & outlook screw up my "file as" on my outlook view and at times I have had just the number and company info but no "contact" name.

I am a normal BB user so it could just be me. Love this device so far but I am suprised the amount of time I have spent just trying to get a basic outlook sync. Thank you for the advice.

 

[kramerica]

Are you stating that only the Contact are not being synced or the email and calendars as well?

I am stating that as my email stays synced as well as my calendar. I have yet to start working on the contacts but will attempt tomorrow.

Calendar works fine. In fact there are no issues with calendar. It's the contacts that are just flat messed up with gSyncit.

 

[kramerica]

I will try campanion tomorrow! That was the app I was going to use to begin with.

gSyncit is currently deleting contacts (lucky I have back-up on other devices), I have had to stop my PC from scheduled pulls and go to mannual because I will lose emails and when it sync's sometimes my contact photo's are there and then the next they will not and last the sync with google & outlook screw up my "file as" on my outlook view and at times I have had just the number and company info but no "contact" name.

I am a normal BB user so it could just be me. Love this device so far but I am suprised the amount of time I have spent just trying to get a basic outlook sync. Thank you for the advice.

That was another issue I had with gSyncit (the missing contacts). I had mine backed up, but I was also continually getting errors with the sync on random contacts. I have multiple fields in almost all my contacts, but was getting the error on contacts that had minimum field (address, email, work phone) and then I would get an error on some that had multiple fields (address, work 1, work 2, email 1, email 2, etc.). Didn't seem to be a pattern.

Developer must have a life as I have not heard back that he even got my trouble tickets (you can send error report directly from the error - which is cool), so I certainly don't blame him for not responding right away, but that means support is limited certain days, hours.

I am a LONG time BB convert and LOVE this device, but you are dead on in that it seems so silly to have this wonderful phone and applications, but outlook (non exchange) seems so difficult and non existant. I happen to like Google, but it's PIM has very serious limitations to everyday functions for me (tasks, notes, contacts).

 

[sharlan]

I bought gsyncit and it so far appears to be worth the $15 investment. Still dismayed that Google doesn't offer something like this for POP users, in addition to the MS Exchange product.

 

[araskin01]

Forgive me as I'm a new Droid user - I've been a long time BB user. It sounds like gSyncit and CompanionLink allow you to sync Outlook Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Notes, etc. What about syncing Outlook email? Will these applications sync email, or is there another way to do that?

 

[Gunner]

Just downloaded the trial version of Companion Link and it managed to capture ALL contact information, contact pictures and ALL categories. For all the positives, the big difference is the cost. gSyncit and $15 and Companion at $40.

Companion synced everything I wanted to, but will be for a price in the future. Great software, just wish I hadn't blown $15 on gSyncit. Live and learn and will hope this helps anyone looking for a solution that isn't free.

How did you get the contact pictures to also transfer over? I just tried the trial version. This didn't work for me. Oh and I also now have like 4 duplicates of all my contacts in Outlook (arrrghhhhh).

 

[kramerica]

How did you get the contact pictures to also transfer over? I just tried the trial version. This didn't work for me. Oh and I also now have like 4 duplicates of all my contacts in Outlook (arrrghhhhh).

With Companion Link, I didn't really do anything except tell it when and how to sync.

The one thing I didn't do was a 2 way sync the 1st time I loaded my contacts in to the Google cloud. I made sure that there were no contacts in Google contacts before I started the sync and did a one way sync the 1st time. After I synced all my Outlook contacts to Google, I then reconfigured the setting to do a 2 way sync.

I don't know if this will help you, but my contact list is backed up on my Outlook and everything I do, I make sure it is correct 1st and foremost, then the minor additions/deletions I then fell comfortable doing after my original backup from Outlook.

 

[Redflea]

I'm using gSyncIt for contacts only (using Google Calendar sync for calendar) and aside from one missing contact I'm aware of, haven't seen any issues yet...

The one missing contact is "#min" which is the number to dial to get a summary of minutes used on Verizon...not sure why gSyncIt chose to skip that contact...

 

[syntrix]

doesn't work with outlook 2000:

"Microsoft Outlook XP (2002), Outlook 2003 and 2007 (Outlook 2000 is NOT officially supported)."

And if you have 2003/2007, why not just use the free google sync tool?

 

[kramerica]

doesn't work with outlook 2000:

"Microsoft Outlook XP (2002), Outlook 2003 and 2007 (Outlook 2000 is NOT officially supported)."

