The Wonders of ActiveSync

[Jeff Kirvin]

<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/downloads/activesync35.asp">http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/downloads/activesync35.asp</a><br /><br />ActiveSync often gets a bad rap it doesn't deserve. I see threads all over the boards about connectivity problems, but the fact is, ActiveSync works pretty darn well for what it does.<br /><br />This point was driven into my thick skull recently when I tried to setup my Sony Clié so that it would sync with Outlook and Word just like my Pocket PC does. I'm starting a business as a mobile computing consultant, and it pays to be well-versed in both platforms.<br /><br />Two hours and two system crashes later, I gave up. I'm an old hand with PalmOS, and but it just wasn't worth the trouble. I'll still keep the Clié around to play with, but I won't sync to it.<br /><br />It's weird that what really separated the original PalmPilot from the competition was that it synchronized with the desktop better and more completely than anything else. Now, six years later, HotSync is a mess of often mutual incompatibilities while ActiveSync works without a hitch. On not one, but three different Pocket PCs. I know everything stays in sync without my having to hit a button, and I can do other things on my device while it's synchronizing.<br /><br />That's not to say I haven't had the occasional USB glitch, but most problems I've had with ActiveSync can be fixed simply by removing the Pocket PC from the cradle, then re-seating it.<br /><br />So what do you think? Am I just lucky, or has Microsoft really outdone one of the biggest strengths of the competition?

[rfischer]

I agree that ActiveSync gets a lot of bad press and I don't understand why. In the last two years, since I bought my first E-100 at the Casio booth at Microsoft's TechED, I have only had one problem with ActiveSync. I've used it on 95, 98, NT, 2000 and now XP (even going all the way back to XP Beta 1) and it's been great! Just recently it gave me some wierd sync errors on myy work laptop so I removed it and reinstalled the latest release and Presto! I'm back in business.

I can't believe with all the PCs and OSes I've used it on that it was just luck. Keep up the great work, MS! I wish their other products worked as well as ActiveSync!

[mexijew_dot_com]

I'm a Pocket PC (iPaq 3650) and Palm user (Kyocera SmartPhone w/built-in Palm), and I've never had a problem with either ActiveSync or HotSync. In fact, there's a piece of software that comes with the Kyocera SmartPhone that allows you to interface HotSync with MS Outlook. It's called "Pocket Mirror" or something like that. I love it, because I can keep both my Pocket PC and my Palm up-to-date with the same contacts, calendar entries, todo's, and notes.

Scott Savage
http://www.savagewebdesign.com
http://www.mexijew.com/
http://www.salliemae.com/

Those who cannot do command those who can.

[Cliffbrooks]

I wish my experience had been the same. I must admit that when it works, it works extremely well. When it doesn't work, well, there's probably nothing more frustrating on the face of the earth. Right now I can't get it to synch with my NT workstation at work. It worked for a while, and then nada. I've probably reinstalled the software, with and without the help of Compaq, about 15 times. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. As for time wasted, I'd probably clock it at 4-8 hours. Maybe more. But the worst thing about all this is the bald patches on the side of my head.

Oh, by the way, the Compaq rep I spoke to, after waiting about 45 minutes on hold, told me that Activesync doesn't support NT -- even after I told him that it was working fine for a couple of months. Ahhh...the joys of technical support are without number.

[QYV]

I've been syncing with two PCs (work and home) for more than a year now, and ActiveSync is great 95% of the time. The remaining 5% can be frustrating and makes no sense sometimes, but given everything it's doing, I don't have many complaints. Granted, I'm not using a USB hub or some of the other known problems, but my experience is on par with the few months I used HotSync with my Palm m100.

I will say restoring from a hard reset is an appallingly bad experience, so much so that I finally put together a multi-step document to make sure I could restore without a million duplicates. If they get that licked, I think Microsoft's sync stuff will be pretty solid.

[kagayaki1]

Activesync has always worked pretty well for me. While I've had a couple minor problems with using cradles via USB hubs, it has always been managable. Like anything MS makes, there's room for improvement. But out of the box, for FREE, it works very well with Pocket PCs of all types.

[Marc Zimmermann]

I agree wholeheartedly. My own experience with ActiveSync has been very good ever since version 3.0 and doing away with the crappy Windows CE Services 2.2. Most problems that people seem to experience with ActiveSync are hardware issues, either with their PC or Pocket PC (iPAQ USB problems in ROMs before 1.69).

