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Help Syncing Contacts From Gmail

V

viebroccoli

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone,

I unlocked and rooted my phone last night, and uploaded LiquidSmooth v1.3 ROM. However, I've been having trouble syncing my contacts. I understand rooting is a part of the story, but I think the problem doesn't exist within the root --- just a simple fix. That's why I'm posting this in the General section. So far, here's what I've done to try and get my contacts:
  • Went into Settings > Accounts & Sync > Gmail account (with sync on) > Check "Sync Contacts" Box
  • Went into People > Contacts to display > Gmail account. Does nothing.
  • Went into People > Import/Export > Tried importing from SIM card and storage, still nothing.

I know my contacts are saved to Gmail, I just can't figure out how to pull them. I had this issue when I was I initially got the phone too, and eventually had to take it to a Verizon salesman that fixed it right then and there. So, I'm assuming my contacts are saved to Gmail, otherwise the salesman wouldn't have been able to do that.

So, does anyone know of a fix for this? I'm sure this is an incredibly easy fix, I just can't see it. :(
 
that is all i usually do to get my contacts to sync and it usually happens really fast. You could do this as a work around.

boot into CWM
Make a backup of your current setup
restore to the backup that you made before you flashed to liquidsmooth....you did make a backup before flashing right?
if so when you restore that you go into the people app and hit menu / export and export the contacts to the sd
then boot back into CWM
restore the backup of your liquidbuild
once restored, go into people app and hit menu/import and import your contacts that you exported on your prior build.
 
have you logged into gmail through a browser (preferably on a desktop/laptop)? Can you confirm that your contacts are all saved there under 'my contacts'? This is what will sync to your phone.
 
trophynuts said:
that is all i usually do to get my contacts to sync and it usually happens really fast. You could do this as a work around.

boot into CWM
Make a backup of your current setup
restore to the backup that you made before you flashed to liquidsmooth....you did make a backup before flashing right?
if so when you restore that you go into the people app and hit menu / export and export the contacts to the sd
then boot back into CWM
restore the backup of your liquidbuild
once restored, go into people app and hit menu/import and import your contacts that you exported on your prior build.
Click to expand...

I'm not really sure if I backed up before flashing. To be honest, the whole root process seemed like a blur; I was doing things I have no experience with, other than hard setting drivers. Am I screwed if I didn't backup? Is there a way to tell if I did? Seems like rooting might have been a big mistake on my part. :confused:

I understand the theory of your method, but I'm not sure how exactly I would do it. Again, this is because I am a rooting n00b. Does boot in CWM mean just to go into the Rom Manager app and choose "Backup Current ROM"? Do I need to do get back to the screen with the open-bellied Android again? Or can all this be resolved through the ROM Manager app?

After typing what I think it is your doing, I think I see another problem here. I'm assuming you're method is to revert back to the stock unlocked and rooted OS that I created (or maybe didn't create) a backup for. Problem is, I don't know if my contacts were there either, I just know they were on my locked unrooted phone before I began any of this rooting foolishness.
 
Tim K said:
have you logged into gmail through a browser (preferably on a desktop/laptop)? Can you confirm that your contacts are all saved there under 'my contacts'? This is what will sync to your phone.
Click to expand...

I looked through my contacts, and none of which are there. The only contacts listed are people I've emailed, most of which are teachers that I have no interest in having them in my phonebook.

However, this was the same situation I had before when I couldn't get my contacts to sync when I was unrooted and locked. I'll brief you and anyone else who is reading this thread on how I know my contacts are secretly hidden in Gmail somewhere...:

I was a DX owner. I cracked the digitizer back in September, and finally got around to fixing the digitizer in February. Without backing up anything, I dove right into taking the phone apart. I severely screwed (pun unintended) the phone, making it impossible to put back together. I did, however, get a microSD card reader and pull the last couple of pictures/videos I had left. Because I was phoneless and had an upgrade to use, I went with the GNex. I had everything set up fine, but couldn't import contacts. I tried the method of making sure the "Contacts Sync" box was checked, went into People to display the contacts, but nothing would happen. After a while of frustration, I gave it to a Verizon salesman to see if he could fix it. Mind you, I did not manually sync my contacts on my DX, but I thought they probably were synced on their own. Within about a minute, the guy had my contacts. So, in essence, I'm looking for whatever this guy did. I can't really go back to Verizon though, because once they see I'm on a rooted phone they'll mark my account with a voided contract, and maybe even beat me up.

