The following discussion applies to task alarm/reminder times for all Windows Mobile Devices including all Pocket PCs up to and including Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition and Windows Mobile for Smartphone 2002/2003 and 2003 Second Edition.

As well, this discusses the Custom Task Reminder time options available in Developer One Agenda Fusion for Pocket PC, and Power Calendar and Power Tasks for Smartphone.

One of the most common questions we receive is: "I created a task in Outlook on my PC and I know I set the reminder for 3:00pm, but after synchronizing the task with my Windows Mobile Device the reminder went off at 8:00am – why??"

The short answer is: Pocket Outlook converts all task alarms to 8:00am by default.  That's unfortunately just the way it is.

Our Agenda Fusion, Power Calendar and Power Tasks software solutions do offer benefits to help you overcome most, but not all of the limitations of the way task synchronization works.

Let's Explain...

When you create tasks and decide to set a reminder for that task you’re going to most likely set the reminder for some time on the the due date of the task, right?

Well, being the most common case, it's also the most problematic.

When you create a new task in Outlook with a reminder, a synchronization of the task to your device via ActiveSync will by default always result in the alarm on your device being set for 8:00 AM.  This is simply how the Pocket PC and ActiveSync were designed to operate.

When we refer to a "Custom Reminder Time" it really means any task reminder time other than the default 8:00 AM reminder time.

Limitations...

• For tasks that you create in Outlook that have a reminder set for a date before the due date, our software can pick up the proper reminder time after a sync and automatically set that for your task reminder time rather than the default 8:00 AM time that would normally be used.
   
• For tasks that you create in Outlook with a reminder on the same day as the due date, there is no time information sent to the device for that alarm on a sync.  The best we can do is to allow you to set a preferred alarm/reminder time for these kinds of tasks.

Let's go through some common scenarios to help you understand what you can expect when using the Custom Task Reminder time features of Agenda Fusion, Power Calendar and Power Tasks.
 

For the purpose of this explanation, when we refer to "Custom Reminders Enabled", we mean that you have enabled the custom task reminders option in Agenda Fusion, Power Calendar or Power Tasks to set a preferred reminder time to override the default 8:00 AM reminder time for synchronized tasks.

We will further assume for this purpose, that you have set your preferred task reminder time to be 6:30 AM as shown in the screens at the right.

In Agenda Fusion, access this option via the Reminders page in Options.

In Power Calendar and Power Tasks, see Menu->Settings->Reminders.

Create a New Task in Microsoft Outlook

Task Details

• Start: Jan 1 2005
• Due: Jan 2 2005
• Reminder: Jan 2 2005 @ 5:00 AM (Note: alarm date is on the due date)

Sync to Device results
When this synchronization happens, 8:00AM will be used as the default for the task reminder on your device, regardless of the setting you have on the desktop.

What your task will look like on your device

Alarm without Custom Reminders
Jan 2 2005 @ 8:00 AM

Alarm Result with Custom Reminders
Jan 2 2005 @ 6:30 AM

Explanation
Since the alarm was set on the due date, the synchronization process by default sets the task reminder time to 8:00 AM. The Custom Reminders action (set to change these type of reminders to 6:30 AM) has been applied.

If you have Custom Reminders enabled, this will also change the task reminder time in Outlook on your desktop to 6:30 AM, since the task has been automatically changed on the device to have this reminder time. (It syncs the change back up to Outlook)
 

Create a New Task in Microsoft Outlook

Task Details

• Start: Jan 1 2005

• Due: Jan 2 2005

• Reminder: Jan 1 2005 @ 7:15 PM (Note: alarm date is before the due date)

Sync to Device results
When this synchronization happens, your specified alarm time will synchronize to the device exactly as you have set it, since it is set before the task due date.

Alarm without Custom Reminders
Jan 1 2005 @ 7:15 PM

Alarm with Custom Reminders
Jan 1 2005 @ 7:15 PM

Explanation
Since the alarm date was on a date earlier than the due date, the synchronization process works just fine, and the custom reminders feature plays no part in modifying the task reminder time.
 

Create a New Task on your device in Power Calendar, Power Tasks, or Agenda Fusion

Task Details

• Start: Jan 1 2005

• Due: Jan 2 2005

• Reminder: Jan 2 2005 @ 2:15 PM (Note: alarm date is on the due date)

Sync to Outlook/Desktop
Outlook will receive the task with the alarm time/date as you have set it (Jan 2 2005 @ 2:15 PM)
In this case, your custom task reminder time

Alarm Result on Desktop
Jan 2 2005 @ 2:15 PM

Explanation: Going from device to the desktop, the ActiveSync synchronization process works fine and your alarm time is kept just as you have set it!

Well that's just great... but it can easily change just like this...  read on...

 

 
From Outlook on your PC, modify the task created in Scenario 3-1 (the one that was originally created on your device and synced to your PC)
(i.e. change the Subject text of the task)

Sync the changed task to your mobile device with ActiveSync

On your mobile device you will see...

Alarm without Custom Reminders
Jan 2 2005 @ 8:00 AM

Alarm with Custom Reminders
Jan 2 2005 @ 6:30 PM

Explanation
In both cases (with or without custom alarms feature enabled), the alarm time has again been changed. :(

Since the alarm date was on the due date of the task, the sync of the task to the device by ActiveSync ends up resetting your alarm to the 8:00 AM system default time.

However, if you have the custom task reminders feature enabled, it will be changed automatically to your preferred time of 6:30 AM.

So, in essence, a task you create on the device with a reminder time of 2:15 PM on the due date could end up with a reminder time of 6:30 AM if you again modify the task.

Since, on the sync of the task back to the device via ActiveSync the task reminder time information is lost, all that we can do on the mobile side (if you do have custom reminders enabled) is to set the alarm back to your preferred alarm time.

Is it a perfect solution?  No, but given the limitations we are dealing with, we have greatly improved the situation for you.
 

If you want less hassle when setting task reminder times for other than the default 8:00 AM alarm time, set your reminder to be on a date before the task due date.  In this case, our custom task reminder processing will always be able to handle keeping your custom reminder time in sync.