ActiveSync 4.1 problems... help?

[bcvc38]

I exchanged my screen-broken T-Mo HP Ipaq 6315 for a new T-Mo MDA under the CompUSA TAP insurance last night. I'll mention that ActiveSync 3.7 worked fine (never a problem) on my home PC with the HP 6315.

This morning, I uninstalled ActiveSync and fired up the new MDA "Getting Started" CD that came with the MDA. It seems to have installed ActiveSync 4.1, but it will not recognize my device or connect to sync. I get the USB "device connect tone" when I plug it in and turn on the MDA, I also get the USB "device disconnect tone" when I shut it off or unplug.

I tried the free "Dialatech" service that came with my new TAP plan. They were about as worthless as tier 1 support. He had me do a "go-back" and try intalling the new ActiveSync over the old version of ActiveSync. It seemed to go fine, but got me to the exact same place. He gave up.

I called T-Mo and tier 2 support had me uninstall, reboot and reinstall ActiveSync after going through all of the obvious stuff. It all went smooth and got me to the exact same place.. I have an open ActiveSync window that says "connecting" and the green logo is spinning. It will sit like that for hours. It is like it is hung up there. I am expecting a "create new partnership" window to pop up, but nothing.

If I pull the cable or switch the device off, I get the tone I mentioned above and the ActiveSync window changes to "No Connection" and the logo stops and goes gray. Reconnect it and I get the tone, the window goes back to "Connecting" and the logo goes green and spins. T-Mo Tier 2 gave up and sent me up to Tier 3, where I sat on hold, listening elevator music for an hour and a half.

Tier 3 said this is a "known problem" and 4 of the last 5 calls he has taken today were this same issue with the new MDA. He said he has fixed several with this same issue over the past couple of days, but each time, it was "just dumb luck" and he was never really sure what the fix was, it just finally sync'ed after having the customer timker with various settings and re-booting.

So, we tried for 2.5 hours to solve the issue and had no luck. A total of 5 hours (today), 6 re-installs and about 20 reboots later, I am still stuck with no sync-ability. I also installed on 2 other computers and tried 3 other cables, all to no avail.

T-Mo Tier 3 said they will be researching the problem and hope to get back to me soon (before WM7 comes out, I hope).

Any ideas? Suggestions?

[Vincent M Ferrari]

So, we tried for 2.5 hours to solve the issue and had no luck. A total of 5 hours (today), 6 re-installs and about 20 reboots later, I am still stuck with no sync-ability. I also installed on 2 other computers and tried 3 other cables, all to no avail.

I was all about thinking it was a software issue up until that point. If you tried different cables and different hardware and still got nowhere, I'd lean more toward a hardware problem with your device itself.

Here's something interesting. I never installed the CD that came with my MDA. I used the version of Activesync that I had on my machines which came from my Axim and everything has worked fine.

Maybe if you uninstall everything, download and install just Activesync 4.1 from the site (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/downloads/activesync41.mspx) (might be a more generic install) that might help. Like I said, I've not had any problems, but my CD is still sealed.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

Also, you didn't mention if you're using a software firewall on any of your computers (including the built in Windows XP firewall). If you are, turn it off.

That will definitely interfere with Activesync, since Activesync now works on a pseudo-TCP/IP connection between the handheld and the desktop.

[urologyhealth]

Some simple suggestions might help:

1.UNINSTALL ACTIVE SYNC FROM COMPUTER-FIRST HOWEVER DELETE THE PARTNERSHIP (FILE-DELETE MOBILE DEVICE)
2.ON YOUR MDA-GO TO ACTIVE SYNC AND DELETE THE COMPUTER-MENU,OPTIONS, CLICK ON COMPUTER NAME AND DELETE
3.On your computer search for all MICROSOFT ACTIVE SYNC FILES AND DELETE.
4.turn off WINDOWS FIREWALL AND THEN Reinstall Active Sync 4.1 from website or CD--that is not the problem

5.GO TO:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/help/activesync/default.mspx

AND follow the specific items for your specific ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM--for example for my TREND MICRO - I had to add 5 exceptions to it's firewall and that did it FOR ME.

I think once in frustration-I uninstalled and reinstalled Microsoft Outlook to be sure that it wasn't corrupted.

Also--if you have a lot of contacts and calendar items-the first sync takes along time. Just Sync Contact and Calendar as your choices for first sync options

Let me know if this solves the problem

Jerry

[bcvc38]

Thanks for the input guys. In case you missed it, I have not been able to establish any partnership between my MDA and my home PC. All firewalls are off, all anti-virus protection is off. I have disabled all of my startup programs. Per tier 3 support, it appears there is nothing that should be interfering with a connection.

Also, I have not heard back from T-Mo 3rd tier support on this as of yet.

Anyhow, I had a buddy over today and he has a T-Mo HP 6315 Ipaq, like the one I just got rid of. I used his travel sync cable and plugged into my PC via USB and it connected immediately with the version of ActiveSync 4.1 that came with the MDA. It recognized his device and asked if I wanted to establish a partnership, a stage I can't get to with the MDA.

So, I grabbed my g/f's Ipaq 19XX pda (which she runs on her computer with an older version of Active Sync, maybe v3.7?) and it did the same... almost instantly it connected and offered to set up a new partnership with her device.

