Tips on how to Fix MobileMe Sync When It Inevitably Screws Up [Sync]

Apple’s never been so great with sync. Nonetheless, the belief of MobileMe is superb. In practice it just doesn’t work so well in case you have data flowing through multiple devices. Here’s a way to fix MobileMe when it inevitably screws up.

Photo by Ian B. Line

MacLife’s posted a superb guide on curing your MobileMe woes which will basically be summarized in three words: reset, reset, reset. Once you’re syncing with a host of devices, MobileMe will often have trouble deciding what data to delete and what to keep. In my experience, it errs on the side of keeping everything and so despite what number times you delete address book contacts, widgets, or whatever, you find them popping back up again. It’s extremely frustrating after spiritually cleansing your data.

The tutorial explains that there are a host of places it’s important to reset your data. First, the MobileMe preference pane in System Preferences is where it is advisable start, but you furthermore may is probably not aware (I wasn’t) that you just desire to reset syncing data in iSync in addition. In case you’re syncing to an iOS device, that you must also reset sync data on the phone (in Settings -> General -> Reset). When you’ve accomplished your great reset adventure, you’ll wish to designate one computer to make the first sync. (In case you only have one computer, congratulations! This is often easy!) Once your primary computer has synced up its data, you’re able to start syncing everything else. Be certain that, when asked, to ” Replace Data on This Computer” so you’re pulling in each of the data you simply pushed to MobileMe and not contributing to a new mess that you just’ll just must reset again.

While not using MobileMe is one of the best cure for frustration, that’s nice in theory and sync is not really exactly a simple thing to accomplish. Hopefully MobileMe will continue to improve. For now, quite a few resetting might actually help out when MobileMe doesn’t feel like working properly.

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This post is tagged: address-book, frustration, new mess, preference, sync data, system preferences