Help HTC Sync just deleted all of my Outlook contacts - year's worth - at work!!

[Sprockethead]

Is there any way for me to get them back? Oh please, please tell me that there is. I was prepping my phone to transfer all of the contacts over. I spent a long time in Outlook updating the contacts. Then I deleted all of my phone contacts so that no "bad" info would flow back into Outlook.

I hit sync, and viola... all Outlook contacts are erased.

Please help.

 

[berardi1111]

Stop. before you do anything - did you backup your outlook contacts yet?

And also when you say they are gone - are they gone from both the phone AND outlook or are they just not showing on the phone yet?

 

[Sprockethead]

Holy shizzle. Ok, funny that I immediately posted this online before stopping a second to think.

Ok, thanks for the response. I just remembered that in my recycle bin was a .csv file that I used to send my Outlook contacts to Google the other day. Also, I forgot that I backed up my personal data with My Backup Pro. So I was covered on 2 fronts.

The thought of losing all my contacts just freaked me out there for a minute. I think I'm all good now.

HOWEVER - Why the hell did HTC delete all of these contacts? I have the sync configured to go with the COMPUTER when there is a conflict. Why would it update my entire address book with blanks?

 

[Sprockethead]

Stop. before you do anything - did you backup your outlook contacts yet?

And also when you say they are gone - are they gone from both the phone AND outlook or are they just not showing on the phone yet?

Oh, and just to clear up my situation, I had manually deleted all of my contacts from the phone before I synced. I thought that the "clean" Outlook data would populate my phone. Instead the "nothing" from the phone overwrote all of my Outlook contact data.

 

[berardi1111]

Ok, glad you have a backup... that is always a *MUST* .

have you tried syncing a second time? Many times the first sync does not work for me, and this has been true on Windows mobile also. It will say it synced but nothing actually came over, and then the second time it does. If you haven't I would try a second sync (as long as you have your backup! )

Somoene else might be able to help better with the specifics of HTC sync, since I don't have an Evo yet and have only used "work email" app.

 

[MisterB]

As a long time Outlook user, let me tell you that you will be much happier taking that .csv file, uploading it to Google calendar, and using that from now on. No more cables, and everything is synced live and automatically.

 

[Sprockethead]

As a long time Outlook user, let me tell you that you will be much happier taking that .csv file, uploading it to Google calendar, and using that from now on. No more cables, and everything is synced live and automatically.

I just might wind up doing that. The problem is that I am a little OCD about my contacts, calendar, etc. I'd like to know that if I make a change to a contact in Outlook that it will be reflected in my phone eventually. By using Google, I'm forced to send that .csv file over periodically. That is not in itself a bad thing, but at that point I might as well plug my phone in I figure. That way the stuff I updated in my phone has a chance to make it to Outlook, too.

I know, I know, I should use the Google/Outlook sync apps that are out there. I just don't trust them yet, though!

 

[shad0w77]

I just might wind up doing that. The problem is that I am a little OCD about my contacts, calendar, etc. I'd like to know that if I make a change to a contact in Outlook that it will be reflected in my phone eventually. By using Google, I'm forced to send that .csv file over periodically. That is not in itself a bad thing, but at that point I might as well plug my phone in I figure. That way the stuff I updated in my phone has a chance to make it to Outlook, too.

I know, I know, I should use the Google/Outlook sync apps that are out there. I just don't trust them yet, though!

you dont need to send the csv periodically... if i update a contact on my phone, it shows up on google almost instantly... background sync baby!

 

[c_aus]

Check your outlook deleted items too, HTCSync did the same thing with my contacts with my Incredible, but I was able to recover all of them from the deleted items folder.

 

[Sprockethead]

Check your outlook deleted items too, HTCSync did the same thing with my contacts with my Incredible, but I was able to recover all of them from the deleted items folder.

Good call.

 

[Sprockethead]

you dont need to send the csv periodically... if i update a contact on my phone, it shows up on google almost instantly... background sync baby!

Yeah, the problem is then getting Outlook to line up with Google.

For example, if I update a Google contact in the phone, it will update Google. But it won't update the "Phone" contact. The old info will still be there, with new information added to it. After a year or so, one person might have 10 phone numbers. Because modifying phone information doesn't replace data, it only adds to the data. If that makes any sense.

 

[ToxMox]

My solution was to get rid of Outlook and stick to the web GMail, Calendar, and Contacts interface.

