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MobileMe's Push Services Detailed, No Mac to Mobile Me 'Push'
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Push from Mac -> MobileMe -> iPhone not working
I don't get it - this just isn't working for me.
I merged a bunch of address cards on my MacBook. I waited until the next 15minute sync window, the mac was seen to sync
My iPhone, which is on wifi, still - about an hour later - not updated the address book. I have all the duplicate entries there. It seems non-functional to me.
MacBook is Leopard, all latest updates, prefs set to sync mobileme automatic (hence the -up to- 15min wait).
iPhone is 2.0 obviously, settings for Fetch New Data set to Push. Fetch mode is set to hourly so I imagine soon it will do a dumb fetch and then sync.
Interestingly in the iphone settings under Fetch New Data > Advanced the heading is "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" and lists all my mail accounts under it. The @mac.com account says only "Mail" under it, the implication being that it will only sync mail but not contacts. There seems to be no setting to alter this.
...and then I find the solution as I am typing. Going on the iPhone to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar I am presented with an account list, and clicking my mac.com account shows that syncing of Contacts, calendars and bookmarks is OFF. BAH! Off by default?!
I don't get it - this just isn't working for me.
I merged a bunch of address cards on my MacBook. I waited until the next 15minute sync window, the mac was seen to sync
My iPhone, which is on wifi, still - about an hour later - not updated the address book. I have all the duplicate entries there. It seems non-functional to me.
MacBook is Leopard, all latest updates, prefs set to sync mobileme automatic (hence the -up to- 15min wait).
iPhone is 2.0 obviously, settings for Fetch New Data set to Push. Fetch mode is set to hourly so I imagine soon it will do a dumb fetch and then sync.
Interestingly in the iphone settings under Fetch New Data > Advanced the heading is "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" and lists all my mail accounts under it. The @mac.com account says only "Mail" under it, the implication being that it will only sync mail but not contacts. There seems to be no setting to alter this.
...and then I find the solution as I am typing. Going on the iPhone to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar I am presented with an account list, and clicking my mac.com account shows that syncing of Contacts, calendars and bookmarks is OFF. BAH! Off by default?!
I have tried that and can now (for me at least) verify: Only when BTMM works properly does MM push to my Mac.
I now have a working Cloud-->Mac connection.
What still bothers me, though, is: Erasing messages on the iPhone does not erase them on the Cloud. Anyone else has that behaviour? Mac must be OFF for the test, after SYNC with the mac, the cloud also updates.
I have. Give me the time when Phil claims otherwise.
Also you should note, that even if Phil did show off iCal syncing, the actual published information on Apple's website after the keynote did give itself an escape clause saying that features can change.
And: MobileCal has no means of adding alarms to appointments. What's up with that?
Try triggering uPNP on your router. It worked for me. Also, now Back-to-my-Mac works, while it didn't before.
As a programmer... this makes sense to me. Push likely requires an incoming UDP packet or TCP connection to tell your mac that there is a change to MobileMe data.
However, this is not 100% the answer, because we were told in the keynote that the iPhone uses a constant connection to mobileme, which implies an HTTP 1.1 keep-alive connections that is waiting for extra multipart responses from mobileme... which would imply mac could do the same instead of requiring an inbound open port.
Check out this Apple Support article.
I remember reading that if a UPnP activated router is used then a sync on one Mac will trigger an immediate sync on another Mac, which is the case on my home network. If UPnP is not activated then it defaults back to the automatic sync intervals.
Haven't read all posts here, but did everybody notice that Apple changed the written description of the sync-behaviour from Macs to the cloud?
At least 12 hours ago it said ...
"When you make a change on one device, the cloud updates the others. Push happens automatically, instantly, and continuously. You don’t have to wait for it or remember to do anything — such as docking your iPhone and syncing manually — to stay up to date."
... as already pointed out by Daveoc64 in post #65.
Now, the exact same page says ...
"MobileMe stores all your email, contacts, and calendars in the cloud and keeps them in sync across your iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, and PC. When you make a change in one place, MobileMe pushes the new information up to the cloud, then pushes the change down to your other devices. Choose a sync interval for your Mac or PC. On your iPhone and the web, sync happens continuously."
