Nokia E70 and iSync OS X

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I just got a new phone yesterday – a beautiful Nokia E70. I’m completely in love with this phone.

Anyway, after hours of searching, I finally figured out how to make iSync work with the phone (it’s not supported by default).

I’m sharing this info in the hopes that other people will find it useful.

Here’s what you do:

1) Edit your MetaClasses.plist file:
– Open a Finder window and press command+shift+g and paste in this line: 

/Applications/iSync/Contents/PlugIns/ApplePhoneConduit.syncdevice/Contents/PlugIns
/PhoneModelsSync.phoneplugin/Contents/Resources/

– You may want to make a backup of this file (just copy + paste it into the same folder)

2) Open the file in your favorite text editor, and add this info for the E70:

<key>com.nokia.E70</key>
<dict>
  <key>Identification</key>
  <dict>
    <key>com.apple.cgmi+cgmm</key>
    <string>Nokia+Nokia E70-1</string>
    <key>com.apple.gmi+gmm</key>
    <string>Nokia+Nokia E70-1</string>
  </dict>
  <key>InheritsFrom</key>
  <array>
    <string>family.com.nokia.serie60v2.3</string>
    </array>
  <key>Services</key>
  <array>
    <dict>
      <key>ServiceName</key>
      <string>com.apple.model</string>
      <key>ServiceProperties</key>
      <dict>
        <key>ModelIcon</key>
        <string>NOKE70.tiff</string>
        <key>ModelName</key>
        <string>E70</string>
      </dict>
    </dict>
  </array>
</dict>

NOTE: I copied the icon for one of the other phones and renamed it to “NOKE70.tiff”, but you don’t need to do this if you don’t want to, just pick one of the existing tiff files in the same folder as the .plist file.

3) Save the .plist file and restart iSync.

4) Add a device, it should find your E70 and allow you to sync using the built in sync software on the phone!

* NOTE: I ordered my phone from europe, so it uses the “-1” in the identification string (Nokia+Nokia E70-1) – when the US model comes out, this will probably change to “Nokia+Nokia E70-2”

UPDATE: I noticed that this wasn’t adding the alarms for my meetings at the right time – they were all set without the timezone offset they should have had, so with some further digging, I figured out how to fix this:

1) Open Finder, hit command+shift+g and paste in this path:

/Applications/iSync.app/Contents/PlugIns/ApplePhoneConduit.syncdevice/Contents/PlugIns/PhoneFamilySync.phoneplugin/Contents/Resources/

– Find the file PhoneConduitv2-serie60-SyncML.plist and make a copy of it for backup purposes (in the same folder is fine)

2) Open the file (not the backup copy) in your favorite text editor, and search for this node:

<key>hasTimeZone</key>
<false/>

and change the ‘false’ to ‘true’ so it should look like this:

<key>hasTimeZone</key>
<true/>

Save the file and relaunch iSync, and all your meeting alarms should now be the correct time. Since I had already synced, it wouldn’t resync all the events I already had, so you may need to remove the meetings from the phone and resync, but be careful, as removing the events from the phone will remove them from your calendar next time you sync! (I’m not sure of a good way to get around this, so if anyone has ideas, lets hear them)

Enjoy!

Notes:
– This only seems to work when syncing from the computer to the phone. If I choose sync in the phone, it tries to connect but then just disconnects without syncing or a warning.
– If all of this is too much for you, or you can’t figure it out, you can always just buy this plugin from NovaMedia for €10

UPDATE: I took some pictures of it so you can see the size of it – not the best pics (my room is kinda dark) but they should give you an idea of the size and feel of it.

UPDATE (6-27-2006): OS X 10.4.7 was released today, and it appears that the update breaks this functionality (there were some updates to iSync). The new update does not appear to support the E70 yet, so you’ll have to re-implement this change after you update to 10.4.7.

56 thoughts on “Nokia E70 and iSync OS X”

  1. Ummmmmmmmmm, can we get some photo pr0n on this thing, please?????? Open, closed, in your hand, on a beach… would love to see the phone in context. Does it feel heavy? Big? Small? Really good IMAP support?

    Congrats!

  2. Photos are coming! (I also got a new camera lens today from my pops for my birthday… 28-135mm IS f/3.5-5.6)
    (Update: Photos are here!)
    So I’ll take a few shots of it with other items so you can guage the size.