Haven't looked back in 3 years.

Now that I have an Android phone and syncing with my phone instantly OTA it's even better.

 

[shad0w77]

Yeah, the problem is then getting Outlook to line up with Google.

For example, if I update a Google contact in the phone, it will update Google. But it won't update the "Phone" contact. The old info will still be there, with new information added to it. After a year or so, one person might have 10 phone numbers. Because modifying phone information doesn't replace data, it only adds to the data. If that makes any sense.

My solution was to get rid of Outlook and stick to the web GMail, Calendar, and Contacts interface.

Haven't looked back in 3 years.

Now that I have an Android phone and syncing with my phone instantly OTA it's even better.

yeah i have slowly done the same... now, i am all google. granted, i cant get my lotus notes work calendar to sync w/ google

 

[tardmobile]

Holy crap, Lotus Notes? Does IBM even still use that?
Being a corporate tech support grunt, I shudder at the mention of "Lotus Notes" or "domino server."

 

[shad0w77]

Holy crap, Lotus Notes? Does IBM even still use that?
Being a corporate tech support grunt, I shudder at the mention of "Lotus Notes" or "domino server."

hahahaha... I hear that a lot. I am a Java Developer and work closely w/ the systems team... they always complain about notes. We didn't do the corporate gmail account because of security concerns.

We are supposedly getting Notes 8 pushed to our local machine in the next day or two. I hear there are some nice web mail features and plenty of other updates/upgrades/fixes included in version 8.

anyway... sorry about taking us off topic....

 

[neodorian]

Outlook is fine--when coupled with an Exchange server. Gmail has brought that kind of OTA sync to the free web but if your work has an Exchange server, Outlook is very useful. I use both...Exchange for work contacts/email/calendar and Google for personal.

 

[pearlyn]

where can I find deleted stuff in outlook?

besides switching to gmail, is there any way of actually targetting the problem of the one way sync error? or does conflict policy only apply for duplicates, but if there isn't a contact on either end it'll wipe?

thanks!

 

[Sprockethead]

^^In the case that started this thread, the "blank entries" on the phone overwrote all entries in Outlook.

Now I just got Outlook ---> Google. But that means I can't update contacts on my phone and have it reflected in Outlook. I have to manually update everything outlook. Total pain in the @ss.

To top it off, soon after this happened, my synced Google Calendar sent an invitation out to upper management for a standing meeting I have. Needless to say, I immediately wiped my Google Calendar and I DO NOT USE IT ANYMORE.

I still have not found a perfect solution for my Outlook contacts and calendars. The only feasible solution I've seen so far is the Premium version of Google Apps. It's $50 a year. But you have to have your own domain and host to use it. Since I don't need a personal domain email account, it is a little too much trouble for me.

I would have to 1. Buy domain 2. Buy hosting 3. Configure domain email account for myself 4. Buy Google apps 5. Sync google and Outlook.

That's a lot of $$ for something that my blackberry did with a $2 cable!!

 

[Zameus]

Outlook is fine--when coupled with an Exchange server. Gmail has brought that kind of OTA sync to the free web but if your work has an Exchange server, Outlook is very useful. I use both...Exchange for work contacts/email/calendar and Google for personal.

Ditto!

 

[Sprockethead]

Yes, if your workplace supports Android. Mine (and 99% of the corporate world) only supports blackberry.

 

[Yankees368]

I have a serious problem with the way phones delete data like this. Blackberry, as well Android, have both deleted my contacts on different occasions. This shouldn't even happen.

 

[Walnut Whip]

Same thing happening to me. I lost ALL of my contacts (thank heaven for My Backup that enabled me to keep copies on my SD card.) I currently have my Desire connected to my PC and, if I delete a contact on the Desire, then sync, it gets wiped from Outlook too. And I've set up HTC Sync to be the primary database in the event of conflicts. Does no-one test applications to ensure they work?

 

[Vincent Law]

Walnut: Sounds like it was working properly to me. You deleted a contact, it synced that deletion for you.

That isn't a conflict, if you thought that's what it was. A conflict is, for example, if you change a phone number on Outlook, and change the same contact's phone number to something else on your phone, and then sync. When it syncs, both sides have changes, but they conflict. That is when it would use the HTC Sync as the primary database.

 

[spile]

I found the issue wasn't Outlook but Htc Sync. Once I stopped using that and used MyPhoneExplorer instead, my contact issues with Android and Outlook were sorted.