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Bonjour Sync says "sync in progress" but times out. [In Progress: See thread] Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
So I have my main OmniFocus database and sync database on my Mac Mini, and I have OmniFocus on a MacBook G3 too, and those two sync fine; but I can't get the iPhone to sync. It did sync at first, and it has synced once recently, but now it won't. I follow the instructions; I get the settings from the server using Bonjour, and it says "sync in progress," but it just times out.

I have reinstalled the app on the iPhone. I have rebuilt the database on the Mini. I have moved old data to the archive. I have repaired permissions on the Mac Mini. I have restarted my local wireless router.

What else should I try? Maybe the main database is just too large ...

It's funny -- I bought the iPhone just for this app, so I could use OmniFocus out in the world. And in fact, OmniFocus on the desktop and laptop has really improved my productivity and reliability. By the same token, the iPhone has changed our lives -- me, my wife, and my son -- we all got one at the same time and it's a real productivity tool as well as improving our quality of life in other ways. But the OmniFocus part of the iPhone has been a bust for me personally, because I can't make it sync. I just messed with it for an hour just now ... wish I could get it to sync. I am back to, like, making checklists on index cards to carry with me (hipster PDA). I am totally getting results from GTD ... seriously, two weeks of it reaped me like a couple thousand dollars worth of value (long story). But I may want to just bag this iPhone OmniFocus app pretty soon, because it is eating my time up.

The troubleshooting guide seems incomplete and out of date. Anyone got any troubleshooting steps I could try?
 
What exactly do you see happen in OF on the iPhone when you try to do a sync? Do you get the progress bar? Does OF just quit after a while and go back to the main app selection screen?

How large is your database? A Spotlight search for OmniFocus.ofocus ought to track it down for you.

What's a MacBook G3?
 
@tredlite - have you made sure all of the registered computers have synced within one hour of one another. Perhaps you setup a computer for syncing and don't use OF on it anymore. In that case it should be unregistered on the sync tab in preferences. You can see the list of computers by clicking the Show Clients button.

This is extremely important when syncing an iPhone. I sync both of my computers and the iPhone each night before bed just to make sure the iPhone can access my 100+ projects and 2100+ tasks the next day. It works very well for me, though I am using MobileMe as my server. Just a thought, John.
 
Tredlite, this sounds like we're able to see your Mac's database via Bonjour, but for some reason, we're not able to pull the data from it.

I remember that the support ninjas have helped folks with this problem, but I can't remember what causes it or the solution. If you contact them, they can help you: make sure to mention this forum thread in your email.

Okay, I grabbed one of the ninjas before they went home. This usually happens because
  1. The Mac expects one password for your database, but the phone has a different one saved to the keychain. Contact the support ninjas for help with this one.
  2. There's a specific bug in some releases of OmniFocus that happens on 10.4; if you're using that version of the OS, make sure you're running the build of OmniFocus that we released yesterday.
  3. Can be caused by the Firewall settings (which are in the security pane of system preferences) on the Mac. How to fix this depends on what version of the OS that you have installed. If you don't know what Firewall settings to choose, contact the support ninjas and they can help.
  4. If the wireless network the Mac is on changes while OmniFocus is running, the Bonjour server can get confused. Restarting OmniFocus on the Mac and iPhone, then trying again, can sometimes help.

You're absolutely right; the FAQs and some of the troubleshooting guides need some love. One of my ongoing projects is the process of combining threads, cleaning stuff up, and updating those items.

Right now, I'm going to edit the title of this thread to try and make it more find-able for other folks with this problem. I'll make sure it gets added to the FAQ as well.
 
Hi all, any help would be appreciated. I have successfully synced OF 1.6.1 with OF v1.2.2 for iPhone before now but the syncing for me is always very unreliable and I have yet to figure out why sometime it works and sometimes it doesn't.
I am trying to sync OF iPhone using Bonjour, here is what (normally) happens;
I open OF preferences on my Macbook Pro, make sure Bonjour sync is selected and hit share settings. I then go to OF on my iPhone hit Settings and make sure Bonjour is selected as the sync method and click on "Get settings from Mac". When I do this sometimes (but not always!) my laptop shows up. I select it and hit sync and get the message "Unable to find sync server". So if I hit sync on the main OF sync button it syncs the database on my mac but not my iPhone.
In the past I have gotten sync to work by creating a network on my mac and connecting the iPhone to that and then repeating the above procedure.
(I did because my mac's wireless network would not show up on the iPhone) But at the moment even that is not working.
I realise it is probably something simple that is preventing the sync from working but I am pretty experienced at syncing/networking and wonder how it can be so hard just to do a sync. OF is a great app but at the moment the syncing is killing me. And I also can't help but wonder why OF doesn't make it possible to auto sync when docking the iPhone as per normal. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PatrickFallon View Post
And I also can't help but wonder why OF doesn't make it possible to auto sync when docking the iPhone as per normal. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.
This part is easy to answer: Apple doesn't give access to the necessary routines to 3rd party developers.

Can you tell us some more about your networking setup? Do you have the firewall enabled on your Mac? Is your iPhone connecting to the same network as the Mac? If you turn on personal web sharing on the Mac, can the iPhone connect to the web server using Safari?
 
Hi whpalmer4,
My firewall is enabled but I have made an exception to allow OF to accept incoming connections. And yes the iPhone is connecting to the same network as my Mac - I am sending settings from OF on the laptop and selecting the network that shows up when I click "Get settings from Mac". So unless my mac is somehow sending the wrong settings this should not be the issue.
Re logging in to my web server from Safari on the iPhone I haven't done this before, I can get to the login point for my mac's IP address but am not actually sure what login name and password I need to use to login.
 
The Safari test was just a way to make sure that you were getting network connectivity established, and if challenged for a username and password, it seems like you were...

I'd say you need to involve one of the support ninjas if you haven't already done so. Email omnifocus@omnigroup.com or call them up.
 
What version of Mac OS X are you running on the desktop machine? There were some problems fixed in the 1.6.1 release for 10.4 and Bonjour service in OF, so if you're running 10.4, make sure you've got the latest OF build. During the brief time I used Bonjour syncing with 10.4, I didn't encounter any problems, so I don't know if the bug(s) that were fixed caused behavior like you are seeing, but that would be an easy fix to adopt!
 
Patrick, I merged your thread with another one from a customer having similar problems. See my post earlier in the thread for some ideas.
 
 


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