    After a day of using it, so far I love it. The keyboard + keys feel very solid, the keyboard backlight has a light sensor, so it automatically turns on or off when you need it, the UI is great, very responsive, and really easy to learn and use (I was dying with my RAZR’s UI – worst ever)

    It’s smaller than a Treo – not too thick but more than I was used to with the RAZR. With the keyboard open it’s just the right size – I think any smaller it would be tough typing on it. It could stand to be a little thinner though.

    As for weight, it’s not too heavy or too light, it really feels just about perfect. The battery cover is the only part that feels just a little flimsy, but nothing to worry about. I uploaded a picture I took with it to my Flickr page, too.

    Also worth mentioning: The screen is the sexiest screen I have ever seen on a phone. It’s amazingly sharp and colorful.

  3. Ohh I have Nokia envy! My 6820 is feeling its age! and the SSH login with putty sounds pretty sweet indeed, I think I will wat for the price to come down a bit though.

  4. Ohh that’s really great! I am also using that and it fun to use that. Nokia E70 is great no doubt in that!!

  7. Great Hack Geof. My calendar entries on the E70 (after I sync) are a day earlier. So my appointments for Thursday, are showing up on Wednesday. Any ideas? (I applied your hack after 10.4.7) Thanks.

  9. in PhoneConduitv2-serie60-SyncML.plist, you also need to change the value for from “0123456789+” to “01234567890+ ()pw-” (note the space before the “(“). Especially the characters “p” and “w” are important, see the owners manual of your phone. ” “, “(“, “)” and “-” are only for readability and are ignored by the phone when dialing.

  10. since HTML is allowed in the comment, I need to format the XML differently. Here the complete post:

    in PhoneConduitv2-serie60-SyncML.plist, you also need to change the
    value for <Root><Formatting><com.apple.contacts.Phone
    Number><value><charsToKeep> from “0123456789+” to
    “01234567890+ ()pw-” (note the space before the “(“). Especially the
    characters “p” and “w” are important, see the owners manual of your
    phone. ” “, “(“, “)” and “-” are only for readability and are ignored
    by the phone when dialing.

  11. Thanks Vince, can you explain what will happen if you leave those out? Mine seems to be working just fine with the default setup.

  12. I followed the above directions but still can not get isync to recognize my e70. it’s a hong kong version of the device. would that matter?

  14. I just go the same e70 as a gift from my cousin from the philippines. Can I use this phone in NAmerica? I have Cingular as my provider…Everything looks okay, just can’t get the internet to connect. Have tried every access point (even downloaded from Nokia–no luck.) Help?

  15. Geoff,

    “p” and “w” in a phone number are special instructions for your handset. They are normally only needed in North America. Example:

    You want to call somebody in the US with the phone number +1 (321) 765 4321 x1234.
    This means you dial the main number +13217654321, and then wait for the automated operator to answer your call. Then you type in the extension.

    To store this in your handset, you need to store:
    +13217654321p4321

    The “p” tells the handset to wait for a connection (“pause”) and then to send the remaining numbers. You get the “p” by pressing “*” 3 times.

    When you don’t add those allowed characters like described in PhoneConduitv2-serie60-SyncML.plist, iSync will transfer the phone number from your handset to your Mac properly, but it will remove the “p” from your phone the next time you synchronize. Even worse, I experienced that after another synchronization, the “p” also disappears on my Mac.

    The other characters , “(“, “)” and “-” are for readability only. I like to store phone numbers like this on my Mac:
    +1 (321) 7654321p4321
    and I also want the numbers to appear like this on my handset. They are ignored completely by the handset when dialing.

    To store European (ISDN) extensions, you can use “-“, but this is only for information.
    For the North American network, storing the “p” is necessary. When your handset sends the whole number at once without waiting at “p”, you only get connected to the main number, but not directed to the right extension.

  16. Geoff, who are you using as a service provider for your E70? Just got one off ebay — I’m a Cingular (former AT&T Wireless) customer in New York City, and I’m having a lot of trouble getting the GPRS connection to work (was working, now not any more). The WiFi support is cool, though. Thanks –Jack

  17. I use T-Mobile.. with their $6/month plan for unlimited data. It works great, no connection issues here, and I use it pretty often. Coverage is fine for me as well, and while I was just in europe for 2 weeks I used it there a bit and it worked great.

  18. I was able to use your E70 hack as a reference for my 7280 by changing one of the series 40 sections instead. (i.e. I did a find 6280 change to 7280) I also made a tiff file for the image. Happiness!!
    The contacts are synching, but it’s coming up with an error on the calendar.

