Problems keeping phone paired to SYNC
 

Just bought a 2010 XLT Screw and love the truck but my Motorola Tundra phone won't stay paired to SYNC. I checked Sync-My-Ride and a lot of people are having issues with this phone and many others. My Motorola is supposed to be on the list of approved phones but there is a definite problem. It is intermittent with no clear pattern of why Sync drops the phone. It will pair up then drop it right away or drop it a couple hours later. The next day it will mysteriously be paired, then later Sync will lose it. I've done a complete deletion of the phone and address book from Sync, pulled the battery on the phone to reboot, and its still screwed up.
Has anyone else here experienced this issue and were you able to come up with a solution?

Try a master reset, pairing your phone, then turning off phonebook auto download, and see if it helps.

If it does, then you can use the Syncmyphone app to create and upload your phonebook via USB flash drive.

That's an interesting problem, I've actually not heard of it but it sounds like many are experiencing it. I've heard that some people have issues because their particular phone is not "always visible" on the Bluetooth settings. I wonder if that's a possibility? I set my phone to that always visible setting and it consistently works. Maybe it's intermittent because of the actual Bluetooth availability?

I have a Motorola ROKR and had a similar problem at first. In SYNC it was set to automatically upload my phonebook each time I connected. I turned this feature to off and it doesn't seem to have the problem anymore. Hope this helps you.

Does sync save the phonebook anyway? Is this why the automatic upload can be turned off?

If you do a master reset, it will clear the phonebook.

If you simply turn auto download off, it should save the phonebook (version will be the same as your last connection), but any changes you make in your phone will not update until you either use Syncmyphone or manually download the phonebook (using the Sync screen/options).

A little confused with this. After I do a Master Reset do I need to go online to get an app to reload in Sync, then pair my phone? How do I manually reload the phonebook?

The master reset will completely erase your phone, any media player indexes, phonebook, jukebox, and all settings. This would be used when selling a vehicle to clear all personal data.

Do you have Nav? If so, the phone screen has a settings, advanced settings, phonebook auto download On/Off option. There is also an option to manually download the phonebook.

The Syncmyphone application is completely separate and will allow users to download their phonebook (can be created in Outlook) if their phone doesn't support phonebook download.

I do not have Nav. Now that I'm running Windows 7 I don't have Outlook either.
From what I've read about master reset it will clean everything in Sync and reset to factory settings.

I had the problem of SYNC dropping my LG phone every few days. Sometimes it reappeared and sometimes it did not until I reinstalled it. I wrote syncmyride about it and this was their reply:
"Thank you for your inquiry in regards to using a mobile phone with SYNC.

Often this happens when the mobile phone has not been turned off for several days. Please power phone off, remove battery for 15 seconds, and place battery back in phone, power phone back up. Once phone is on, pair phone to SYNC. If this corrects the issue, please power phone off once a day.

Sincerely,

Harry
Ford Motor Company
SYNC Support Center "
I have been turning my phone off, then back on every couple of days and have not had a problem since I started doing that.
Hope this helps you. Otherwise, go to Official Ford SYNC Site - Voice Activated Calling, Navigation, & Music | FordVehicles.com and log in and send them a note. They respond quickly. You can also do some cool stuff-download software updates and put in some shortcuts for using the free turn by turn navigation.

I love the SYNC system for more than the phone and music. The Mrs. was talking about a navigation system and SNC has it. Free for three years and then it is just $60 a year after that. It uses GPS (either in the truck or your phone, not sure which) to give you turn by turn. I figure that saved my a few hundred plus it does not add another piece of gear to keep track of in her Focus.

You're correct on the master reset (just like I said above).

There must be a way to turn off the phonebook auto download (in a system without the Nav). Try that and see if your phone stays connected.

If it does, you'll just have to remember to manually download the phonebook (you'll have to research the manual for that one too) each time you make a change to the phonebook.

Good luck!

Sound like a standard line. This is the response I received from sync-my-ride.

Thank you for your email in regards to SYNC.

We have seen this happen with a few phones.

Remove the battery from the phone for 30 seconds. Place the battery back in the phone and power the phone back on. This should correct this issue.

We suggest powering the phone off daily for 5-10 minutes if keeping the Bluetooth function enabled in the phone at all times. This will keep the phone's Bluetooth chip functioning properly.

Sincerely,

Lena
Ford Motor Company
SYNC Support Center


I of course have done this already. Pulled the battery twice and the cell is shut off every night. Can't wait to hear what they'll say now.

Yes, master reset clears everything. I wouldn't go that drastic. When I've had problems I just go on the "Phone" SYNC menu and delete that paired phone, also delete sync from your phone then repair like you did originally. It will ask if you want this to be your primary phone and if you want to download your phonebook, which you do. Just set the auto downloads to off. You can always update the phonebook manually later if you have changes to your phonebook. Somehow the auto downloads interrupt calls and disconnects the phone so you are better off not having it do that. If should work fine after that. Hope this helps.

Tried your suggestion.
After deleting the phone I re-paired. Once I downloaded the phonebook it asked for "Auto-download yes?". However sync would not let me choose "no". Only "yes". Its working now, but since I have gone this route before I don't expect this to work. We'll see.

You should be able to switch this to no. Try to go back into it by pushing "Menu" then the arrow until it shows "phone" sync or something like that, press "okay" and the option to change auto-download to no should be there somewhere. Sorry this isn't exact, but its hard to remember without being right in front of it. If you look in the Sync manual it should tell you the steps exactly. I think unless you change the auto-download to "no" you will probably encounter the problem again. Good luck!