Missing Google contacts sync options

[Android Central Question]

When I sync my Google account, all the other options are showed. Including Google calendar, Chrome, Doc, Drive, and Gmail. Everything is there apart from the Google contact.
Can someone help, how I can choose google contacts to display as my phone contacts?

 

[TomNC]

Please help!

I have the same problem on Android 6.0.1 on a Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

It was syncing contacts fine with a Gmail account until 1-29-18. Until then, I could edit a contact online or on my phone and it would show up on the other immediately.

After that, I've tried everything to get sync going again, including:
Turning off all power save features,
Turning "Auto sync data" off and on,
Removing the Google account and replacing it,
Cleaning out the cache partition, and
Loading a new version of google contacts sync apk,
but nothing helps.

(BTW, The first time I removed the account, I lost all the contacts on the phone and I had to import all of them from my online google account, which seemed to randomly fail, saying a contact was an unsupported format, but that's another story. Got them all back eventually, but still not syncing.)

Now:
(1) The "Sync Contacts" option is not there for my Google account
(in Settings->Accounts->Google->select the account with my contacts)

(2) The "Contacts to display" option doesn't list that Google account, which is the one with my contacts,
(in Phone->Contacts->menu (ie, three dots)->Settings->Contacts->Contacts to display) and

(3) The Google "Contacts" app, which I have newly installed, just spins with:
"Syncing your contacts from Google. This may take a minute."
I let it run overnight and it is still spinning.

Any ideas on how to get contact sync working again?

I'm at the end of my rope...

 

[Dakshin S]

I do not use Samsung mobile, however based on my past experience with Android 7.0, I have provided here few options that helped me to fix my google contacts sync problem. Either my Contacts Sync would freeze with 2 arrows in circle shape state or contacts sync option used to disappear from the google account sync screen or my Google contacts app would keep spinning trying to sync. On nearly 4 occasions one of the following actions helped me resolve the sync problem. I use Android 7.0.

Below are just my overview options and not step by step instructions. Reboot phone wherever necessary.

1. Got to Settings>Battery and ensure battery power saver option is turned off. This will break your contact sync process when mobile power goes below set threshold value.
2. Ensure that there are no special characters in your google contacts data fields. Simple way to fix your google contacts, groups and it's data fields is by installing and running "SyncFix" free app available in play store. The tool removed invalid groups and certain special characters like trademark symbol added by Whatsapp while importing contacts from instant messages.
3. Go to Settings>Apps>Contacts>Storage>Clear cache & Clear data.
4. Go to Settings>Apps. Select option "Show system apps". Go to Google Contacts Sync>Storage>Clear cache & Clear data. If you do not have Google contacts sync app, then you may have to download the apk available online and install it. For details google "GoogleContactsSync APK".
5. Go to Accounts>Google. Remove google account, reboot and add google account again.
6. Go to Storage & USB>Internal Storage and select Cache data. This will clear all your cache data in the storage.
7. Got to settings>Accounts. Turn "Auto sync data" off and on.
8.Go to Settings>Apps>Contacts Storage>Storage>Clear cache & Clear data. (added on 3/6/2018)

 

[TomNC]

Hey, thanks for helping. I'm pretty desperate.

I've tried all these. I still get no "Sync Contacts" option in Settings->Accounts->Google->'my account with the contacts' as described in my first post above.

Please, any more help !?!



Here's the details for what happens on my Android 6.01 when I try your numbered suggestions:

>> 1. Got to Settings>Battery and ensure battery power saver option is turned off.

This was off for relevant apps (ie, Contacts) but I turned it off for all apps anyway.

>> 2. Ensure that there are no special characters in your google contacts data fields.

I assume you mean "Contacts Sync Fix" version 1.54 by Nikolay R. It has never found anything to change when I run it.

>> 3. Go to Settings>Apps>Contacts>Storage>Clear cache & Clear data.

On my Android 6.0.1, this is: Settings>Application Manager->Contacts>Storage>Clear Data
This did nothing.

>> 4. Go to Settings>Apps. Select option "Show system apps". Go to Google Contacts Sync>Storage>Clear Data.

This did nothing.

>> 5. Go to Settings->Accounts>Google. Remove google account, reboot and add google account again.

Last time I did this, it removed all my Contacts from the phone, but it didn't this time.
I then did a Restart and Settings->Accounts and select + to add an account, selecting Google.
It asks for the email address & password of the new acct.
It takes a long time, but when the new account shows up.... "Sync Contacts" is not there.

