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How to sync Firefox and the iPhone

First reported 1130 days ago in Version .9940 Version: .9940 Browser: Firefox 3.0

I have downloaded the RIL app to Firefox and my iPhone but I can't get the two to sync.

I can see the pages on Firefox, but no luck on my iphone.

posted by Amisha
  • Nate

    Hey Amisha

    There are a few things we can try to figure out where the problem is.

    The first is just to make sure you are logged into the same account on both Firefox and your iPhone.

    Try the following:
    -Open Firefox
    -Open your reading list and click the Options link in Read It Later.
    -Open the RSS/Syncing Tab
    -Make sure 'save my list online' and syncing are both turned on
    -If it is not, enable it and click 'setup sync'. Select the first option, 'I am syncing for the first time'.
    -It will then show you a username and password

    -Open Read It Later on your iPhone
    -Open the options and select 'logout'
    -Select 'I already use read it later'
    -Enter the username and password shown in Firefox

    -Now sync Firefox
    -After it's done syncing click 'what to do if still out of sync'
    -Click 'Hard Sync', wait about a minute.
    -Then sync your iPhone

    If nothing still shows up on your phone, send me your username (you can enter it in the private information box below).

    Thanks!

    Nate

    Posted Apr 13 09 reply
    • Carole

      Trying to sync 3 devices
      I use Firefox Read It Later @ work on XP
      I use Firefox Read It Later @ Home on Mac
      Just downloaded Read It Later + Read It Later Pro to iphone
      Trying to sync all 3 but iphone only picked up a few links form work. Home links are still just home links
      Trying to find setup on iphone for RSS Synching with other computers    Private comment hidden

      Posted Apr 28 09 Browser: Firefox 3.0 reply
      • Nate

        Hey Carole,

        If you login to http://readitlaterlist.com/l you can see what the server has listed for your provided account. I only see 5 items. Are you using the same account on all of the devices?

        If you open Firefox on each computer and click 'RSS Feed' at the top, can you send me the URL it brings you to (on each computer)? (You can provide it in the private information box below)

        Posted Apr 29 09 reply
        • Carole

          Listing below my "RSS feed" URL from home & from work which are both different from the ones I sent you. Appears I have 3 accounts with 3 different lists??    Private comment hidden

          Posted Apr 29 09 reply
          • Nate

            Hey Carole

            Check out this thread on how to merge your accounts into one:

            http://www.ideashower.com/support/read-it-later/how-exactly-do-i-set-up-synching/

            Posted Apr 30 09 reply
            • Carole

              Thank you so much. I was able to merge 2 of the accounts. My questions noe is the 2 successful merges are using account #s I want to change to the one with my name in it. As it is now, that's the one you 1st saw when you opened it with 5 listings. I don't care about those listings but that is the name & password I would like to use for the work & home accounts & then download into iphone. I was going to go ahead and do a nmae / password change but thought I better check with you 1st so I am NOT diggin a deeper whole for myself. :)

              Posted Apr 30 09 reply
              • Carole

                Sorry, Either it's too early or coffee not kicking in.

                Logging into the one I want as my main would need nothing for me to change since it's already the feed ID / password I want. So, I merged from account #2 or #3 to new account (the main I want to use that had 5 listings) & now all 3 accounts are identical. I just no longer want to use account #2 + #3 any longer & use my main everywhere (home, work & iPhone) or delete accounts #2 + #3 if need be. ????

                Posted May 1 09 reply
            • Nate

              Login to the account you want to make your new main account:
              http://readitlaterlist.com/l

              Then go to the account settings page and update your username:
              http://readitlaterlist.com/pass

              You'll need to update the Firefox extension to now sync to that username and password.

              You can do this under the sync options by clicking the 'Sync to a different account' button.

              Let me know if you run into any trouble!

              Posted May 1 09 reply
    • DJ

      I'm also having this problem syncing Firefox and an iPod touch. I've tried your advice, including the hard sync, with no success. What's the next step I should take?

      Posted Aug 11 09 Browser: Firefox 3.5 reply
    • Jordan

      Having the same problem, despite already having taken all the steps above: iphone app just reads "No items in Reading List."    Private comment hidden

      Posted Aug 12 09 Browser: Firefox 3.0 reply
      • Nate

        Hey Jordan

        Open the iPhone app and open the options. If you scroll down it should say 'Logged in as [username you provided]' Is that the username displayed there?

