Contact Sync: Don't Want All Groups Synced

**DLCPhototography** · 04-20-2012, 08:00 AM

My Vzw GNex syncs all of my Gmail contacts fine - no problems.

I have another group of contacts, not yet imported into Gmail, which is quite large. I would like to be able to access these in my Gmail account, but do *not* want these synced to my phone - too many, and not needed there.

In researching this, I have seen the suggestion to remove the "My Contacts" label from these contacts, and that they will then not sync with my phone. The idea here is that only contacts specifically labelled with "My Contacts" will sync with the phone.

Well, I tried this out with a new group, and a test contact within that group, removing the "My Contacts" label form that contact. Well, it still synced with my phone, and shows up there, just the same as all the other contacts.

Is there any way to configure this to control which Contacts or Contact Groups are not synced to the phone?

I have also seen suggestions to have certain groups not "Displayed" on the phone, but this is not what I am looking for. With this, all of these contacts are still synced, but apparently just aren't displayed.

Thanks.

Don

**Poseign** · 04-20-2012, 08:28 AM

Originally Posted by DLCPhototography

My Vzw GNex syncs all of my Gmail contacts fine - no problems.

I have another group of contacts, not yet imported into Gmail, which is quite large. I would like to be able to access these in my Gmail account, but do *not* want these synced to my phone - too many, and not needed there.

In researching this, I have seen the suggestion to remove the "My Contacts" label from these contacts, and that they will then not sync with my phone. The idea here is that only contacts specifically labelled with "My Contacts" will sync with the phone.

Well, I tried this out with a new group, and a test contact within that group, removing the "My Contacts" label form that contact. Well, it still synced with my phone, and shows up there, just the same as all the other contacts.

Is there any way to configure this to control which Contacts or Contact Groups are not synced to the phone?

I have also seen suggestions to have certain groups not "Displayed" on the phone, but this is not what I am looking for. With this, all of these contacts are still synced, but apparently just aren't displayed.

Thanks.

Don

Not a clue. To my knowledge, if you add all of those contacts to your gmail they are going to sync no matter what as long as you have syncing to gmail enabled. The only way to change that is to not sync with gmail, or to customize your "people" app to not show gmail contacts even though they are synced. I don't think there is another way to do this.

**DLCPhototography** · 04-20-2012, 07:37 PM

Is there really no way to be at least a little selective in which Contacts Google Syncs?

Don

**DLCPhototography** · 04-22-2012, 06:06 PM

I guess this is my answer - 813 people have looked at my question in this thread, and nobody has posted a way to be selective in which Contacts Google syncs.

Disappointing, but if that's the way it is, I guess I have no choice but to live with it.

**cadman** · 04-23-2012, 05:25 AM

Yeah there is no way to control it.
You could always create a second email acct maybe under the same acct you have, list the contacts there and then in setup don't have them sync to the phone, only email.

I have 3 email addy's but only one syncs the contacts. The others it's email only.

**DLCPhototography** · 04-23-2012, 06:08 AM

Thanks for the suggestion, tony - I'll give that some thought. Might be an effective work-around.

Don

**BSG75** · 04-23-2012, 08:33 AM

Have you gone into the Contacts app? Settings >> Contacts to Display >> Customize >>

When I uncheck "My Contacts," they all disappeared from my phone. I only had "Starred in Android" left. When I only click "Friends" and "Family" that's all I saw on my phone. I suggest poking around in there and playing with the settings. Worst case scenario, you should be able to add everyone expect them to a new group "People to Sync" and only check "People to Sync" in this setting area.

Maybe you have those extra contacts in some other group that you did not realize you were syncing.

edit: I now realize all this does is strip people from the "Custom View" section of the Contacts app. It doesn't remove them from your phone entirely.

**DLCPhototography** · 04-23-2012, 09:12 AM

Thanks for the reply, BSG75 - your edit is correct. This controls only the "display" for different contacts, not the fact that they are all still synced and present on the phone.

I actually went ahead and created a completely new gmail address from my computer, and added that large mailing list to that account (it originated in Outlook 2007, and I'm wanting to switch entirely away from it). So whenever I need to access, maintain, or send email concerning that group, I just log in to that account, and can take care of everything there.

I haven't added this new gmail account on my phone at all, so it isn't even aware of the other account. So they are fully separated, and independently accessible.

A minor hassle, but an acceptable one.

Don

**irishman06** · 04-23-2012, 06:03 PM

Interesting, because I think my phone works as advertised...only people in "My Contacts" are added. Might the problem be that it syncs everyone in a group, and because you imported these as a group, they automatically go in that list?

**DLCPhototography** · 04-23-2012, 06:07 PM

I don't think so, irishman06. I went ahead and created a *New* contact, deselected it from "My Contacts" but it still showed up on my phone.

What phone/ROM are you using? Do you have the "Display" settings configured such that some contacts are being synced, but not displayed on your phone?