[jsachs]

I have used ActiveSync for years on many different computers and with many different CE machines from version 1.0 up to the latest 3.5, on serial and USB, and with everything from Windows 95 to XP. No combination of the above I have ever used has worked reliably. I routinely have problems with ActiveSync hanging up and having to be restarted.

[paris18m]

I use active sync 3.5 to synchronize my ipaq h3830 pocket pc with 2 PCs with outlok 2002 SR-1 and it works like charm.

Home pc is running windows XP and i had 0 problems

Work pc is 200mhz pc (f... slow) with win98se and i have encountered many problems syncing my compaq

both computers use same activesync same outlook

this is to say that Operating system and hardware makes the difference so if you have any problems get a decent pc with Windows XP and you will face no problems at alll

most users encounter problems due to usb connection

os fixes that

[Rob Alexander]

Early versions (CE Services) were a pain to install in NT, but worked fine for me once set up. Since version 3.0, things have been much better, but not perfect. My three major complaints:

1) When the PPC and computer get "out of sync", there is an option to replace all items on the PPC or combine the two (duplicates for sure), but there is no option for replacing the computer data from the PPC. Since I sync with two computers, this is sometimes the correct choice. Too bad they can't figure out that it's a useful choice.

2) Every time daylight savings time changes, and Windows automatically adjusts, all of my syncs get lost. The first computer I sync with ends up making pile of duplicates, then the second computer makes duplicates of the duplicates and I end up with four copies of some items. You'd think the two MS products could get along together better than that. Of course, this one wouldn't be quite as bad if item 1) were solved.

3) Occasionally, ActiveSync loses track of itself. The system tray icon disappears, and the PPC won't sync, yet parts of it are still running in memory. This can even happen in the same session (i.e. without rebooting) in which I have just used it successfully. It just disappears. Once this happens, nothing brings it back except reinstalling ActiveSync over the old copy. Luckily, when I do that, it does remember my settings.

Overall, it's not bad. But it does still need some work.

[dochall]

I must admit to having only very occassional problems (USB and W2K) but overall activesync is great.

The think I really like is the fact that I don't have to think about it. Syncing continually while the device is in the cradle is great so I can just pick up the ipaq when I go to a meeting and know that it is up to date.

I haven't used a Palm but friends that have are always just pressing the hotsync button prior to the meeting and screaming went it fails to sync.

Psion on the other hand is a real nightmare in this aspect and is the weakest in this area.

[medic119]

I have had very few problems out of either ActiveSync(and CE Services) or Hotsync.
(except for the Pocket Money thing in PM 2000)

As for what it needs, my biggest gripe has to be that if you open explorer you can't copy from your desktop to the Device. You have to open the Pcoet PC in another window.

If I remember correctly, NT only supported Serial ActiveSync and then it had to be sp2 or higher. NT 3.5x was not supported.

Isn't Palm adding to the MS suit claiming AS messes up Hotsync so Palm users can't sync?? Think I read that yesterday.

[ttre]

I just want to point out that the HotSync software from the different companies are different, each company modifies HotSync for their own needs. I have had very few problems setting up clients with Palm Computing's or Handspring's HotSync. Sony's HotSync, on the other hand, is a pain to deal with as is Sony's tech and customer support.

[CTSLICK]

I miss my Activesync days. After the update that fixed my back up problems Activesync was 99% reliable for me. Plus it tightly integrated the PIM features for Outlook. I never understood all the bad press Activesync got based on my personal experience.

Now I am living in sync HELL! I am stuck with Groupwise/Intellisync and it doesn't even hold a candle to Outlook/Activesync. Intellisync has been very troublesome...my ability to sync my calendar seems to come and go for no apparent reason and I get the typical Groupwise says its Intellisync and Intellisync says its Groupwise answers when calling support. Even worse Intellisync doesn't support some basic PIM features like...ohhh...lets say alarms on calendar items! So the next time you want to gripe about Activesync come live in my world! :(

[bargle]

Oh, by the way, the Compaq rep I spoke to, after waiting about 45 minutes on hold, told me that Activesync doesn't support NT -- even after I told him that it was working fine for a couple of months. Ahhh...the joys of technical support are without number.


They also told me after 7 days remote syncing didn't work with XP. Turned out the automagic firewall with XP had some how fliped on :( Every division of there support is crap. But there iPAQ support is the worst... And I say this as a Compaq employie (I'm a contractor for them). The only thing good about it is it is free and an 800#. As well as open 24/7.

