Help Quesiton About Syncing Contacts & An Icon Question

PGB1213 · May 27, 2016

Hi All!
I'm really new to Android & smart phones in general. Please pardon me if the questions below are so simple I should have figured them out. I tried searching Google's site, all the Android sites & more only to come up empty.

Question One:
I have contacts on my Android ZTE Maven Phone (Android 5.0 using AT&T). I also have contacts on the Google account that is associated with the phone. If I add a contact to the Google contacts list in my computer's web browser, it does not show up on the phone's contact list. I have tried powering off the phone & back on. I've made sure the Sync setting in the main phone screen's pull down shade is on. I even tried going to the phone's Settings - Accounts -Google - Menu - Sync Now The screen will show me the latest sync time as the one I just did, but the new contact on Google still isn't on the phone (even after another reboot of the phone). I tried opening Google + on the phone & it automatically went to my account, so I believe I am correctly connecting the phone to the Google account.

I think something is syncing because my e-mails match on the phone and the computer's web browser when I am at Google.

Do you all know what am I doing wrong?

Question Two:
On my Home Screen on the phone, there are two E-Mail icons. One is the Google one & one is a yellow box. Each has the same messages. Is the yellow one the stock Android E-mail application? Attached below are a photo of the home screen icons & the list in Settings - Accounts.
Does it matter which icon I use?

Thanks Very Much for helping. I sure appreciate it.
Paul

girolez · May 27, 2016

Hi

Question 2

The 2 "email" icons are "Email" and "Gmail". The "google" icon, is for the google app which is a search and info app, not a mail app.

If you are using a gmail account, I would use gmail as your email app because it gives access to all the gmail features such as labels, google notifications etc.

chanchan05 · May 27, 2016

1. Check in what contact group you've placed the new one in. By default the phone would only be syncing to display the My Contacts group.

2. You can choose to use only one app. Having two apps doing the same thing is a waste of battery.

PGB1213 · May 27, 2016

Thank You Girolez & Chanchan05 for taking the time to help me out. I sure appreciate it.
Thanks for clearing up the icons, Girolez. I was not at all sure if they were the same app or not or if one needed the other to function.

I apologize for asking, but I'm stuck again.
I looked in Contacts on the phone to see what was in the My Contacts group. There isn't a group with that title. The groups are titled Google & AT&T Address Book. I don't use the AT&T address book. Both of those groups have sub-groups, but no My Contacts sub group.

Using the computer, in the web site for Gmail, in the view that pops up, there is no My Contacts. But when I switch to something they call Standa

In the phone's Contacts app, it has a group titled Google. In that group there is a sub group titled "Imported 05/25/16" with my contacts.

That's where I am stuck. On the phone, should I rename the Imported 05/26/16 group to My Contacts or am I going about it all wrong?

Thanks Again for your patience. I really appreciate the help you both are giving me on this one. Finding solutions on the internet is kind of frustrating because of the many variations in the operating system versions & provider customizations. But, it's kind of fun, too. (And I won't even ask why some of my contacts all of a sudden have photos next to their entries. Google magic?)

girolez · May 28, 2016

Hi

On the gmail website, there is at top left, a dropdownlabelled gmail which gives access to google contacts.

In the phones contact app, settings there should be a setting for contacts to show - set it to google

My contacts is the same I suspect as AT&T address book. These will not sync with anything and stay on your phone (and get lost if it breaks or gets lost)

PGB1213 · May 28, 2016

Thanks Girolez for sticking with me on this. I still don;t have stuff syncing.

I think my contacts are also the same in AT&T address book, like you mentioned, because if I put a contact in manually to the default address book I get a pop up saying "so-and-so name" has been added to your AT&T Address Book. However, I don't see it on the list of app icons. I do see it in Settings - Apps but can't open it.

I'm starting to wonder if I am even looking at the correct address book. On the phone home screen, it came with an icon that is blue and has the work Contacts under it. (Photo Attached) Is this the "Contacts" that are supposed to sync with my Google's Gmail list?
Have I been looking in the wrong place all this time?
And, how do I look in the AT&T address book just to see what is really in there?

Thanks Again!
Paul

chanchan05 · May 28, 2016

That contacts apo handles all contact sources. I think I see the issue. You are using AT&T address book not Google. In the contacts app, go to more>settings>move contacts, and move it to Google. Then under contacts to display, select Google.

