RAZR iSyncing with a Mac
After a long period of thorough dissatisfaction with Cingular's plans, phones, and cellphone and customer service, I switched to T-Mobile, acquiring in the process a RAZR V3. I had wanted one because the lack of a speakerphone and Bluetooth connectivity on my old Nokia were getting to be rather annoying. I'm not a cellphone junkie so I'm still playing with the phone, but I thought I'd share some advice regarding Bluetooth syncing with a Mac using iSync.
The first problem I ran into was with iSync itself - when started, iSync looked like an iCar had hit it (bad joke). The window was messed up and the buttons functioned erratically. I then realized what had happened - for some reason, I had moved the application from its god-given place in /Applications/Utilities, and when the OS X Tiger 10.4.4 update ran, I ended up with two conflicting versions. After some random erasing, reinstalling, and rebooting (no, really, it was nearly random) I had a working copy of iSync again. So while I can't tell you how to fix yours if it breaks, I'll advise you not to move system apps from their original locations.
Next, there was the matter of deciding whether to store my contacts on the SIMM card or the phone itself; this was quickly decided by the sync process itself, which stored everything on the phone. No problem; more features are available on the RAZR that way anyway (voice dialing, etc.) So, to sync, go to your Bluetooth options under System Preferences, and set up a new device. This should be pretty painless.
The next problem I had was contacts with multiple phone numbers and email addresses being listed as separate entries on the phone - silly. I know people with 3 phone numbers, 3 emails, and several IM names; I don't want 10 Phonebook entries for one person. Luckily, you can consolidate them, though it's not intuitive. On the phone, go to Phonebook > Phonebook menu (middle button) > Setup, and change View to Primary Contacts. Now you can assign, for each contact, which datum to use as their primary contact information.
I'm still disappointed that contacts' pictures don't get transferred from my Mac Address Book to the RAZR. I sent all the pictures to the phone via Bluetooth file send and manually assigned them - a bit of a pain, but I suppose it's not crucial information anyway. I hope all this helps someone!
P.S. Note that in order to sync, you have to store yur info on the phone, not the SIMM, which leads me to conclude, against all groaning, that the process can be described as... "sync or SIMM."
The first problem I ran into was with iSync itself - when started, iSync looked like an iCar had hit it (bad joke). The window was messed up and the buttons functioned erratically. I then realized what had happened - for some reason, I had moved the application from its god-given place in /Applications/Utilities, and when the OS X Tiger 10.4.4 update ran, I ended up with two conflicting versions. After some random erasing, reinstalling, and rebooting (no, really, it was nearly random) I had a working copy of iSync again. So while I can't tell you how to fix yours if it breaks, I'll advise you not to move system apps from their original locations.
Next, there was the matter of deciding whether to store my contacts on the SIMM card or the phone itself; this was quickly decided by the sync process itself, which stored everything on the phone. No problem; more features are available on the RAZR that way anyway (voice dialing, etc.) So, to sync, go to your Bluetooth options under System Preferences, and set up a new device. This should be pretty painless.
The next problem I had was contacts with multiple phone numbers and email addresses being listed as separate entries on the phone - silly. I know people with 3 phone numbers, 3 emails, and several IM names; I don't want 10 Phonebook entries for one person. Luckily, you can consolidate them, though it's not intuitive. On the phone, go to Phonebook > Phonebook menu (middle button) > Setup, and change View to Primary Contacts. Now you can assign, for each contact, which datum to use as their primary contact information.
I'm still disappointed that contacts' pictures don't get transferred from my Mac Address Book to the RAZR. I sent all the pictures to the phone via Bluetooth file send and manually assigned them - a bit of a pain, but I suppose it's not crucial information anyway. I hope all this helps someone!
P.S. Note that in order to sync, you have to store yur info on the phone, not the SIMM, which leads me to conclude, against all groaning, that the process can be described as... "sync or SIMM."
There are 4 Comments:
Hey man,
I know you have no pitty for us winders users but syncing this thing with windows sux. They want you to buy another piece of software called "mobile phonetools". Ok, no problem. I *found* a copy and gave it a go via usb connection. It doesn't seem to recognize the phone. Perhaps it's the *found* copy, but I'm surprised they expect you to buy something else just to sync with your computer. I'm still looking into it. Alot of people have had success Modding their phones, but I'm not sure that I want to do that. Just my .02
-Miles
I feel your pain. While my phone now syncs, I've noticed some odd Phonebook problems which I first attributed to iSync (Apple's app) but now consider Motorola's fault. For instance, I had Jerry simply disappear from my Phonebook. If he called me, his name and picture would show up on the phone, and he'd be listed in Recent Calls, but he was nowhere to be found if I simply browsed the Phonebook. Taking him out and putting him back in was the only thing that worked.
Good luck, I'm sure someone in the PC worlds has figured out a way to hack this thing. In my short forum etc. search I found that most people complain about Motorola's software.
Luckily, Bluetooth browsing works perfectly for me. It opens the phone like any other device.
Thanks :) The mutliple contacts thingie was driving me nuts !!!
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