[Scott R]

This sounds like FUD but since I've never owned a Sony Palm OS device, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I've never had much if any problems with HotSyncing the numerous Palm OS devices I've had. I've certainly never had it crash my system. Back when my iPaq was new, however, I had tons of difficulty getting it to even connect via USB. I often had to disconnect, reconnect, rinse, and repeat. When it worked, it seemed to work pretty well.

Regarding the concept of the superiority of ActiveSync keeping things up to date all the time versus having to press the HotSync button, I have mixed feelings. Sometimes I just want to stick my PDA (or, currently, my Samsung i300 smartphone) into my cradle just to keep it charged up. I don't want it to automatically start syncing because it disrupts the other things I'm doing on my laptop. Other times, I'll go home and realize that I never got around to HotSyncing that day and my calendar is somewhat out-of-date, and I realize that the ActiveSync idea may be a good thing for someone as forgetful as I am.

Scott

[John Cody]

I use Win98SE and have not had any problems getting activesync to connect to my E-115, E-125 or ipaq 3135 using the "serial" cradle for both devices.

As soon as I try to use the USB cradle for the E-125, or the ipaq's USB cradle, I get problems connecting to activesync all over the place - even when I connect the USB cable directly into the back of my PC (no hub being used).

When I am having trouble getting active sync to connect to my USB-connected Pocket PC, I have found that the only way to "fix" it is to reboot my desktop PC, and upon bootup, it will see the USB/Pocket PC. So, since a reboot of my desktop PC seems to fix the problem temporarily (until I disconnect and try to reconnect my Pocket PC from the cradle) - and I dont have to soft reset my Pocket PC for this to happen, it leads me to believe the problem is between activesync and USB cradles. Version 3.5 of activesync did not help out this problem for me at all.

It's a shame that MS can't get activesync 100% compatible with USB cradles, because it transfers data so much quicker then my serial cradles :(

-John Cody

[mmidgley]

I have been quite successful with ActiveSync. I did have on issue with iPAQ 1.28 syncing Money that took Compaq and Microsoft 8 months to solve, but Microsoft finally did (it just took a lot of patience and MANY emails). Now that I use ActiveSync 3.5/12007 with my iPAQ PPC2002 upgrade I rarely have a problem.

My track record aside, the biggest issue ActiveSync has (IMO) is by design: when it decides to give up because it thinks it needs to ask me something on the desktop ONLY. First of all, it should be able to present the same questions BOTH on the desktop and PocketPC at the same time (like to resolve conflicts or the dialog box that asks to combine, replace, or not sync data type). I connect to sync by 802.11b, 10Mb ethernet, modem, and usb base in that preference order. Eventually something happens that causes ActiveSync to need to ask me something, which is fine, but it shouldn't care how I'm connected.

m.

[brownzilla]

I have had very few problems setting up clients with Palm Computing's or Handspring's HotSync. Sony's HotSync, on the other hand, is a pain to deal with as is Sony's tech and customer support.

You saved me the trouble of typing the exact same thing. Palm's work flawless (almost). The Sonys often give headaches. I just got the GF a Clie T415 and it works fine so far, but it does have a few more hoops to jump through that palm brands dont. (so far its great though so no complaints. Maybe they addressed some of the older clie issues w/hotsync)

[tonyv]

Activesync seems very sensitive to the USB hardware. It was extremely flakey with the USB port on my Dell Inspiron 7500 laptop, but works great now that I run it through a Targus hub.

[Jeff Kirvin]

This sounds like FUD but since I've never owned a Sony Palm OS device, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I've never had much if any problems with HotSyncing the numerous Palm OS devices I've had.

It might be better when I upgrade to the NR series. I have a Clie N710C, which still uses PalmOS 3.51. USB HotSync wasn't officially added to PalmOS until 4.0, so my Clie has to use Sony's goofy "USB Switcher" application to redirect a serial sync through the USB port. The NR series is based on PalmOS 4.1, which supports USB syncing natively.

I should also note that a lot of my headaches came from using Intellisync lite, which came with the Sony. I found Chapura's PocketMirror, packaged with many Palm and Handspring handhelds, to be more reliable syncing with Outlook.

Regardless, it still takes a lot more thought and effort to get all this to work than running the ActiveSync setup executable and slapping the Pocket PC in the cradle.

[Chubbergott]

I never had any trouble with ActiveSync on my old E115. It always installed tidy and worked straight off. My friend, who lives down the road..... now there's a different story. We've tried everything bar feng-shui to get that to work and it's as stubborn as a washer-woman, refusing to link.

