Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iCal / MobileMe To Dos & iPhone syncing over mobile networks: Solution!!!

O

odelay

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 21, 2007
324
1
I have been after a solution to use the to do list in iCal on my Mac @ home and the MobileMe Calendar web page while at work & away from home AND have it sync OTA with my iPhone. There hasn't been a solution that I have found for this until now! I have tried Things and OmniFocus, but in my opionion they are both too bloated for my needs. I want a simple todo list with due dates, notes, priorities and URLs, that I can use on desktops as well as mobile. The iCal / MobileMe to do list is perfect for this, but until now there hasn't been a way to keep the same todo list on my iPhone and keep it in sync everywhere.

I now have a solution. Appigo recently launched a beta of their iCal Sync app for OSX. I downloaded & installed this to my Mac at home, and downloaded their iPhone Todo app. Great syncing between iCal and iPhone over my home Wifi network. Then, I thought, what is to stop me using this over the internet when I'm not at home? So I setup a domain with no-ip.org, which allows you to point a domain name at your home DSL router IP address and have it forward traffic to your home computer. Using a DNS solution in this way means you can dynamically update the domain name to change when your router public IP address changes (unless you have a static IP assigned with your ISP). So, anyway, I set this up to point at my router's public IP address, then configured my home router to forward a specific TCP port to my Mac. So when traffic arrives at the router from the internet destined for this specific port, the router forwards it to the Mac. I configured the Appigo iCal sync app to listen on a static port (the same one I configured on the router) and ensured both my Mac and router firewalls were set to permit this traffic.

So now, with MobileMe set to sync automatically, I can add/edit/delete a todo on my iPhone when I'm away from my home wifi network and it instantly syncs with iCal on my Mac at home, then that gets propogated almost instantly to MobileMe. Also it means a change to the todo list on my Mac or on the MobileMe Calendar web page will also almost instantly get propgated to my iPhone (next timne the Todo app syncs).

Brilliant! The perfect solution for me, and only costing the price of the Appigo todo iPhone app!

If anyone would like more detail on how this was all done, let me know and I can go into more detail.

Just need to find something similar for note syncing now, and I'll be sorted.
 
More detail, please!

I'm not nearly as tech savvy as you and was wondering if you could provide a bit more information as to how exactly you got it to sync seamlessly even when away from Wifi. I have an iPhone and a MacBook and the Appigo program with a MobileMe subscription and everything else syncs but unfortunately, Appigo does not since it a third party developer. Please walk me through what you did, if possible! It would be much appreciated!

Tam
tamarajette@gmail.com
 
DocTamTam:

I just set things up and it works perfectly. There are two different levels of syncing you can do, I'll post methods for both and you can choose which one you want.

Version 1: Sync only when on your home network
1. Get Appigo ToDo app on your iPhone
2. Download Appigo Sync for mac from here: http://www.appigo.com/appigo-sync
3. Install Appigo Sync on your mac and mac sure it's running. (It should appear in the menu bar, but not in the dock)
4. On your iPhone, launch Appigo togo. Go to Settings->Synchronization
5. Select Service: Appigo Sync
6. It should now show your computer name. Select it and it'll give you a code.
7. Go to Appigo Sync on your mac, click devices, click your iphone then enter the code.
8. Done.

Version 2: Sync from anywhere in the world.
1. Get Appigo ToDo app on your iPhone
2. Download Appigo Sync for mac from here: http://www.appigo.com/appigo-sync
3. Install Appigo Sync on your mac and mac sure it's running. (It should appear in the menu bar, but not in the dock)
4. Go to Advanced, change "Broadcast on the Network" to Static Port and note the port number.
5. In your router settings, use port forwarding to forward that port to the IP address of your mac.
6. Go to www.dyndns.org, create an account, and set up a free dynamic host service. Choose a name for it. For example bob.bob.net
7. On your iPhone, launch Appigo togo. Go to Settings->Synchronization
8. Select Service: Appigo Sync
9. Choose to manual configure and enter the name you chose in step 6 and the port you recorded in step 4. It'll give you a code.
10. Go to Appigo Sync on your mac, click devices, click your iphone then enter the code.
11. Done.
 
setup?

Hi there,

Thanks for that incredibly useful post. Just to check before I get home and set this up - do I need to assign a static ip address for my imac within my home network for the dyndns service to work ?

Cheers,

Pete
 
peterbeatty said:
Hi there,

Thanks for that incredibly useful post. Just to check before I get home and set this up - do I need to assign a static ip address for my imac within my home network for the dyndns service to work ?

Cheers,

Pete
Click to expand...

Not really, usually if it is assigned by your router it wont ever change. But if you want to be sure you can set it as a static ip.
 
edit -

cracked it. Thanks for the pointers. I finally have an over the 'cloud' to do sync setup, between my iphone, imac and macbook air using your technique and a bit of mobileme after that. At last!

Cheers,

Pete
 
peterbeatty said:
edit -

cracked it. Thanks for the pointers. I finally have an over the 'cloud' to do sync setup, between my iphone, imac and macbook air using your technique and a bit of mobileme after that. At last!

Cheers,

Pete
Click to expand...

Yeah, exactly how I do it. MobileMe keeps the ToDo's synced between my iMac and MBA, and Appigo keeps them synced with my iphone.
 
Still Stuck

I have done all of the things stated in this thread and I can't even get past the authorization step. When I type in the code on my iPhone nothing happens and just lists my iPhone status as pending. The same thing happens on my PC at work. I don't even want to setup the other scheme described on here using the static IP, etc I just want to sync my notes from my phone to both of these computers whenever I'm sitting in front of them. I don't know what's up but really would appreciate help from anyone who may have an idea. Many thanks!
 
swiftaw said:
DocTamTam:

I just set things up and it works perfectly. There are two different levels of syncing you can do, I'll post methods for both and you can choose which one you want.

Version 1: Sync only when on your home network
Click to expand...

Since someone else revived this thread....the above worked for me perfectly just now. Took about 10 seconds. Thanks Swiftaw :D
 
MacLvr1964 said:
I have done all of the things stated in this thread and I can't even get past the authorization step. When I type in the code on my iPhone nothing happens and just lists my iPhone status as pending. The same thing happens on my PC at work. I don't even want to setup the other scheme described on here using the static IP, etc I just want to sync my notes from my phone to both of these computers whenever I'm sitting in front of them. I don't know what's up but really would appreciate help from anyone who may have an idea. Many thanks!
Click to expand...

bump, also having same issue
 
CAN APPIGO work with 2 Macs?

swiftaw said:
DocTamTam:

I just set things up and it works perfectly. There are two different levels of syncing you can do, I'll post methods for both and you can choose which one you want.

Version 1: Sync only when on your home network
1. Get Appigo ToDo app on your iPhone
2. Download Appigo Sync for mac from here: http://www.appigo.com/appigo-sync
3. Install Appigo Sync on your mac and mac sure it's running. (It should appear in the menu bar, but not in the dock)
4. On your iPhone, launch Appigo togo. Go to Settings->Synchronization
5. Select Service: Appigo Sync
6. It should now show your computer name. Select it and it'll give you a code.
7. Go to Appigo Sync on your mac, click devices, click your iphone then enter the code.
8. Done.
Click to expand...

Hi - can the iPhone sync with 2 different pcs using this approach? I've installed apigo sync on my work and home Mac, but it doesn't see the work Mac...
 
Still less than ideal

Just a clarification. This syncing will only work when the iPhone is connected to wifi, for example your office network or a hotspot, or of course at home. It won't sync when the iPhone is connected to 3G.