-> http://www.apple.com/mobileme/features/
I'm quite disappointed. Apple has to implement instantaneous sync from all devices to the cloud and vice-versa. Otherwise it's false advertisement.
**edit**
The German page still has the original version
(...)Dies geschieht automatisch, sofort und kontinuierlich.(...)
At least 12 hours ago it said ...
"When you make a change on one device, the cloud updates the others. Push happens automatically, instantly, and continuously. You don’t have to wait for it or remember to do anything — such as docking your iPhone and syncing manually — to stay up to date."
... as already pointed out by Daveoc64 in post #65.
Now, the exact same page says ...
"MobileMe stores all your email, contacts, and calendars in the cloud and keeps them in sync across your iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, and PC. When you make a change in one place, MobileMe pushes the new information up to the cloud, then pushes the change down to your other devices. Choose a sync interval for your Mac or PC. On your iPhone and the web, sync happens continuously."
-> http://www.apple.com/mobileme/features/
I'm quite disappointed. Apple has to implement instantaneous sync from all devices to the cloud and vice-versa. Otherwise it's false advertisement.
**edit**
The German page still has the original version
(...)Dies geschieht automatisch, sofort und kontinuierlich.(...)
I realize syncing in slower, but It might be a work-around until Apple fixes this.
I'de have to watch the keynote again, but I don't think he ever used iCal.
That being said, judging from the fact that their changing their website, text, Im thinking this was supposed to be working, but they haven't got the necessary updates out yet. That or everyone bitching will make them fix it. Either way, they will probably fix it.
I mean after all if an iPhone can do it there should be no reason why a Mac can't, they just haven't implemented it yet.
Well, if you can find one that updates itself automatically when someone adds or changes a meeting, I'll take it. Google Calendar does that for free, but I need to be able to see my calendar even if I'm not online. For me, MobileMe is worth it, warts and all.
It's a firewall issue...
A bit of network-sniffing has revealed what's going on. When you make a change on mobileme the server sends you one or more UDP packets to port 5353 on your mac. So if you don't have a uPnP-capable router you need to configure your firewall (and port-forwarding if using NAT) to let these packets through. A firewall rule allowing UDP packets to <your IP address, port 5353> from 17.0.0.0/8 should do it.
As soon as I did this then instant push from mobileme->mac started working.
Mike
A bit of network-sniffing has revealed what's going on. When you make a change on mobileme the server sends you one or more UDP packets to port 5353 on your mac. So if you don't have a uPnP-capable router you need to configure your firewall (and port-forwarding if using NAT) to let these packets through. A firewall rule allowing UDP packets to <your IP address, port 5353> from 17.0.0.0/8 should do it.
As soon as I did this then instant push from mobileme->mac started working.
Mike
Yeah, I'm pretty fired up about this too. What irritates me is the use of the work "automatically" in the options box, with weekly, etc. underneath. "Automatically" doesn't mean "Automatically" it means at a slightly higher sync level. And if they're going to go after a model where Mac syncs with MobileMe on a time series, then they should give us some control over how often that happens.
Again, another knock for the business user. If iCal doesn't update "Automatically", then I can't close my laptop until I go sync everything. Very frustrating.
Again, another knock for the business user. If iCal doesn't update "Automatically", then I can't close my laptop until I go sync everything. Very frustrating.
Apple have changed their description of the push service on their web site to clarify that it doesn't work instantly or continuously from Macs or PCs but via regular syncing. Support for sending large files is now listed as "coming soon", rather than a current feature.
The question is, was this just poor wording or was an intended feature of MobileMe (i.e. push from the desktop) dropped at the last minute? I suspect the former...
Also, if push requires a compatible firewall/router then this should be clearly listed, as it is for Back To My Mac. At the moment it looks like the feature should work for everybody, which earlier posts suggest isn't the case.
The question is, was this just poor wording or was an intended feature of MobileMe (i.e. push from the desktop) dropped at the last minute? I suspect the former...
Also, if push requires a compatible firewall/router then this should be clearly listed, as it is for Back To My Mac. At the moment it looks like the feature should work for everybody, which earlier posts suggest isn't the case.