I know people who had trouble with PsiWin, I never did and neither am I having trouble with Nokia's sync software, but I know people who are.

I gues you'll have to face it, <U>no</U> technology is 100% reliable, even if you like to think it is...... sorry, it isn't.

[Kilmerr]

ActiveSync is far more capable, but rather fussy. I don't think the scores of tech support complaints and newgroup posts can be so easily discounted with a "hey, it works for me". Statistically, ActiveSync loses easy. And when you factor in far less ActiveSync users vs. HotSync users, all the more slanted. Glad it works for some people, but ones personal experiences does not makeup the universal. When it works, it works great. When it doesn't....sometimes requires many reboots to get it to 'stick' and it can be a nightmare. HotSync on the other hand, tho far less functional, always seems to kick in no matter what. Intellisync is also a living nightmare at times, but that is not HotSync. Regardless, nothing was/is as bad as PsiWin. :) HotSync works the best for pure sync, but in a way since it is far less functional, not really apples and oranges. ActiveSync more features, but more problems. As with the Pocket PC itself: more features, but more problems.

Sync
1. HotSync
2. ActiveSync
3. PsiWin

Functionality
1. ActiveSync
2. PsiWin
3. HotSync

[dunneldeen]

I have used activesync for a while now starting with ce2.11. I will be the first to say that it does a good job, and it seems to get a little better with every new release. That's not to say I wouldn't like to see some improvements.

1. How about syncing a folder to your storage card
2. It is a little outlook centric, but I guess that's to be expected.

What other things would you like to see it do? Microsoft wants to know what we think, lets tell them.

[Aceze]

I dont agree over here. I've had to deal with numerous people in a mixed PDA environment (network/systems admin), and I must say that Activesync is FAR more troublesome than Hotsync. However, since none of my users have used a Sony Palm unit (they're all Palm or Handspring units), I cant comment on how difficult that is... And all the Palms here are all serial port devices (which might explain the lack of problems).

Case in point, I have to brief all my CE users on how to "trick" Activesync into working with the "disallow then reallow USB sync" in the Connection Settings... On the other hand, Hotsync is a dream when having to deal with lost data due to battery death or whatnot. "Oh, lost all your data, hotsync and you're done!". CE on the other hand, "Oh, lost all your data and didnt do an interminably long backup? Too bad".

I do like Activesyncs features though, FWIW. But I do think Microsoft certainly has much work to do in making it more stable and robust.

Aceze

[Jason Dunn]

And all the Palms here are all serial port devices (which might explain the lack of problems).


This can't be overstated: serial is SO much more stable than USB. USB is still, after a few years, a very tricky technology - I routinely have USB items simply "drop" from the hub, stop working, etc. Yes, ActiveSync can get better, but USB certainly doesn't help things. :-(

[st63z]

BTW, I believe ActiveSync can be set to sync continuously, or once upon connection, or totally manually. But I suppose a hardware "sync" button on the cradle itself would also be useful in manual mode...

Anyways, AS has finally been working OK for me these days, but I wish the sync hardware on my iPAQ is much, much faster. Does anyone know whether the latest PPCs can cradle-sync without bottleneck? I mean, copying a file from desktop to PPC via cradle connection should at least begin to approach the limit of the flash memory write speed or the USB bus itself (minus PPC and AS software overhead). To put another way, it should be as fast as writing to a CF card plugged into a USB CF reader.

While on that topic, does anyone know how fast the data transfer is for the Apple iPod's hard drive via 1394?

[Aceze]

And all the Palms here are all serial port devices (which might explain the lack of problems).


This can't be overstated: serial is SO much more stable than USB. USB is still, after a few years, a very tricky technology - I routinely have USB items simply "drop" from the hub, stop working, etc. Yes, ActiveSync can get better, but USB certainly doesn't help things. :-(


True enough - looks like both camps have USB difficulties. Having had more experience though (especially with having helped draft the USB specifications!), you'd thing MS would have a better handle on the dang thing! :roll: :)

I dont see many non-PDA related USB problems however... the USB printers and mice that I've worked with seem pretty flawless - whether on a hub or not. When's the last time your USB mouse dropped off the USB channel? Damn PDAs! I think it's time to make Firewire sync a reality already, dammit!

