Outlook 2010 SP1 Sync with the iCloud

It is clearly an Apple design error not MS. I reported very early and very specific to Apple Support in November 2011. No improvemend of iCloud yet. I forget iCloud, using Google Calendar sync and iTunes for contacts and notes again. Email with my IMAP provider. iCloud could be better solution but it is wrong by design and apple Inc. is not willing to listen and learn.

güntherfrommünchen wrote:

It is clearly an Apple design error not MS. I reported very early and very specific to Apple Support in November 2011. No improvemend of iCloud yet. I forget iCloud, using Google Calendar sync and iTunes for contacts and notes again. Email with my IMAP provider. iCloud could be better solution but it is wrong by design and apple Inc. is not willing to listen and learn.

Microsoft forgot to include iCloud compatibilty in Outlook for Mac and did a very poor job with Outlook for Windows, if you really want to use Outlook then use Microsofts own Cloud service (which does work the way you want it to) it's called Exchange.

For what it's worth, it's working "mostly" fine for me. I did just install everything on a new computer this week, so maybe they fixed everything? No duplicates on my iPhone or my iMac or my PC and my Exchange on my PC and my mail on both my mac and my PC all seem to be syncing just fine, nothing appears to be missing. All my contacts are good and my appointments seem be fine. My only glitch so far (and why I found this forum) is that sometimes it won't let me set reminders, or change reminders, but I THINK that is happening when I am using one of the ICLOUD calendars, instead of my default calendar. As long as I use the default calendar it appears to work just fine, so I'm going to just leave them all open, that doesn't appear to hurt anything. HOPEFULLY, apple will get their act together and let us set the iCloud as the default calendar.

thomas - have you made any further discoveries with this problem? Your description is the only one that seems to be exactly the issue i'm having.. my original post is below.

fyi - i'm genearlly not trying to sync my exchange data into the icloud.. I'm content with using outlook to give me a unified view of all calendars overlayed.

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https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3917927

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I've been working on integrating iCloud (contacts and calendar) into outlook (tried 2007 & 2010). With 3 kids I have to integrate our home and work calendars if we expect to have any chance of remembering anything.

I thought I had found a solution, using the basic windows iCloud control panel and then using a free piece of software from CodeTwo - http://www.codetwo.com/sync-for-icloud/ - which essentially just keeps any of your outlook folders (contacts, calendar, etc) in sync with one of the iCloud generated folders. One way either direction or Two way.

This all worked just fine... except...through process of elimination I found that once the iCloud control panel has generated it's iCloud 'pst' and Outlook is opening it; that Outlook takes an excruciatingly long time (minutes) to switch into the Calendar. I don't see this behavior when switching to Contacts or back to Mail. This persists even if I turn syncing for anything outlook related off at the iCloud control panel, presumably because the iCloud folders are still present in outlook. It isn't until I remove them, that things go back to normal.

Curiously, I'm doing this on two different pc's. One has normal Outlook (local files) and all works fine, while the other has an Exchange Server account, it's the one that's hanging.

windows 7 64bit

outlook 2007 & 2010 (with an exchange account)

iCloud control panel 1.1 (64 bit)

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I've since completely uninstalled office and reinstalled to be certain it was the 64bit flavor, to make sure it was playing nice with the iCloud control panel (also 64bit) - found another discussion thinking this was an issue. Found it wasn't my fix.

I do think I found the culprit. My one account in outlook is an exchange server account. So I added a second account (one of my gmail accounts) made it default, and then removed my exchange account. This fixed things right up.

There's some conflict within Outlook when you have an exchange account configured, and add the iCloud integration.

Just checked my bug report. No updates yet. I have increased the severity to "high". Hope it helps..

It seems that Apple is NOT working to make iCloud working with Outlook. Or any other update?

No updates.

I finally got an update from Apple Bug report but it doesn't help solving the issue. Below is their reply:

"28-Jun-2012 06:35 PM Apple Developer Bug Reporting Team :

Our engineers have not been able to reproduce the reported behavior.

If you continue to encounter this issue, please provide any information that would assist engineering in reproducing this reported behavior."

Does anyone has some more useful input that I can share on this error?

The only USEFUL info you're going to get is this....Give it up!

I've been at this for quite some time and there is no definitive answer to this issue.

There will be some who have created work-a-rounds, and maybe even some who have it working.

I DID have it working for a few weeks when I first installed I-Cloud so my PC would sync with my new Ipad.

Then it just stopped working. It has never worked since no matter what I do.

This is a hit-or-miss deal with a tremendous number of variables that will either make it work or make it not work.

What I find is that the person who 'made it work' really did not, they just happen to have the right set of circumstances that allowed it to all work together. I let them think they're smart...it doesn't cost me anything.

The laws of physics do not change. If there was an exact formula to make this work, everyone would know about it by now. There is not.

This is neither an APPLE issue nor an MS issue as many seem to believe (people just love to take a 'side' regardless of the facts). The FACT is, MS has no obligation [or sdesire] to help you leave their 'family' of products in favor of Apple, so they made no serious effort to provide a comprehensive interface in the software.. Apple certainly doesn't need to assist anyone in working better with MS 'cause there is nothing that MS has that Apple either needs or wants...including customers. Yes, they both SAY that it SHOULD work, but lots of people SAY lots of things that aren't really [completely] true.

I have come to realize that the calendars are NOT going to sync between my Ipad and my PC....EVER.

I have emptied and turned 'OFF' the ICloud Contacts and Calendars and just sync the Contacts by hardwire via Itunes.

The inconvenience (LOL, I remember when a Cell phone wwas carried in an attache case) is minor compared to the frustration and loss of time trying to make it work.

Say what you will about me but I no longer spend my days angry about my calendar sync.

I now have more time to spend being angry about something else!😉

Actually,

it's either you abandon Outlook or you keep using it.

In another thread, I have seen that there is a product that actually keeps updating the MAIN calendars, contacts, etc...

It's called CodeTwo Sync for iCloud, available at http://www.codetwo.com/sync-for-icloud/

I'm not related to them, and I was pretty skeptical to say the least. But I bought it, it's cheap, $10.

Note that it actually requires the Apple iCloud tools for Windows to be installed.

Also, very important: backup your .pst file first.

Then install the CodeTwo tool and see how it works.

The iCloud control panel from Apple first will upload everything to iCloud. You may end up with duplicates and a messed up calendar, contact list.

So as long as it's not working, restore the .pst file and start again. Do not change anything into Outlook.

I had to first full empty all contacts and all calendar events in iCloud (from the web interface), then logoff iCloud on the Windows control panel, then log in, and then Outlook would upload everything. Finally worked like a charm.

Good luck to all.

P.S. by the way, I abandoned Outlook and switched to another email client. Since I use my Macbook Air mainly for Windows (98% of my time), I was reluctant to switch to Apple Mail and contacts, etc... since I'm barely running OS/X on my Air.

If iTunes can do a proper sync with Outlook default folders it also possible for iCloud.

iCloud with Outlook synch is a weird design error of Apple, nothing else.

I no longer think I'm smart, it WAS working, for about two months, then it quit, I have no idea why, suspect it was due to some update of an iphone or ipad or itunes or something. I have since DELETED outlook from my PC and quit using it altogether. I am so ****** off.

güntherfrommünchen wrote:

If iTunes can do a proper sync with Outlook default folders it also possible for iCloud.

You know this? how?

Yes. By testing.

güntherfrommünchen wrote:

Yes. By testing.

Testing what? please describe how you verified Outlook compatibility with iCloud by using iTunes and not iCloud