And if you have 2003/2007, why not just use the free google sync tool?

Could you please include a link to the Google Sync tool? The Standard Edition that I looked at does not look like it sync's contacts. The Premier Edition is not free, so I am anxious to see what the free Outlook add-in is that you speak of.

 

[syntrix]

Could you please include a link to the Google Sync tool? The Standard Edition that I looked at does not look like it sync's contacts. The Premier Edition is not free, so I am anxious to see what the free Outlook add-in is that you speak of.

I overlooked this and discounted it cause it never worked with outlook 2000.

You are correct, it's just a cal tool.

You can export from outlook and then import from gmail, but that's not really a sync!

My bad!

 

[araskin01]

I downloaded the trial version of CompanionLink and it worked great - contacts, calendar all went perfect. I had a totally clean gmail account (no contacts, no calendar events, etc), so that helped. I still don't know how i will get my email - any suggestions? I was thinking of re-directing my email to a gmail account and syncing that way ... anyone tried this?

 

[nesl247]

At the moment it's not available, but markspace is releasing The Missing Sync for Android at any moment now. The Missing Sync is available for multiple platforms and seems to get good reviews as far as I know.

I'm waiting for it to come out myself to sync podcasts and music and such over wifi.

 

[reburns]

doesn't work with outlook 2000:

"Microsoft Outlook XP (2002), Outlook 2003 and 2007 (Outlook 2000 is NOT officially supported)."

And if you have 2003/2007, why not just use the free google sync tool?

It appears CompanionLink works with Outlook 97 and newer. I've been using CompanionLink with Outlook 2002 the past several days with the Verizon Motorola Droid.

QUESTION: Is there an App /workaround that sorts the contacts by last name?

 

[AA6YQ]

Like many new Droid owners, I am seeking a way to sync contacts and calendar from Outlook; since I don't use Exchange, I downloaded the trial version of Companionlink. I immediately discovered a (for me) showstopper defect: events added to my Outlook calendar by associates located in other timezones are shown at incorrect times in both my Google Calendar and in the Droid's Calendar. I immediately reported this to Companionlink. The support person who responded threw a lot of chaff in the air, e.g. "you have too many events in your calendar". It took more than a week to convince him that this behavior is incorrect ("sync means the calendars should be identical, right?"). With my 14-day evaluation down to 3 days, I asked that Companionlink either state a time frame for correcting this defect, or acknowledge that it would remain uncorrected; the evaluation expired with no response to this request.

Think twice before relying on this company or its products.

 

[sharlan]

The only good thing about gsyncit was the prompt refund they gave me after weeks of problems.

 

[boatman]

I too was Treo/Winmo/BB guy, where my contacts, calendar, tasks, memo, todo, all just sync'd easily. Being tech guy, purchased the phone knowing that this wasn't going to happen immediately on droid.

Using outlook and pop3, outlook runs my day.

To get email, I created another pop, and forward my main pop to the new one. The new one is the one I use with the droid. My mail is not in sync, but I get all email on my phone and computer. I do have to delete emails on my phone even after they have been deleted on computer.

As far as syncing other info from outlook, Keep your life in sync with The Missing Sync for Android from Mark/Space"

the missing sync for $40 looks like it will hopefully solve this. They are trying hard to get this out by the end of the year. It is a steep price, but if it works, it is easily worth it. With my BB, I would plug my phone into my computer every morning upon coming to work, and 2 sync of contacts calendars , and todos. I need to get that back!

 

[skiracermb]

Thanks for the advise boatman. I installed "The missing sync for Andriod" and it works!!!. I have Outlook 2007 and connect through the wi-fi in my office to sync my contacts and photos daily. I takes a little while because I have 700 contacts but it works!!! The $40 bucks fixed my problem. Thanks.

My setup:
Verizon Motorola Droid -> connecting wi-fi to my office computer to sync contacts!! which google calander and email will not sync.

 

[servo086]

Ok, I've read this thread and I just need a concrete answer.
I have a client whom I need to up with an outlook solution for his moto droid. He has an imap email account that goes with his outlook, and he uses the calender and contacts. What is the BEST solution to get it all synced? Companion, touchdown, the missing sync? And how do you set it up?

 

[m50]

For me gsyncit did not work. Instead I downloaded "Note Everything" app for android and exported notes to CSV. You just have to map out the fields a certain way - instructions are in the app. Really easy - works great.