Sync setting

Discussions around the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch versions of the Gospel Library application.
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aebrown
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Re: Sync setting

#21

Post by aebrown »

dustingreen wrote:Just something I've noticed (and maybe its already been discussed) but the syncing problem is between the iPad and the iPhone. I can mark something on the iPhone and it syncs to notes on the LDS site; it is the same for the iPad. The problem is that the iPhone and iPad are not talking to each other.
The iPhone and iPad are not supposed to be talking to each other. They both communicate with LDS.org. I suppose that could be considered to be indirect communication with each other, but it's certainly not direct.

But theoretically that should work. If you make a change to your notes on your iPhone, then those changes should go to LDS.org; when your iPad next syncs with the LDS.org servers, it should get that change as well.

Note that the first sync should happen quite quickly, since in this scenario you made the change on your iPhone and so the iPhone knows it needs to communicate changes to LDS.org. But the iPad has no idea that something changed on LDS.org until it actually syncs. I don't know how often it checks with LDS.org for changes, but you can certainly force the iPad to sync its annotations with LDS.org.

I just tested this on Android, and it worked as expected. I made a change to an annotation on my Android phone, and it showed up on my Android tablet.
dustingreen
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Re: Sync setting

#22

Post by dustingreen »

Ya, I verified that it works between my wife's iPhone and her nook. It works seamlessly. Just not between the iPhone and iPad like it used to.
dustingreen
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Re: Sync setting

#23

Post by dustingreen »

And just a quick follow up/clarification . . . I can annotate on both my iPhone and iPad and it will automatically show on the web (LDS.org); however, if I annotate on the web, it doesn't send anything to my iPhone or iPad. It seems like it is a one way sync. All annotations on devices go to the web but nothing goes from the web to the devices.
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aebrown
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Re: Sync setting

#24

Post by aebrown »

dustingreen wrote:And just a quick follow up/clarification . . . I can annotate on both my iPhone and iPad and it will automatically show on the web (LDS.org); however, if I annotate on the web, it doesn't send anything to my iPhone or iPad. It seems like it is a one way sync. All annotations on devices go to the web but nothing goes from the web to the devices.
Are you sure of that, or is it just a lot slower than you expect? As I noted, syncing changes made on a device to LDS.org goes very quickly because the device pushes the changes to LDS.org right away. But for the device to get changes made on LDS.org (or on another device), a device will have to pull those changes, which is not going to happen extremely frequently.

However, I just did a test. I made an annotation on scriptures.lds.org, and then I opened up Gospel Library on my Android phone 10 seconds later. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my new annotation was already there. I'm not sure what the trigger was (was the GL app not already running, and it synced when it started up, perhaps?), but it was very quick. I know you use iOS devices, but I would think that the sync would be quite similar on those devices.
stevebenard
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Re: Sync setting

#25

Post by stevebenard »

Thanks, aebrown, for your help! I'm grateful that one of the admins is here to help us. That's a relief to me because I feel frustrated. I have literally prayed that the Lord would help the tech people to find the source of this problem and help us to fix it. I have the faith that eventually, the problem will be identified and fixed. I just hope it's sooner, rather than later. :)

My ios device is not sincing at all. Zero. Zilch. Never! It hasn't sinced for several weeks now. I think that was what this thread was about. That's what most of the posts appear to be discussing.

In the "settings" area, it no longer tells me the date of the last sync. It used to, but hasn't for a very long time. The section of the "settings" where it used to show the last sync date is now blank. It still shows that I'm signed in. It simply is no longer syncing - ever!

None of the notes I've put on LDS.org in the past several weeks have ever showed up on my iPhone. I wish they would, because I would like to be able to carry them with me. I typed notes in Alma Chapter 6 on LDS.org weeks ago, but they still aren't showing up on my iPhone. I'm now studying Alma Chapter 21 and putting notes for that chapter on LDS.org. My iPhone hasn't synced since Alma Chapter 5.

