Q: How to locally sync an iPhone with OS X Mavericks? iCloud is NOT an option.

Why ask here if you already know that you can't get an answer?

As promised the resolts of my testing the OSX server for use as a "local" sync server.  I give hear just the facts as thay are on my systems.

First some notes:

This way of doing things is not as "Plug and Play" as the old plug the Phone into the computer with a USB cable run iTunes and watch it sync.  I can't say about iCloud I don't (my iPhone can't use it).

The 18 steps I will put in this post will not be comperhencive/compleat because being dyslex.. I hold all this info in my head and getting it out in words/type is hardwork  but I hope thay will point you in the right direction.

Understanding how to do it may need some/small work(google'ling)

This way of doing things has been pointed out of this forum by others but there is a lot of posts to read thought so google was a better option for working out how to do it.

Some of the information I give like IP address ranges are in part a personal choice as long as (your behind a NAT(Network Address Tranlation) router, Firewall and/or Gatway or not connected to the internet at all) but you should stick to the standard private network IP addresses 10.n.n.n and 192.168.n.n where n = 0 to 255   The range I like to use is network IP 192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 the the host/computer IP's are 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.255.  If all this is a little confusing I would spend some time researching this befor you do anything else.

Now for the steps:

1) I gote the the devices onto the same privat/home network.

2) The two laptops one of witch I will install the server onto get a fixed IP (192.168.1.100+n: 255.255.255.0)

3) My router has DHCP server with address range 192.168.1.50 to 192.168.1.90

4) My router has it's local address as 192.168.1.1 (this is a standard address)

5) My iPhone gets one of the IP's from the DHCP server

6) Even though I don't want to use the internet to sync and I will not be at first you need to connect to the internet make shoure that's all working (you can connect to the internet from all devices) and to install OS X server.

7) Download/install OSX server but do not run the configuation yeat.

8) Disconect the DSL(phoneline) so that your not on the internet

9) Run the server program This version dose most of the setup for you.

Now I tryed 3 or 4 diffent ways of doing things and all of them Calendar and Mail worked but Contacts only worked in one of the ways and Notes needs some work at the moment the only way to get Notes from one device is to e-mail it from one user on the phone to another on the laptop the other way round.

10) Once the server is up and running you will see a sidebar with "Server"/"Accounts"/"Services" under Accounts make shoure you have yourself it may say do you want to fix this accout click yes.

11) Under services you will see “Calendar”/“Contacts”/“Mail” these are the only services you need to turn on.  For me the only service I needed to tinker with in a termainal was mail I had to put the flowing two commands (sudo serveradmin settings mail mydomain_fallback = “localdomain”) and (sudo serveradmin settings mail:postfix:mynetworks:_array_index:0 = "192.168.1.0/24”) I may have had to do this because of other stuff I was doing last week.

12) At this point I had local sync of Mail and Calendar working with my user name but my addressbook was not working.

13) Some more google’ing and what I had to do was in the server app under accounts  make shoure no account had “Contacts” Highlight an account and from the pulldown menu at the bottom or right click the user name and pick “Edit Access Services” making shoure the check/tick box next door to the “Contacts” is un-ticked

Please note this is all on one laptop.

14) Under  System Pref’s -> Internet Accounts makshoure none of the accounts have a tick in the “Contacts” box

15) Now back to the server goto accounts and add a user that will only be used for sync’ing “Contacts”  I used “sync” and under “Edit Access and Services” only tick “Contacts” it may not be nessery to have this deacated account but it was the only way it worked for me.

16) Now Oppen the Addressbook and goto Preferances (not Accounts) and open the tab “Accounts” click the + and add the user you have just created on the server.  Now when you goto the addressbook you should have: “On My Mac” and “myserver.local”  If you have any addresses in “ n My Mac” Highlight them and drag them to “ myserver.local”

18) Now add the users to your iPhone for Contacts,Addressbook and email and your Contacts Addressbook and email should all appear on the iPhone.  NO INTERNET OR iCLOUD

As I sead at the beginning it’s a start and it works but these instuctions are not compleat as I am dyslex…. and hold this all in my head and getting it out into words/type is hard work, for me much harder than doing it for real.  I’m off now but if I am alowed and asked to I will put this and expand this all into a blog and I will give the address to the blog in the list.

