Somebody Help Me Understand "Contacts"

[MarkNOklahoma]

I guess I need a link to "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Android Contacts."

I'm coming from an Outlook-based contact database (which I want to maintain), and I'm also a former Windows Mobile user, so these interacted and synced seamlessly. Now, there are just enough differences in the way Android does things that makes me feel like I'm chasing my tail, and I'm getting more frustrated with each turn.

My Captivate was loaded with my original Windows Mobile/Outlook contacts when I bought it from the college kid at the AT&T store. I'm assuming all these were also sync'ed to my new Google Contacts, although I was basically unaware they existed as part of the e-mail account. Since then, I've backed-up my phone with MyPhoneExplorer in order to upgrade to 2.2. This program supposedly goes to my Outlook desktop files and syncs the phone to it. I've also added new contacts originating in the phone and a couple originating in Outlook. All these syncs seemed to work well, but there are several contacts in my phone which won't update the web-based Google Contacts no matter what I do.

Ninety-five percent of my contacts have the little "g" logo beside them, indicating they are part of my Google Contacts and therefore backed up on the web. But, there are a few that don't have the logo and don't appear in the web list. In settings, the "Save new contacts to" has always been set to Google. When a contact is open, it shows "joined contacts" as the green phone logo and the Google "g". So now I have two sets of phone numbers for each contact instead of one, and I now seem to have identical complete phone contacts and Google contacts. Can I delete the phone contacts and keep the Google ones?

How do I just get down to one set of contacts that are backed up on Google web Contacts?

My most trustworthy contact list, with many contact photos is now in my phone. What steps do I need to take to make this the list to sync from? And, do I delete my Outlook Contacts and/or Google Contacts before trying to re-sync?

I won't even get into the Catagories list from Outlook and how that's been a total mess. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

 

[loraque]

My most trustworthy contact list, with many contact photos is now in my phone. What steps do I need to take to make this the list to sync from? And, do I delete my Outlook Contacts and/or Google Contacts before trying to re-sync?

As an Android user, your phone is not where your Master Contacts list is(should be), but in the cloud (gmail). Much safer than on your phone.

I came from WinMo as well, and the problem started because the way your contacts are brought to your new android phone, was probably through the SIM card. What I did was delete all contacts that resided on the SIM so it was blank, and imported them all to Gmail. This is the setup that Android wants you to have, and any attempt to deviate from Gmail as your master list will make things harder.

Drink the koolaid!

Delete all your SIM/Phone contacts, which unfortunately is done one at a time. Thankfully you only need to do this process one time. Take care to have Gmail up on a separate PC so you can verify you have a Gmail contact for the SIM contact you are deleting. And work your way through the list. At the end, you want your SIM/Phone to have NO contacts on it, and all your contacts on Gmail.

Going forward, if you ever need to export your contacts, you do it from a computer logged into Gmail... your phone is simply a copy.

 

[the3dgm]

. . . also, there are all kinds of settings you can set, press the 'Menu' key then select More. Enjoy the new phone!

 

[stew1411]

There is also an app called contact2sim which gives you the option to erase all contacts from sim at once.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

 

[stylez619]

Has anybody had luck with the syncing options (specifically facebook) when your "viewing contacts from gmail"?

It seems like on mine, the contact info from FB doesnt sync well unless its to a contact stored on the phone. Otherwise there are tons of duplications and mis-sync'd contacts.

 

[larrytxeast]

If what are you trying to do is have your Facebook friends show up in the contacts listing, here's how.

While viewing your contacts, press the Menu button, then select "Get Friends."

I am a new Android user, coming from a Blackberry (where the contacts existed only there), I have had a GMail account for 5 years and have had a FEW contacts there. I am just learning this new myself, and read your post, and have been cleaning up contacts tonight myself. As mentioned in your thread, I just started anew on my phone (I selected all and then deleted everything from the phone--nothing new-crucial there anyway) and then made my GMail contacts the "headquarters" of it all & then the phone picked those up. If I change existing contacts in the phone or add new ones/delete certain ones, it updates the changes to the GMail contacts, and vice versa.

If you need more tips (including on how to make new contacts created on the phone then save to your GMail contacts in the "cloud") read my thread about it entitled Questions About How Contacts "Sync" here's the link (if the link doesn't work just search for that term).