Well for me a no go is not just the sync problem - but the strong security concerns - Do you want your files exposed? There seems to be no encryption for the data - plus if your read the Apple memos, they are allowed to check your data! your files! that is really not comparable with other sevices where you get even your personal key for encryption so no one has access to your data. So who really should use and for what you should use a service like this??!!
true push only happens when something you have done changes. if you "sync" then a server query happens no matter what. if you switch it to 30 seconds as you suggest then the apple server gets hit by every single mobileme customer and each of their macs non-stop and even mighty apple will slow to a crawl and they know it. .mac had horrible uptime, can you imagine how horrible the mobileme service would be with millions of macs hitting their servers non-stop?
the only solution is true push to be built into the apple desktop applications.
Yes... thats exactly what isnt happening!
I've set it to automatic sync and seemingly, it only syncs after the 15 min cycle
Well, if you're sitting in front of your Mac, why do you have to "push" something to your iPhone? If you're in front of the Mac, you're in front of that info anyway. Anything from the iPhone will push automatically to the Mac, so you're not missing anything.
And whatever you did need on the iphone is going to get pushed to your iPhone in 15 minutes anyway, unless you sync it in itunes or press the sync it manually first.
I don't think this is big deal if you think about how it's supposed to be used.
And whatever you did need on the iphone is going to get pushed to your iPhone in 15 minutes anyway, unless you sync it in itunes or press the sync it manually first.
I don't think this is big deal if you think about how it's supposed to be used.
autrefois
macrumors 65816
As does the French version, http://www.apple.com/fr/mobileme/features, for the moment at least. I quote:
MobileMe [...] pousse le tout vers vos iPhone, iPod touch, Mac et PC. Dès que vous faites un changement sur un appareil, le nuage actualise les autres. La "poussée" s'effectue automatiquement, instantanément et en continu. Inutile d'attendre ou de penser à faire quelque chose par exemple, déposer votre iPhone sur sa station d'accueil et réaliser une synchronisation manuelle pour être à jour.
The bolded part translates as: automatically, instantly, and continuously. What's funny is the next line: "Inutile d'attendre". It would usually be translated as "There's no need to wait" in a situation like this, but it literally means "(It's) useless to wait".
If you're making changes on your computer and want it pushed to the cloud "instantly", I would agree that it is definitely useless to wait.
autrefois
macrumors 65816
Let's say it's 7:30 am. You start work at 8:00, and your bus leaves in 5 minutes. You make one last update to iCal on your laptop at home, adding a last-minute meeting scheduled for this afternoon. It's time to close your Macbook Pro and rush out the door to catch the bus.
If push is instant, then that last-minute meeting is pushed online right away, and you don't have to worry about forgetting where it's at or what time it's at: it will show up on your work computer and your iPhone.
If push happens every 15 minutes, and you didn't remember to manually sync it before you closed your computer and rushed to catch your bus, then you're out of luck: the meeting didn't sync, it won't show up on your iPhone or work computer.
Alternately, if you used a Mac Pro at home, it would mean you'd need to leave your computer on if you want it to sync by itself, which means it would be on all day, wasting electricity and money. Or else in either case, you'd have to get in the habit of manually syncing your updates from your laptop or desktop computer all the time, like in the good old days. Which isn't what most people consider to be "push".
I'm not saying it's the end of the world, but there are definitely a lot of circumstances like this one where instant push, as was originally advertised by Apple and is still advertised on at least some of the international version of the site, would be useful. If you're working on a computer and are about to leave, then you need to sync it yourself manually, instead of having it pushed online.
This is pretty much how .Mac worked, before MobileMe. And I have done exactly the above many times. For example, I've got to the office, gone to look in my AddressBook for something I put in before I left for work, and then realise my computer didn't sync before I slept it.
So, it is no worse than .Mac was - but disappointing that it didn't quite work as I'd hoped.
God I wish I was clever. Have tried accessing my modem to change the settings but even under the NAT menu get nothing that looks like I can fit all those figures in. Is there anywhere that might give information so that ordinary people can change the settings on a Hitachi router? I'm one of those for whom automatic push is not working.