Editing contacts on my PC

[jsigmo]

SII Skyrocket, running ICS, with AT&T.

Is there any way to edit my contacts on my PC?

When I installed ICS, I failed to recognize that there was a setting that got changed to auto sync my contacts with (something?) and now, I've got multiple copies of various contacts as well as a bunch of contacts for people I don't even know who must be on FaceButt or something (Need to get FB off of the phone, it's nothing but trouble - but that's another thread, I guess).

Anyhow, rather than tediously going through the zillions of new, unwanted contacts on the phone, it'd be easier to do it on my PC. So I figure there's some way to do that. Perhaps I need to download an app?

I'd rather NOT turn on any kind of syncing, I have no desire to bloat my phone's phonebook more. I'm trying to trim it down.

 

[Dr Triffid]

On a desktop, the easiest way probably would be to call up Gmail and edit your contacts there. Then perform a manual sync on your phone to get the updated list.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Android Central Forums

 

[fldude99]

Yes..best thing is to have zero phone contacts. Just have them all on Gmail, then go to contacts on the phone and just show the groups you want to show that you set up in Gmail

 

[jsigmo]

OK. Sounds like this may be much more difficult than it was on my old "dumb" phone.

I purposely set up my g-mail to be my "throw away" or "spam" email, not my "real" email. This has worked well because it's associated with FaceButt. So it catches all of the garbage that spews forth from that source. Hundreds of people I don't know, etc. So that's been good.

But the last thing I wanted was to end up with all of those folks as contacts in my phone's address book where I have to wade through them to find my "real" contacts. I might as well "synch" with a New York phone book.

I guess I'll just bite the bullet and manually edit out all of the unwanted contacts that accidentally got "synched" in already between me upgrading to ICS and now, and just learn my lesson to always be sure to keep any synch stuff swotched off and check for those switches to get thrown any time I do a software update.

Phoned in.

 

[fldude99]

OK. Sounds like this may be much more difficult than it was on my old "dumb" phone.

I purposely set up my g-mail to be my "throw away" or "spam" email, not my "real" email. This has worked well because it's associated with FaceButt. So it catches all of the garbage that spews forth from that source. Hundreds of people I don't know, etc. So that's been good.6

But the last thing I wanted was to end up with all of those folks as contacts in my phone's address book where I have to wade through them to find my "real" contacts. I might as well "synch" with a New York phone book.

I guess I'll just bite the bullet and manually edit out all of the unwanted contacts that accidentally got "synched" in already between me upgrading to ICS and now, and just learn my lesson to always be sure to keep any synch stuff swotched off and check for those switches to get thrown any time I do a software update.

Phoned in.

Nooo.. That's an incredible waste of time! On a PC, Just create group and add the contacts you want in that group, then go to contacts on the phone and in options choose only to show that group

 

[jsigmo]

As fancy and smart as these phones are, you'd think there would be a simple app and corresponding program for our PCs that just lets us manage our contacts on the PC and then transfer back and forth between the PC and the phone - like my dumb phones from 10 years ago had. But I'm not finding any such program/app out there, and it's not built in. Sort of a giant step backwards, like not having seat belts on the Starship Enterprise - technology lost to the ages. ;-)

I just went in and deleted all of the "junk contacts" directly on the phone, but as you point out, it was time consuming due to the far clunkier interface than what I had with my old dumb phones and a PC. But I don't want any of those junk contacts polluting my phone at all (I don't just want to hide them, I actually want them gone because they're not actually "contacts" of mine, they're just spam transferred in from FaceButt against my will, to people I don't know and don't need to have in my contacts list). I guess I'm just annoyed that some "social network" is deciding who I should and should not be associated with. I'll choose my own contacts, thank you very much!

And I don't want to manage my contacts via Google. But I suppose they want us to do that so they can have access to all of that information, too. The goal is to eliminate anything "stand alone" on our PCs, phones, etc., and move everything to the "cloud" so that nothing can be private or under our full control, and ultimately will not belong to us at all. Instead, everything moves to a subscription model where we have to pay constantly rather than be able to actually buy and own anything. Kind of like Microsoft doing away with Visual Studio 6 and going to the "dot net" model where you can't just own the software, you kind of "rent" it to guarantee continuing dependence on, and payments to, MS.

