Getting iSync to work with the Nokia N91 8GB

My phone is a Nokia N91 8GB, and my primary OS these days is the Mac OSX 10.4.11. When I followed instructions I could find anywhere on the web - the simple connect, launch, sync instructions - it simply didn't work. iSync kept complaining that it couldn't sync with my device.

That just meant it's time to get under the hood and do some hacking! If you ever face this problem, here's how you solve this issue.

• Quit iSync if you already have it open.
• Go to your applications folder, right-click on the iSync application icon, and select "Show Package Contents".
• Keep clicking through to the following path: Contents/PlugIns/ApplePhoneConduit.syncdevice/Contents/Plugins/Nokia-N91.phoneplugin/Contents/Resources.
• Once there, duplicate the MetaClasses.plist file just to have a backup. You can do that by right-clicking the file, and selecting "Duplicate".
• Now, open the file with a text editor - I used TextWrangler, and search for the line that says <key>com.nokia.n91</key>. A little lower, you should find a <key>Identification</key>. Right below that should be a <dict> XML node.
• Edit it to look as follows:
  

  <dict>
      <key>com.apple.usb.vendorid-modelid</key>
      <string>0x0421/0x042F</string>
      <key>com.apple.gmi+gmm</key>
      <array>
          <string>Nokia+Nokia N91-1</string>
          <string>Nokia+Nokia N91-2</string>
      </array>
  </dict>
  

That's it - you are set. Now, launch iSync and it should now be able to work with your N91 8GB as advertised.

The key here is that the N91 8GB model is identified as Nokia+Nokia N91-2, which isn't available in the supported devices list by default - the regular N91 is identified as Nokia+Nokia N91-1 or simply Nokia+Nokia N91, which is supported. The hack just adds support for the N91 8GB by telling iSync to treat it as the Nokia+Nokia N91-1 for all practical purposes.