6.0.0-git
2024-03-19
Last Modified 2017-04-27 by Jan Schneider

How to replicate data with Horde and your phone, PDA or Outlook

This is the Horde SyncML Howto page. It describes how to setup your phone, PDA, or Outlook to synchronize its data (calendar, events, tasks, notes) with Horde. You might also want to check out these pages:

  • SyncML/Roadmap describes planned, upcoming or currently missing features.
  • Once you managed to sync your phone with Horde, please check the SyncML/ContributeTesting page and provide a test case if there's none for your client yet. You'll help us to improve the stability for your client!
  • If you encounter problems with syncing and can't resolve them on your own or using the FAQ below, please follow the directions in SyncML/ProblemReport for reporting problems.

If you are here looking for information on how to sync your mobile device using Microsoft ActiveSync technology, see the ActiveSync project page.

General information

Syncing is beta quality code - to help fixing bugs and locating issues you need to be able to at least read logfiles! Testing is welcome; please report to the sync list (sync@lists.horde.org), but please keep in mind that the code is still in development.

  • You have to use at least Horde 3.2 and x.2 versions of the Horde applications, or Horde Groupware (Webmail Edition) 1.1, or the CVS version or a CVS snapshot. Horde 3.1.x or Horde Groupware 1.0.x won't do. The newer the Horde (Groupware) version, the better. Please note that if you are using a CVS checkout or snapshot, you have to run framework/install-packages.php to install the required packages into your PEAR path.
  • Client configuration is as follows:
    • The sync URL is http(s)://pathtoyourhordeinstall/rpc.php
      • User name/password: your Horde account data
      • Databases (sometimes called remote settings or server path) should be calendar, tasks, notes, and contacts, but common default values from the various clients may work too. The default values in Funambol Client work just fine.

Information for syncing with Outlook or Blackberry

  • You need the Funambol connector version 7.1.10 or later. Go to https://www.forge.funambol.org/download/ -> select your client software -> Download and install. (As of Jan 2012 the relevant application now appears to be the Funambol Windows Sync Client.)
  • Configure as mentioned above.
  • Make sure the server's certificate does validate when using https: Open the https://pathtoyourhordeinstall/rpc.php in Internet Explorer. If the server's certificate is not trusted or not valid, Funambol will not work!
  • Unfortunately, the Windows Mobile version 7.0.8 requires you to synchronize once with a Funambol server (such as http://my.funambol.com) before you are allowed to change settings. (reference?)
  • With cPanel installations of Horde, the Funambol client may fail to authenticate because rpc.php is not accessible without first logging into cPanel's webmail system, making syncing impossible. See http://forums.cpanel.net/f43/horde-groupware-syncml-rpc-php-174551.html

Information for syncing PDAs with the Synthesis client

  • The Synthesis client is a commercial SyncML client from http://www.synthesis.ch/. It is available for PocketPC, Windows Mobile, Smartphone and PalmOS. Stability and SyncML conformance is very good. There's a 30 days trial version.
  • Uncheck the "only from 30 days before until 90 after today" setting, it will be ignored by Horde anyway.

Information for syncing Horde with Evolution or KDE Akonadi

How to configure Horde with SyncEvolution (based on Sync4j) : http://syncevolution.org/wiki/horde
SyncEvolution uses the open source libsynthesis library.

Sync clients being used succesfully

If you are using Horde 3.3.7 or later and a recent SyncML client, synchronisation generally work out of the box.
Check the [SyncML/CompatTable compatibility table], informations below can be incomplete and quite old.

  • Synthesis client
  • Sony Ericsson P800, P900, K800i, C902i, J105i (Naite)
  • Outlook with Funambol SyncClient PIM outlook 3.0.15
  • Nokia E51, E65, E60, E90, N70, N73, N80, N95, N97mini, E61, E61i, E71, 5800 XpressMusic, 6120 Classic, 9500 Communicator
  • Nokia N900 with Syncevolution
  • Samsung I8910 HD
  • Motorola RAZR v9 (only entries without non-ASCII characters)
  • Windows Mobile /w Funambol client 7.0.8 after some tinkering
  • Mozilla Thunderbird with Funambol Mozilla Sync Client https://mozilla-plugin.forge.funambol.org/ (Linux only without page compression or Horde versions from September 2009 or later)
  • KAddressbook with Akonadi based data via Akunambol
  • KDE >= 4.6 Akonadi with SyncEvolution
  • Android phones via the funambol legacy client or forks, some experiences found here

FAQ

It's not working! I get a message like "Invalid response" on the phone or "Server returned error code -1" on Funambol clients

There's a chance that SyncML processing stopped due some PHP error in the server. We try to catch these errors, but sometimes they are passed to the phone so the phone gets confused because it doesn't receive a valid XML message. To catch even those error message, you need to make PHP log errors to a file: edit your php.ini and include a line like error_log = /var/log/php.log. Then try a sync and check if anything comes up in this log.

Another common pitfall is a bug in some older Funambol clients: The clients propagate that they are able to handle "deflate" encoded HTTP traffic while in fact they don't. This affects e.g. the 6.0.x series of the Outlook Plugin, probably others too. This has been fixed with later versions, i.e. the 6.5.x Outlook Plugins. Either upgrade to a newer Funambol client, or configure your web server to not send deflate encoded HTTP responses for the horde directory, even if the client tells to do so.

It's not working! I get a "System Error!" on my mobile device when trying to synchronize

Check the SyncML Version that the device is trying to use. Version 1.2 gave this error, Version 1.1 worked without problems (Nokia E71 Symbian).

It's not working with Funambol 7.0.8 (Windows Mobile) (first sync does not start)

Funambol tries to sync a folder 'configuration' when a new server is added - old versions of rpc.php ignore this request, newer versions abort the process
Quick Fix: Do a first sync with an older server (I used eGroupware 1.4 - its interface seems to be based on Horde's) and afterwards change the sync URL with a registry editor to the one you intend to use.
Or even better, help fixing this problem: http://bugs.horde.org/ticket/8621

It's still not working! What can I do?

Please follow the directions in SyncML/ProblemReport and report the problem to the sync mailing list.

I Want to test syncing on my PC, does some Palm or PocketPC emulator exist and how do i use it?

Please see the PdaEmulators page for info.

Incorrect username or password

Try performing a complete factory reset (worked for Nokia E71)
For me worked to change the authorization from horde to imap. After that it worked perfectly.