Help Sync not available?

[Aimy77]

So, I've been trying to sync my phone for about two months and have given up. The regular sync circle works for about twenty seconds, then gets an exclamation point over it with: Sync is not available at this time (or something similar).

The warning and exclamation point are only visible for a fraction of a second before another cycle of 20 sec regular sync/ error message come up again. Because of this the phone never completes the sync. I've tried syncing from wifi and 3g, both produce errors.

Only other recent changes to phone? I believe that was about the same time I rooted. XTR ROM 2.2, which besides this is absolutely amazing! No other issues.

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[erisuser1]

Generally that problem is correctable by going in to

Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications

and then finding the storage provider for the misbehaving app, and clearing cache and data for that storage provider.

To get a better handle on what is screwing up, first go into

Settings -> Accounts and sync

and then click on the existing Google account. I believe that you you will see three different synchronization categories:

- Sync Contacts
- Sync Gmail
- Sync Calendar

Usually, you will only see one of the three of them hanging on the sync (you can manually start the sync of all of them to see which one hangs: Menu -> sync now).

Once you have determined whether you are having problems with Gmail, Contacts, or Calendar, go into

Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications

and clear the data/cache from

Calendar Storage
Contacts Storage
Gmail

depending on which is giving you the trouble.

Note that the advisability of doing this without first performing a Nandroid backup depends on whether you use "phone only" contacts - if all of your contacts and calendar entries are Gmail synchronized, they should come right back when your phone (finally) syncs correctly. (If you do a Nandroid first, you can always return right back to the same place.)

I am writing this post entirely from memory - I know there are several other posts on this exact problem, so please do a little searching before you take my word for this.


eu1

 

[doogald]

I am writing this post entirely from memory - I know there are several other posts on this exact problem, so please do a little searching before you take my word for this.

Nope, that looks dead-on. It could also be a third party app like Facebook (or the HTC Facebook, if you are running xtrROM) causing the sync loop, but the remedy for that should be the same.

Just a note on phone contacts - for the very reason that Android can be flakey sometimes, I strongly suggest to everyone that you avoid phone contacts whenever possible. Having them sync to your Google account just makes recovery in situations like this so much easier. If you are going to use phone contacts, you'll probably want some sort of regular backup process going forward. Something like this app (though it looks like you have to remember to run it manually): UiA - Backup Contacts - Android app on AppBrain

 

[Aimy77]

I'm sorry if this had been posted before. I tried searching for "sync error" and "sync not available" and I didn't come up with a solution.

I do keep all of my contacts as "google" contacts, however since the phone has not been able to sync they are not linked to my google account yet. Before clearing my entire contact list, does this mean I have to go through all of my contacts and figure out which have not been synced (because they will not be restored)?

Bummer....

 

[doogald]

I'm sorry if this had been posted before. I tried searching for "sync error" and "sync not available" and I didn't come up with a solution.

I do keep all of my contacts as "google" contacts, however since the phone has not been able to sync they are not linked to my google account yet. Before clearing my entire contact list, does this mean I have to go through all of my contacts and figure out which have not been synced (because they will not be restored)?

Bummer....

You could try that UiA Contacts Backup app - it's free - and save then as a .csv file to your SD card, copy that file to your PC, and then import them into gmail contacts.

 

[erisuser1]

You could try that UiA Contacts Backup app - it's free - and save then as a .csv file to your SD card, copy that file to your PC, and then import them into gmail contacts.

+1

And a Nandroid backup, too, just in case things go wrong! (I doubt they will - doogald's suggestion is a good one: if you use a contacts backup/restore app on the phone, once you have cleared up the sync problem, just use that app to restore them, and then they will get synced to the cloud.)

Optionally, you could log on to your Gmail account from a computer and browse through your contact list - that might give you a good idea how many contacts are actually at risk. My guess is that this will all turn out fine, though - don't want to scare you.

eu1

 

[ebixby]

My Eris is on a sync blitz today and just keeps trying! I noticed because my battery run down and I can see at lot of activity syncing. I tried the steps above and it still has a problem with Contacts. Any other thoughts?
Thanks, EB

 

[doogald]

My Eris is on a sync blitz today and just keeps trying! I noticed because my battery run down and I can see at lot of activity syncing. I tried the steps above and it still has a problem with Contacts. Any other thoughts?
Thanks, EB

If you go into settings->accounts & sync, which account is doing the looping contact sync? Is it your Google account, or Facebook, or something else?

 

[ebixby]

If you go into settings->accounts & sync, which account is doing the looping contact sync? Is it your Google account, or Facebook, or something else?

It was the Contacts account, so I did clear it and re-sync and it is is in the recovery room now! Charging the battery! But hopefully that solves whatever issue it was having! I had not changed anything that I know of!
I appreciate the help! EB

 

[Astrobrewer]

Once you have determined whether you are having problems with Gmail, Contacts, or Calendar, go into

Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications

and clear the data/cache from

Calendar Storage
Contacts Storage
Gmail

depending on which is giving you the trouble.

My Eris running flashback rom stopped syncing contacts several weeks ago. I was unable to add new google contacts and contacts I added on google on my PC did not appear on the phone. Clearing the data from Contacts Storage fixed it. Thanks for the solution!

 

[oedman]

how do I know if my contacts are phone contacts or Google contacts? I just got a Droid 2 Global and it seems to have found my Yahoo contacts and added them to the contacts the seller pulled over from my previous phone. But, I'm not seeing anything sync up to my Google account on the web