1. wbailey's Avatar
    I've been having trouble lately with appointments not making to my Blackberry Bold or contacts being duplicated (events sometimes get duplicated too). I noticed a message on Google Sync that another sync client was adding things to the Blackberry so it wouldn't keep these updated. I dug a little further and found a thread at Google recommending I delete CICAL entries in the service books. That didn't fix the problem. It could be that entries were created on my desktop calendar in Lightning (since deleted), but I have recent entries I know I created on my phone that aren't syncing either, so something is wrong.

    I recently had my phone upgraded to a Bold after my Tour broke (for the last time!) and along with the upgrade came the Gmail Enhanced Plugin. I've gone through Gmail's FAQs and have done other searches on Google and here, but can't find specific answers to how these the Enhanced Plugin differs from Google Sync with respect to contacts and calendar entries. Specifically:

    1. If I synchronize contacts and calendar entries using the enhanced plugin, does it work like Google Sync does (and preferably better)?

    2. If it does do the same thing, how do I make the switch? Currently, only email is set up for the Enhanced Plugin. I've not checked the boxes for contacts or calendar because I didn't know how (well) they worked. I just don't want duplicates or deleted items.

    Any help in how to make the switch (if recommended) would be much appreciated.

    PS: I've been ill for a good part of this year and not checking here that often, so if I've missed major discussions about this please forgive me.
    12-23-10 09:27 PM
  2. jytvyj's Avatar
    Erm....do you mean BIS sync? the enhanced plugin is for mail messages..
    12-23-10 09:50 PM
  3. wbailey's Avatar
    I don't know if it is called that or not. I do use BIS.

    On my device, I've got the enhanced plugin enabled. When I try to edit the settings for email for my Gmail account, I see options for contacts and calendar that do not appear for any other email addresses I have set up on my Blackberry. Perhaps I assumed that those were also part of the enhanced plugin. That may also explain why my Google searches weren't working that well. The Blackberry page on the plugin that RIM has mentions both mail and contacts (not the calendar though), so I just assumed they were the same: BlackBerry - Enhanced Gmail� Plug-In.

    So, assuming that I really meant BIS sync, does it do the same as Google Sync (and preferably better)? Sorry if I'm sounding really confused.
    12-23-10 10:27 PM
  4. wbailey's Avatar
    Have done more looking. Much of my confusion I think is that the wireless synchronization of contacts and calendar for Gmail came with the OS upgrade (I was running 4.7 forever). I have never used wireless synchronization for email because I prefer to manage that on my desktop (afraid of deleting an email by accident), so that's also why I'm not familiar with using it. I did just read some articles at the RIM website that have cleared some of the confusion.

    Before my OS upgrade, the only way I got GMail contacts and calendar items into my Blackberry was using Google Sync, which was a separate program. It appears that the OS upgrade allows me to possibly do away with Google Sync altogether.

    Is this correct? Sorry if I'm seeming really behind the times here.
    12-23-10 10:52 PM
  5. ndwgolf's Avatar
    Yep I have the same problem.

    I picked up my new BB torch on Wednesday, I managed to get a replacement SIM card from o2 before they closed and now the phone is up and running
    I have a few questions;
    1. How can I see the email folders (labels) on my device ....I have Google apps account and using google sync and or enhanced gmail plug-in...............not sure as I have tried everything to make this work
    2/. I received my usal morning report from work as a PDF file but when i tried to zoom in it was unreadable, this was not an issue on my iPhone
    3/. My calendars are not showing up on the device, if i create a calendar event on the BB it will show up in gmail but wont show up in outlook if i create a calender event in gmail or outlook they will sync with each other but not with the BB
    4/. Please can someone please give me a step by step instruction on how to set up my BB with email calendars and contacts.................as this is driving me crazy

    Note; I have asked on another BB forum but its like they have given up on me, I have paid for a google apps account as I was told that this is the best way to go, i am willing to pay for another piece of software if need be but I just want to be excited with this new phone but I am not..............I have a 3 month old iPhone4 that keeps looking at me and saying "please take me back and get rid of that other piece of $%#$"............ but I dont want to i bought it to try something different after having apple stuff from day one, and just love the phone but I need it to make some (what I feel are basic functions) and I will keep it and hopefully enjoy it

    Thanks
    01-13-11 11:57 PM
  6. elvin1983's Avatar
    Have done more looking. Much of my confusion I think is that the wireless synchronization of contacts and calendar for Gmail came with the OS upgrade (I was running 4.7 forever). I have never used wireless synchronization for email because I prefer to manage that on my desktop (afraid of deleting an email by accident), so that's also why I'm not familiar with using it. I did just read some articles at the RIM website that have cleared some of the confusion.

