What's up with Windows Mobile 5 / Active Sync 4.1?

[stsanford]

I am the ?proud? new ownder of the ETEN M600
I have flash upgraded the device with the latest ROM (kudos to ETEN, the update procedure is painless, much better than the same on my old T-Mo PPC PE Ver I.

My phone's been syncing for the better part of 1/2 hour.

Status says Processing, no longer does it count up records the way 3.8 used to.

Is this isolated to my install, or is this common. Is it the initial sync? I have to say that it does seem mightly slow!

[stevenator65]

I am not an expert on wm5, but on Aximsite nearly everyone who has it or upgraded to it from wm2003se seems to have had problems. From what I see they've made several rom updates but there are still many issues to address. It looks like the early adopters are the guinea pigs for the new os. Once they get it worked out they'll release the "se" version that actually works. Good luck.
Steve

[Darius Wey]

You might want to check this page (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/help/activesync/default.mspx) for solutions to your problem. It's not a guaranteed fix, but it does solve half of today's common ActiveSync 4.x issues.

[Sven Johannsen]

I'd be patient for a while, if you haven't already. The initial sync does take an excessively long time...especially if you sit and watch it. I only have about 200 contacts I keep in Outlook that sync, and I see easy 10-15 minute initial syncs.

[stsanford]

Darius,

I have to say that this ETEN (maybe mine's a lemon, maybe it's because I'm in the US) is truly horible. And I've been an early adopter of converged technology, so I consider myself very accommodating...

When compared with my Siemens SX66 the Eten is:
Slower
Less reliable (locks up about once every hour as an average) Yes it is on the newest ROM 1.7 WWE.
Active Sync 4.1 is horific. On a WM5 device, there's no status, and it's impossible to change the settings for things like Microsoft Money and AvantGo sync items unless the PDA is connected.

I'm left wondering why MS changed the Phone interface too. The "soft buttons" are not very intuitive, I find it takes more steps to accomplish tasks, etc. Certainly not the model of ergonomics.

Maybe it's that the Siemens (HTC) device is so well made, and WM2003 has had the bugs worked out, I don't know, but it's been my experience that WM5 is not for me.

And man, did I want to love this phone. It's downright sexy. It's like buying a Ferrari and realizing once it's in your garage that you need a full-time mechanic and that you cannot drive a stick-shift.

So, much to my chagrin, back it goes...

[stsanford]

Sven,
I finally went out to eat and it finished. (I have over 4400 contacts!)

I also find that when searching for contacts, entering the contact name in the search dialog in Contacts does not find them. If you scroll down, there they are. Another glitch...

[Darius Wey]

Less reliable (locks up about once every hour as an average) Yes it is on the newest ROM 1.7 WWE.

Actually, ROM 0171 WWE is the latest, and is designed to solve any locking issues. You should update your device with it.

[stsanford]

Sorry I short-handed it. That is the version I have loaded on the PDA.

[stsanford]

Is it typical that in AS 4.1 on a WM5 device partnership that no items show when the device is disconnected? On the regular SX66, it shows all my conduits.

Is there something wrong with the Active Sync installation? If that's the case maybe I won't have to wait so long for a sync:

Now when I'm talking about sync issues I'm meaning specifically:
MS Money - Says reloading databases and never permits the sync to continue.

Notes dont' sync
Haven't gotten to Vindigo or AvantGo yet, because of above.

Thanks for any advice you can muster for me.

** I guess I could delete AS and reinstall it if you think that would help.**

[Darius Wey]

Is it typical that in AS 4.1 on a WM5 device partnership that no items show when the device is disconnected? On the regular SX66, it shows all my conduits.

Yes, ActiveSync 4.1 + Windows Mobile 5.0 no longer shows the conduits when the device is disconnected.

** I guess I could delete AS and reinstall it if you think that would help.**

That would be a wise move. You might also want to uninstall any third-party conduits you have, then reinstall them once you've reinstalled ActiveSync.

[stsanford]

Man oh man,
Removed AS 4
Tried reinstalling. No Sync.
Rebooted. Uninstalled
Reinstalled
nothing...
Removed then Installed AS 3.8
nothing...
If after the computer reboots and I put the PDA in the cradle, the AS icon goes green, but won't open. Cannot get it to open. ReSync cannot get it to open. I'm at a total loss.
Tried System Restore.... Nope. Now I can't even restore to last month.
Really wierd.
Running a Spyware and Anti-Virus scan. Don't think that will be it, but I'm at my last straw here before I have to wipe and reload this machine.

Major thumbs down for this experience.

[Darius Wey]

Let's revisit this page (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/help/activesync/default.mspx); you never actually mentioned anywhere in this thread as to whether you have any firewalls installed and whether the solutions provided on that page were of any help. So, do you have a firewall installed?

