Help Stop sync with Gmail contacts and calendar?

[martyp]

Hi all,

I've just switched back to 2.1 following issues with 2.2 and forgot about the irritation where it pollutes your people directory with e-mail address etc from the Gmail account and adds in the gmail calendar.
I have tried various things to stop it doing that but even with all sync options disabled and switched off it'll still pick up all this from the GMail account and I don't want it to. The only thing I want sync'd is the e-mails not the calendar or contacts. Even more annoying is when it links my contacts with e-mail addresses in Google and changes the names because of the links.
I have done several factory resets and different ways of adding the GMail account and cancelling the sync but it'll still sync even if it's all disabled in Accounts and Sync options...
I'm sure I read a trick somewhere to kill this, can anyone help at all please? I like to keep my contacts and calendar only on my phone, I don't use those on Google.

Many thanks

 

[sitlet]

it pollutes your people directory with e-mail address etc from the Gmail account

In the People app, hit menu-view, and check "only show contacts with phone numbers"

The only thing I want sync'd is the e-mails not the calendar or contacts.

Menu-Settings-Accounts and Sync, hit your gmail account, then uncheck calendar and contacts.

 

[martyp]

Hi sitlet,
Many thanks for the advice, I already tried cancelling the sync and turning off sync all together but the moment you add a google account it sync's even with all that switched off. I can't go on the Market without adding the Google account.
The problem with the phone numbers option is I have some contacts who don't have phone numbers.
What I'm considering now is creating a dummy GMail account with nothing in just to get rid of all the contact/calendar stuff then opening the other account just in Gmail?

 

[FrankXS]

Hi sitlet,
Many thanks for the advice, I already tried cancelling the sync and turning off sync all together but the moment you add a google account it sync's even with all that switched off. I can't go on the Market without adding the Google account.
The problem with the phone numbers option is I have some contacts who don't have phone numbers.
What I'm considering now is creating a dummy GMail account with nothing in just to get rid of all the contact/calendar stuff then opening the other account just in Gmail?

Not a bad idea. I'm using a Windows phone and I've been syncing with the Windows "My Phone" app (to the cloud). Very good. Prior to that I was syncing to one special copy of MS Outlook on my laptop (different than the MS Outlook I used normally). Now, I'm syncing with a tailored Gmail account.

IOW, I've been doing what you suggest, creating a specific methodology and account tailored to syncing. This avoids all the unwanted mixing of data across all your accounts. I hate that too. Seems like all the manufactures are heading that way. I see ads for phones saying things like "Hey, look, this thing syncs and pulls in data from every account you've ever had, all your friends accounts and all your mistresses accounts, you x-wife and even your enemy's stuff, and it is all put on your phone, for your perusal"! Hallelujah! I think it's bunk.

-Frank

 

[martyp]

Hi FrankXS,
I totally agree, I do also have Facebook, Twitter, Flickr accounts etc but I don't want all that mixed in with my phone. I appreciate that if my phone was stolen etc that someone could access all my contacts and calendar info but in my view I'd know a lot sooner if my phone was nicked than if someone had cracked the password on my GMail account (or Gmail was comprimised) and found out my whereabouts, contact info etc through there. Someone could be logging in to my GMail account right now and I wouldn't know but I use my phone so much I'd be aware if I'd lost it. Too much personal info is thrown out on to the internet and I personally really restrict my details on Facebook etc as well.
It's really irritating that Android don't give you the choice of just accessing your e-mail like this and just uploads the contents of your phone to the internet. They should in my opinion give you the choice when setting up the e-mail account whether you want to include the calendar and contacts as without asking it had uploaded the contents of my calendar to GMail...

 

[martyp]

Hi all,
I've managed to do it pretty much by doing the following (as mentioned above):
1) Backup as much as possible
2) Factory Reset (to clear association with Google account)
3) Set up phone with a dummy google account by doing Create rather than sign in (leave this Google account with no contacts/calendar etc).
4) Go to the calendar and then Menu -> More -> Calendars -> Menu and remove the Google calendar (I just use the PC sync one).
5) Market will require a Google account so you can create the dummy account through there if you haven't already.
6) Go to GoogleMail application and then Menu -> Accounts -> Add account and then sign in with your main account.
There it will then ask if you want to sync mail and contacts (gives you the option!!) and just sync mail.
7) You can then select that account and GMail will always go to that account but contacts/calendar are still linked in with the dummy account.
8) Go to Maps and then Menu -> More -> Switch Account and go to your other GMail account to get any stored starred places from that account.
9) You can then go into Settings -> Accounts and Sync and turn off sync for the dummy account if preferred.

I find that if you clear contact storage in Applications that it'll then suck in all the contacts from the secondary account. In which case you need to remove the account again from accounts and sync and add it back in in the Google Mail application.

One point to note also is that it won't remember any applications you purchased from the Android Market on the other account but in my case I only lost out on one I didn't really like much anyway. There may be another workaround for this but I haven't really looked into it...

All the above was tested on a HTC Wildfire on V2.1 on T-Mobile UK so may vary for other set ups but I think the basic trick was to create a dummy account for the HTC to associate with.

Hope that's helpful to anyone else that may want to do this...