**pals0007** · 04-23-2012, 10:35 PM

U can pick what groups to display

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

**DLCPhototography** · 04-24-2012, 06:10 AM

Originally Posted by pals0007

U can pick what groups to display

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

Yes, that has been established. But it doesn't stop the actual syncing of hundreds and hundreds of contacts, which is a waste of resource. The question at hand is how to prevent the syncing of contacts one doesn't need or want on their phone.

But thanks for the post.

**arsneca** · 04-25-2012, 08:05 AM

I have the same problem on my Galaxy SII with Android 4.0.3

I only can sync all contacts that means "My Contacts" and all containing groups and it syncs also the "Other Contacts".
In the contacts application it is not so bad since I can choose in "Contacts to display" only one group, still all the other contacts are on the phone!

But when I use the messaging application it still suggest all the other contacts.

On my old phone with Android 2.1 I could choose to sync only one group. This was great since I had a Android group which contained all my proper contacts with phone numbers and another group which contained all the other not well maintained contacts which I sometimes use for emailing but don't have phone numbers for!

I want that function back! Or a workaround which doesn't require to delete all my contacts or create a second account.

**SanfordMD** · 07-29-2012, 08:53 AM

Originally Posted by arsneca

I have the same problem on my Galaxy SII with Android 4.0.3

I only can sync all contacts that means "My Contacts" and all containing groups and it syncs also the "Other Contacts".
In the contacts application it is not so bad since I can choose in "Contacts to display" only one group, still all the other contacts are on the phone!

But when I use the messaging application it still suggest all the other contacts.

On my old phone with Android 2.1 I could choose to sync only one group. This was great since I had a Android group which contained all my proper contacts with phone numbers and another group which contained all the other not well maintained contacts which I sometimes use for emailing but don't have phone numbers for!

I want that function back! Or a workaround which doesn't require to delete all my contacts or create a second account.

I agree. I just left iPhone after loosing my Nexus S last November, and we can not control this? Sheesh!

**allard1** · 08-06-2012, 04:47 PM

Thanks for highlighting this problem. I'm about to take delivery of Galaxy S3, and will be trying this -

1. In googlesync - select and delete all other contacts I don't want to include in sync - ie leaving only my contacts.

2. Sync from my phone

3. Restore contacts

Delete and restore, are available through the more menu.

... I'll let you know how I get on, in case you want to try it!

**bcrules82** · 08-08-2012, 01:21 PM

The solution here really depends on your needs. Which of the following are you trying to accomplish?

Hide which contacts are displayed in your phonebook.
Hide information from others (e.g. family) that also use your phone.
Use your contact list for both work & personal use, but your phone for only personal.
Other.

The amount of data consumed actually syncing these contacts is minimal, and it will only consume data if there has been a change, so don't worry about that. If you are trying to resolve (3) then you should have a seperate Gmail/Google account. Your phone (& Gmail) support multiple Google accounts now, if necessary.

I customize what is displayed religiously (1), but I have many contacts in total. You can still find them if you go to the Groups tab, but that is a feature in my opinion. This allows you to still find what you need in any situation. Also, everything MUST be on the phone in order to allow you to search your contacts while offline. Additionally, if one of those hidden contacts calls you, they'll still be recognized (e.g. Ex-Coworkers, Ex-Friends).

If you're trying to hide personal things (2), resolve it just like a work account (3).

I should add that technically on Android you can select to display your various Contact Groups and NOT your "My Contacts" group. I wouldn't suggest this though, as this is where people are added by default. So IF you were to do this, you'd have to remember that every time you add a new contact on your phone to also associate them with a group that is displayed.

I personally remove the "my contacts" group from everyone that has been categorized into a group, and check it once in a while as a reminder to cleanup & group new contacts that haven't been categorized yet.

**batesjew** · 08-12-2012, 12:08 PM

Originally Posted by bcrules82

The solution here really depends on your needs. Which of the following are you trying to accomplish?

Hide which contacts are displayed in your phonebook.
Hide information from others (e.g. family) that also use your phone.
Use your contact list for both work & personal use, but your phone for only personal.
Other.

For those people that would like to keep work contacts separate from personal contacts check out the app . It also separates your work email and calendar as well.

**Abishek Kalro** · 12-06-2012, 05:59 AM

I have a simple solution to sync only "My contacts" or any other selected group to your phone.

1. Create a new gmail account
2. Export the selected group or my contacts as a vcs and save on your desktop
3. Log into the new gmail account created and import this vcs.
4. Sync only this new account in your contacts on S3

BOOM !! You are done ! and this account is will always keep a backup of your contacts no matter what.

You can do the same thing for calendar as well.

Cheers

Abishek

**talljag** · 01-07-2013, 07:39 PM

Hey Don,

Brand new to the Android world, but not to Google/Gmail. I'm having the exact same issue - the main frustration is that I don't want all of my created group members to show in my contacts. I, too, removed those from "My Contacts" but they still sync.