>> 6. Go to Storage & USB>Internal Storage and select Cache data. This will clear all your cache data in the storage.

On my Android 6.0.1, this is: Settings>Storage->Cached Data, but does clear cached data for all apps. Makes no difference.

>>7. Got to Settings>Accounts. Turn "Auto sync data" off and on.

Did this, make no difference.

I also turned off Sync for Picassa Web albums. Makes no difference.

 

[Dakshin S]

Sorry to know that you still have the issue. Yes, you tried all options exactly what I meant, including SyncFix app.

For me too these steps did not help instantly. Sometimes I just repeat the steps randomly with different options that I had mentioned, because google contacts sync is very important for me. I even leave official Google contacts app keep running for long time in ""Syncing your contacts from Google. This may take a minute" status and it helped me fix once when I left it to run overnight. Very weird though.

I really do not understand why Google would never deploy a permanent fix for the problem that happens across various Android mobile brands. I have fixed my contacts sync issue during 4 occasions in the past 6 months, last time was just a week back.

Crossing my fingers for when the next occurrence would be again in mobile. ha ha ha...

 

[TomNC]

Good advice! Seems to be fixed now.

This is a head scratcher. I didn't do anything I haven't done before. As I said, the only difference was that now removing and replacing the Google account did not delete all my contacts. So I removed and replaced it a few times. Then I decided to remove all the other Google accounts I have that I don't use for contacts. Removed my Samsung account also, so the only account left in Contacts was the one I use for contacts. Nothing changed.

However, a few hours later, I noticed that the "Sync Contacts" option was back! So I disabled/enabled Auto-sync a few times, and it said it was syncing, but no changes came over. Then a few hours after that, I noticed one change had come over to my phone. Now I think it's all better, but I can't really explain why. This has been a maddening few days.

Anyway, thank you! Thanks for collecting all the fixes in one list and for offering encouragement. Do you have any idea what the bug is?

 

[Dakshin S]

Happy to help and good to know that finally you made it.

The latest official Google acknowledgement is they identified Google plus profile link present in contacts is creating issues with Android Oreo mobiles. I do not use Google plus, so went in and deleted the G+ profile link in all of my contacts, which were very few. Apart from that, I am not aware of any known bugs yet.

 

[PressForAnswers]

Re: Missing Google contacts sync options - RESOLVED

It started with me seeing the error message: "Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly." Then, the option to sync contacts disappeared.

SOLUTION: A third party app is blocking your contacts.
I have a Galaxy S8 and I was convinced the issue was a Google problem because, after trying some fixes, my "Sync Contacts" option wasn't there at all anymore (in the Google Account Settings). It showed the option to sync many other things but, Contacts was gone. It's not a Google issue and it's not a device issue. It's a third party app issue. Mine was either the ABC (network) or CBS (network) apps.

HERE'S THE TEST: restart your phone in safe mode (power it off. Turn it back on by holding the Power button + Volume Down button at the same time. When the logo comes up, release the power button, hold the Volume Down button and watch in the lower left corner of your screen for a "Safe Mode" indicator). This will start your phone with a limited set of programs. Then, follow these steps (if you have a different Android than the S8, find your similar menus):

SETTINGS > CLOUD AND ACCOUNTS > ACCOUNTS > GOOGLE > [PICK YOUR GMAIL ACCOUNT] That will take you to SYNC SETTINGS.

If "Sync Contacts" is now working or whatever Sync button you may have been missing before, is now miraculously there, then your problem is that an app you downloaded is somehow blocking it. If you download a lot of apps, you may have to pinpoint when your problem started and what you did with apps just before that. In my case, I had downloaded ABC's and CBS' apps. I uninstalled them, restarted my phone (not in safe mode) and the sync contacts issue was resolved.

This solution was found, with a fantastic Samsung tech supervisor, after hours and hours of researching my initial problem of a sync error message that said "Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly." From a lot of help in this forum, I removed the problematic gmail accounts and then re-added them. When I re-added them, the "Sync Contacts" button was gone, completely.

Here's some advice on getting help: Push HARD to talk to an actual EXPERT. I physically went to see a Samsung rep at Best Buy and he was very helpful but couldn't figure it out and suggested I call Google. Google customer service was useless and rude. I called Samsung's tech support and the person I spoke to was sort of a tech person but was reading from their "script" instead of really listening to me and her solution was that I'd have to do a factory reset of my phone. To avoid that, I pressed her to speak to a supervisor. When he got on the phone I begged him to just listen to me and talk to me like a person. I asked if he was an actual tech guy and he said he was and that he also had an S8. He was awesome. He had me try stuff on my phone that he was trying on his to see if it changed settings. Ultimately, he's the one who had me boot it up in safe mode and he found the problem.

