Nokia 6500 Classic iSync Plugin
April 15th, 2008
This plugin is only tested through trial-and-error so use it at your own risk. Only Bluetooth is supported. Please write a comment if you find any bugs or want to request any features.
READ THIS BEFORE DOWNLOADING:
Always double check what iSync wants to change/add/delete! As a couple of people have pointed out there are a nasty bug regarding syncing contacts. I have yet been able to fix this issue as it appears to be very random. If iSync tells you that it wants to change more than 5% of the contacts on your computer and wants to delete a couple of contacts even though you haven’t deleted any in your phone; DO NOT SYNC. You will erase a majority your contacts and your phone contacts will get erased in next sync and if you haven’t backed it all up somewhere they will be gone forever.
Installation Instructions
- Download the latest version of the iSync plugin from below.
- Decompress and move Nokia-6500.phoneplugin to ~/Library/PhonePlugins (create this folder if it doesn’t exist)
- Start iSync and find your phone.
- Follow instructions above and overwrite the old Nokia-6500.phoneplugin
- Before syncing, make sure to back up all your contacts and iCal events on the computer. You also might want to reset all contacts and events in phone or else there’s a chance you will have contact and events duplicates after sync.
Changelog & Download
- v. 0.4 - Email (multiple) and URL support.
- v. 0.3b1 - Beta release with Tasks support. Needs more testing before final release. See issues below.
- v. 0.2 - Added icons with correct resolutions.
- v. 0.1 - Tested in iSync 3.0 on Leopard only.
Known Issues
- If iSync hangs and then asks to check data connection; visit this Apple support page for solution:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1627?viewlocale=en_US - If you get this error message: “There was an error getting data from the phone. The synchronization may have been canceled on the phone.
Device “Nokia 6500c” synchronization failed.”. Restart iSync and restart bluetooth in your phone. Be sure to not have any dialogs open in your phone while syncing. - Isync cannot reset device (remove all contacts and events/notes/tasks in phone) for doing a fresh sync. If the sync for some reason gets cancelled; in some cases you will need to manually remove all contacts and events/notes/tasks in your phone and then reset the device from within iSync. Devices -> Reset All Devices. Make sure that you close all dialogs in phone before syncing as this will trigger this bug.
- Marking a Task as ‘Completed’ in phone will remove the task from the To Do Items list in iCal instead of just checking it.
- Tasks added in phone might display wrong due date (-1 day) and alarm time (00:00) in iCal.
- Tasks added in iCal will display a due time +1 hour in phone. I think it has something to do with daylight saving time and might not be a bug.
Hi Michael,
I’m glad there are people out there like you. Great job, works almost seamlessly. Except one thing:
iSync copys only one adress per contact, although I have several adresses (home and work for instance) in some of my contacts. Is the phone not able to handle that or is that because of your plugin?
Thanks for your answer. And by the way, nice redesign of your webpage.
Cheers, Reiner
Hi Reiner,
That’s because I made it as basic as possible to rule out errors while testing. I know that if I add all contact properties to the plugin there will be issues while syncing.
As of version 0.2 these are the supported contact properties:
First name
Last name
Company name
Phone numbers
Phone number value (The actual number)
Phone number type (Mobile, Home, etc)
Street addresses
Street
Postal code
City
State
Country
A lot of other properties can be added, such as: Nickname, Job Title, Photo, Birthday and also what I think might be relevant to your question; Extended Addresses.
However, I feel that there’s a need for testing out the basic properties before adding new ones.
I’ve created a new plugin with all of the Street Address properties:
http://legnered.com/miche/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Nokia-6500-0.21.phoneplugin.zip
Feel free to test it and I would be glad to know if it works out for you.
hello!
great piece of work. contacts work perfect, but todos are not synced at all?
also, all day events created in ical are synced as “memos”. but memos created on phone are synced back as 1 minute events at 23:59, could that be fixed?
/P.
Hi Piotr,
I have added Tasks/Todo support in 0.3b1. There are some bugs that I need to sort out and that’s why it’s a beta release.
As for the memos I’ll look into that in the week. Need some sleep now ;).
Thanks for the feedback!
Hi Michael,
I have a 6500 Slide, will your plugin work for me? I have tried a couple of plugins that are available for my phone and although they sync up the calendar with iCal, when I sync up the contacts to my Address Book, there is an issue as it ‘hangs’ and doesn’t complete the sync. This problem has been experienced by numerous other people too.