Have fun and I wish you all luck.

Sorry for the spelling I am dyslex….. and just typeing this has been hard work.

Steve 

Here are some clearer instructions that are proven to work.

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6311

Pete

Thank you for a very usfull link.  Peter

After tacking digs at me with your posts like:

" 16-Feb-2014 01:17 (in response to TopSteve)

Update your phone.

Pete"

petermac87 wrote:

 

Here are some clearer instructions that are proven to work.

 

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6311

 

Pete

Suggestingthat you update your phone was not a dig at you. 3G iPhones cannot use the iOS version required to run iCloud. That was not supported until the 3Gs which could take iOS 5

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4759

Pete

>>>  What is your moral, ethical or sociopolitical objection to syncing browser bookmarks on icloud?  <<<

http://funtechblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/nsa-views-many-icloud-accounts/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/08/07/another-apple-disaster-the-ic loud-gets-hacked/

A slightly breathless blog that poses questions and answers none plus an 18 month old article about the hacking of one persons iCloud account.

Pretty compelling stuff there.

Blog entries? I can start a blog and say pretty much what I want as well, depending on the mood I am in with Apple's products at the time. I would also find a friend to make as compelling a statement also to try to justify and give creedence to my paranoia.

Tha key comment about criminal activities and National Security? So you are against the investigation of those, no matter by what means?

Pete

I've just bought a high-end MacBook Pro Retina — without knowing about this problem. I've used Macs since 1989 and I am really suprised that a basic feature of way I interact with my computer and my phone has been taken away without my knowing anything about it.

I would not have bought the new computer if I had known about this. Instead I would have either continued using my old computer (with Mountain Lion) or bought an old (but more powerful machine) still running Mountain Lion.

I don't think it's necessary for me to explain why I don't want to use iCloud. Different people have different reasons for not wanting to put data in a remote location that is not under direct control. I personally use Dropbox, but I use it selectively. If I use iCloud I also want to use it selectively. That is not possible the way it's set up now.

There is a huge volume of traffic on this discussion. Has anyone at Apple noticed?

I'm extremely busy and the last thing I want to do is set up a server — but I guess there is no viable alternative. As of now I am looking for a new computer company!

New Mac: MacBook Pro Retina 15 inch 2.3 GHz, bought January 2014.

OS: 10.9.1

Skakagrall wrote:

 

There is a huge volume of traffic on this discussion. Has anyone at Apple noticed?

 

This is a user-to-user technical support forum. Apple doesn't participate. It seems unlikely that they've got people reading this busy a forum but who knows. If you want them to know how you feel, use the Feedback page:

http://www.apple.com/feedback

Skakagrall wrote:

 

I've just bought a high-end MacBook Pro Retina — without knowing about this problem. I've used Macs since 1989 and I am really suprised that a basic feature of way I interact with my computer and my phone has been taken away without my knowing anything about it.

 

I would not have bought the new computer if I had known about this. Instead I would have either continued using my old computer (with Mountain Lion) or bought an old (but more powerful machine) still running Mountain Lion.

That's exactly what happened to our company. Almost bait and switch IMHO.

<Edited by Host>

Apple doesn't participate.

I occasionally see posts from Apple employees. 

I agree, the best way to talk to Apple is through the feedback mechanism, or better yet a phone call, or even better yet still mail them a letter.

To Meg St Clair and Ziatron: yes, I've written to http://www.apple.com/feedback. But they say they won't respond and I'm not expecting to hear from them. After all, Apple now employs large numbers of manual-following employees who have no power to do anything to address customers' problems.

Skakagrall wrote:

 

But they say they won't respond and I'm not expecting to hear from them.

Nor will they be responding to you here.

Matt Schultz wrote:

 

Skakagrall wrote:

 

 

My theory is

Speculating is against the TOU you agreed to. Either give facts or stop speculating. We really don't care for 'Theories'.

Pete