Of course, if I go with flashing stock and it works, that'll be fine with me too.
 
Ah, I see. So your contacts are no longer in your Google account which is why they aren't showing up in the people app.

I think what the Verizon guy did was to pull them from Verizon backup assistant. Its the app VZW puts on all their droids that backs up your contacts to their servers....for just this reason I guess. Most people don't tend to need it since they are synced to google's contacts, but in your case where those were lost, it may be your saving grace.

Find 'Verizon backup assistant' on your phone and I think you may find your contacts backed up there. I don't have it enabled on my phone so I cannot give you any instructions on how. I would strongly recommend that once you get your contacts back, you make sure to sync them to google.
 
Tim K said:
Ah, I see. So your contacts are no longer in your Google account which is why they aren't showing up in the people app.

I think what the Verizon guy did was to pull them from Verizon backup assistant. Its the app VZW puts on all their droids that backs up your contacts to their servers....for just this reason I guess. Most people don't tend to need it since they are synced to google's contacts, but in your case where those were lost, it may be your saving grace.

Find 'Verizon backup assistant' on your phone and I think you may find your contacts backed up there. I don't have it enabled on my phone so I cannot give you any instructions on how. I would strongly recommend that once you get your contacts back, you make sure to sync them to google.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with you, I'm sure that's where they are stored. However, because I am rooted and unlocked, I do not have Verizon Backup Assistant. So, I think the solution is to flash back to stock, sync contacts to Google, flash back to Liquid, and load contacts from Google. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this, yipee!
 
One last question is, how do you know if you made a backup of the stock ROM? I'm not entirely sure if I did or not.
 
viebroccoli said:
One last question is, how do you know if you made a backup of the stock ROM? I'm not entirely sure if I did or not.
Click to expand...

depends on how exactly you flashed the ROM, if you did it through ROM manager, it will offer to back-up your ROM when you flash.

If you went through recovery (i.e. cmw) unless you specifically clicked on backup/restore menu, you probably don't of a back-up.

As others have said you should also make sure your contacts are in gmail the account associated with the phone) and this isn't an issue.
 
Crashumbc said:
depends on how exactly you flashed the ROM, if you did it through ROM manager, it will offer to back-up your ROM when you flash.

If you went through recovery (i.e. cmw) unless you specifically clicked on backup/restore menu, you probably don't of a back-up.

As others have said you should also make sure your contacts are in gmail the account associated with the phone) and this isn't an issue.
Click to expand...

When I go into "Manage and Restore Backups" on ROM Manager, nothing shows up. I'm assuming this is because I didn't backup the stock ROM with ROM Manager, and neither have I backed up the current ROM (LiquidSmooth) with ROM Manager.

If I go through Recovery (hold power button & volume up & volume down, right?), how would I know if I have a backup or not?

If I didn't make a backup of the stock ROM, how could I fix this? My guess is there is the stock ROM available on the internet, in which you would just place the zip file on the rooted SD card, and treat it just as a custom ROM.
 
Are you sure you don't have backup installed but disabled? I am rooted and I just disabled it. Go to settings > apps > all - and scroll ALL the way to the bottom. You may still have it installed but disabled. You can open it and re-enable and possibly recover your contacts. Also, since the data gets stored on Verizon's servers you may just be able to install the app from the market or via apk.

Also regardless of the roms , if you didn't make a backup at any point no matter what you install now you won't be able to restore your contacts.... unless Verizon has them backed up.
 