So, I just had to believe it was the MDA unit itself that was the problem. With that in mind, I took the MDA back to CompUSA and exchanged it as defective/unable to sync. About an hour ago, I brought the new one home (with a new sync cable BTW) and it is doing the exact same as the previous one... it recognizes the device and says "connecting" but will not offer to create a partnership and will not connect.

So, I'm still stumped. It seems Active Sync 4.1 is eager to create a partnership and sync with any device except my MDA. I'll go ahead and try the advice above and let you know how it goes.

Have a great weekend and thanks again for the input/feedback! This is a really slick little device, but if I can't sync it to outlook, it is absolutely worthless to me. :(

[laser]

I have had similar issues with Cingular 8125. I thought it was my work laptop until this problem appeard on my home system as well. I can always get a partnership, however, for some reason the next time I use it I get the connecting message an nothing happens.

One post I read was by an 8125 owner that said he pluggged in his 8125 and then soft reset it. It worked for him so I tried it and my 8125 connected and worked after four or five times of setting on the connecting screen.

Sice the 8125 and MDA are similar you might give this a try.

[jamesmct]

Here's another option. If it seems to connect and does all the tones... Go the to device properties for the computer look at the listed hardware and see if it detected it as a device but didn't know what to do with it. I've seen that a couple times, you might need to load independant drivers for the device before you can get the computer to properly work with the pda.

[Tony Rylow]

I just got my MDA from t-mobile yesterday. I spent hours trying to get it to sync with my laptop, mine would hang at 'looking for changes' or occasionally 'connecting'.

Reinstalled windows, setup office, and all other applications. Reinstalled activesync from the CD. Plugged in the cable, and BAM it worked instantly.

Now if I could only get Bluetooth syncing to work, i'll be happy... Its normally easy to setup, but this stupid dell bluetooth manager is garbage.

[paulsperry]

I've got good news. After a week of frustration and nearly returning my MDA phone, I found the solution. I called HTC (High Tech Computing), the manufacturer of the MDA mobile phone at ***Number removed by mod SJC***. I eventually connected with a very savvy computer tech who walked me through a procedure that finally solved this apparently common problem. He noted that Activesync and Windows Mobile 5.0 were functional as evidenced by the ability to view directories and move files, so the software and MDA were not the problem. An 85010014 error code is limited to Outlook, so the solution lies there. He noted that using the Outlook removal procedure on the CD leaves some settings in the registry, so it is better to completely remove Outlook by using Control Panel/Add and Remove Programs and then reinstall it from scratch. We first saved all Outlook data by going to File/Import and Export/Export to a File/Personal Folder File (PST) to insure we had a clean backup file. After fully removing and reinstalling Outlook 2003 on my laptop, we went into Control Panel/Mail/Show Profiles and created a fresh Outlook profile. Upon opening Outlook, I again went to File/Import and Export, but this time imported the backup file we had just created. The import was much faster than the export with the only loss being a need to recreate my original customization settings. Now that we had a clean Outlook install, we went to Activesync on my laptop and selected File/Delete Mobile Device. We then connected the MDA via the USB port and followed the wizard to create a new partnership. Finally, we sequentially added the Contacts, Email, Tasks and Calendar which synchronized for the first time since purchasing the MDA. I am now synchronizing via my choice of USB, Bluetooth or IR, although I prefer USB because it simultaneously charges my MDA's battery.

[hubppcthoughts]

I have a similar problem but it happens when I try to sync while connected to my office VPN to use outlook. It never changes from the "Connecting" screen while i am connected to the VPN. If I disconnect the VPN, it will connect and say looking for changes. Then a window pops up asking me if I want to retry outlook or work offline. Nothing happens unless I select work offline. Then it trys to continue to sync but no information is synced from my laptop to the ppc and I get the following in the view status screen: It says the result - server is busy, support code - 0x85010017 and then it lists the date that it was last synced - yet nothing actually synced. I used to use a dell axim x50v and could sync fine if I was connected to the VPN - if I wasn't, it would not sync anything. I would really like to be able to sync my MDA with outlook - any ideas?

[nocash]

I was having this same problem with activesync 3.5 and 3.8. I checked my firewall and it was blocking access. I changed it to allow access and reconnected my device and it worked.

good luck!

[Leo the 3rd]

Hey, I was having some of the same problems - couldn't sync unless I was in the office, would get knocked off VPN connection from home when I would connect my T-Mo MDA. Well after a little searching the net, I found I needed to run ScanPST to repair all of my .PST files for Outlook 2003. After running that I was successful in restoring all connectivity to my MDA and syncing offline and online remotely. the ScanPST.exe is on your hard drive - just do a search for it. Good luck. Post back if this fixes your problems.

[robodoc9301]

Yes, I had simular issues when I switched to AS 4.1 look in the connection profile and make sure that the box for USB connection is checked, that resolved my issues. I also switched from the HP6315 to the MDA, for better or worse. When you finally figure out this new version you will see that it has a couple of advantages over AS 3.8, however there are afew drawbacks too, like not being able to perform a backup of the handheld (dumb!) However, the ability to sync in two different places HOME and Work is nice (I used to have to trick AS 3.8 to think each computer was the only one), anyway I hope that helps you. PS you cannot activate MS reader with MW 5.0 PS the MS bug fix does not work either. Again Good Luck, Robodoc :?