  19. The E70 has a nice weight to it. Not overly heavy, but it doesn’t feel cheap. You can see pictures of it by going to the Nokia site. If it’s not on the US site, try Nokia Europe. (UK for site in English) http://www.nokia.co.uk/nokia/0,,82891,00.html The screen has incredible resolution and the mp3 player displays the current song on the active home screen. The phone changes orientation to landscape when you open it so that it’s the right direction for typing a message with the full keypad. I would suggest downloading a theme editor for creating your own themes, as the ones on it are kind of businesslike. (Hence the “E” for Enterprise in the phone name). It’s a good phone and hopefully some carriers in the US will pick it up. (I wish they carried more of the high-end Nokias!!!!) I used it with iSync, and it worked perfectly, but the new version of iSync broke the hack.

  20. Great phone – especially support of WiFi. It is very intresting to connect to somebody’s MacBook Pro and delete files. Or only connect, as I did yesterday in Pula airport, Croatia. My local provider, russian MegaFon has expensive EDGE, so I prefer WiFi.

  21. thanks, this helped me alot. E70 is a very impressive phone. it can use multiple connection at the same time – ie: talking on the phone using BT headset, send files over BT, browse internet using wifi. even impressed with the option to have the phone say the caller’s name. again thanks for sharing. i have a macbook pro running 10.4.7 and it works flawless. where do i save the pic that represents the phone though?

  22. PLEASEEEEEEEEEEeeee can any of you gently send me the PhoneConduitv2-serie60-SyncML.plist…I’ve messed up my iSync!

    send me an email as soon as you can :) Thank you (iSync 2.3)

    Daniele (cusumano3@libero.it)

  24. Got a problem with this hack. Editing contacts in the phone and syncing afterwards results in corrupted address book entries (deleted numbers, URLs, mail addresses, etc.) on my Mac (and the phone afterwards too). Mainly with complex entries with several numbers and addresses.

    Can someone reproduce this?

  26. Yes, I tried to include this. However, I had no ” ()pw-” chars in my numbers anyway. Of course it did not help.

    For example, I have an entry for myself containung several phone numbers (mobile, home, VoIP, etc.) and an URL (beneath other entries). Changing anything in this contact on my phone makes the phone send this entry while syncing (of course it does).

    However, it only sends an entry with two numbers and without URL (at least this is what iSync puts in Apple’s address book). Don’t know exactly if more information gets lost.

    I’ll have some lunch now and after that I’ll make a test entry to see which information exactly gets lost.

    Perhaps someone can do the same afterwards to check if this is only a problem with my config or if it is a general problem with this hack.

  27. Yes, I tried to include these. However, as I had no ” ()pw-” in my numbers anyway, it did not help at all.

    To explain the loss of information a little more specific: My own entry in Apple’s Address Book contains several numbers (mobile, home, VoIP, etc) and an URL (beneath other entries).

    Editing the entry on the phone (in any way, even by selecting a ringtone and not changing any detials) makes the phone want to send the entry on the next sync (what is absolutely ok).

    However, it only sends some details but not all (or at least iSync receives only some details). After that at least the URL is deleted and only two numbers are listed (in Apple’s Address Book). The other numbers get lost.

    I’ll try to test this a little more with a special test entry to find out when and why the information is lost.

    Perhaps someone can then test the same steps to find out if it is only a problem with my config or if it is a general problem with this hack.

  28. Here is a complete description what I did and under which circumstances which details are lost. I use the German version of Mac OS X so my translations of the details might differ from those in English Mac OS X.

    1. I created a test entry on my Mac with a funny name and entered a lot of details (even those I never use usually) like name, second name, title, company, nickname etc.

    Also I added a bunch of phone numbers like private numbers, mobile numbers, work numbers, fax numbers, pager numbers, other numbers and I even created own number entries like “VoIP”.

    E-mail entries, homepage, birthday, anniversary, addresses and so on were also created.

    2. After that I synced phone and Mac.

    3. The phone now contains the entry. Some information is not on the phone (like ICQ number, contact, assistant, anniversary). However, all phone numbers are listed but several are just called “telephone” while they had special labels on the Mac. URL for homepage is also listed.

    4. I edit the entry on the phone by changing one number (does not matter which).

    5. I sync again. The phone sends the new entry to the Mac.

    6. The entry on the phone is still there like I left it (no information lost).

    However, on the Mac the following information is gone:

    – URL’s/homepage addresses,
    – all phone numbers except “private”, “mobile”, “work”, “private (fax)”, “work (fax)” and “pager”.

