Google Calendar

Recently, my iPhone refused to synchronise with my Microsoft Outlook calendar (or is it the other way round?) and it certainly caused much inconvenience, as I couldn't check my schedule without my laptop.  A quick search on Google showed that this was a common problem without any concrete solutions. After trying countless measures in vain - restarting my laptop, restarting my iPhone, repairing iTunes, reinstalling iTunes, changing Outlook settings, changing iTunes settings - I decided to try using Google Calendars. And it worked perfectly - even better than before. Previously I could only sync my phone by plugging it manually to my laptop. But now, it could be done wirelessly and automatically. Additionally, I could now send calendar invites and view event invitees, which was impossible before.

Here is what I did. 

Step 1: Sign up for a Google account and get a Google Calendar. 

Step 2: Install the Google Calendar Sync program on the computer (with Microsoft Outlook).

Step 3: Once Google Calendar Sync is installed, a Google Calendar Sync settings window will appear. Enter your Gmail and password, select the 2-way sync option (if you want to sync both your Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook events with each other), select a time interval for syncing (I used 10 minutes), then click on 'Save'. Google Calendar will start syncing with your Outlook calendar, and this process may take several minutes.

Step 4: Now that Outlook is in sync with Google Calendar, it is time to sync the iPhone with Google Calendar. On the iPhone, go to Settings --> Mail, Contacts, Calendars --> Add Account --> Microsoft Exchange. 

Step 5: Key in your Gmail, user name and password, then press 'Next'. You will be prompted to enter a server name. Key in m.google.com and proceed.

Step 6: I disabled the Mail and Contacts option because I didn't need them. Then press 'Sync'. Your iPhone calendar will then be populated with all your calendar events in a short while. 

Step 7: Make sure that under Settings --> Mail, Contacts, Calendars --> Fetch New Data --> Push should be on so that changes will be synced to your phone faster. And it's done. 

So what happens when you update your calendar on...

......your Outlook? Google Calendar Sync will sync (depending on your time interval syncing settings) with Outlook, and this will then get pushed immediately to your iPhone.

......your Google Calendar? This will get pushed immediately to your iPhone. Outlook will only sync after Google Calendar Sync runs. 

......your iPhone? This will be synced with Google Calendar immediately. Outlook will only sync after Google Calendar Sync runs.

Hmm... it's interesting that this process involves all the 3 IT heavyweight companies - Microsoft, Apple, and Google.