So, it's been over eight months since you posted this - have you had any luck with your issue? What have you tried? I thought of creating a group called "Sync=False" and adding to that group all of the contacts removed from My Contacts but remaining in other groups. Then, deselect the "Sync=False" group for syncing.

Cheers........... jamie

**DLCPhototography** · 01-07-2013, 07:49 PM

Hi Jamie,

I ended up just creating a separate Gmail account for the larger list of contacts, and use this when I need to. I don't have this account set up on my Phone, just on my PC.

This is actually the mailing list for my website, and is only used periodically when sending out a mass email. I've just added those from that group that I do want access to on my phone to the Contact list of the original Gmail account.

Not an ideal solution, but it basically works for me.

Let me know if you try out the strategy with the "Sync=False" - if it works, I may have to try it out as well.

Originally Posted by talljag

Hey Don,

Brand new to the Android world, but not to Google/Gmail. I'm having the exact same issue - the main frustration is that I don't want all of my created group members to show in my contacts. I, too, removed those from "My Contacts" but they still sync.

So, it's been over eight months since you posted this - have you had any luck with your issue? What have you tried? I thought of creating a group called "Sync=False" and adding to that group all of the contacts removed from My Contacts but remaining in other groups. Then, deselect the "Sync=False" group for syncing.

Cheers........... jamie

**talljag** · 01-08-2013, 12:34 AM

** Edit at 0519 Pacific Time **

Don,

Looks like the best way to go about it is to sync with a separate contacts storage like iCloud or a separate GMail profile.

Sync=False actually worked... well, only sort of...

I was hoping I could choose not to sync with that group, but instead I had to delete the Sync=False group and members from my phone contacts, which resulted in that group disappearing from my GMail contacts after the sync. So, I can only guess that every new contact added would have to go through the same process; i.e., I'd have to create (again) a Sync=False folder (maybe on a monthly basis), add the new contact(s) to that group and remove from "My Contacts", then delete Sync=False from my phone contacts.

As a side note, the other annoyance which occurred was that deleting so many contacts from the android and then syncing caused an error message: "Sync too many contacts deletes” and “sync is currently experiencing problems. it will be back shortly.” This error notification is only removed by clearing the data in the Contacts Storage (Application manager > All > Contacts Storage). This clears all of your contacts and then when you sync all of the contacts - in all of the integrated groups - repopulate.

So basically, it only works if you don't clear the error notification, and it's ultimately a pretty poor workaround.

And here we are in 2013 - at this point I am bewildered as to why Google hasn't put forth a clear solution regarding management and syncing of contacts. They should probably look at syncing only with, for example, a "Sync=True" group, the membership of which we could control in Google Contacts or Gmail. Suffice it to say, I will be using an account (Google or another) simply for Contact syncing and storage.

Cheers............. jamie

**DLCPhototography** · 01-08-2013, 05:52 AM

Agreed - Google has a few serious shortcomings, with no good reason for them being there.

One of my pet peeves is the inability to disable "conversation" grouping on the Gmail app for Android. You can disable it on the desktop application, but not Android for the phone. This causes me significant inconvenience, and have no idea why they don't simply give the user the ability to enable it or disable it, as they do on the desktop app. Simply stupid...

Originally Posted by talljag

Don,

Looks like the best way to go about it is to sync with a separate contacts storage like iCloud or a separate GMail profile. Sync=False actually worked (I had to remove those I added to Sync=Flase from the "My Contacts" Group), but I was hoping I could choose not to sync with that group. Instead, I had to delete the Sync=False group and members from my phone contacts, which resulted in that group disappearing from my GMail contacts after the sync. So, I can only guess that every new contact added would have to go through the same process; i.e., I'd have to create (again) a Sync=False folder (maybe on a monthly basis), add the new contact(s) to that group and remove from "My Contacts", then delete Sync=False from my phone contacts.

And here we are in 2013 - at this point I am bewildered as to why Google hasn't put forth a clear solution regarding management and syncing of contacts. They should probably look at syncing only with, for example, a "Sync=True" group, the membership of which we could control in Google Contacts or Gmail.

As a side note, the other annoyance which occurs is that deleting so many contacts from my Samsung caused an error message: "Sync too many contacts deletes” and “sync is currently experiencing problems. it will be back shortly.” This error notification is removed with a phone restart.

Suffice it to say, I will be using an account (Google or another) simply for Contact syncing and storage.

Cheers............. jamie

**talljag** · 01-08-2013, 07:23 AM

Originally Posted by DLCPhototography

Agreed - Google has a few serious shortcomings, with no good reason for them being there.

One of my pet peeves is the inability to disable "conversation" grouping on the Gmail app for Android. You can disable it on the desktop application, but not Android for the phone. This causes me significant inconvenience, and have no idea why they don't simply give the user the ability to enable it or disable it, as they do on the desktop app. Simply stupid...

I have always grouped by conversation, so didn't notice the difference, but I absolutely agree - the user should have that ability in the app. Thanks for the info and I'll check back from time to time.