    Numbers with the labels “headquarters” (don’t know how to translate, it’s called “Zentrale” in German) or “other” and numbers with self-defined labels are lost.

    Can someone reproduce this by doing exactly the same?

  29. I have tried this modification as well and it worked fine for a few hours. My E70 was found and I could synchronize my ical, as well as my addressbook. But after a few hours, that I spend finding out, how different different calender entries would be transfered between ical and E70 an vice versa, it stopped working!!! The phone is still found and bluetooth data transfer works fine, but each time I press the sync-button and after accepting the connection on the E70, the phone stops the process with the message “system-error”. Has anyone had the same problem or a an idea how to solve it?

  31. Just tested the plug-in without syncing contacts (just calendar). Worked well. Thank you for the great advice!

  32. Hello, I don’t have an Nokia E70 yet, but plan to buy one. I want to know that if the group of a contact in AddressBook will be sync with Nokia E70’s group? In Series 40 phone(6230i), AddressBook groups are not syncing to phones. Is this the same in Series 60 phones(like E70)? Thanks for your reply.

  33. Got a problem with this one. While editing contents and synchying the phone became quite messy. Everything got corrupted including the registries in my PC.
    I don’t know if any other users have experienced this.

  34. Hi!. :)
    I’ve used E70 for almost a year and just got a N73 few days ago .Haven’t had this problem however I have 2 batteries and use a desktop charger so therefore the charger is always plugged into the desktop charger.

    maybe invest on a desktop charger?

    Thanks ;)

  35. I just got a US version E70 and this doesnt seem to work for me. Anyone done this with the US version E70?

  37. Hi
    Can anyone post a _dummie’s_ guide to how to implement the E70 sync?
    Thanks
    A. Dummy (John)

  39. THANK YOU! – I have the US E70-2 (850, 1800, 1900). Once iSync decided the phone was really there, it worked like a charm. Now I don’t have to fire up my PC just to back-up – and I work with the live list. THANK YOU!

  40. Thank you, thank you. This was a big help. I use osx at work and xp at home. Now I can sync at work also.

  41. Thanks for the hint – I tried the mactomester plugin and couldn’t get it to work. This allowed me to get my data over to my phone. One thing – it doesn’t seem to sync event notes. Anyone else have this problem? I’ve paired an E61 with a Powerbook G4 running OS X 10.4.8 and Isync 2.3…

  42. I have done this:

    1) Download the plugin from mactomster from http://www.mactomster.de/isync/
    2) unzipped the folder
    3) copied the “PhonePlugins” folder to the “library”-folder accroding to the instructions.
    3) browsed with finder to library/PhonePlugins/eseries.phoneplugin/Contents/Resources
    4) opened MetaClasses.plist with textedit
    5) replaced all occurencies of “E70-1” with “E70-2”

    now start isync and search for new devices. Of course bluetooth should be enabled on your device and paired.

    done so far this works like a charm

  43. Thanks G-Off,
    These modes work well, but the todo lists do not seem to sync very well, something about “not able to delete mul;tipl entries at once. Haven’t found a workaround for that yet.

    I was looking around and found that you can also use the Property list editor to make the above modifications, which is a easy to use GUI tool. If you have installed the the Developer tools then it should be on your system. Hope that helps some people having issues with the xml.

  44. The Apple update I installed on March 14th broke the iSync hack. Reapplying all the steps got it working again, so it seems safe to reapply.

  46. I’m planning to buy a nokia e50… does anybody know if this hack works with the e50 too?

  47. Can someone help me out with iSyncing my Nokia E70 on Mac OS X?
    I tried modding the script, but it stil isn’t working with iSync.
    Mac Maniac 78 at hot mail . com

  48. I just wanted to say thanks for writing this “hack” up. I’ve used it on three different occasions and it worked like a charm everytime. FYI…I have the US version of the E70 and it is still -1 indicated in step 2. Thanks again!!!

  49. Since my mactomster.de plugin for the E70 does not work with 10.4.9 (and iSync 2.4) anymore, and the plugin now isn’t free anymore:

    Thank you for that!
    It’s working. :-)

    To make sure, I removed the device, and reconnected with first erasing all contacts. Pictures, contacts, calendar items – everything there…

  50. Thanks, but I have tried copying and pasting the E70 iSync test into MetaClasses.plist, just as you show, saved, restarted iSync several times (even rebooted my Mac), but when I open iSync and try and add device, my E70 is found, but I get a message saying that this device is not supported by iSync. Can you help?

    Thanks,

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