MobileMe: About automatic syncing in Mac OS X and Windows

  • Last Modified: July 25, 2008
  • Article: TS1155
  • Old Article: 307135

Symptoms

In MobileMe preferences (in System Preferences in Mac OS X), or the MobileMe Control Panel (Microsoft Windows), you can choose how often your computer syncs your contacts, calendars, and other data with MobileMe.   If you select "Automatically", changes are synced with MobileMe at regular intervals as explained below.

Products Affected

MobileMe

Resolution

When Automatically is selected in the MobileMe (.Mac) System Preference or Control Panel, the expected behavior is as follows, depending on where the change of your data is occurring.

Changes made on your computer

  • Mac OS X 10.5.4: Changes made on your computer will sync to MobileMe every 15 minutes
  • Mac OS X 10.4.11: Changes made on your computer will sync to MobileMe every hour
  • Windows (iTunes 7.7): Changes made on your computer will sync to MobileMe every 15 minutes

Changes synced to the MobileMe "cloud" from another computer, www.me.com, or an iPhone/iPod touch

  • Mac OS X 10.5.4: Changes on MobileMe should sync to your computer automatically (generally within a minute of saving the change).  If the changes do not appear automatically due to a network configuration, your computer will sync every 15 minutes.  (See Additional Information below)
  • Mac OS X 10.4.11: Changes on MobileMe should sync to your computer automatically (generally within a minute of saving the change).  If the changes do not appear automatically due to a network configuration, your computer will sync every hour. (See Additional Information below)
  • Windows (iTunes 7.7): Changes on MobileMe will sync to your computer every 15 minutes

Note: You can always manually sync data with MobileMe if you wish (in MobileMe preferences, in System Preferences, in Mac OS X 10.5.4 or later; in .Mac preferences in Mac OS X 10.4.11; or, the MobileMe control panel in Microsoft Windows).

Additional Information

Some network configurations may prevent automatic sync in Mac OS X from detecting changes on MobileMe. In those instances, your computer will sync with MobileMe every 15 minutes (1 hour for Mac OS X 10.4.11). Generally, if your network works with Back to My Mac, automatic syncing will function as described above. You can quickly determine if your network supports Back to My Mac by using the Back to My Mac diagnostic messages in the Back to My Mac section of MobileMe preferences.

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