Sunday, July 18, 2010

Sync Nokia Contacts/Calendar with Evolution on Ubuntu 10.04

My aim was to reduce the dependency on Windows and Nokia PC Suite is a great application for Windows if you wish to manage and backup your mobile phone essentials.
I tried setting up sync with opensync, but the missing opensync-plugin-syncml did not help.
Enter... sycnevolution!
Here are the steps that worked for my Nokia E51.

On your mobile
:

  1. Open the Sync application. You should see the default 'PC Suite'
    profile.
  2. If not, then you will need to create a new profile with the name
    'PC Suite' and following details:

        Profile Name: PC Suite

        Server version: 1.2

        Server ID: PC Suite

        Host address: PC Suite

Rest all can be defaults. Note that it is very important to have the
correct name 'PC Suite' without case change.

On your Ubuntu machine:
  1. Ensure that your mobile is paired to your PC via bluetooth.
  2. Install syncevolution and sync-ui via synaptic.
  3. Start the ui from Applications - Internet - Sync
  4. Click Select sync service.
  5. Under Direct sync, you should be able to see the device that you have paired.
  6. Click Setup Now. From the drop down, select Nokia_7210c and click Use these settings.
  7. Then click Save and replace current service. DONT CLICK Sync now yet, the configuration is not complete. You can close the syncui.
  8. Edit the ~/.config/syncevolution/default/peers/nokia_7210c/config.ini and search for a property remoteIdentifier. (Note that .config is a hidden folder) If it is commented, then uncomment it and make sure it looks like this remoteIdentifier = PC Suite
  9. For Calendar sync: Edit ~/.config/syncevolution/default/peers/nokia_7210c/sources/calendar+todo/config.ini and set type to look like this: type = virtual:text/calendar. Then edit ~/.config/syncevolution/default/peers/nokia_7210c/sources/calendar/config.ini and set type to look like this type = text/calendar
  10. Save and exit. Now you are all set.
  11. In a terminal window, type the sync command syncevolution nokia_7210c
Notes:
  • Once you have done the sync from the command prompt, going forward, you can use the sync ui. It may complain about something wrong with the server. Ignore the error and click sync now. I prefer using the command line so that I can see the details.
  • You can copy the nokia_7210c folder and rename it what ever you like ex nokia_e51. Then, to initiate a sync from the command line, you will type syncevolution nokia_e51
  • If you are interested in looking at the logs, they are stored under ~/.cache/syncevolution
  • Start Evolution Mail and Calendar to verify if you see your contacts and calendar events.