BlueSoleil - Sony Ericsson PC Suite.
roxburd 1 posts since Nov 20, 2010
I just spent most of the day getting the PC Suite (6.011.00) to work with IVT BlueSoleil. So here's how I got it to work.
I wanted to use Bluetooth but my laptop doesn't have BT so I got the BlueSoleil USB dongle.
Basically, Windows failed to install the BlueSoleil device properly yesterday so I ran the BlueSoleil setup.exe. BIG MISTAKE. PC Suite couldn't see Bluetooth at all. But the BlueSoleil app could do file transfer etc. So the bluetooth pairing/connection etc. was working for BlueSoleil's app but the Sony Ericsson PC Suite couldn't access it at all.
Sony Ericsson support were totally useless - they refused to provide any troubleshooting at all for the problem because they don't make the BT dongle.
And they wouldn't even recommend a BT dongle that they know to work.
Anyway, after much cursing and rebooting, here's what worked: Don't run BlueSoleil's setup.exe !! I uninstalled the IVT BlueSoleil software and uninstalled the BT Radios from the Device Manager. I then rebooted and plugged the dongle in. Windows attempted an install and most of it succeeded but a couple of bits (BT peripheral or something failed). Then the Windows Control Panel / Bluetooth Devices could see my C510. Then running PC Suite allowed it to see BT and go right through to connect to the phone, etc.
Generated by Jive SBS on 2011-06-07+01:00 1
Hope that might save someone a few hours. [Oh, and Sony Ericsson, if you read this - how about banging it in your knowledge base so you can support your customers?]
Let me know if that's helped! Dave
Dr_Chris 4,965 posts since Aug 16, 2010 1. Re: BlueSoleil - Sony Ericsson PC Suite compatibility Nov 20, 2010 4:07 PM
You can also use the BT Serial port service to connect your phone to the PC via the BT dongle.Once this connection is established, open up PC suite and after a couple of minutes it will automatically connect to the phone.I did this using PC with Vista OS, Bluesoleil dongle and the W995.
soumikray 1 posts since Feb 24, 2011 2. Re: BlueSoleil - Sony Ericsson PC Suite compatibility Feb 24, 2011 9:25 PM
This absolutely works. It works a 100%. Thanks for sharing the info.
Dr_Chris 4,965 posts since Aug 16, 2010 3. Re: BlueSoleil - Sony Ericsson PC Suite compatibility Feb 24, 2011 10:06 PM

No worries.

Generated by Jive SBS on 2011-06-07+01:00 2

PC Companion - FAIL

erangi 1 posts since Apr 17, 2011
I've followed PC Suite's recommendation, and upgraded to PC Companion. What a bad move:
1. BLOATWARE. Installation takes hours. App is full of useless toys. While installing the Media Go thing, I was asked to approve the installation of QuickTime. I declined, which caused the whole installation to fail. Who needs that ****?? 2. On the system tray menu, there's no shortcut to the phone synchronization. I don't know what today's kids are doing when their phones are connected to their computer, but I usually just want it to be synchronized with Outlook. Why should I have to go through all those stages just to get this very simple task done? And where has the silent synchronization gone? 3. Actually, #2 doesn't matter that much. I was able to synchronize my contacts, but not the calendar. Additional error details contained nothing, of course.
I really like my SE phone. Its usability is fantastic, and I'll happilly get another SE when I get tired of this one. But the accompanying software resembles the bloatware that comes with digital cameras (which I never bother to install). I assume there are some ways I could have made PC Companion work better for me, but why should I spend my time on that? I just want things to work. I program for a living. Debugging my own code is enough.
Bottom line: I've uninstalled PC Companion, and went back to good old PC Suite. For now, this should be enough. In the future, if SE don't get it together, it might be the reason for me to get another vendor's phone.
Tags: software, pc_suite, pc_companion
Dr_Chris 4,965 posts since Aug 16, 2010 1. Re: PC Companion - FAIL May 8, 2011 4:26 PM
Generated by Jive SBS on 2011-06-07+01:00 1
If you want a user-friendly synchronisation application for your SE phone, then try My Phone Explorer.It's free to use and lets you do things such as restore messages back to the phone, which PC suite/Companion don't allow.
pangolin 2 posts since May 11, 2011 2. Re: PC Companion - FAIL May 11, 2011 4:47 PM
I am with erangi. All I want to do is synch with Outlook, and occasionally copy media/picture files one way or the other. The old package did it fine.
The PC Companion includes all sorts of things I don't want, is fiddley and slow to synch and I still haven't worked out how to alter the settings, tries and fails to install a driver I dont want every time I start it, won't open the file manager at all, and just to add insult to injury, it has somehow created a recurring reminder that I cannot get rid of.
SO is there actually some useful Help info somewhere (because I haven't found it), or how easy is it to remove the PC Companion and go back to the old Synch software?
Dr_Chris 4,965 posts since Aug 16, 2010 3. Re: PC Companion - FAIL May 11, 2011 5:05 PM
I suggest you re-download PC suite from the SE website or use My Phone Explorer.You can have both PC suite and PC Companion installed on your PC, although you can only synchronise with one at a time.
pangolin 2 posts since May 11, 2011 4. Re: PC Companion - FAIL May 12, 2011 10:48 AM
Thanks. Have managed to download and reinstall PC Suite (although it promptly tried to update to Companion). Functionality restored - breathes sigh of relief. Now have updates turned off, which leaves me slightly worried on what might happen in the future, but hopefully a few releases down the line they might have sorted the bugs out. PC Companion definitely needs better management, customisation and help facilities before I would consider using it again.
Generated by Jive SBS on 2011-06-07+01:00 2
One of the things that attracted me to SE phones in the first place was the effective interface with PCs, compared to some others which were frankly useless in the past. Recent experience is that competitors are getting better, and SE is in danger of losing the plot.
Dr_Chris 4,965 posts since Aug 16, 2010 5. Re: PC Companion - FAIL May 12, 2011 3:34 PM
Yeah, PC Companion certainly needs improvement and having looked into it's features, there's nothing it can do that PC suite can't.In fact whereas with PC suite you can access the File manager via Bluetooth, with PC Companion you can't and you need a USB connection.The only positive thing about PC companion is its more user-friendly interface but other than that, it fails to deliver anything new, such as for example,being able to restore text messages back to the phone, something which a third party app such as MPE, makes possible.
goldenhornet 3 posts since May 13, 2011 6. Re: PC Companion - FAIL May 18, 2011 7:57 PM
I just had to register to the forums to agree with this, the new software is a complete waste.
When I plug my phone in I just want to sync with Outlook, preferably silently. I don't need the app popping back up out of the system tray and annoying me.

Even PC Suite managed to do this most of the time without screwing it up.

Sorry SE.total fail.

Generated by Jive SBS on 2011-06-07+01:00 3