SmartSwitch quit allowing Outlook sync

[BrianHart]

This has happened before on an auto-update of Samsung Smart Switch: I am prompted for the update, and when the update is done, Smart Switch comes up prompting me to transfer data from one phone to another. But that is not why I use Smart Switch; I use it for the sole purpose of synchronizing Outlook contacts and calendar.

Now, as soon as I open Smart Switch on my Galaxy, it comes up with "Transfer your data" & "what should your phone do?", but the only two options are Send data and Receive data, and when I select Receive data, it asks me what my old device is: Galaxy or iPhone/iPad.

I have fought this before, and if I remove SmartSwitch and reinstall, then I am stuck manually removing all those leftover contacts & calendar items from the Galaxy before I next sync with SmartSwithc, because it is not that good at duplicate-avoidance.

The only other option is Backup/Restore, and the menu brings up only Transfer result and Settings. And Settings provides no way to configure for Outlook sync. And when I open Smart Switch on my PC, I get a message that I need to update the Smart Switch app on the connected device.

 

[mikedt]

Outlook has it's own syncing options via Office 365 etc.? That's how it use it.

The main premise of Smart Switch is to backup, restore, and transfer complete data between Samsung and other devices, rather than syncing one particular app.

 

[BrianHart]

Outlook does not provide any native way to synchronize with my phone. All my contacts are in Outlook on my computer, and Smart Switch does have an Outlook sync option. I have been synchronizing my Contacts and Calendar (one way) from computer to Android since I got the phone about three years ago. I do not run Outlook on the phone, and I did not say I have Office365. In fact, I have a POP mailbox and am running the Outlook desktop app on my computer, with all emails, contacts, & calendar stored appropriately in a .pst file there.

How, exactly, do you synchronize between the Outlook desktop app on your computer and your Android?

 

[BrianHart]

Does anyone have an actual answer here?

I use Outlook on my desktop PC, and I need to synchronize contacts & calendar from my local Outlook .pst file to my Galaxy A51. Smart Switch used to do that but quit doing it in the last automatic update, and I cannot get the old version back. My contacts and calendar are not, and will not be, synchronized to any online account. I need direct USB PC-to-Android contact sync.

 

[dvhttn]

Personally I use MyPhoneExplorer. Used it with Outlook for many years sync'ing contacts and calendar. Now switched to Thunderbird from Outlook but still use MyPhoneExplorer.

 

[BrianHart]

Belated thank you for the tip on MyPhoneExplorer. I have yet to implement it fully (don't want to double up my Android contacts when I do!), but I did install the Windows client on my PC, and it looks like the functionality is what I need. I will try to post back when I have time to implement & synchronize.