Using my Nokia N70 to send SMS messages from Mac OS X Address Book

In theory, I should be able to use the Address Book application on my MacBook to send SMS messages from my Nokia N70 phone. The phone and the MacBook communicate with Bluetooth for all other purposes — sending and receiving files, syncing calendar and address book entries, Salling Clicker — quite well. But I can’t get Address Book’s cell phone-related features to work properly.

My N70 is paired with my MacBook, and the MacBook is set as “authorised” in the N70’s Bluetooth settings so the two should be able to communication back and forth without further intervention. When I open Address Book, I see the Bluetooth icon in the toolbar as I should:

Address Book Screen Shot

Clicking on the icon, however, I get prompted to pair with a Bluetooth device, even though I’m already paired with my N70:

Address Book Screen Shot

When I select my phone — ruk.ca in the list — and click Pair, I get prompted “Please enter a Passkey to use with this device:”

Address Book Screen Shot

No matter what I enter for a passkey — 0000, 1234, anything — the pairing appears to work, and the Bluetooth icon gains a blue “halo:”

Address Book Screen Shot

However the “halo” soon disappears, and any attempt to use the “SMS Message” or “Dial with Cell Phone” options that appear when you right-click a telephone number show these options as “greyed out:”

Address Book Screen Shot

Watching the Bluetooth connection between the MacBook and the N70 while this is happening (using Bluetooth Explorer, which is part of the OS X Developer Tools), the connection appears, then disappears after about 5 seconds. Even during that period, the contextual menu options for using the cell phone are disabled.

I spent an hour on the phone with Apple support this morning trying to sort this out. After going through the usual zapping the PRAM, creating a new user, running disk utility, etc., I was no further ahead; I suspended things when they wanted me to launch into a non-destructive reinstall.

I’m posting this here just in case anyone else encounters the same problem. Or, better yet, has a solution.

Comments

Jason's picture
Jason on January 23, 2007 - 00:51 Permalink

hey Peter. I don’t know about SMS (i may try that) but with my Motorola L6, I couldn’t sync (as it wasn’t supported with iSync). I could pair with it…and transfer video and audio….but no sync. I had to go in and alter an iSync application file.

Perhaps your phone isn’t supported the same way my phone wouldn’t sync.

Don’t know if this is any help.

Peter Rukavina's picture
Peter Rukavina on January 23, 2007 - 14:29 Permalink

I don’t think that’s the issue with my Nokia N70, Jason: the cell phone-related features were working with my iBook, and as far as I know it’s a completely iSync and OS X-supported phone. I’ve read some suggestions on the net that recent firmware for the N70 “doesn’t support SMS sending using AT commands” but these are unconfirmed reports.

Jason's picture
Jason on January 26, 2007 - 03:27 Permalink

hmm…I’m afraid I can’t help you there Peter. I myself have been toying getting SMS working with my Motorola… But if iSync wasn’t supported, it’s hard to say whether SMS would be supported. Good luck.

Timo's picture
Timo on January 31, 2007 - 20:48 Permalink

Hi Peter,
just confirming that I have exactly the same problem with my nokia N80i.
Everything else works with it, iSync, sending and receiving files, vcards etc and also using N80i as a modem for
my new Macbook Pro. But I also have know luck with the Addressbook SMS send or making a call from there.
Your description of what happens is exactly what I experience as well.
Unfortunately I also have no clue where the problem is…

Timo's picture
Timo on January 31, 2007 - 21:37 Permalink

Well, Hi again,
Did some Googling and found out that you need a plug-in for the Addressbook that supports your phone.
http://www.novamedia.de/ has such a plug-in for Nokia phones for about 7 Euros.
I just bought it and tried it out. Seems to work fine with my N80i. Cool!

Peter Rukavina's picture
Peter Rukavina on January 31, 2007 - 22:21 Permalink

Timo, thanks: I did what you did, and SMS sending is now working on my N70. Excellent.

