CalDAV Syncing with Android

Email
CalDAV is a widely-accepted synchronization method for syncing events with the default Android calendar application. As Android doesn't support CalDAV natively, an extension is required in order to set up calendar/event synchronization on your device. A search of the Play Store shows a number of different CalDAV apps, some free and some paid. While there is a number to choose from, the all use the same protocol for calendar/event synchronization, so their set up steps should all be relatively the same. For the purposes of this article, OpenSync was used.
 
Once you have an acceptable extension, setting up a calendar account is fairly simple. The following information should remain constant, regardless of the extension used:
  1. Username will be your full email address. For example, [email protected]
  2. Server or BaseURL will be the URL for your mail server, with the WebDAV information appended to the end. For example, https://mail.example.com/webdav/cal. In SmarterMail, you can find your "CalDAV Link" by logging in to your account, then going to your Calendars. Clicking on a calendar folder opens a modal that provides you with the proper URL to use.
  3. If your server requires SSL, then it can be selected. (Some apps may require you to manually set up an HTTPS connection while others, such as OpenSync, allow you to put in a full URL to your calendar.)
  4. It may be necessary to manually start the extension so that it begins syncing with your mail server.

In addition to the information above, there may be advanced settings that can be configured. For example, how often the extension syncs with the mail server, the timeframe (both past and future) to sync events, whether to allow two-way synchronization between your mobile device and the mail server, etc. These are optional but should be kept to the minimum to ensure that your calendar and mobile device stay synchronized.