Now that I’m off the Business Analysis engagement, I’m in the process of getting my technical kit back up to scratch. With the option of avoiding GRPS for synchronisation, I’ve been trying to sync through USB to my desktop. Past experience with previous Microsoft Smart Phones means that I always synchronise straight to the Microsoft Exchange Server, whether or not I’m on some wireless network (WiFi or GRPS).

The new version synchronises Tasks too, which is great for todo lists and the Getting Things Done methods.

I’d had all sorts of hassle sychronising through USB, and worked through the various options of different USB ports, pulling out all of the other USB devices, opening desktop firewall ports and even trying the Beta version 2.5 of ActiveSync. The problem I appeared to have was that the device would appear to drop off the connection, even though it was still there and charging. Checking the web and knowledgebase seemed to suggest this was a usb / driver issue. I even borrowed a bluetooth dongle from a colleague to give it a go. It would sync once or twice, then drop off, then power up or otherwise. Up and down, with no apparent pattern. It even appeared that having usb, bluetooth and wifi on the M600 on at the same time would help USB, but then it stopped again.

I opened up the requisite ports in Windows Firewall, but it didn’t cure the intermittant stuff. I dug deep and found the problem – another firewall lurking in the desktop antivirus. I switched that one off, leaving windows firewall on, and it has been fine since. The device will still drop the connection from time to time, but this appears a deliberate when you do a soft switch off.