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Sync won't synchronize my bookmarks.

  • 14 replies
  • 13 have this problem
  • 12 views
  • Last reply by guigs

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In July, I first installed Sync on my PC (Windows 7), my smartphone and my tablet (both Android 4.2.2). It worked perfectly, with all bookmarks, history and tabs synchronized, and proved useful during holidays as I was only left with my Android devices.

I haven't been using Firefox much with my Android devices lately, but yesterday, when I checked their bookmarks, I realized they were out of sync with my PC's bookmarks.

I have been through all the tips offered on this site (unlinking, updating, re-linking...), with limited success : the history of the various devices in synchronized, but NOT the bookmarks.

I tried to create a new account with a new email address, but I am still waiting to receive the email for verification (although the email address works fine). Therefore I have deleted my 'old' account and re-created a new one, with the same email address.

Any clue as to how to synchronize the bookmarks?

In July, I first installed Sync on my PC (Windows 7), my smartphone and my tablet (both Android 4.2.2). It worked perfectly, with all bookmarks, history and tabs synchronized, and proved useful during holidays as I was only left with my Android devices. I haven't been using Firefox much with my Android devices lately, but yesterday, when I checked their bookmarks, I realized they were out of sync with my PC's bookmarks. I have been through all the tips offered on this site (unlinking, updating, re-linking...), with limited success : the history of the various devices in synchronized, but NOT the bookmarks. I tried to create a new account with a new email address, but I am still waiting to receive the email for verification (although the email address works fine). Therefore I have deleted my 'old' account and re-created a new one, with the same email address. Any clue as to how to synchronize the bookmarks?

Chosen solution

As I don't know what an adb log is, I have tried the second option on my phone:

. Clear my account. . Deleted all Firefox data, uninstall Firefox and clean with Clean Master. . Install Firefox Beta . Settings > Customize > Import bookmarks from android (hardly any bookmarks imported) . Sync (no bookmarks added, only my PC's history)

I am going to reinstall Firefox for the time being. Anyhow thanks again for the suggestions.

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All Replies (14)

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Hello,

Sorry to hear about your trouble with the verification email. Can you first double check to make sure it just didn't get sent to spam?

Other users have had this issue, so I have flagged this thread for a member of Mozilla staff - they should get back to you soon.

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Thank you for your answer. I already double-checked the spam box, but never received anything. I asked several times for the verification email to be send again. I tested the address separately, succesfully. So these messages seem lost in the WWW :) .

Therefore, I resorted to re-creating a Sync account with the initial email address. The creation itself worked smoothly, but the bookmarks are still not synchronized.

Incidentally, I noticed that after having deleted and re-created a Sync account, the bookmarks on my PC have been "reorganized", with the newest folders being pushed back to the end of the list.

However, this is not a real issue for me. The real one is the synchronization of the bookmarks between my PC and my Android devices, which was OK in July but is no longer working.

Any help will be much appreciated (I really need to have this feature operational in a week from now!).

Modified by xpd64

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I am wondering if your devices are still on the old sync:

Unfortunately, my knowledge of the inner workings of Firefox Sync is limited, so hopefully someone can steer you the right way if the above articles aren't helpful.

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I have already looked into that :

I deleted the account on Android and when I reinstalled it, all I was asked for was the email address and the password, no fancy code. Hence, as far as I understand, they are no longer on the old Sync.

I read on another post that the migration of existing users to new Sync servers has yet to be done. Could that be a reason for the bug ?

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Potentially you may be able to guess the risks of moving over old accounts, as many have used the same email on the newer sync servers. However I can leave that as a question for the developers or on irc #fxa

Accounts listed in the Android devices will take you to the settings there may be a warning for auto sync needing to be turned on from the data settings page.

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Thanks for your help.

I don't think auto sync is an issue: the synchronization works both ways (PC <-> Android) for tabs and history, BUT not for the bookmarks... and unfortunately that's precisely what I need, i.e. using the bookmarks of my PC on my Android devices.

As for using a different email address, I have tried it (new address hosted on a different ISP), but as explained previously, I have yet to receive the verification email for it (the new email address itself works OK). I switched back to the previous address and then received the verification email from Firefox Accounts, which proves that Firefox Accounts is not sent to spam. Therefore, I am confused as well on this issue.

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Some progress... but still not what I want.

I managed to create a new Sync account with a new email address. Therefore I understand that I am definitely on the new Sync servers. However, whilst the history and the tabs are synchronized, the bookmarks are still out of sync...

Anyone else having this problem?

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xpd64 there were some reports of this and I believe they are still investigating some of the causes. If you are up for some more troubleshooting * How do I turn on sync logs:

  1. Open about:config and turn on: services.sync.log.appender.file.logOnSuccess and services.sync.log.logger.engine.bookmarks
  2. Restart Firefox and look at: about:sync-log
  3. Logs and error messages will be located here

Please also use pastebin.mozilla.org for sharring any errors that relate to this issue.

Thank you.

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Thank you for your help.

I have to admit that I don't understand what I am doing, but I am following your recommendations (I hope I am using pastebin properly... please confirm). More importantly I hope this helps in debugging.

Thanks again for your support.

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xpd64 you will have to post the pastebin link in the comment, :-) thank you btw.

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My apologies, I guess by now that everyone knows I just can't qualify as a geek... :) I hope this time I am doing it OK. There you go (and again thanks for the help!):

http://pastebin.mozilla.org/7359374

Modified by xpd64

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So the suspicion is that there may be a corrupt bookmark in the Android profile. To find out which one an adb log would be needed, however it may also be easier to start over if all of the bookmarks are on the PC from the last recorded sync.

A really weird workaround may be to remove the account temporarily, and install Firefox Beta, import bookmarks from the device. Settings > Customize > Import from android (However I tried this and worked but may need confirmation from you) and this may not correct the corrupt bookmark.

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Chosen Solution

As I don't know what an adb log is, I have tried the second option on my phone:

. Clear my account. . Deleted all Firefox data, uninstall Firefox and clean with Clean Master. . Install Firefox Beta . Settings > Customize > Import bookmarks from android (hardly any bookmarks imported) . Sync (no bookmarks added, only my PC's history)

I am going to reinstall Firefox for the time being. Anyhow thanks again for the suggestions.

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No problem and I think I will use more pictures in the future. I will mark your response as the solution for now, however if it happens again, the forum is happy to help.