PGB1213 · May 29, 2016

Thank You ChanChan05 for the idea. In the Contacts app - Settings I don't have a Move Contacts choice. I do have a choice to show what is displayed & I chose Google & All Contacts.
Since I didn't have the menu item you mentioned (Move Contacts), I exited Contacts & went to the main phone Settings - Apps & disabled AT&T Address Book. Then I re-booted the phone.

If I understand what Sync is supposed to do, I think I am half way fixed.
Here's my understanding of Sync:
A) If I add, delete or make changes to a contact on the Google web site, it will update the phone contacts list accordingly.
B) If I add, delete or make changes to a contact on the phone, it will update the Google contacts list accordingly.
Do I understand Sync correctly?

I made of bunch of tests and it seems that "A", above is working, but "B" is not. If I make a change on Google using my computer, it will show up on the phone's contacts list. If I make a change on the phone, Google is not changed.

Example The Tests:
I repeated each several times, logging & out of the Google account between & forcing syncs on the phone.

ADD TO GOOLGE USING THE COMPUTER:
Added a contact to the COMPUTER Gmail list
Forced a sync
Checked Contacts on the phone:
Yes- It arrived on the phone

REMOVE FROM GOOGLE USING THE COMPUTER:
Removed a contact from the COMPUTER Gmail list
Forced a sync
Checked contacts on the phone:
Yes- It left the phone

ADD TO PHONE:
Added a contact to the PHONE list.
Forced a sync.
Checked Google Contacts on the web site:
No- It did not show up on Google

REMOVE FROM PHONE:
Removed a contact from the PHONE contact list that was also on the web list
Force a sync
Checked Google Contacts on the web site:
No- It stayed on the computer

It seems the half of sync that would be of most benefit is the one I don't yet have working. I often add new contacts while out-and-about, only to forget to update my computer's contact list.

Thanks Again All for helping me out with this & sticking with me as I learn!
Enjoy This Day!
Paul

PGB1213 · May 29, 2016

I think I've got it (hopefully...)
I re-read all the great information the you guys were kind enough to send and the whole concept finally sunk in through my thick skull.

When I make a new contact on the phone, way at the top of the screen is a box that says AT&T Address Book. If I tap it, a drop-down appears that says "Google Contact". If I select Google Contact, the saved contact can be synced both ways. I have never tried tapping that box before. (And, now that I tapped it once, there is a convenient drop-down arrow for next time.)

I think that this is what you all have been telling me, but I sure did not get it. I must have been in Duh-Huh-What mode all this time.

Unfortunately, this leads to a follow-up question:
Can I convert the existing contacts to be Google Contacts? If no, is there some trick to import my backup v-card file as Google type contacts (after deleting all existing entries)?

I wonder if I delete everybody in Gmail Contacts on the computer and on the phone. Then, import the v-card file to Google on the computer & let it sync to the phone if the contacts on the phone will all become Google type contacts.

I chickened out before trying this & really messing stuff up, preferring to ask you all first.

Thanks Again,
Paul

chanchan05 · May 29, 2016

Yes you could do that, delete the contacts on Google and import the vcard from the phone.

Also, if I remember correctly, Google has a recover deleted contact function, so you don't need to worry. If you're really not convinced, you could always try making a second Gmail account and upload to that, just to test it.

PGB1213 · May 30, 2016

Syncing Perfectly!
Thanks To All for helping me with this. I sincerely appreciate your sharing of knowledge.

You got me Braved-Up, Chachan05, so I went for it.

I exported the Google contacts as CSV, the choice Google presented as for importing to the account.
Next I deleted all contacts on Goolge & the phone and rebooted the phone.
I imported the saved contacts to the Google web site.
I made a dummy contact on the phone to ensure new contacts were being saved as Google Contacts. (Not AT&T type)
Then I synced from the Goolge web site contacts to the phone. Everybody synced A-OK.
I tested many changes in every manner possible, with re-syncs in between. It all works great.
Next, I made a local backup of the contacts (just in case..)

The only two glitches I ran into were:
When I exported from Google as vcf, it automatically over-wrtoe my MAC OS X Contacts.app contacts. I had a backup so that was very easy to resolve.
And, when I first forced a sync, no contacts showed up on the phone. I explored around and found a pop up that was hidden under the web browser's window which asked me to resolve duplicates.
After they were resolved, the contacts synced great.

Thank You Again to all who helped me out with this. I certainly learned a lot and have learned a lot about many other Android topics in this forum. People here are very helpful.
Hopefully someday I will be able to return the favor & help someone else out.

Be Sure To Enjoy This Day!
Paul

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