Any help you can give me with my 6500 Slide would be greatly apreciated. Please can you email me?
Many thanks,
Darren
I bought the nokia 6500c today, and tried your plug-in, but it still doesn´t work. I put the plug-in as you said. but i get this message both on the phone and my powerbook G4 ( with Leopard). that the phone has stopped sync and that syncing is impossible.
I can´t find out what i´am doing wrong.
Maybe phone in danmark are closed some how, or i did something wrong. Help please.
Pascal
Pascal:
Could you please paste the complete iSync error message? You can also check the iSync Log (Command-2) and find the error message there.
I’ve tested both v0.2 and v0.3b. It connects okay but only sends one contact from my phone to the Address Book (not the first).
I wonder if I have installed it correctly. I simply created the required “PhonePlugins” folder in “Library” and copied in the second of the two folders contained in the ZIP. I don’t know what to do with the first folder there, the one named “Nokia-6500-0.2.ppdoc”.
Hi Michael,
I’m running the 0.3b1 now and all contact details I wanted to be synchronized find their way to the 6500c:
- several adresses
- company name (was about to report that issue but fixed that already =)
The only thing to improve I might think of is changing the icon in front of an adress entry. Currently it is always that needle-on-whatever-kind-of-thing. If possible, it would be helpful to use the work/home icon (I mean that factory icon for work and the house icon for the home adress) so that one is able to distinguish where this adress belongs to. See what I mean?
But nevertheless, thanks for your effort!
Reiner
Glenn: You need to make sure that the phone uses it’s internal memory for storing contacs, not the SIM. The .pppdoc file is for the iSync plugin maker application.
Reiner: I actually don’t think you can change the icons. I’ll look into it though if it’s possible.
Yes, I’ve got my phone set to use it’s internal memory. Oh well…
Hi Michael,
Please help…
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but my N6500 classic still doesn’t connect with my isync. I did the instruction above and have moved the nokia 6500 plugins folder in my library but when i tried to connect my phone in isync it still detects my phone as a “not supported phone”. Please help. I’m using macbook leopard os and isync 3.0.
Thank you.
Sofia
Sorry. Please ignore my first message. I have made the plugin work already. However, when I tried sync the contacts in my phone to my mac all my contacts in the phone were erased. Please help me. Is there a chance to recover my contacts.
Thank you.
Hi, it’s… um… fubar’d my contacts list. it notifies me it’s modifying one contact, and deleting 280 others off my computer, neither of which it actually does. it’s transferred all the contacts over from my mac (including all the ones i’d forgotten i’d still got), and then finally broke the contacts system on the phone:
if i try to open the address book, it claims to be empty, until i perform a search, at which point they all appear again. searching only works if i use the menu item for search, not just typing letters in, and it doesn’t work with ‘A’… what’s happened?? how can i fix this? i absolutely can’t lose the contacts on the phone, the iSync wasn’t successful, and the only copy i now have of all my contacts is trapped in a very fragile state on the phone… please help!
10.5.2, Power Mac G5, Nokia 6500c :(
Problem report: (Both 0.2 and 0.21) Sync starts normally, with progress bars on both the 6500 and the Mac, but the transfer hangs at Contact #476 (of 652). After ~30 seconds, the connection apparently times out, with these messages:
Phone: “Data transfer not possible, check data connection” on the phone”
iSync: “Connection to the phone failed. Please make sure that your phone is turned on. If this error occurs again, please restart your phone. Device synchronization failed.”
I did restart phone & iSync, but same behavior.
Running Mac OS 10.5.2 with iSync 3.0 (build 568). Also have Nokia Multimedia Transfer 1.3 (4740) installed, but not active during the time of this test.
PS,
My N95 syncs ok, with the iSync plugin downloaded from Nokia.com (after applying an N95 phone software update posted in the last few months… before that, the plugin didn’t work). I say ok, but problems there too… phone#’s input on the 6500 and sync’d to the N95 via PC Sync & Outlook came out blank in my Entourage Address Book. A whole new set of problems to chase down. Nokia has shot themselves in the foot, inducing a complexity explosion, by trying to satisfy their rich imagination of definable market niches with every flavor of mobile anyone could dream up. And, their PC side software is ugly (seems to work ok, but no comfy feeling from the UI, look&feel is 1995). Nokia needs a DNA infusion from Apple, Microsoft, and Google, if they want to compete in the next-gen connected-device world.
