iPhone contacts sync with Funambol

Yesterday, I synchronized my contacts list from GooSync to my iPhone using Funambol. Here's how I did it.

First, I ran Installer. Inside Installer, I found and installed Funambol. On the iPhone home screen, I tapped Funambol to run it, and then I tapped Settings. The Settings screen appeared, displaying the defaults:

Server http://my.funambol.com/sync
Username guest
Password *****

Following this helpful tip, I changed the settings to

Server http://sync.goosync.com/
Username my-goosync-username
Password my-goosync-password

and tapped Save.

Unfortunately, my settings didn't get saved. A few other people have had this problem, and Emanuel Preda had the best clues for changing the settings.

His instructions involved editing files, so I installed Vi IMproved (vim) through Cydia. Then, to make sure the iPhone wouldn't go to sleep while I was logged in, I tapped Settings / General and set Auto-Lock to Never.

Emanuel's instructions told me to edit the .sync4j file, so my next step was to find it:

# find / -name .sync4j
/private/var/mobile/.sync4j

I edited .sync4j following his instructions:

# cd /private/var/mobile/.sync4j
# vim .sync4j/evolution/funambol/spds/syncml/config.txt

After making the changes, I saved the file and exited vim by typing ZZ.

Next, I had to find the addressbook configuration file:

# find / -name addressbook
/private/var/mobile/.sync4j/evolution/funambol/spds/sources/addressbook

I edited that file, again following Emanuel's instructions:

# vim .sync4j/evolution/funambol/spds/sources/addressbook/config.txt

I saved the file and exited vim.

Back on the iPhone home screen, I tapped Funambol to run it again. This time, the settings looked correct. I tapped Contacts to synchronize my contacts, and the result was:

Synchronization failed

I tapped View Log to check for clues. The log display was like this, reporting exactly the same problem that SoftIce encountered:

21:11:05 GMT +0100 [INFO] - Synchronization URL: http://sync.goosync.com
21:11:05 GMT +0100 [INFO] - Preparing synchronization of addressbook…
21:11:06 GMT +0100 [ERROR] - Alert Status from server = 404
21:11:06 GMT +0100 [ERROR] - Error in preparing sync:
21:11:06 GMT +0100 [ERROR] - sync failed without an error description, check log

My past experience with GooSync trained me that whenever there was a synchronization error, I should view the log on my GooSync account. I logged in to the GooSync web site and viewed my Device page. The GooSync log read:

2008-05-22 16:28:33 Syncing Error 404: Device "sc-iphone" is not associated with this account

That was the clue I needed--I previously had been syncing with my Pocket PC. I clicked Change Device, selected Apple iPhone, and clicked Save Device.

Back in Funmabol, I tapped Contacts, and the display read:

Synchronizing Contacts...

After two or three minutes, the display changed to:

Synchronization successful

I tapped to the iPhone contacts list, and there they were: all 235 of my contacts from GooSync.

Now there are only a few more things left to do to complete my initial iPhone configuration:

• Install a Dvorak keyboard
• OTA sync the iPhone calendar with Google Calendar
• Create and install a Bang Camaro ringtone