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Impossible to resolve desktop hostname

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:38 pm
by Thunder
I got the message "impossible to resolve desktop hostname" when I just tried to sync my phone to my laptop over the air. I was able to sync (over the air) when I first downloaded BirdieSync a few days ago, but it failed today. Sync over USB works fine (so far). On the laptop end, the BirdieSync window says "no mobile device connected". I think I'm still on the free trial period, if that matters.

Details: Laptop -- Sony Vaio VGN-T250P, Windows XP Pro SP3, 1 GB RAM
Thunderbird 7.0.1 with Lightning 1.0b7 add-on
Phone: HTC Sensation 4G (also got a few days ago, so beyond running Android 2.3.4, I don't know much more about it), T-Mobile network (I think this shouldn't matter).
BirdieSync 2.3.6.0 on the laptop and 2.3.5.0 on the phone.
I'm also using a hotel's wifi network (the same one I was using with my first successful sync, and the same one I'm using to write this).

I looked through the FAQ both here and at Birdie's main site and didn't find this topic (or had somehow missed it). Again, I was able to sync over the air once, but not now. Thanks.

Edited to add phone network carrier and Thunderbird/Lightning versions.

Re: Impossible to resolve desktop hostname

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:52 pm
by Birdy
Hello Thunder,

So if I understand well, you are on the same network as the first time you could connect over the air ?
Just to be sure, could you confirm that you were connected over Wi-Fi and not over a cellular connection ?
Does it work if you try to connect with an IP address instead of the desktop hostname ?
When you look at BirdieSync connection settings on your device, is the hostname displayed correctly ? (it was not altered in any way ?)
Can you browse on the net from your Android device when connected over Wi-Fi ?
Thanks.

Re: Impossible to resolve desktop hostname

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 5:42 am
by Thunder
1. Yes, I'm using the same network as the first time (but we won't be able to check this much longer -- I leave the hotel tomorrow).
2. I'm fairly sure that I'm connected over wifi instead of cellular. On my phone settings, under "wireless & networks", wifi is turned on and, for the purposes of this test, mobile network is turned off. As I'm still unfamiliar with this phone, please let me know if there are other ways to make sure that it won't connect to a cellular network.
3. No. Neither IP nor hostname will work.
4. I believe the hostname is displayed correctly. I didn't make any changes since the initial (successful) sync.
5. Web browsing over wifi works fine (assuming I'm properly connected to wifi as per no. 2 above).

I've also shut-down and restarted both the phone and laptop a few times, and it makes no difference.

Re: Impossible to resolve desktop hostname

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 1:47 pm
by Thunder
Well, I'm home now, after staying in a couple of other hotels since my previous post. Wifi sync works fine at home, but I've been unsuccessful at any of the hotels since the first sync. So there's something odd with hotel wifi (I've already clicked past their ToS screens on both the laptop and phone) that I stumbled on initially but can't figure out how to repeat.

Re: Impossible to resolve desktop hostname

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 4:02 pm
by Birdy
It's weird that it didn't work with the IP address either. Couldn't it be a firewall issue ? Your firewall may behave differently if you are on a public network for instance. If you have the problem again, it may be a good idea to temporarily disable your firewall to check if it solves the problem or not.