[stsanford]

I always turn off any firewalls. Do lots of remote work, and am behind a pretty corporate firewall, so all McAfee, Norton, Windows Firwalls are always off. Sorry I neglected to mention that...

[Darius Wey]

I always turn off any firewalls. Do lots of remote work, and am behind a pretty corporate firewall, so all McAfee, Norton, Windows Firwalls are always off. Sorry I neglected to mention that...

Hmm, looks like we've exhausted all avenues. Something is definitely broken on either your Pocket PC or PC, so it seems as though a hard reset of your Pocket PC might be your best option from here. If that fails to get things working, then it's time to start debugging the PC.

[stsanford]

Looks like it's PC time, I already did a hard reset and a restore of my working backup on the PDA. No dice.

What an completely frustrating experience...

Thanks so much for your help,
Scott

[harlie]

hi,
I'm having similar problem and was hoping you got yours fixed and would post what you have done to fix it.
if I may, I have an HP jonada 568 and trying to replace it with xv6700 same as ppc6700. i have updated my as3.8 to as4.1 (jornada 568 worked with 4.1), deleted partnership with jornada and then connected xv6700. I went thru as4.1 device discovery thru USB and as4.1 did NOT find device. I made sure my zone alarm was turned off, windows XP pro sp2 firewall was off, and norton anti virus 2002 was also off at that time.
This has become literally a nightmare since I can only work on it at night after work and my wife is starting to complain about my "mistress". Today i'm calling in sick just to try and get this beast to do what I bought it for, to rid of an old brick of a cellphone and my trusty 568 and a digital camera....
Help!
Thanks in advance
harlie

[stsanford]

harlie,
Bad news my friend. the only solution was to wipe and reload the entire PC.

I tried system restore which heretofore had worked perfectly. System restore could not restore my system and removed all recovery points.

I completely removed AS 4.1, reinstalled AS 3.8 No luck, something with 2 dll files in the AS folder that couldn't be removed. So I manually removed them and re-attempted the install. No luck.

As per Darius and others' recommendations, I wiped my PDA with a hard reset. Only result was more wasted time to reload my preferences and customizations... Not looking good.

Got so frustrated that I completely wiped the PC and reloaded it.
AS 3.8 works. I AM NOT going to load 4.1 on this PC, but have installed it fresh on my Tablet.

Final Result, the ETEN M600 is on the Tablet and runs AS 4.1 fine
the SX66 is on the desktop with AS 3.8. Working well as well.

:-)

[harlie]

Scott,
OUCH! no no no that's a BIG OUCH! :cry:
I think i'm going in shock, denial time.... man that really sucks.... :evil: I hate MS for this!
"Plan Z" - I have a back up HDD w/ Win XP Pro SP2 and still "clean" I'll pop that in and see....there goes the hole day..... :(

Scott thanks for replying to my post....if you were close by I'd say let's go out for a drink to dull the pain!
Thanks again.
Harlie

[stsanford]

harlie,
After this experience, I'd say we could meed half-way for a number of drinks!

I'm investing in Norton Ghost and having it take regular snapshots so that I dont' get caught out again!

[harlie]

Hi,
I'm "new" to this so please bear with me.
What is a "conduit"?
Thanks
harlie

[stsanford]

Conduit, sorry, my bad, hold over from the Palm days... It's a type of synchronized information. Contacts, Calendar, etc....

[stsanford]

Complete Wipe and Reload of my PC.

(PS Norton Ghost 10 is a complete waste. Couldn't get it to restore any image...)

AS 3.8 installed on my desktop. Works like a charm. Reliable (well, as reliable as MS AS can be) and it syncs my Siemens SX66 very well.

On my Tablet PC, I have AS 4.1 and the ETEN.
I re-flashed the ROM 2 X more.
Finally it seemed to take.
Purchased the Logitech BT 1.2 headset WOW! Phone is useable.
Used it for 2 days. LOVE THIS PHONE! When it works, it's great. Still seems slow, but it has been great.

AS Doesn't want it to sync at all now. Have to reboot the whole laptop in order to get it to sync once!

2 Questions:

1. BT sync seems a little bit more reliable. Is there any way to setup a profile where you don't have to put in a code each time?

2. Is there some program like ReSync.exe which will stop and restart the new AS 4.1 services?

Thanks, if only AS was reliable, this phone would be my primary.

[dougeks]

Hello All,

I have just taken delivery of an O2 Atom and I'm not having anywhere near the problems I hear described but I do have an issue with the AS4.1 sync

I have a very large contacts list and use regularly 4 pc's and I dont want everthing synced. I thought I could solve the problem by creating categories (someone on the MS site even goes into great lenght on how to do this) but either im a dope or AS4.1 does not have this facility.

With my old nokia you just create a PST and sync just that but that did not work either.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated