MobileMe synchronizes everything but Contacts/Address Book

[Crassus]

I have been happy using MobileMe to sync my iPhone with my MacbookPro but synchronization of the Macbook Address Book with MobileMe stopped about a month or two ago. I have tried various fixes but have not been successful. Even visited the Apple Store in Sydney where a helpful assistant proved that Contacts on the iPhone still synced with MobileMe.

Calendar etc still sync but not Contacts, so it is not a password or account problem. Each time I open Address Book preferences, it shows 'Sync with MobileMe' not ticked. I tick it, press Sync and it goes through the motions, but MobileMe has not changed when I check later. Have even reset. Again, the system seems to go through the motions but I find the iPhone Contacts are restored even when my iPhone is not connected.

Can anyone suggest a fix? Thanks.

 

[Let's Sekuhara!]

Have you considered just using Google Calendar / Contacts?

Also to replace your iDisk you can use Dropbox, which gives you up to 10GB of free storage. You start with 2GB, but if you follow this link you can immediately get an additional 250MB.

Although if you're a die-hard MobileMe devotee I think you can get support for it on Apple's website.

 

[ubercool]

I have gone through this problem twice now. The last time I had to export my Address Book to vCards, thereby losing all my categorization of 1,200+ contacts. This time, while upgrading my hard drive, and using Time Machine to restore, everything worked fine, except the Address Book synch issue.

All entries are fine on my MacBook, but they won't synch with MobileMe or my iPhone and iPad. Since this is a recurring problem and answers to this problem are very hard to find, let me start by publishing a guide for all those who, like me, are struggling with a problem that should simply not happen. Apple please address this issue, dammit!

This problem could be easily solved if the iTunes command to "Replace all Address Book data on the iPhone the next time you sync" worked properly.

I started by consulting the following two documents and executing all these steps:

Apple Document: MobileMed: Troubleshooting iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch synch issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1672

Step 1. Hold down Option while selecting Sync icon from OS menubar and choose "Reset Sync Services…"

Step 2. Enter this line in Terminal and then press return: /System/Library/Frameworks/SyncServices.framework/Versions/A/Resources/resetsync.pl reset

Step 3. Set iPhone to syncy manually.

Step 4. Turn off Synching of Calendars and Contacts on MobileMe account on iPhone (specify "Keep Data on iPhone).

Apple Document Sync Services: Advanced troubleshooting for contact and calendar synching
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2481

Step 5. If the contacts still do not sync, try starting your computer in Safe Mode by pressing and holding down the Shift key after hearing the chime on startup. It may take several minutes to start your computer in Safe Mode. After starting in Safe Mode, restart your computer and then attempt to sync normally.

SO FAR, STEPS 1-5 DO NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM, SO GOING TO THIS STEP:

Step 6. Remove the Sync Services folder. However, removing this folder should only be performed after the syncing Mac has been started in Safe Mode.

 

[ubercool]

There's no other solution to solve this problem but to export contacts as vCards and import them again. I tried everything but nothing resets the sync, because something is recorded inside of Address Book.

Oh well, I guess I should not even bother to categorize my contacts anymore, given that I will lose that information soon again.

 

[ateganda29]

hi crassus! i'm having sort of a similar issues with syncing when i first started. i looked around for suggestions on how to fix it since i'm new to apple in general and found a few different sites that had some troubleshooting advice:

http://robulack.wordpress.com/2009/...-delete-all-sync-data-from-mobilemes-servers/

http://articles.directorym.com/Bugs_Fixes_When_MobileMe_contacts_refuse_to_delete-a956470.html

i wanted to start fresh with mobileme to see if that will fix the sync issues i'm having (intermittent push/sync between iphone, mobileme, and imac) and found those two websites. i wanted to remove all the calendar and contacts information on the mobileme server (i do not have any emails in mobileme since i just opened my account) and start fresh, just as if i just signed up with mobileme. the first site's instructions, by itself, did not work. after going through the entire instructions, checked the mobileme website, my contacts and calendar items are still there. so i combined the second site's instructions, removed all my contacts in AddresBook and calendar items in iCal (after archiving them first, of course), reset sync data to replace the information on the mobileme server with my empty iCal and AddressBook in iMac. and voila! the mobileme website is now clear of any of my information. so now, i have to import my iCal and AddressBook archives back to my mac and resync data again. after doing both processes last night, so far so good. my sync is now working as it should be, just with the delay in showing the changes on my iMac (which it seems is an outstanding issue anyway).

hope that helps!

 

[Curtises4africa]

Hey Crassus -- literally word for word I am having the exact same problem as you. Couple of months back my MacBook Pro Address Book just stopped syncing with MobileMe. Everything else is fine (iCal, etc.), the problem just seems to be with Address Book.app.

Anyway, just wondering if you have found a solution yet that doesn't involve having to export all of your contacts and start all over. Argh!

 

[ubercool]

Hey Crassus -- literally word for word I am having the exact same problem as you. Couple of months back my MacBook Pro Address Book just stopped syncing with MobileMe. Everything else is fine (iCal, etc.), the problem just seems to be with Address Book.app.

Anyway, just wondering if you have found a solution yet that doesn't involve having to export all of your contacts and start all over. Argh!

There is no solution for this but to export to vCard and reimport. I have already lost my categorization twice that way now in six months.

 

[Curtises4africa]

Ok, thanks Ubercool. I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet and re-import everything.