I'm going to go make me an aluminum foil hat now.

 

[run1fast]

I just had to do a factory reset and am looking to update my contacts on my PC and not my phone. Most of my Gmail contacts are email contacts and not people I call or text, so I dont want them on my phonebook. Any ideas? Galaxy Nexus, Jelly Bean 4.1.2

 

[run1fast]

I found a free program that does the trick. MyPhoneExplorer. You can connect to your computer via Wifi, Bluetooth, or USB tether. It is pretty simple and works easily enough. Plus free.

 

[Alessandro Restagno]

Thank you so much... I lost 2 hours of my life and, then, I found your post and MyPhoneExplorer was exactly what I was waiting for.

Thanks again and have a great day

 

[rhhosking]

Yes, thanks for the tip about My Phone Explorer!

Amazing how a simple, well-designed tool can simplify something nearly impossible to do with standard apps.

Completely free, but it worked so well I sent in a donation of 10 euros!

 

[iwhalperin]

Re: Editing contacts on my PC MyPhoneExplorer TROJAN WARNING!!!

I went to the MyPhoneExplorer Website to download the program. When I started install there were severly craftily oblique attempts to get me to accept several browser additions. I was able to get around those and authorize the install to proceed. I promptly got an alert from MalwareBytles that the program was trying to install Trojan.Agent.ED virus, which was going to be hidden in c:\Program Files (x86)Show-Password\Show_Password.exe. I allowed Malwarebyes to quarantine the file and then had it deleted from my h/d.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

 

[trailrider2]

This may help someone. I am running ICS on a Galaxy Exhilarate.The Kies program has problems. I can't connect via USB. Previously I connected to Kies via WiFi under "settings, wireless and networks". I was able to edit-build my contacts on my phone with my PC. I saved them on my PC and uploaded them to my phone. Recently I could not connect via Kies as before. So I exported my contacts to my SD card. It saves them as a vcf file (vcard file). I copied the file to my PC via a USB connection using windows explorer. I saved the file in: my documents/samsung/kies/pims (this is where kies looks for contacts). I was able to open this file in Kies. Click "contacts" under "library". The file can be editted with Kies. I can then pass the file back to my phone SD card and import. I am mainly using this method to backup my contacts. I am afraid of MyPhoneExplorer due to potential viruses.

 

[jlind]

Kind of like Microsoft doing away with Visual Studio 6 and going to the "dot net" model where you can't just own the software, you kind of "rent" it to guarantee continuing dependence on, and payments to, MS.

Not so. Visual Studio, which has been around since 1995, long before .NET, has NEVER been for rent. You can't "rent" it, not then, not now, not ever. The current Visual Studio 2013 Professional license is $299. When you buy that license it's yours in perpetuity and not subject to some expiration or cancellation from Microsoft.

Visual Studio has been ".NET" since 2002. .NET has NOTHING to do with a Visual Studio licensing model. .NET was a Microsoft change to a common language runtime, and to common variable and module interface structures to enable integration of modules built using different programming languages in Visual Studio.

Visual Studio Professional can come bundled with an MSDN subscription and, indeed, other Editions such as Premium and Ultimate come with bundled with one-year MSDN subscriptions. However, the Visual Studio license is a permanent one whether on not you obtain or renew the MSDN subscription from year-to-year. MSDN has ALWAYS been a subscription service for continuous releases of Microsoft software for developmental use ever since it came into existence decades ago which is long before .NET ever existed.

General Parts and ICARZ (WHI Solutions) were using Visual Studio 6 in 2009 for the CARQUEST store system when it was four versions obsolete. AMTRAK was still using Visual Studio 2005 in 2013 for mobile device development when it was four versions obsolete. Like many other enterprises, they owned their indefinite licenses to the Visual Studio versions they were using and were not subject to any dependence on or payments to Microsoft for their continued use.

Whatever your angst is about Microsoft (and lots of other things in life it seems from your post) you might at least get this right. I can think of plenty of other things to throw rocks at Microsoft about, but this is not one of them.

 

[wkshank]

that is a brilliant suggestion!! thank you so much!