Yes, noob question about gmail/google accounts and android (new Samsung GS4 owner)

[texasniteowl]

Just bought the Samsung Galaxy S 4 (AT&T 32gb model) Friday night. It is my first android device. Previously spent 4 yrs with an iPhone 3GS. I had been torn between the S4 and the HTC One but in the end went with Samsung.

Anyway, so the employee at the AT&T store was doing the basic setup with me in the store, verifying it could access internet, make calls etc. They had me go ahead and create an account on the phone. At the time, I did specifically ask if I could use my google apps account (mydomain.net via google apps) but they said that some apps don't work with that and it is better to use a real gmail account. So I did use my existing gmail account (which these days is more of a throwaway email for me for any websites that I don't want to have my real email).

So first...is that true? Are there really any apps or issues with Play that would prevent me from using my own domain email since it is using google apps?

Second...I think I understand that you can have multiple "accounts" on the phone, but since it is my google apps account that I want to be syncing contacts etc. with primarily, I presume I really would want it as my primary account instead of as a secondary?

Third...what's the best way to go about correcting this? I tried searching a bit and found one reference that said to do a factory restore on the phone? Is that really necessary? Would just deleting the existing gmail account and adding the google apps account fix this?

Lastly...for now...how does everyone else with both gmail and google apps domains (and a separate youtube login at that) handle their setup? For what it is worth, I have no intention of giving up my "mydomain.net" ever and have no intention of moving it off google apps for the forseeable future.

Thanks for any direction anyone can provide!

 

[Paul627g]

I'll take a crack at some of this and I'm sure others will share their thoughts & experiences.

First, your Android phone and the associated Gmail account you used to setup the device need to work in harmony. Yes you can save contacts, calendar items and other Google related data to the phone only but it is highly recommended that you keep the 2 way street of sync open between your device and your Google (Gmail) account. This is done for the main reason that in the event something happens to your device for whatever reason your contacts, calendar items and other related sync type apps are backed up to your GMail account online.

Next and probably the most obvious is any applications you download and install either paid or free is linked to your Gmail/Google account. Paid applications aren't transferable. Again, so much of what you do with applications and your device is sync'd with your Gmail account.

Yes you can use other email accounts with the device but I would keep your Gmail account as the main account, then if you like to use a secondary account for email or other means that can be easily done from the device itself or use of 3rd party apps to manage all your email accounts in one place.


Hope this clears up a little of the confusion and answers some of your questions. Bottom line, Gmail is your friend regardless of you using it daily for email and communication or not its a necessity to keep things in sync with your device.

 

[texasniteowl]

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I do understand the necessity of the phone syncing with an account. So the question comes down to: Which account, actual gmail or mydomain at google apps, should be the primary account to which Google Play syncs for purchases? It sounds like you are advocating keeping the following:

Primary Account: me@gmail to sync Google Play and email (though this is a secondary or even tertiary email account for me); disable contacts and calendar.
Secondary Account: me@mydomain on google apps to sync email (my primary email) and contacts and calendar.

So in this setup, would the syncing occur as I presume? The device would sync contacts & calendar only with the secondary account? And google play with the first for apps?

Also, if this is the desired setup, can I disable notifications for email on the primary account and only receive notifications for email on the secondary account?