Aceze

[grogma]

:x I'm the defacto handheld support person at my company and I've got a beef with ActiveSync (yes, even the latest build of 3.5). Email synchronization with attachments is horribly broken. Every couple of days ActiveSync will lock up while synchronizing email from Outlook 2K. The only apparent fix for this problem is to empty out the inbox on the PocketPC, empty out the deleted items from the mailbox on the pocketpc, move the desktop inbox contents to a temp folder, synchronize, move the inbox contents BACK to the inbox, figure out what the offending email might be (ActiveSync won't tell you) and synchronize again to get the inbox contents back on the PocketPC. I've got five users with various models of iPaq all running Win2K and it happens to all of them (myself included). I will say that if you DON'T synchronize email from Outlook ActiveSync works pretty darn well. But this is a big bad evil broken thing and it has been broken for a long time. We don't have this problem with the Palms because they don't have enough memory to hold email plus everything else so nobody syncs email on the Palms.

[Kilmerr]

USB is still, after a few years, a very tricky technology - I routinely have USB items simply "drop" from the hub, stop working, etc. Yes, ActiveSync can get better, but USB certainly doesn't help things.

To place the blame on USB vs. Serial is ducking the issue. I use my other PDAs on USB too. And USB is way stable in non-PDA environments. Printers, mice and card readers and etc. just disappear?? Never heard of that. Fact is ActiveSync is far more troublesome than Hotsync, for pure sync. But as I said before, not really a valid comparison. I just wish ActiveSync was less 'Acts of God' glitchy. Pocket PC 2002 is way buggy, likewise ActiveSync.

[burmashave]

ActiveSync often gets a bad rap it doesn't deserve. I see threads all over the boards about connectivity problems, but the fact is, ActiveSync works pretty darn well for what it does.



If you see posts all over the boards from people who have problems with ActiveSync, how can you claim that it works well? Just because it works for you, does not mean that the people posting their issues are either making them up, or that they have not already tried pulling thier PPC out of the cradle and reinserting it. What nerve! Are you gunning for a job with tech support?

I have had numerous issues with ActiveSync going back to my Ipaq purchased two years ago. I will spare you most of the details, suffice it to say that I have had more than one bout each of data duplication and data loss. I, along with many other users, originally had connectivity issues until we learned the "Secret Squirrel" method of installing ActiveSync.

I have now resolved my ActiveSync issues. I did this by removing it as a connection for everything but file synchronization -- with no file conversion. I use a third party tool to do on board backups. I use Time and Chaos on my desktop so I do not have to rely on Microsoft's kludged PPC to desktop synchronization. By the way, Time and Chaos does an excellent job of synchronizing PIM data precisely because it does not rely on the Outlook conduit.

Believe me, I tried, and I am definitely technically proficient. I know that most users probably do not have problems with ActiveSync; however, a large percentage of us do have issues with it. The fact you had problems synchronizing a Sony Clie does not make ActiveSync any better than it truly is. Worse, a blithe dismissal of all the ActiveSync posts -- 24,800 as returned by Google with 1,000 since November -- does not make their issues go away.

[Janak Parekh]

To place the blame on USB vs. Serial is ducking the issue. I use my other PDAs on USB too. And USB is way stable in non-PDA environments. Printers, mice and card readers and etc. just disappear?? Never heard of that. Fact is ActiveSync is far more troublesome than Hotsync, for pure sync. But as I said before, not really a valid comparison. I just wish ActiveSync was less 'Acts of God' glitchy. Pocket PC 2002 is way buggy, likewise ActiveSync.

Oh absolutely there are many problems with USB chipsets and non-PPC/PDA devices. I was once trying to get a scanner (HP ScanJet 6250C) working with a Sony laptop running Win98. This was not the first laptop with USB, but the machine just refused to work with the scanner, period. Scanner worked fine on other machines. Other USB devices worked fine on the Sony. Tried a million things... finally gave up and used the SCSI interface.

There are also known problems with older VIA USB chipsets, for example. Another case in point: an Intel Phoneline USB adapter wouldn't work with a Compaq laptop. After hours, I called Intel, and we had to change all these mysterious settings in Win98 (I've used Windows for many years, btw, so most of Win98 isn't mysterious to me, but what Intel made me go through was). I also had to download a workaround patch.

So don't doubt that USB problems still exist. As to ActiveSync, yes, it's a bit more picky than others, but build 12007 has fixed a lot. Personally, I've had very few issues with my iPaq, except when I was once using an SGI Visual Workstation - don't get me started on that :D

--bdj