I hope this helps.

 

[Rukbat]

Thanks PressForAnswers. We've had this type of question before. I'm sure your solution will help a lot of others.

 

[Dakshin S]

Thank you PressForAnswers.

 

[audio_inside]

I had an issue with my account's Contacts Sync failing - had tried all the other solutions include clearing the app cache, deleting and reinstalling the app, zeroing all the Google contacts online (and restoring them from a backup), removing the Google account altogether from the phone. But the best result I could achieve was only a partial sync of about 50 random contacts out of the 400 that Google had online for that account.

What finally solved it definitively was remembering that I had this same Google account mirrored on another phone (my wife's) so that I could use Gmail and Contacts on her phone if need be. When I deleted my Google account off of her phone I got a prompt and complete sync of all the Contacts stored online back onto my phone.

So if you have multiple Android devices that might have your Google account info being sync'd you might try removing the account from all but the most important of those devices. Worked for me

 

[Dakshin S]

I would like to add one more point here. I removed battery optimization for all apps, as this was breaking the normal behavior of apps. This also might have helped my mobile, the contact sync has been running fine for quiet some time now.

 

[Dakshin S]

Try this Solution!!!

Go to settings and turn Data Saver ON. Ensure that in Data Saver screen, unrestricted access is turned ON for Google Play Services and Google Play Store. This might resolve the problem of any sync issues in Google account.

If it works then, one of your app seems to be blocking the background process. In my case the culprit was Google Photos app. I have automatic back up turned ON in Google Photos and this was somehow breaking background processes of Google services and play store.

There is a way for you to identify the problem app. After turning ON Data Saver, Turn ON unrestricted access for all apps within Data Saver screen. Then start download of app updates in play store. If you already have play store download problem, you may not see download arrow in the top left corner of the screen. Now toggle for app each one by one unrestricted access button OFF, watch for download arrow whether it started working, if not then back to ON. When I did this for Google Photos, everything started working fine.

 

[WhoFan]

My Occam's razor momnent of Zen...

After much frustration and research, the simplest thing fixed it. Settings>Battery and ensure all battery power saver options are turned off. I followed that tip and everything instantly started syncing and the contacts option was back.

KC

 

[Nehitalia]

Try this Solution!!!

Go to settings and turn Data Saver ON. Ensure that in Data Saver screen, unrestricted access is turned ON for Google Play Services and Google Play Store. This might resolve the problem of any sync issues in Google account.

If it works then, one of your app seems to be blocking the background process. In my case the culprit was Google Photos app. I have automatic back up turned ON in Google Photos and this was somehow breaking background processes of Google services and play store.

There is a way for you to identify the problem app. After turning ON Data Saver, Turn ON unrestricted access for all apps within Data Saver screen. Then start download of app updates in play store. If you already have play store download problem, you may not see download arrow in the top left corner of the screen. Now toggle for app each one by one unrestricted access button OFF, watch for download arrow whether it started working, if not then back to ON. When I did this for Google Photos, everything started working fine.

This worked !!!! I spent hours trying every other suggestion and immediately I tried yours, problem solved!
Even Google play that wasn't downloading/updating apps, started working.
Thank you so much.

 

[B. Diddy]

Another solution to try would be to turn off Contacts permission for Google Play Services (in Settings>Apps), and then turn it back on again. This seemed to work for member Joopjr in this thread: https://forums.androidcentral.com/a...-doesnt-sync-contacts-google.html#post6431139

 

[Collymuk]

To those who went through tones of procedures HERE IS THE SHORTCUT on Galaxy S8:
1. Remove google account
2. Clear data & cache of contacts app
3. Restart phone (optional)
----
4. Make sure sync, wifi or data is ACTIVE then add google account
5. When adding its important to select BACKUP ACCOUNT!!
6. Open contacts app && thank me later.

--
CHEERS!!

 

[A Yaint]

Hello
I am using Redmi note 3 pro, MIUI 8.5 and android version 6.0.1.
I had the same problem no showing contact sync section under google account.
Then I have uninstalled update version of google contact sync apk and dowloaded older version and installed.
Now that's fixed.