How to use iSync with a Motorola RIZR Z3 phone
Aug 20, 2007
I just got a Motorola RIZR phone, and was chagrined to find that it was not compatible with iSync (v 2.4). Hopefully, Apple will add it to their iSync database soon. In the meantime, I found a third-party plugin (actually a hack of Apple's Moto K1 plugin) that will let you use iSync to sync your contacts. I had quite a bit of trouble getting this to work, and I never found clear instructions for how to do it. So this is my attempt to make it easier for others.

Before you begin, you should quit out of iSync if you have it open (thanks for the tip, Levi!)

The driver can be downloaded from this page (direct link to the driver). OS X wil automatically unzip the file, giving you a folder named MOTZ3.phoneplugin. Place this file in your /Library/PhonePlugins directory. Note: this is the root Library directory, not the one under your personal directory. Also, I had to create the PhonePlugins directory on my machine. YMMV.

Now, open System Preferences and go to the Bluetooth page. Select the Devices tab. If you've already attempted to pair wih your RIZR, delete its entry from the list (I'm not sure this is necessary, but it doesn't hurt).

Next, we need to activate the RIZR's bluetooth. Open the Main Menu, and select Settings, then Bluetooth Link. Select the [Find Me] entry. This will make your phone "discoverable" for three minutes.

Back on the mac, click the Set Up New Device... button in the SysPref | Bluetooth | Devices page. This launches the Bluetooth Setup Assistant:

  • Click Continue on the Intrduction page
  • Select Mobile phone from the list, click Continue
  • Select your Motorola Z3 from the list of detected phones, click Continue
  • Wait for it to "gather additional information", click Continue
  • Enter the numeric code that appears into your phone
  • Make sure Set up iSync to transfer contacts and events is checked. If this checkbox does NOT appear, then the Z3 plugin was not detected. Make sure you followed the plugin installation instructions.

    Now launch iSync. If you don't have a Motorola Z3 button in the toolbar, select Add Device... from the Devices menu, and choose your Z3 from the list. Now you should be able to select the Z3 from the toolbar, and click on the Sync Devices button to sync your contacts and calendar events.

    A Caveat

    The sync will not copy your contact images over to the RIZR. Or at least, it didn't do so for me. This is a bit disappointing, and I can only hope that Apple's Z3 plugin will work better, assuming they eventually get around to publishing one.
    Jason Harris
    jharris AT 30doradus DOT org