    Before my OS upgrade, the only way I got GMail contacts and calendar items into my Blackberry was using Google Sync, which was a separate program. It appears that the OS upgrade allows me to possibly do away with Google Sync altogether.

    Is this correct? Sorry if I'm seeming really behind the times here.
    No need to apologize my friend, This is why we're here!

    When you upgraded your device to 5.0, the Enhanced G-Mail Plugin was pre-packaged in that OS, however that isn't the reason that you are now seeing the contacts and calendar sync. Those features were added as part of a BIS upgrade, which is done by your carrier, you don't have anything to do with it. The reason you probably didn't see it before when you were on 4.7 was when you did the upgrade, your BIS re-established and the new features were available, at least that's the only reason I can think that they would pop up!

    Anyways, I originally had issues with the Gmail contact sync. For some reason if you already have contacts in your Gmail contacts list, they don't merge nicely with the contacts that you already have on your BB. I had issues with duplicate contacts, and some contacts being merged with other contacts, it was a pretty big pain in the ****. I contacted @blackberryhelp on Twitter (which if ANY of you use twitter I strongly suggest following them, they are VERY helpful if you have any kind of issue) and they told me that I should clear my contacts list, then perform a sync, and that should resolve any duplication issues. I ended up clearing out my Gmail contacts list, and then performed the sync, and I haven't had any issues since, it works like a charm.

    Never had any issues with the calendar sync either, it has always worked quite nicely.

    Hope that this is some help to you.

    Yep I have the same problem.

    I picked up my new BB torch on Wednesday, I managed to get a replacement SIM card from o2 before they closed and now the phone is up and running
    I have a few questions;
    1. How can I see the email folders (labels) on my device ....I have Google apps account and using google sync and or enhanced gmail plug-in...............not sure as I have tried everything to make this work
    2/. I received my usal morning report from work as a PDF file but when i tried to zoom in it was unreadable, this was not an issue on my iPhone
    3/. My calendars are not showing up on the device, if i create a calendar event on the BB it will show up in gmail but wont show up in outlook if i create a calender event in gmail or outlook they will sync with each other but not with the BB
    4/. Please can someone please give me a step by step instruction on how to set up my BB with email calendars and contacts.................as this is driving me crazy

    Note; I have asked on another BB forum but its like they have given up on me, I have paid for a google apps account as I was told that this is the best way to go, i am willing to pay for another piece of software if need be but I just want to be excited with this new phone but I am not..............I have a 3 month old iPhone4 that keeps looking at me and saying "please take me back and get rid of that other piece of $%#$"............ but I dont want to i bought it to try something different after having apple stuff from day one, and just love the phone but I need it to make some (what I feel are basic functions) and I will keep it and hopefully enjoy it

    Thanks
    Next time please don't hijack a thread to ask a question on a unrelated topic.

    1. Your labels should automatically load for you. Are you looking at your Gmail through the "Messages" application, or are you looking at it through the Enhanced Gmail Plug-in? You may need to seperate your messages folder so you can access your inbox from a seperate field. This can be done by going to options under your messages application.

    2. Not sure what to tell you on the .pdf file, you may need to download Documents To Go Premium to view it in a higher quality. I don't mess with many .pdf files on my BB.

    3. In order to sync your calendar with outlook you need to connect your BB to your computer, and perform the sync using Desktop Manager. It will not update on your outlook calendar automatically.

    4. BlackBerry 101: Lecture 11: BIS Email Basics | CrackBerry.com
    It's a slightly older lecture, but the steps are quite similar to what they are now. In your BIS settings simply check the boxes to sync your Gmail contacts and calendar. This will ONLY sync them with Gmail, not with outlook. To sync with Outlook you must use Desktop Manager and connect your device to the computer using your USB cable.