Thanks for doing Nokia’s work for them. Appreciate that people are interested to do this kind of thing for free.
KP
I get the same issues as KP on May 2nd. The progress bar on the phone shows all contacts being sent. In the iSync progress bar it initailly says “Receiving changes from “Nokia 6500C”.Contacts-90%”. It then says “Receiving changes” then nothing further after a while i get the same message as KP “Data transfer not possible, check data connection”
I am running Mac OS 10.5.2 with iSync 3.0 build 568
Appreciate your good work and hopefully I have been able to shed a little more light on a bug. Cheers Scott.
I’m not that familiar with apple yet and i don’t understand the way of unzipping and putting in a folder…
I have a 6500 classic and want it to work with isync. Can anybody help me with some simple advice how to manage this…?
Thanks very much,
Jon
Thanks for making this but like Scott G and Pascal I have the same error message.
Any thoughts?
Many thanks
IT’S STILL NOT PLAYING NICELY!!
Wednesday, 14 May 2008 23:51
[Nokia 6500c] There was an error getting data from the phone. The synchronization may have been canceled on the phone.
Device “Nokia 6500c” synchronization failed.
I used version 0.2 to sync Isync contacts to my 6500c and it works like a charm. Great work, thanks.
Hey Michel, works fine for me. Thanks!
You are a legend !!!
I use 2 phones (for 2 countries) Nokia 6300 and 6500 classic. iCal on macbook and they all sync !
if i change anything in one og those 2 phones or on the Mac, just push Sync and everything updates at once !!
Great job !
Hey Michel,
is there an option for Tiger people? james’s pages references to here and here only isync 3.0 is tested (=supported). I tried it on Tiger and it doesn’t seem to work. Does somebody have experience with this?
tnx a lot.
I remember i downloaded a iSync plugin for 6500c from nokias own site, but now that i have reinstalled leopard because of a system crash.. its gone, i can’t find it there…
Thanks for the plugin! The “other” one didn’t work after firmware upgrade so with this I could get the phone numbers back. :)
Does the beta version support synchronising e-mail addresses? If not, any plans on adding support for that?
Hi everybody. Sorry for the lack of replies to your comments. I have been sick for the last two weeks and haven’t actually bothered to start up my computer. ;)
Anyways, please read the updated blog post as it probably will answer some of your questions.
[...] tested in leopard. isync plugin. works [...]
Hi there, Since you seem to be highly clued up on matters bluetooth, may I trouble you on an issue that has appeared on my setup?
Nokia 6500 slide and MacBook Pro 17″ running 10.5.2:
When sending files (contacts or pictures) from the phone to the computer I get “Bluetooth Connection Failed” on the phone before I even get the “accept;’reject” verification box on the computer. Other bluetooth apps (phonemanager, modem use etc) all work fine.
Nokia says it’s MAc, Mac says it’s Nokia!
How do I solve it?
Another thing I have noticed which is very irritating is that pre Leopard there was a drop down menu in Apple’s Address Book enabling you to send an address card straight to your phone. This appears to have gone! Now you have to save the card to the desktop and then send it to the phone! Very annoying extra step (and anopther step in deleting the saved file from the desktop!). Any clues?
Kind regards
Nick Brandt
I have tried over and over to sync my address book, but i always get the message “The phone could not store some of your contacts” followed by a list of the rejected contacts?
It’s driving me mad, i need all of my contacts (115) not just 92%.
Please somebody help.
Nick Brandt: Try to restart bluetooth on both phone and computer and be sure to not have any dialogs open in phone when syncing. If that doesn’t help I have no idea what the problem is.
_global.kevin: Make sure that the phone is saving your contacts in it’s internal memory and not on the SIM.
hello.. great plugin.. BUT.. it doesnt sync the email addresses at all.. any idea how to solve the the problem.. it syncs numbers and addresses properly, but no emails =(
Hi, and thanks for the great job! Does any version now support several addresses/email addresses?
tweeky & kalle: Multiple addresses should work as of version 0.3. Regarding email addresses I’m going to try to incorporate that tomorrow. Next version should be up by tuesday.
Email and URL support added in 0.4.
Brilliant!! I was beginning to think I would have to change my phone.