Simon Morrison's picture
Simon Morrison on February 15, 2007 - 00:22 Permalink

Probably too late now Peter, but I had the same issue with my N70. I just found that clicking the bluetooth button in address book and connecting and quitting address book without disconnecting and then re-opening address book (and re-connecting) seemed to make the sms sending feature work.

Simon Arnell's picture
Simon Arnell on February 20, 2007 - 12:24 Permalink

I have the same problem, N70 will sync and send files but no SMS functionality in address book. I also however cant access the file system over bluetooth. to send files i have to send them from the phone.

Plucker's picture
Plucker on February 26, 2007 - 21:31 Permalink

The blue border isn’t enough. You have to click on the button so that the bluetooth symbol in the middle of the button turns blue and the edges stop glowing blue?

plucker's picture
plucker on February 26, 2007 - 21:39 Permalink

Though it still doesn’t work but when the novamedia plug in is installed that’s what happens. The blue border is in place and when you hover over it it says disconnected <phone name=”“> until you click on it and then the icon tirns blue and everything works. I think the Nokia phones aren’t well supported by Apple.

Jayne's picture
Jayne on March 9, 2007 - 22:41 Permalink

What a great little plugin. Interestingly my Nokia N70 was barred because it is my work phone and I was off having a baby and forgot to pay the bill and this littl gadget has allowed me to send message and dial the phone whereas I am barred from doing it manually till I sort it out!.Cheers

ajd's picture
ajd on June 11, 2007 - 00:33 Permalink

The N70 doesn’t support sending sms AT commands as far as I can tell. Why do I believe that?

http://www.piaccess.com/trac/w…

I just tried the trial version and it works. You start their program running on the N70 and then Address Book works fine. I just sent myself an sms and it works.

To the person complaining about browsing their nokia via bluetooth. Again, it’s Nokia’s fault. Read about it at

http://www.martin.st/software/…

I won’t be buying another nokia after this. More importantly I’ll be taking my laptop to the shop to see which phones work and which don’t.

Shiva's picture
Shiva on July 19, 2007 - 11:50 Permalink

Hello, just install in your phone the symbian app AppleSyncAgent-s60v22.sis contained in: /Applications/iSync.app/Contents/PlugIns/ApplePhoneConduit.syncdevice/Contents/Resources/Agents

Hope that will work also for you.

Bye

Peter Rukavina's picture
Peter Rukavina on July 22, 2007 - 14:48 Permalink

Shiva, that worked! Thanks. FYI, to navigate to this file you need to select the iSync application in your Applications folder and then right-click and select “Show Package Contents”.

suna's picture
suna on October 8, 2007 - 12:09 Permalink

hello,

i have an n70 and all of a sudden when i go to send a message it straight away goes to the outbox, and says it will resend at another time but it still does not send, i’m not sure what to do

please help

thank you

Johnno's picture
Johnno on December 27, 2007 - 01:41 Permalink

It’s the simple things — bless AppleSyncAgent-s60v22.sis and my re-found ability to sms via Address Book. (And Shiva.) Would I be revealing myself a complete nerd by saying that I love my mac even more now?

alphons's picture
alphons on May 1, 2008 - 22:53 Permalink

(Stuppid) Question, yes I have the exact same problem with my MacBook en the Nokia N70; so i’m intrested in the solution: installing the app AppleSyncAgent-s60v22.sis, but: how do I do that?
thank you

kokila's picture
kokila on March 30, 2009 - 06:36 Permalink

hi here,
it nokia n70 bluethooth music sent not why? what problem?

NokiaProb's picture
NokiaProb on January 28, 2012 - 13:32 Permalink

I have a NokiaN70 — great phone even tho it’s a bit old now. The problem I have is that I want to transfer saved text messages to my computer which is a MacBook Pro — and I can’t seem to do it. I have the USB Data Cable and driver — but my Mac isn’t recognising either. Can anyone tell me how to transfer saved text messages to my Mac, please?