    Hope this helps.
    01-14-11 08:18 AM
  7. Gibbon's Avatar
    This is a useful thread, if quiet for six months! I have been googling for some hours trying to get detail on the Enhanced Gmail Plugin, preinstalled on my OS6. There is very little on it. I do not use wireless sync for either Calendar or Contacts - just email. Further, I keep hardly anything on the Gmail server. Mails are stored offline on my pc, and have usually gone there within an hour or two of receipt/sending. Contacts are reconciled to the BB from Outlook direct. I keep no digital Diary, Calendar, Tasks, blah, on synchronisable forms, just on my pc in ordinary files or on paper. So, my setup is simple. Sync via the web concerns only emails between Gmail and Outlook and between Gmail and BIS. However, there seems no way of managing the latter (Gmail/BIS). Any new email sending or receiving event synchronises immediately. An email hitting the Gmail server arrives at once at BIS (o2, Ireland) and so on the BB (9700). Likewise an email sent by me either from the BB, the web or Outlook manifests quickly on the BB. But other events synchronise sluggishly. For example, should all items in the Gmail Inbox be removed in Outlook and so also on the Google server (sync between those two is instant), an indeterminate amount of time passes before you are presented with an empty Gmail inbox on the BB. Once it has emptied though, you still have copies of the removed items in All Mail under the Gmail icon (mirroring the Gmail server) and in the main consolidated message list on the BlackBerry (which - I think - are local copies peculiar to BIS... rather like local, offline copies in Outlook). There seems to be no way to force Gmail Inbox on the BB to synchronise with the Gmail server ('Reconcile now', in the Gmail Inbox menu does nothing). This occurs only at the leisure of some unknown, hidden and inaccessible watchdog. One guesses this is because the Plugin which governs these behaviours is being continually modified. At the moment it syncs when it wants to, not when you want it too. Thus, on balance, one is better off hiding the Gmail icon on the BB, or sticking it in a subfolder, until it is developed at least to synchronise at once with changes to the content under any Gmail label, and not just with fresh email sending or receiving events OR can be told to carry out a general synchronisation. As it is, all that it provides is access to individual Gmail labels, over and above the default Inbox, and conversation viewing. The price for this though is an inaccurate rendition of the content under those labels, until the 'watchdog' decides in its own time to synchronise. And, if your account is busy, that accuracy will be short-lived.
    Last edited by Gibbon; 07-15-11 at 09:53 AM.
    07-15-11 09:44 AM
  8. kelton's Avatar
    So the Gmail enhanced plug-in makes "Google Sync" entirely unnecessary?

    The enhanced plugin works wonderfully for a long period of time... and then, I notice that one of my calendar entries (made in the google calendar on the PC) doesn't show up on the phone.... but, if I mess with the enhanced gmail settings (turn them off.... save... and then turn them back on...save), it's all good again.

    This does NOT give me much confidence! If it is unreliable, I'm likely to get "caught" with a scheduling mistake.

    So, I'm wondering if I got rid of the enhanced plugin and that, perhaps, Google Sync would be more reliable?

    (or am I doing something wrong with the enhanced?)
    08-24-11 07:19 AM
  9. pcgizmo#IM's Avatar
    So the Gmail enhanced plug-in makes "Google Sync" entirely unnecessary?

    The enhanced plugin works wonderfully for a long period of time... and then, I notice that one of my calendar entries (made in the google calendar on the PC) doesn't show up on the phone.... but, if I mess with the enhanced gmail settings (turn them off.... save... and then turn them back on...save), it's all good again.

    This does NOT give me much confidence! If it is unreliable, I'm likely to get "caught" with a scheduling mistake.

    So, I'm wondering if I got rid of the enhanced plugin and that, perhaps, Google Sync would be more reliable?

    (or am I doing something wrong with the enhanced?)
    I had far better results with the GSync app, using the BIS sync I had numerous duplications of my contacts, one othem was duplicated 1,100 times
    08-24-11 07:24 AM
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