That's still great for someone who's set up their iPhone to connect to their office network when at work I guess. I still wish there were a solution out there that would sync to-dos over 3G like MobileMe does for everything else.
 
swiftaw said:
Version 2: Sync from anywhere in the world.
1. Get Appigo ToDo app on your iPhone
2. Download Appigo Sync for mac from here: http://www.appigo.com/appigo-sync
3. Install Appigo Sync on your mac and mac sure it's running. (It should appear in the menu bar, but not in the dock)
4. Go to Advanced, change "Broadcast on the Network" to Static Port and note the port number.
5. In your router settings, use port forwarding to forward that port to the IP address of your mac.
6. Go to www.dyndns.org, create an account, and set up a free dynamic host service. Choose a name for it. For example bob.bob.net
7. On your iPhone, launch Appigo togo. Go to Settings->Synchronization
8. Select Service: Appigo Sync
9. Choose to manual configure and enter the name you chose in step 6 and the port you recorded in step 4. It'll give you a code.
10. Go to Appigo Sync on your mac, click devices, click your iphone then enter the code.
11. Done.
Click to expand...

Big thanks to Swiftaw. I just setup OTA sync using method two and it works perfectly, even over 3G. Appreciate the tip. I don't know why Appigo does not have this tip on their web page.
 
i tried solution 2 - everything incl registration of the device worked. but when i try to sync todos w. ical nothing gets synced, no new tasks from my mac and no new tasks from todo. i'm on 3g with my iphone4 and the ical is connected to mobileme with no local calendars.

plz help folks! thx
 
Kind of ridiculous...

...that after three years Apple still has not included a way to sync your iCal To Do list with your iPhone. A To Do list is basic functionality in almost every smart phone on the market and they ALL sync back to a desktop app of some sort, yet Apple forces you to buy a third-party app that you need to jerry-rig in order to do the same thing.
 
sohrob76 said:
...that after three years Apple still has not included a way to sync your iCal To Do list with your iPhone. A To Do list is basic functionality in almost every smart phone on the market and they ALL sync back to a desktop app of some sort, yet Apple forces you to buy a third-party app that you need to jerry-rig in order to do the same thing.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. I had this functionality on a Palm V ten years ago.
 
Router Port Access: Airport

Hello -

Thanks for the step by step breakdown on how to configure Appigo & DynDNS.

I have ToDO on the iPhone, Appigo Sync running on the desktop, and DynDNS service registered and set up.

I am stuck on changing the router's port settings. I am using an Airport.
1) Airport Utility > Port Mapping Tab
2) Click on the + button to Allow/Add
3) Fields I have are:

Public UDP
Public TCP
Private IP: 10.0.1.201
Private UDP
Private TCP

Specific Questions:
- The Static Port I set up through Appigo Sync should go into Public or Private, UDP or TCP? The form forces me to fill out all the fields before taking me to the next page so I assume it goes in all four. Correct?

- If I understand correctly, I need to use the Public IP address (showing up in DynDNS and the Airport settings) in order for this to work. I cannot modify the Private IP to become the Public IP address. What do I do?

- I read somewhere about the IPv6 Mode being relevant. It is currently set to Link-Local only. My options are: Host, Tunnel, Router. If I make a change here, will it in any way impact the functions on the network (file and printer sharing, etc.) I don't really understand the role of IPv6 with respect to internet connectivity or local networks.


Any thoughts?

Thanks!
V
 
VLove>> You are on the right page in Airport setup. Enter the port you selected in all four blanks like this (using whatever port you picked). Leave it at the private IP like you have it. I did not make any IPV6 changes.

Public UDP 1234
Public TCP 1234
Private IP: 10.0.1.201
Private UDP 1234
Private TCP 1234

As an aside, although I could get the sync to work over the Internet as I described, I stopped using Appigo Sync as it frequently screwed up my iCal To Dos.
 
I followed your instructions and what I ran into was that my device would never show up on the Appigo Sync application in order to be able to connect the device to the desktop.

I have no trouble getting them to communicate via WiFi without the 'cloud' workaround.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for your input on the synchronization trouble with iCal. Did you end up continuing to use ToDo and just not synching? Or are you using a different tool now?

Thanks,
Vanessa
 
I don't know what else for you to try.

I gave up on syncing To Dos to my phone for now and just use iCal. I was hoping with iOS4 and the new iCal beta putting everything on CalDAV it would make it easier for someone to provide a solution to sync iCal To Dos to the iPhone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back