Question Chrome Bookmark sync issue

[CindyC-IL]

Checked and Chrome on Android tablet is up to date. Organized chrome bookmarks into folders and order I wanted on desktop (sync not turned on), android tablet and android phone (sync not turned on) Turned on sync on tablet and they reverted to the older order. Where is it syncing from?

 

[VidJunky]

Welcome to Android Central forums. I'm not sure if I'll be able to help but just a few things about your post.

You say you organized them with sync turned off. I must assume that you turned it on, perhaps after the organization, did they revert back to the old order on the PC?

It has been some time since I've used a tab, but is the tab browser like a desktop browser in layout? I thought it was still a mobile version of the app.

Anyway barring all of that, did you do anything like use "sync now" when you were complete or when you opened the tab browser? Not that this answers your question but FYI sync is a weird thing. There appears to be little rhyme or reason to when it occurs. If you didn't actively say sync when you were finished it may not have synced yet. It isn't usually instant, not even when waking up from being offline. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day for some items to sync. As for where does the sync come from I cannot be certain however I would have to say that Google just looks at the last device you were logged into and using and syncs that with whatever you're currently on. I think that would have to be the way that it does it otherwise you would have to repeat everything on one device in order to have the sync. What I mean is if it were one device that Google pulled from to sync, the way your question is phrased, only whatever on that device is shared with the other places you log in and they wouldn't share with that device. It would be a one way road.


I'm not sure how you organized these bookmarks, but perhaps try with sync on while your doing it instead of waiting until afterwards, is the only thing I can think of. The other thing that comes to mind is, how are they organized? Is there any rhyme or reason to that? I mean are they alphabetical, by date, by most visited or most recent? Perhaps look for other options in how to organize them in the settings. It may not be possible to just create any old order but then again I don't know how you're doing this.

 

[CindyC-IL]

There are 3 devices; tablet, phone, and PC. Sync was turned off on all 3. I redid the bookmarks on all three devices to be the same folders and formats. I turned on sync for bookmarks only on the tablet only. Within about a minute, the tablet bookmarks reverted back to the set up they were before I changed them.

I'm trying to figure out where they are syncing from. Is it someplace in the cloud where they are stored?

 

[Laura Knotek]

Are you signed into the same Google account on all devices?

 

[CindyC-IL]

Well I figured it out. First, yes, all devices are logged into the same google account. What I find is yes, the bookmarks are saved in the cloud someplace. In my experience, Chrome has more functionality on a computer rather than tablets or phones i.e. more computer centric. I wish it wasn't so but it is. Anyway, because my pc had the same basic file structure as the mobile devices, I turned off sync on all devices. Went into chrome on the pc and there is an option to clear the bookmarks from where they are saved on google's site. Once they were cleared, I turned on sync for bookmarks on the laptop. Checked to make sure they didn't change after a "sync" had occurred and they did not. Leaving the laptop chrome sync on, I then went to my tablet and turned sync on for bookmarks. Waited just a minute or two, went to the bookmarks and they matched to the laptop and what I wanted them to be. There were a few sites not in folders on the tablet. That is fine. I did some changes on the tablet. Then went to the laptop and some of the changes were there but others were not. (might not have waited long enough). Anyway, I cleared the cache on the laptop and everything matches. I just turned "sync" on in the phone and it matches the others.

Thanks for the feedback. Hopefully this helps others.

 

[VidJunky]

Glad things worked out for you. I just wasn't getting the whole process before and what you were trying to accomplish.

if you could describe where you found the option to discard the previous sync in order to create the new one that would be helpful when others find your thread. Like a step by step maybe. Open this, click that, uncheck this option...

Best wishes