Activesync over Wifi? Or Bluetooth?

[famousdavis]

So I've got my first Wifi-enabled PPC (Axim X50v) now. It accesses the Internet just fine over my home wireless network.

Do folks somehow use ActiveSync over WiFi to sync wirelessly?

Or do you do that via Bluetooth somehow? And if via Bluetooth, there is some gizmo I must buy for my desktop, right (is that what a Bluetooth dongle is?)?

How does one use ActiveSync over a wireless connection?

[famousdavis]

So I've got my first Wifi-enabled PPC (Axim X50v) now. It accesses the Internet just fine over my home wireless network.

Do folks somehow use ActiveSync over WiFi to sync wirelessly?

Or do you do that via Bluetooth somehow? And if via Bluetooth, there is some gizmo I must buy for my desktop, right (is that what a Bluetooth dongle is?)?

How does one use ActiveSync over a wireless connection?

[Steven Cedrone]

I use both. There should be a bunch of threads here about it. Here is a tutorial as well:

http://www.wifizard.com/tutorialsXP/sync/index.htm

You will need a dongle for your PC to do the Bluetooth sync...

Steve

[famousdavis]

Originally Posted by Steven Cedrone

I use both. There should be a bunch of threads here about it. Here is a tutorial as well:

http://www.wifizard.com/tutorialsXP/sync/index.htm

You will need a dongle for your PC to do the Bluetooth sync...

Steve

I did try searching using "ActiveSync" and "WiFi" and the results were a little overwhelming, so I posted here instead. :wink:

Thanks for pointing me to the tutorial, Steve. I clicked through it from work and am anxious to give it a whirl tonight. The English spelling and grammar on the tutorial is pretty rough, but I think it has the gist of what I need to know. I'll post later to give you results!

[famousdavis]

I gave it a whirl, but no dice. Interestingly, I don't think there was anything different about my existing PC and PPC configurations that I had to change after going through the tutorial. But still, my ActiveSync connection doesn't take place.

I've opened a support ticket with Dell, and they said they'll send me an email on how to wireless use ActiveSync with my Axim. I'm not overly optimistic that their email is going to resolve the problem. There is probably something particular about my desktop that is causing a problem.

I might try loading ActiveSync on my laptop, and see if I might have any better luck with that.

Or, I could just eat the last piece of apple cobbler while my wife is out grocery shopping. Hmmmmm.... ;-)

[Darius Wey]

In what ways is it not working? Do you get an error message on your PC or Pocket PC, or does it just not want to connect?

[famousdavis]

Originally Posted by Darius Wey

In what ways is it not working? Do you get an error message on your PC or Pocket PC, or does it just not want to connect?

The error message isn't in front of me, but it says, basically, that it can't connect.

Dell's tech support hasn't sent me the promised email detailing how to setup wireless sync'ing, so I'll probably have to work with Dell again tonight. :evil:

[famousdavis]

Okay, here's what I'm getting:

"Cannot start communications with the desktop computer. Reconnect your device. If the problem persists, see Microsoft ActiveSync Help."

Doing a Google has taken me down some unfruitful paths. I am using the "Work" instead of "The Internet" for my network setting. Interestingly, my Internet connection still works under this setting.

Thoughts, anyone?

[famousdavis]

After reading this Microsoft Knowledgebase article on setting up a wireless sync with ActiveSync and a PPC, I am re-thinking the urgency of getting my ActiveSync to work wirelessly in my network environment. Can it be any more complicated? Would it be easier to hit the Lotto than to get all the steps down correctly?

I've lived 18 months with my iPAQ 1910 doing sync's via a USB cable (not even a cradle!), so maybe I'll be content with the progress I've made thus far....and hope that ActiveSync 4.0 with Windows Longhorn and WM2005 will make this a whole lot easier in the future. :cry:

[Darius Wey]

Originally Posted by famousdavis

Okay, here's what I'm getting:

"Cannot start communications with the desktop computer. Reconnect your device. If the problem persists, see Microsoft ActiveSync Help."

Doing a Google has taken me down some unfruitful paths. I am using the "Work" instead of "The Internet" for my network setting. Interestingly, my Internet connection still works under this setting.

Thoughts, anyone?

Open up ActiveSync on the Pocket PC and tap Tools > Options. From there, select the computer name you wish to synchronise with and tap the Options button. Ensure the appropriate connection interface is selected in the drop-down menu.

[famousdavis]

More progress....

Tonight I loaded ActiveSync onto my laptop and established a partnership with my X50v -- now I have two partnerships, one with my desktop, one with my laptop. So far, so good.

After using the USB cradle to establish the initial partnership with my laptop, I then tried starting ActiveSync on my X50v and seeing whether I could sync wirelessly over my WLAN.

SHAAAZAM! It worked! 8O

So, I conclude that there is something amiss with my desktop environment, since I can't sync wirelessly on my desktop. My desktop is about 3 years old, and my laptop is just 6 months old. My desktop runs XP SP-2, and my laptop I've got XP SP-1 (both Home Edition). Both computers run Norton Internet Security 2004 (though I've tried disabling NIS on my desktop, and it still won't sync wirelessly).

My non-techie wife sat near me this evening and I explained to her what I was doing. She laughed at one point and said something mocking, like, "Heaven forbid you get off your duff to put that thing in its cradle!" I had to explain to her the W?BIC! concept... :roll:

So, I can either quit now and be satisfied with all I've accomplished -- which is a LOT -- or keep at it until I either resolve my desktop set-up issue (or replace the thing with a whole NEW desktop...Hmmmmmm.....)