Differences in CardDAV encoding/decoding of phone number characteristics; TbSync vs. Nextcloud formatting

Your environment

TbSync version: 1.7 DAV-4-TbSync version: 0.15 Thunderbird version: 60.7.0

[X] Yes, I have installed the latest available (beta) version from

• https://github.com/jobisoft/TbSync/releases
• https://github.com/jobisoft/DAV-4-TbSync/releases and my issue is not yet fixed, I can still reproduce it.

Expected behavior

1. TB phone number “mobile work” should be mapped to “mobile work” in Nextcloud (current stable version)
2. TB phone number “mobile private” should be mapped to “mobile private” in NC

Actual behavior

In NC this entries like described show 1. “mobile” (“work” missing) and 2. “work” (“mobile” missing) I downloaded the VCF in Nextcloud:

1. Written from TbSync: TEL;TYPE=HOME;TYPE=CELL:... I changed it in Nextcloud to the correct entry. CardDAV:TEL;TYPE="HOME,CELL":... After the next sync TB shows no characteristics of the numbers in both examples 1. and 2. (they are not lost, but obviously could not be interpreted from TbSync).
2. Same problems on both sides.

As I understood this, TbSync writes this single appended TYPE=HOME;TYPE=CELL syntax. Nextcloud saves this and syncs correctly to other TbSync clients but Nextcloud itself expects the joined TYPE="HOME,CELL" format, can’t decode the TbSync written thing and writes in the joined format.

Which one is right? Standard? Both? If both are correct syntax, TbSync must interpret the NC syntax and NC the TbSync syntax. Quick solution: Change you format to the NC format if you detect a NC instance. (In addition to correctly decode the NC format. If not both are correct, who should correct it?

Steps to reproduce

• Add dummy entries with different settings out of numbers tagged with “work”, “mobile work”, “private”, “mobile private”, …
• Sync
• Compare Nextcloud web interface (contacts app) to VCF/Database

Thanks!! Great sync adapter.

[jobisoft]

No need to be sorry. 😃 I think that „bug“ was filed just via E-Mail, not as an issue. I do not remember, it was a lengthy process and at the end I switched. Both styles are correct, as far as I know.

If you want to switch to beta, you must switch TbSync itself and all provider you are using.

[dilyanpalauzov]

Both formats are valid:

vCard MIME Directory Profile 3.3.1 TEL Type Definition says:

These type parameter values can be specified as a parameter list (i.e., “TYPE=work;TYPE=voice”) or as a value list (i.e., “TYPE=work,voice”).