        If so, try logging out and relogging in again.

        Posted Aug 12 09 reply
        • Jordan

          Logging out and reloggin in worked, thanks!

          Posted Aug 13 09 reply
  • Amisha

    I followed all the steps and it works!

    Thank you!

    Posted Apr 13 09 Version: .9940 Browser: Firefox 3.0 reply
  • Pavel Savchenko

    hey i followed the steps and nothing appears on my iphone.. i do have foxmarks in firefox but i should have duplicates not empty lists :P    Private comment hidden

    Posted Apr 22 09 Version: 0.9941 Browser: Firefox 3.0 reply
    • Nate

      Hey Pavel

      I see 9 items saved to your online list, so you should be getting at least those on your iPhone. Did you use the provided ff username when you logged into the phone? Also, did you log into the phone using a different username first? (prior to trying the steps above)

      Posted Apr 22 09 reply
  • Pavel Savchenko

    Ok, my mistake, I didn't wait enough after hard sync. I tried it again and this time it worked perfect.

    Thanks for the help!

    Pavel

    Posted Apr 22 09 reply
  • JENNIFER


       Private comment hidden

    Posted Apr 23 09 reply
  • Chris

    Hi,

    I started using RIL from my iPhone, marking pages for later.

    I then reinstalled RIL as a FF addon.

    I tried the above instructions to get the two lists synched, but it has yet to work. I have one list on my FF, and a different list on the same account login on my iPhone.

    Thanks for a great app and the help.    Private comment hidden

    Posted Apr 28 09 Browser: Firefox 3.1 reply
    • Nate

      Hey Chris

      In Firefox, if you open your reading list and click 'RSS Feed', can you send me the URL it takes you to?

      Thanks!

      Posted Apr 29 09 reply
  • Chris

    Hi Nate,

    Thanks for looking into this. https://readitlaterlist.com/users/5511aa2b

    BTW, my twitter @add2readitlater posts don't seem to be in either my FF or iP stream.

    Chris

    Posted Apr 29 09 reply
  • Nate

    Hey Chris, it sounds like your Firefox add-on is not syncing with your username, it's instead syncing with the account 5511aa2b.

    Try the following:
    -Open Firefox
    -Open your reading list and click the Options link in Read It Later.
    -Open the RSS/Syncing Tab

    -Make sure 'save my list online' and syncing are both turned on
    -If it is not, enable it and click 'setup sync'. Select the first option, 'I already have the username and password I want to sync to'.
    -Enter your username and password

    -If it's already showing you a username and password, click the Sync to a Different Account button

    -Save the changes

    -Follow the steps listed in the first post above for doing a hard sync.

    Posted Apr 30 09 reply
  • Chris

    Hi Nate,

    I tried all the directions, right through the hard sync. I'm stumped.

    When i click on 'online access' inside the upper right RIL icon, it takes me to the list that is synced via my iphone, which is byrnegreen. However, items that I sync via the same FF client go to the list inside the icon, which is 5511aa2b)

    I uninstalled RIL hoping I could simply enter byrnegreen as the new account (and manually add the few items from the other account, but RIL just repopulated the icon link with the same list (5511aa2b) and still links to the other (byrnegreen) list...

    confused? me too. figured this was either a bug or an ID 10 T error worthy of your attention.

    I have a screen shot of the dueling accounts, if you send me a direct email to get it to you...

    Posted Apr 30 09 Browser: Firefox 3.0 reply
  • Chris

    Nate,

    I finally got it, and it was an ID 10 T error on my side, but something you may want to address nonetheless.

    When I was trying to change the user on the FF plugin, I was using the incorrect PW and so it was not changing the user... but (and here's where you come in) I didn't realize it was because of an incorrect PW, b/c it simply closed the screen. When the user didn't change (and no error message was delivered) I figured it was a bug that was not allowing the change.

    The good news is, I am syncing! Thanks, and sorry for the inconvenience but hopefully one that will improve the UI.

    Chris

    Posted May 1 09 reply
  • Erica

    Thanks Nate, I have a Touch, and logging out and back in again worked for me.

    Posted May 5 09 Browser: Firefox 3.0 reply
  • Adam

    I use the firefox extension on several computers. It marks items as read OK (and syncs them), but when I add new items to my list, they never get synchronized with the online list unless I do a hard sync. Is this normal? All of my computers act this way...

