topic Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App in XPERIA archive

Syncing Z3 Calendar App

RickGM — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 08:14:27 GMT

I like the layout of the calendar app on the Z3 but I have one issue which hopefully someone can advise me on. The app syncs fine with my Google calendar (on my pc) with the exception that it doesn't sync imported calendars (like football team fixtures, MotGP calendars etc) unless I also install Google calendar on my Z3. If I delete Google calendar the imported calendars disappear.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

Rickard — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 10:38:39 GMT

I tested this here and as you say, it seems you need to also have Google Calendar installed to get some of the calendars from Google. I will forward this as feedback internally to see if this is something that can be changed but there should not be any issue with having Googles calendar app installed and keep using our calendar app.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

RickGM — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 10:48:59 GMT

Thanks for the prompt reply. At least it's not just me!!
I had already come to the conclusion exactly as you state - use the Z3 Calendar but keep the Google Cal on my device also.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

igalkin — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 11:07:23 GMT

Hello.

I have a Z3 Compact. I had the same problem with Google calendards, and installing Google Calendar App solved it.
However, I have a problem syncronizing event location with the Google Calendar. If I type location using Sony Calendar, after sync with Google account, the location gets cleared (or, if location was previously set using Google Calendar app, the new location is overriden by the old one).

Can this be fixed ? I like the Sony Calendar app much better than Google Calendar app, and using both in parallel is very inconvinient.

Thanks, Igal.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

Rickard — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 12:06:52 GMT

I tested this here and i get the same result as you. I will forward this internally to see if it's something that we can solve from our end.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

igalkin — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 09:09:03 GMT

Thank you Rickard for the quick reply. Looking forward to hearing from you on the outcome.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

igalkin — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 10:35:32 GMT

Hello Rickard.

Are there any news on this matter ?

Thank you, Igal.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

Rickard — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 08:13:36 GMT

Our developers have been unable to replicate the issue so i'm not sure what could cause it as i saw it here. But after i updated to Android 5.0 it works fine for me as well so i recommend that you wait for the update to Android 5.0. In case the issue should remain after the update to Android 5.0, please send me a private message.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

JoernH — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 13:32:14 GMT

Dear,

I'm experiencing a similar problem, but only with the Google calenday which I sync from my work Lotus Notes calendar.

I am able to see my "Google Work" calendar on multiple other devices + in the http://google.com/calendar web page, put it does not get synced onto my Xperia Z3. After syncing I regularly get the message "Google calendar crashed" + even "Calendar sync crashed".

When contacting the company responsible for the sync program ( AweSync ) they responded:

"Yes, it's a known issue - it's been reported to us by several users recently. The problem is with the synchronization software used on Xperia device by its vendor - after having done some research, we've found out that after synchronization from Google to Xperia the calendar app on the phone cannot work with RDATE or/and EXDATE fields in some events, though such events are standard and widely used. So, on attempting to get such events from Google, the calendar application crashes.

You can try the following workarounds - 1) if you can define on which events the crash occurs, you can remove/recreate them in Lotus and try to sync them to Google after that; 2) try to use some other calendar app. We understand that these solutions are not the best ones, but so far they've been the only ones we can propose."

So it seems to be an examined fact that Sony's calendar sync does have a problem with recurring events 😞

Maybe this is something that can be brought back to development ?

I've tried this also on Lollipop, but that was not a solution.

I've cleared calendar caches, deleted calendars in google and on the phone, and even re-installed the phone ( after contacting Sony ). Nothing have helped me.

It would be really nice if this could be solved. My current sync program avoids using recurring events, and create every recurring event as separate items. While this solution enables the sync of my "Google Work" calendar to my Xperia Z3, it disables two-way sync.

Looking forward to seeing this fixed.

Kind regards

JoernH

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

igalkin — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 10:53:58 GMT

Thank you Rickard.

I have been long waiting for Android 5.0 to arrive, where can I check its availability date for my region ?

Igal.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

Rickard — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 11:31:02 GMT

@JoernH

Sorry to hear that you also have issues with synchronizing the calendar.

It's not something i'm familiar with but i'll forward the feedback. But have you tried using PC Companion to sync instead?

@igalkin

As the availability depends on local and operator approvals it may not be possible to get a date for the release but i recommend that you keep checking our blog or contact your local support team.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

JoernH — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 11:35:44 GMT

Hi Rickard,

Thank you for your prompt reply. That is much appreciated !

I have indeed not tried using "PC Companion" to sync my calendar.

The sync via the normal "Google Calendar sync" functionality should work, and is the easiest solution where I do not have to be depending on other HW or applications.

Thank you for forwarding this to development. Please let me know if I can assist in bringing examples, or in any other way help debugging this problem.

Kind regards

JoernH

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

Rickard — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 11:54:12 GMT

Our PC Companion supports both local synchronization with the phone over USB and sync with Google over the internet so you can still sync PC <-> Google <-> phone.

Not sure if it's needed but if possible, could you create a new Google account, sync one meeting that causes the issue to it and give me access to that account?

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

JoernH — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 08:39:44 GMT

For other readers I'll just mention that I did indeed do what Rikard asked, and he has been able to reproduce the problem with the crash.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

igalkin — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 16:38:24 GMT

Rikard,

Hello again.

I have upgraded to Android 5, and the problem persists. It seems that there is a conflict of data between Sony Calendar and Google Calendar apps.

Have a look at the screenshot below : after settting location to "Test1" and syncing, I have changed it to "Test2" in Sony Calendar app. Opening the event in Google Calendar app, I see the old value "Test1" in black, and new value "Test2" in gray. After sync, only "Test1" remains, and reverts to "Test1" in Sony Calendar as well.

As a side note, the changes made to the Sony Calendar app in Android 5 are really disappointing. The single major feature making the Sony Calendar superior to other calendars in Android 4 was the ability to show event bars on the month view, so I could easily tell if there is a whole day event on a particular day, or whether I have morning or evening free.
In Android 5, there is just a single dot indicating some event for the day (which, for me, exists every day because I have many appointments), and Sony Calendar no longer offer unique features.

I would love to hear your comments on this.

Thanks, Igal.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

Rickard — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 11:06:44 GMT

Thanks! I will forward it as feedback.

But if you uninstall the Google calendar app and use our app (or google.com/calendar) to create/edit the event it works fine now? At least this works fine for me.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

igalkin — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 10:11:01 GMT

Hello Rickard.

After uninstalling Google Calendar app, the problem with Sony Calendar events location appears to be resolved.

Regards, Igal.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

Rickard — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 14:24:41 GMT

Thanks for testing!

I will update you as soon as i have more information about the issue using both calendar applications at the same time.

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

RickGM — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 11:38:51 GMT

It seems that my original issue in post #1 with the Sony Calendar not showing add on calendars unless Google Calendar is installed appears to have been sorted. It's disappointing though that Sony Calendar doesn't show event details in the month view and also that the calendar window in Week view has only 60% of the screen dedicated to events. I don't need a whole bar telling me it's This week or Next week or All day events taking up a whole bar. Why aren't these customizable with the option to resize them or remove them?

Re: Syncing Z3 Calendar App

Rickard — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 11:47:23 GMT

I'm afraid i don't know the background for those decisions made at development but i will forward your feedback.