I've signed out and signed back in repeatedly, and it still doesn't sync. When I attempt to force it to sync, it shows the rotating icon that indicates that it's syncing, and it just shows that icon for hours and hours, but it never completes. It never actually syncs. It just hangs, and the only way I can stop it, is by rebooting my iPhone.

This seems to be a problem that only exists with Apple products, so discussing an Android is irrelevant.
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aebrown
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Re: Sync setting

#26

Post by aebrown »

stevebenard wrote:My ios device is not sincing at all. Zero. Zilch. Never! It hasn't sinced for several weeks now. I think that was what this thread was about. That's what most of the posts appear to be discussing.
...
I've signed out and signed back in repeatedly, and it still doesn't sync. When I attempt to force it to sync, it shows the rotating icon that indicates that it's syncing, and it just shows that icon for hours and hours, but it never completes. It never actually syncs. It just hangs, and the only way I can stop it, is by rebooting my iPhone.
You mentioned in this post that you had never tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app. Yes, someone else mentioned that he had tried that and it made no difference, but it still seems to me that it is worth a try. There have been other cases where a reinstall has corrected a problem.

But other than that, I don't have any more ideas. I don't even own an iOS device, so I'm not in a position to help. Perhaps some others will chime in....
stevebenard wrote:This seems to be a problem that only exists with Apple products, so discussing an Android is irrelevant.
In the beginning it's helpful to discuss how Android works because it can help narrow down whether the problem is in the specific mobile application, or in the web services that all the mobile platforms call. But once you've determined that Android works correctly and iOS doesn't, then I would agree that you need to look at the specific platform having the problem.
russellhltn
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Re: Sync setting

#27

Post by russellhltn »

aebrown wrote:I don't even own an iOS device, so I'm not in a position to help.
Same here. All I can add is to make sure you have the most recent version of the app. The API may not support the older ones.

That becomes an issue because the most recent version requires a OS that isn't available to older Apple devices.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
stevebenard
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Re: Sync setting

#28

Post by stevebenard »

I have Gospel Library version 3.4.4. That's the most recent version listed on LDS.org. It appears to update the app readily, but it just doesn't synchronize my personalizations after updating. All other features of the app seem to be working fine. In fact, the app itself has updated since this problem began, but this one feature still continues to fail.

I've had my device less than six months. It also has the latest Apple IOS update, which is version 7.1.2. My device indicates that the IOS is up to date with the latest version. All my other apps are working fine and they all continue to update regularly, including Gospel Library. This is the only app that has any difficulties, and the problem isn't with the app itself, it's only with the synchronization feature.
Last edited by stevebenard on Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:35 pm, edited 4 times in total.
stevebenard
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Re: Sync setting

#29

Post by stevebenard »

In uninstalling and reinstalling the app, there is a real risk. I would lose all my bookmarks and personalizations, including notes, since this problem arose. So if someone else says that it made no difference, it doesn't make logical sense to take that risk of losing all that work and effort, when someone else's experience has already indicated that it was to no avail.

Wouldn't it make more sense to work to localize the problem and rectify it so that all the app's functions work according to design, rather than recommend a path that others have tried, that failed to rectify the problem, and that would cause a loss of important personal data?

I'm not trying to be a gadfly here, but that just seems to be the logical course to rectify the problem, especially since there is a group of us that are experiencing the same malady that initiated itself almost simultaneously for all of us.
stevebenard
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Re: Sync setting

#30

Post by stevebenard »

I just searched the Wiki for the search term "site:tech.lds.org/wiki". That yielded no useful results either. Neither did the search term "iphone won't synchronize". (Sigh!)

Seriously, folks, perhaps it's time to really use the tool of prayer to try to find the answer to this dilemma. The Lord knows what the problem is, and how to fix it. Perhaps we should be asking Him to help us! Some earnest prayer, with a dose of faith, has brought miracles greater than this one in times past. :)
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