    Posted May 11 09 Version: Latest Browser: Firefox 3.1 reply
    • Nate

      Hey Adam

      It shouldn't have to be that way. Can you email me your username to RIL@ideashower.com? Thanks!

      Posted May 12 09 reply
  • Adam

    FYI, It appears that removing the tag I was setting on bookmark save ("Automatically add tags to new items" setting) has fixed my issue with bookmarks not being saved without a hard sync.

    Posted Jun 12 09 reply
    • ChrisS

      Wow, i'm not sure how you managed to figure that one out, Adam, but I appreciate you posting it! I had the same problem ... ReadItLater only worked with a hard sync, and new items added from Firefox did not sync to my online list.

      Once I removed the "Automatically add tags to new items" setting, everything worked! Now new items show up both online and on my iPod Touch.

      Posted Nov 20 09 Version: 0.9948 Browser: Firefox 3.5 reply
  • Chris

    Hey Nate--

    Never had probs before with syncing between FF on PC, FF on Mac, and iPhone. The other day I switched to a new profile on FF on the PC and re-installed the ReadItLater AddOn, and now it won't sync with my iPhone.

    I've tried re-installing, logging out/in, and hard syncs. Most recently I wiped all the data from the ReadItLater website, so now the website shows a blank list, while my FF browser on the PC still shows 13 items. No matter how much I sync, they don't show up online or on the iPhone now.
       Private comment hidden

    Posted Jul 30 09 Version: Firefox 3.0.12 / Read it Later 0.9947 Browser: Firefox 3.0 reply
    • Nate

      Hey Chris,

      Curious, if you still have access to the old profile, does it still function there?

      Do you have other add-ons installed? Only time I've ever seen this before was an incompatibility issue with another add-on. You might want to try disabling the other addons.

      Try checking the error console for error messages:

      Try the following:
      - Open the error console (Under Tools->Error Console->Errors Tab)
      - Clear it
      - Try to save a page to your list, wait a few seconds
      - Do any errors appear?
      - Try doing a sync
      - Do any errors appear?

      Posted Jul 31 09 reply
      • Chris

        It was indeed an add-on! Specifically, it was Norton IPS 1.0 -- I disabled that and restarted and it's syncing again.

        I don't even know when or how Norton installed this; I know it wasn't there before, and I certainly didn't deliberately add it. Stupid Norton!

        Thanks for the response and suggestions.

        Posted Jul 31 09 reply
  • Stuart Carlow

    I have marked several pages for RIL in Firefox 3.5.2. Not exactly sure how to sync my iTouch gen 2 and download the pages for offline reading, but following your instructions above, RIL on the Touch now shows the list of all of the articles I marked on FF. However, when I try to read them offline, they don't exist on the Touch and I must manually tap Download Web & Text, and then it's queued for download. I thought the download of all marked items was supposed to be automatic. How do I accomplish that?
    ( downloaded RIL on the Touch yesterday -- don't recall the version # but it's the most current; the FF add-on is 0.9947)

    Posted Aug 17 09 Version: See above Browser: Firefox 3.5 reply
  • Dan Acton

    Hi, I was able to use this app on my iphone, but after installing it on firefox, I am only able to add bookmarks through firefox, not safari via iphone. It says that it's saving, but the articles never show up. Any ideas?

    Also, how do I log in to (for example) nytimes.com through readitlater? when I try to enter my information, it doesn't seem to be transmitted, and I have a lot of bookmarklets called "Log in" now. I can get to the articles when online, but not when offline.

    Thanks!!!    Private comment hidden

    Posted Sep 13 09 Version: Latest? Browser: Firefox 3.5 reply
    • Nate

      Hey Dan

      If you open the app on your iPhone and go into the options. Near the bottom it tells you what username you are logged in as. Does that match the one you sent me?

      In the firefox add-on, open your reading list and click the RSS Feed, does the feed URL have your username in it as well?

      When you open a url from the times, it should prompt you to login in. If it doesn't, can you send me a url or two to test?

      Thanks!

      Posted Sep 14 09 reply
  • Dan Acton

    Thanks! I wasn't getting an error message before, but this time I did and was informed that I hadn't logged into the correct account. Logging in was easier than I expected too, I had been trying to actively fill out the form rather than let the app do it for me. Thanks again, love this app.

    Posted Sep 16 09 reply
Read It Later's support system has moved! The content on this page is likely out of date but has been kept public for archival purposes.

To get help, please access the new support system: http://support.readitlaterlist.com