Hi Folks,
First, i want to thank you Michel for the great Plugin :)
But I just want to know if i am the only person who has got the “problem” that you’ve to delete the contacts on the phone first, before Isnyc copies the e-mail address on the phone.
I tried to sync the phone without having deleted the contacts, but Isync didn’t update the contacts on the phone with the e-mail.
I also deleted the version 0.3b1 first before “installing” version 0.4.
An answer would be nice because i don’t want to delete all my contacs angain ;)
Greeting,
Yannick
srry for my miserable english ;)
Yannick: What happened for me when I upgraded to 0.4 was that I got duplicates for all contacts in the phone. Your problem is probably somehow related to mine. The best thing you could do is backup all your contacts with Address Book, erase them from phone and then do a fresh sync.
I’m no expert in phone plugin development so it’s all trial and error. But somehow I get the feeling that there’s some problem with the Nokia 6500 and that’s why Nokia probably haven’t developed a plugin for this model.
The issues are so random that it feels impossible to find a solution. But I’ll keep digging.
I am following all the stages mentioned above but unable to connect and sync the contact of my Nokia 6500 to my mac book pro…….it appears the message “this device is not supported by Isync”,
Kindly guide
Thanks for the advice Michel.
But that was exactly the thing i wanted to prevent :S
Well but if it is the best and probably the only solution i’ll do it ;).
The point is, that i’d like to have the contacts somehow sorted into Groups (for the ringtones, group sms and so on). Is there a way to let the Groups be created an the contacts sorted into them by ISync, that they are exactly like they are sorted in Adressbook, or is this imposible and i have to go on sorting them manualy on the phone (thats the thing i hate if i had to delete the contacts from the phone ;))
Greetings,
Yannick
Yannick: I have no idea. Haven’t tried sorting contacts in groups. It probably doesn’t work so I don’t recommend you deleting your contacts for sync if you want to keep your phone groups ;). I’ve sorted my Address Book contacts in groups but there are no group information in my phone.
Michael, its guys like you that make the world a better place. Thanks.
Hi Michel,
Thanks for the Plugin! The message from iSync was that the sync was unsuccessful but when I checked my phone, the contacts were all transferred from my address book to my 6500.
Thanks again!
Just noticed a problem though. When I re-Sync my 6500 to my Mac, it wants to delete all my contacts on my addressbook. :( it doesn’t seem to remember the last time the devices were sync.ed.
Erwin: Yep, no good solution for that issue. Either you can wait a day or so and try to sync again or you’ll have to erase your phone contacts and perform a fresh sync. Read under “Known issues” in the blog post.
Like you i’ve sorted my Adress Book Contacts into Groups, that’s not the point, but there aren’t group informations on the phone (same thing you descirbed ;) ).
Recreating the groups on the phone and sorting the contacts into them isn’t such a big problem, too. A work of half an hour.
It would be more comfortable if it would work automaticly, but like i said, it isn’t such a big problem.
Thank’s again for this great plugin (the guy at the cellphone store said it wouldn’t be a problem to sync the phone with iSync and that there are existing plugin originally form nokia, what was obvisously a lie, so I’m really glad that you develloped this plugin :D )
I’m really looking forward to the next release, may be with contact photos or something like that? ;)
Greetings,
Yannick
Using Mac (10.5.3)and iSync 3.02 (574.0), with a Nokia 6500 Classic (updated to V 04.84) and iSync hangs, then asks to check data connection.
Any ideas?
Hi Michel,
just tried your plugin and it appears to work fine. Thanks for doing Nokia’s job…
Cheers
Carsten
Hi Michel,
I got the same problem like Paul H (25.6.2008):
Using Mac (10.5.3) and iSync 3.02 (574.0), with a Nokia 6500 Classic and iSync hangs.
Greetings
Georg
Hi Michel,
now everything works fine! Here you can find the solution for this problem:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1627?viewlocale=en_US
I had to reset the syncservices folder.
Thank’s for this plugin :-)
Georg
Thank you Georg! I’ve added the link to the post.
I’m trying to check the option to sync calendars but I get this message:
“Before you can synchronize your calendars, you need to open a calendar application that supports synchronization and create at least one writable calendar.”
I’ve opened iCal but have no idea how to create a writable calendar. Can you please help?
Just wanted to say thanks for a great plug-in — it worked perfectly for me and it’s nice to see the proper icon in iSync at last!