Synchronise your contacts and calendar with your mobile phone

We’ll begin by explaining how to use Google Sync to synchronise data to two popular types of phone, the Apple iPhone and the Nokia Series 60 (Symbian). Owners of Blackberry devices should see Step 4, while those with Windows Phone 7 or Android handsets should note Step 5. However, in all cases, a Google account is required. If you need to sign up for one, visit Google's account page and click ‘Create an account’ on the left and follow the prompts. Next, turn to your mobile device: it will need to be connected to the internet both now and whenever items are to be synchronised.

To use this method to synchronise data with an iPhone, the handset will need to be running iOS 4.0 or later. This will be the case for all iPhones bought in the last couple of years but, if not, see Google’s support page. Assuming iOS 4.0 is indeed installed, tap to launch Settings and then tap ‘Mail, Contacts, Calendars’ followed by Add Account. Choose Microsoft Exchange from the list of options. When asked for an email address, tap in your full Google account email address, including the bit after the @ symbol (so, computeractive@gmail.com, for example), for both the Email and Username fields. Leave Domain blank but type your password into the Password field then tap Next. If a message appears referring to certificates, tap Cancel. A new field will appear marked Server: type m.google.com here and tap Next again. Now choose what to synchronise (mail, contacts and calendars) before tapping Save.

On a Nokia Series 60 phone (which means many Nokia handsets before the latest Windows Phone models), open the MfE folder followed by the Mail for Exchange application and select Yes when asked if you want to create a new profile. For the Exchange server, type m.google.com, select Yes for a secure connection and Yes to ‘Use default port’. Choose also whether to synchronise when roaming abroad (remembering that international data use can be very expensive). Under Credentials type your full Google email address into the Username field, then your password (leave Domain blank). Under ‘Sync schedule’, choose how often to sync the data. Now choose what to synchronise and how; click here for full details of the options available.

Blackberry users need to download an app. Launch the phone’s web browser and visit Google Mobile's page Google Sync setup and follow the instructions. On Windows Mobile phones (these handsets are distinct from those running the newer Windows Phone operating system, which is covered in Step 5) the process is similar to that on the Nokia Series 60; use the built-in Exchange applications to set up Google Sync. From the home screen, open the Activesync application, click the link ‘set up your device to sync with’ Exchange Server. Use m.google.com as the server name and your full Google account email address as the username. Type in your Google password when prompted and leave Domain blank (type google if the particular handset won’t let you proceed without typing something). With these details entered, choose what to sync. Click here for more details.

For users of Windows Phone 7 and Android handsets, the process is even easier. Both these operating systems are designed to synchronise over the internet, so all that’s needed is to enter your Google account details. On a Windows Phone 7 handset, press the Start button, navigate to the list of apps, then tap Settings followed by Email & Accounts. Now tap the ‘Add and account’ option, select Outlook and type in your details. Android users will have been prompted to type in their Google account details when setting up the device. If you need to change the Google account for whatever reason, it’s easiest to first change the Google account password on the Google Accounts page using a normal computer. Now return to the Android phone and restart it: you’ll be prompted to enter new account details.

You should now start to see the synchronised contacts and appointments in your Google account. On a normal computer, visit http://calendar.google.com to view your calendar, or http://contacts.google.com for contacts. Make a change to a calendar or contact and that change should be reflected on the phone, and vice versa. Bear in mind that if you have a lot of contacts or appointments it may take a while to synchronise, at least the first time.