Synchronization not working on Android

[Aeinot]

I set up a self-hosted sync server with Docker. It is placed behind a Nginx reverse proxy, and TLS is configured. Synchronization works well between two computers, but synchronization with Firefox on Android does not work.

I have set the "Custom sync server" field to "https://my.domain.com/token/1.0/sync/1.5", and then I linked the phone to my account. No information is synchronized (bookmarks, open tabs, etc.), and I don't see any connection on my Nginx logs (while adding a bookmark from Firefox on Windows generates several connections to the server). The last synchronization time is always set to "Never".

I also tried the following URLs:

• "https://my.domain.com/token/1.0/sync/1.5/"
• "https://my.domain.com/token/"

My version of Firefox Android is 89.1.1.

[khimaros]

@Aeinot -- i bumped into this as well (using Fennec 89.1.1 from F-Droid).

i updated the Custome sync server URL to match /token/1.0/sync/1.5 format and found that while old (bulk) history is not synced, any new activity will be synced. i'm curious if you have the same result with your device.

[Aeinot]

@khimaros thanks for the answer, but after testing again with a fresh Firefox install, nothing is synced. When I add bookmarks, credentials, or try to list open tabs on my other devices, nothing is synced and no requests reach Nginx.

[rfk]

If you browse to https://my.domain.com/token/ in the Android browser as though it were a normal webpage, what happens? If things are working correctly then I would expect it to show you some JSON configuration data.

[Joshndroid]

Fresh sync server based on official docker.
Android app does NOT sync.
Can connect when logging in. Shows initially sync date as 1 January 1970. Then turns to never and will not sync anything.
Attempted various configs (url being just /token or /token/1.0/sync/1.5)
Attempted both HTTPS and HTTP connection types.
Attempted using both domain and straight IP as hostname
Fresh firefox account created.
Pointless software at the moment plagued by issues with the android ff sync constantly a simple google would show it.

[guptayash]

If you browse to https://my.domain.com/token/ in the Android browser as though it were a normal webpage, what happens? If things are working correctly then I would expect it to show you some JSON configuration data.

Hi,
When I browse https://mydomain.com/token/ I get the following response back.
{"services": {"sync": ["1.5"]}, "oauth": {"default_issuer": "api.accounts.firefox.com", "server_url": "https://oauth.accounts.firefox.com/v1", "scope": "https://identity.mozilla.com/apps/oldsync"}, "browserid": {"allowed_issuers": null, "trusted_issuers": null}, "auth": "http://mydomain.com/token"}

I am not sure if this config is correct but I am unable to sync too.

[Aeinot]

If you browse to https://my.domain.com/token/ in the Android browser as though it were a normal webpage, what happens? If things are working correctly then I would expect it to show you some JSON configuration data.

Hi,
When I browse https://mydomain.com/token/ I get the following response back.
{"services": {"sync": ["1.5"]}, "oauth": {"default_issuer": "api.accounts.firefox.com", "server_url": "https://oauth.accounts.firefox.com/v1", "scope": "https://identity.mozilla.com/apps/oldsync"}, "browserid": {"allowed_issuers": null, "trusted_issuers": null}, "auth": "http://mydomain.com/token"}

I am not sure if this config is correct but I am unable to sync too.

I have exactly the same result.

[ggrzeczkowicz]

Like you, I was unable to synchronize Firefox on Android with my personal SyncServer (history, bookmarks...)
But when I send a tab from a computer sync with my personal SyncServer to my phone, I received the notification, but only after hitting "Sync Now" on my phone.
Does the "share tab" function use the sync server ? If yes, there is some kind of connection that work well between a personal SyncServer and Firefox on Android, but only for tab sharing.

[Aeinot]

The tab sharing feature doesn't seem to go through the sync server. I can send tabs to my phone, but no requests are sent to my server, neither from the computer nor from the phone.

[rfk]

Does the "share tab" function use the sync server ?

It does not, it uses the Account server directly.

[3ap]

I had the same issue and the same environment.

Firstly, I've found in logcat (it's stupid that there is no indication about it in GUI) that Android version, unlike desktop version, requires HTTPS for sync server. However, after switching to HTTPS there were no errors in logcat when I pushed "Sync now".

I tried several Firefox versions from Google Play, from F-Droid: nothing, even no requests from phone to my Nginx server at all! So, I gave up and left my phone for several hours (custom field was filled with https://%mydomain%/token/1.0/sync/1.5), and suddenly it started working. I didn't do anything special but after some time I've found that "Last update" value is not "never".

It's very strange and I can't explain such a behavior.

[QBANIN]

(...) and suddenly it started working. I didn't do anything special but after some time I've found that "Last update" value is not "never".

Unfortunately doesn't work for me.

[crazyscientist]

I had a similar problem. Probably due to an update my Firefox app lost the URL of my sync server.

After disconnecting and setting the URL again I was able to reconnect and it started to sync normally.

[Josue-T]

Hello, I've the same issue.

[mariusft]

you'll need a server with tls 1.2 or newer, older ones are obsoleted, you can use certificate issued by let's encrypt

[FakeEmperor]

This configuration change fixed it for me. Emphasis on https:

SYNCSERVER_PUBLIC_URL: 'https://<server_domain>'
SYNCSERVER_FORCE_WSGI_ENVIRON: 'true'

I guess the http part in their example config file is a bit misleading :)