Tim K said:
Are you sure you don't have backup installed but disabled? I am rooted and I just disabled it. Go to settings > apps > all - and scroll ALL the way to the bottom. You may still have it installed but disabled. You can open it and re-enable and possibly recover your contacts. Also, since the data gets stored on Verizon's servers you may just be able to install the app from the market or via apk.

Also regardless of the roms , if you didn't make a backup at any point no matter what you install now you won't be able to restore your contacts.... unless Verizon has them backed up.
Click to expand...

Nope, Backup isn't in my list of apps. But, I'm sure they are in there. I tried looking for the backup assistant in the Market, but no such luck. I find that odd. But anyways the APK is a good idea. But, in order to have a backup of stock, I think it would be wise to flash the stock ROM, load backup assistant, load contacts, backup contacts through Gmail, then return to Liquid and pull contacts through Gmail. Before I do this, is it possible to flash stock? Also, if I wanted to relock, and unroot my phone back to how I first got it, is it possible? I'm not saying I want to, but if I ever try to sell the GNex (way down the line, not now), I think it would be good to be able to revert back to stock.
 
Yes. You can always flash back to stock. Theres no need to do it to sync your contacts though. once you presumably recover them or reenter them, no matter what rom you are on you will be able to sync them to Google and have them tied to your account going forward.

My suggestion for finding the apk is to post in the root section and see if someone can extract it from a backup, like titanium.
 
Tim K said:
Yes. You can always flash back to stock. Theres no need to do it to sync your contacts though. once you presumably recover them or reenter them, no matter what rom you are on you will be able to sync them to Google and have them tied to your account going forward.

My suggestion for finding the apk is to post in the root section and see if someone can extract it from a backup, like titanium.
Click to expand...

Good idea, I'll do that now. As far as a backup of stock goes, is it necessary? I have a backup of the Liquid ROM now, so can't I always revert back to that if I have problems? What benefit would having a backup of a stock ROM have, other than for the sake of having stock? Thank you for your support, I really appreciate it!
 
A backup of straight stock isn't, only if you have All your apps and settings on a stock rom and want to be able to revert back without having to reload and reset everything. That's what titanium is great for... especially for people who switch roms a lot.

I might be able to backup Verizon backup to titanium myself and send you the file. I'll try when I get home and let you know...
 
after reading around, there may be a simple way around this without all this flashing.
Log into verizons site....you should then be able to access your backup assistance contacts and save them to your computer as one big file. then you should be able to import this file to your google account, and they should all start syncing over
 
Turdbogls said:
after reading around, there may be a simple way around this without all this flashing.
Log into verizons site....you should then be able to access your backup assistance contacts and save them to your computer as one big file. then you should be able to import this file to your google account, and they should all start syncing over
Click to expand...

I saw this as well. Definitely worth a try if you can't get the backup App installed.... Or at a minimum, log into Verizon's site and verify that your contacts are backed up in the first place!
 
Tim K said:
I saw this as well. Definitely worth a try if you can't get the backup App installed.... Or at a minimum, log into Verizon's site and verify that your contacts are backed up in the first place!
Click to expand...

This, in fact I consider exporting from the website the "better" way to go, as far a long term fix of getting your contacts in google.
 
Tim K said:
I saw this as well. Definitely worth a try if you can't get the backup App installed.... Or at a minimum, log into Verizon's site and verify that your contacts are backed up in the first place!
Click to expand...

I'll give this a try before flashing the APK. And yes, I logged into my account with Verizon yesterday, and verified all my contacts are in the backup assistant. Thank the Lord! For a moment I was getting a little worried I would be one of those people with a "lost my contacts" event on Facebook.
 
And just like that, I now have my contacts! I probably should have used this earlier, but my contacts might have not been syncing to Gmail, because I don't actuallly use a @gmail.com address. It's actually my email address from school, but works with Gmail...if that makes sense. The actual address I use is @u.schoolname.edu, but works through Gmail.

Anyways, thanks for all your help everybody! I can now say I am completely comfortable with my rooted phone. :)
 
So did you set the phone up to sync directly with gmail so you never have this problem again?

Glad your contacts are recovered!
 
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