We had mentioned earlier that we were working on fixing mail sync. issues that were reported by some of you. Here’s some good news! We rolled out a fix last week on our servers that fixes the issue where mail sync. fails with the error message "There is a problem with the server. Please try again later."
To get this goodness, you don’t need any kind of update or change on the device – just use Windows Live for Windows Mobile as before and you should see mail sync. work reliably. If you had disabled synchronizing your Windows Live Hotmail due to this issue, we recommend that you turn it back on to keep getting your mail on the move.
Thanks for your patience while we worked this out and we apologize again for the inconvenience caused by this issue. Please do let us know if you have any issues using Windows Live for Windows Mobile. Thanks for your continued support and let’s stay connected through Windows Live for Windows Mobile!
Ram
Some of you have reported issues with syncing your Hotmail on your mobile using our latest Windows Live for Windows Mobile client. The error message reported on the client says: "There is a problem with the server. Please try again later."
We have investigated this issue and have identified the root cause. We are working hard towards a solution and will keep you updated on our progress. In the meantime, you can try the following work-around as suggested in our release notes:
Try moving messages out of your inbox (or folder that fails to sync.) into a different folder that is not being synced with your mobile, then try syncing on your mobile again.
We are aware that this issue causes a lot of pain to those affected by it. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your continued support while we improve our service.
Hello all! We're simultaneously fresh and exhausted from the first public release of Windows Live for Windows Mobile (visit http://wl.windowsmobile.com on your mobile browser) aimed at users who do not already have this on their device. We have seen some great feedback from customers all over and wanted to address some of the confusion around the nature of this release.
This release is not intended as an update to the existing version on your device. For those that are encountering or installing this product for the first time, it should truly be a delightful experience (or we're not doing our jobs) -- push Hotmail, Windows Live contacts on your device, and uploading pictures to your Space. Several of you that have already used this product in a previous incarnation or already have it on your phones, however, are asking us:
Where in the world is Windows Live Messenger?
With the rising popularity of staying connected in general, and mobile instant messaging in particular, operators now typically have their own plans for how they offer such services (including Windows Live Messenger), and so we consciously excluded Messenger from the publicly available download so as to not conflict with those plans.
But I already have Messenger on my phone, which means it was once OK to release it. Why does your "upgrade" not include it then?
Ok, here's the deal: Mobile operators typically work with OEMs (such as HTC or Samsung) to select specific devices with specific features that make business sense. Windows Live for Windows Mobile is one such feature. It is entirely likely you may have bought a cool-awesome phone that included the complete version of Windows Live for Windows Mobile, including Messenger. This release is aimed at those unlike you who do not already own such a device.
If these "newer bits" do not include Messenger, why won't the old version show through?
This is partly for business reasons and partly for technical ones. Your prior "installation" of Windows Live for Windows Mobile with Messenger may actually have been burned in ROM, and the new version without Messenger that you are installing over this is a downloadable one with an installer. The newer version of the product may have changes to underlying functionality that are incompatible with the old version of Messenger installed in ROM. There are also technical challenges (outside the scope of this poor blog entry) in mixing in-ROM files with files in user memory. Finally, there is still the business conflict issue mentioned above.
Well, I installed the new version over my old one, and now need to uninstall it so I can use Messenger. What do I do?
If your old install was a ROM-based one that came with your device, you should simply be able to navigate to Start->Settings->Remove Programs and select "Windows Live" to uninstall the new product. You may be asked to reboot your phone in the process, and if not, may want to just in case. After this, you should see an icon for Messenger under Programs as before, like so: 
So then what type of release is this anyway?
This is fundamentally a release to enable those without a device containing Windows Live for Windows Mobile pre-installed to get a taste of the functionality -- Hotmail, Contacts and Spaces (but not Messenger). It also contains some bug fixes to support and perform better on the newer crop of Windows Mobile devices.
Am I missing out on core new Hotmail/Contacts/Spaces functionality by NOT upgrading?
Most certainly not. If you have a newer Windows Mobile device containing Windows Live in ROM, it is very likely that you already have what you need. If you find that you are facing issues with any of these services using the version currently on your phone, please contact your mobile operator directly, or Microsoft Support at http://support.live.com.
I installed this on my Yodafone Jedi device and now it does not not work. What gives?
With the never-ending stream of newer and hotter Windows Mobile devices cropping up (a good thing!), we're on our toes to ensure that our product works on every one of them. Thus it is entirely likely that you are encountering a device-specific issue that we have not seen before. Please contact your mobile operator directly, or Microsoft Support at http://support.live.com for help with the issue.
Where's Calendar support?
This will likely happen in a future release. You can be sure you will hear more right here on this blog when it's time. Or not. We can't really say.
Wait no more! The latest bits for Windows Live Client for your Windows Mobile are available for download. To get yours now, point your mobile browser to http://wl.windowsmobile.com
If you have Windows Live already installed on your device, you will need to uninstall it first. To do that, go to Settings->Remove Programs, select Windows Live entry from the list (if any) and click Remove. If you don’t find Windows Live on the list, then you are good to go.
With Windows Live client you will be able to:
- Synchronize Live contacts with your contacts on the device
- Synchronize your Live email (msn, hotmail, live)
- View graphics, web links and contact photos in emails
- Respond to emails with voice recordings
- Upload photos to your Windows Live Spaces
Please Note that this package does not include Instant Messenger as part of it. If you have an older version on your phone with IM then installing this package will disable IM. To enable it again, you will need to go back to the older version by removing this package.
Go ahead, give it a try and let us know what you think!
I know you must be asking this question so as others in several blogs that I ran into. Well, the good news is that people who downloaded the CAB and used the client liked it and told their friends, colleagues, strangers, then wrote blog posts! … that’s just great and we are very excited about reaching new users via a download. With more people using the client we received few reports from people who ran into problems on their devices especially newer ones with faster processors. Basically the device appears to hang after installing the client. Now that’s bad news for us. This is our first time releasing the client as a direct download rather than working with manufacturers and operators as they develop their devices. Despite our best efforts to ensure smooth operation of the client on as many devices as we possibly can test, we found there were more device-specific differences affecting the downloadable version of Windows Live for Windows Mobile than we had predicted.
Since we cannot let our users run into these issues, we decided to pull off the package from the download site and investigate further.
Well, to give you a quick update: You are not going to wait much longer to get the new version of the client! Wahoo! We are in the final stage of testing and expect to be ready to make the client available for download by early July.
Thanks to all of you for your interest and feedback. We love to hear from you.
Interesting new statistics that shows IM is getting increasingly popular for mobile users, a story on cellular-news have all the details.
It seems to me as a logical evolution for text messaging on mobile phones so nothing comes as a surprise here. The trick is for carriers to change their business model to adapt to the new realities which I think they are doing now given the new all-in-one plans that Sprint and Verizon have started offering recently. It is a sign of changing times and very good thing for all of us, consumers!
to Windows Live for Windows Mobile team blog. You might be wondering what a team with this long name do exactly. Well, we are the guys and gals who build a very rich client for Windows Live services which includes, profile, contacts, mail, Messenger and Spaces. The client is not new and many many people are using it today as it comes pre-installed on many devices. This is different from the WAP interface though. If you are not sure if your phone has it, navigate to the programs screen and look for Windows Live icon or Messenger icon.
While our mobile client application is not new, this blog is. As a team we want to connect with our users and thought to just start a blog and share thoughts and information with you about many aspects of the product as well as other mobile applications that are very useful for mobile consumers.
In the next few weeks we will bring you lots of exciting posts that will help you make the best out of the live mobile client. In addition, we love to hear from you on what you think. Stay tuned.
