Get your Mac back: OS X Lion's missing iSync

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Get your Mac back: OS X Lion’s missing iSync

25 July 2011 8,965 views 5 Comments

Apple being Apple, their latest desktop operating system release adds cool new features and takes a few away, too. In addition to cutting Samba, Rosetta and Front Row, OS X Lion came to market sans iSync, the app used to to synchronize contact and calendar data from Address Book and iCal with feature phones, like the once popular Nokia N96 and Motorola Razr, via Bluetooth or USB.

Getting iSync back is really quite easy, assuming you backed up before you installed Lion. If you haven’t upgraded yet, you’ll need to backup the iSync app and the phone plugin(s) you need.

An even smarter approach is to backup your entire system, a task for which Lion compatible SuperDuper! and CarbonCopyCloner are ideally suited.

Alternately, with the aid of CharlesSoft’s Pacifist, you can extract iSync from your Mac’s restore disks or a retail copy of Snow Leopard. Here again, there’s catch — Pacifist isn’t Lion compatible, so any extraction will have to happen before you upgrade.

Smoke ‘em if ya gotten ‘em

That said, after upgrading to Lion, place a copy of the iSync app in the ~/Applications folder. Next you’ll need to put copies of the phone plugin(s) in ~/Library/PhonePlugins folder, but there’s quid pro quo here.

As OS X Lion hides the ~/Library by default, you will need to make it visible and, yes, the Fairer Platform’s got that base covered, too — How to: Make Library visible in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.

Thereupon, if there’s no PhonePlugins folder in ~/Library, make one (Command + Shift + N).

The obvious take away here is that backing up before any major software install or upgrade is imperative…

What’s your take?

5 Comments »

Mark said:

No need to make ~/Library visible all the time, unless you just want to. In the Finder, use the Go To Folder… command and enter ~/Library, and presto, you’re there.

# 25 July 2011 at 10:42 am

Duncan said:

Or hold down the Option (alt) key and select Library from the Go menu.

# 25 July 2011 at 4:00 pm

Get your Mac Back: Download, install Safari 5.0.5 for Snow Leopard | FairerPlatform said:

[...] Combo Update — that’s a lot of extra downloading and a bit more work, too. See also: • Get your Mac back: OS X Lion’s missing iSync • Get your Mac Back: Fix OS X Lion scrolling • How to: Make Library visible in Mac OS X [...]

# 29 July 2011 at 12:53 am

How to: Disable, enable OS X Lion resume, FTP, Library, 3D dock, more | FairerPlatform said:

[...] install Safari 5.0.5 for Snow Leopard — Get your Mac back: Make Lion Dashboard translucent — Get your Mac back: OS X Lion’s missing iSync — Get your Mac Back: Fix OS X Lion scrolling — How to: Make Library visible in Mac OS X 10.7 [...]

# 12 August 2011 at 6:54 pm

Hands on with Lion Designer 2 | FairerPlatform said:

[...] in OS X Lion • How to: Disable, enable OS X Lion resume, FTP, Library, 3D dock… • Get your Mac back: OS X Lion’s missing iSync • OS X Lion screensavers: Get X-Galaxy, X-Vortex free • Get your Mac Back: Fix OS X Lion [...]

# 9 November 2011 at 12:40 am