Changing contacts from "phone" to "Google"?

[Bob Dammit]

Changing contacts from "phone" to "Google"? WORKAROUND!

Is there an easy way to do this? The only way I have found is to set up a new "google" contact, and copy and paste the numbers over from the "phone" contact, then delete the "phone" contact. There has to be an easier way to do this, as it is something that should be done automatically by default.

edit: added workaround from page 2

The only work around I have found is creating "google" accounts for all of your contacts. They should (might) link by deafult, but the numbers dont transfer between linked accounts. This is what I ended up doing:

1: Set up new "Google" contacts for all of my existing "Phone" contacts. If they link, thats OK, if not, thats even better.

2: Force a Google sync (Form the Home screen, Menu > Accounts & Sync > Sync Now)

3: Log into your Gmail account on your computer.

4: On the left side of the screen, click "Contacts"

5: In the contacts screen, click on "All Contacts"

6: Starting at the top of the list of contacts, Click on the contact name, click "Edit", and manually enter the contact information. (this was why it was easier to use the computer, My wife read the contact information off her phone to me, and I typed it into her google contacts. Otherwise there is a lot of copying and pasting, and its real easy to screw up.

7: After all of the information is transfered, go back to your phone and force another Google sync.

8: Go through your "google contacts on your phone, and make sure all the numbers are correct.

OPTIONAL (I did this just to keep everything clean and neat, Im anal about my contact list on my phone, so I cleaned up my wifes too)

9: One at a time, Delete the "phone" contacts, leaving only the "Google" contacts. If your contacts "Linked" back in step 1, you will need to break the link.
- Open a contact
- Top right corner of the contact will show 2 small circles with a green line connecting them.
- Tap the icon, and select Unlink (I believe thats what it is called, its self explanatory at this point)
- Go back to your contacts, and the "Unlinked" contact will now show as 2 contacts, one as "Phone", and one as "google"
- Delete the "Phone" contact
- Repeat as needed.

 

[certifiedfryguy]

Why would you need to do this? Google contact or phone contact they both should be backed up in your gmail contacts

 

[certifiedfryguy]

nope i was wrong. Phone contacts dont get backed up automatically.. i wonder why

 

[MNTNBKR]

Maybe I'm not understanding the question, or what you're trying to do, but whenever I enter a new contact in my phone, it gets synced with my gmail account automatically and almost instantly.

 

[Flomaster]

your PHONE contacts DO in fact get backed up when Google Syncs..
make sure you have your google account set up to sync contacts

from your home screen
soft menu button (located between the back button and home button)
settings
accounts and sync
click on google
make sure you have sync contact checked

I can create a new contact on my phone OR use google goggles to add the contact and the next time google syncs its loaded in my google.com/gmail/contacts list..

DROID DOES and GOOGLE DOES...
-=Jason=-

 

[Erron]

What ive noticed is that when I add a contact through my phone, I cant find them int he contact list when i go to add their name to a text message.

 

[Flomaster]

What ive noticed is that when I add a contact through my phone, I cant find them int he contact list when i go to add their name to a text message.

what text messing app are you using.

I ONLY use handcent I remove the stock messaging app together off my droid

but I just created a new contact called TESTING I assigned a phone number and labeled it as a mobile number

I opened up handcent created a new message and clicked on the contacts tab scrolled down to the T's and there was my new "TESTING" contact..

Handcent DOES have an option to display only MOBILE numbers so if your contact was saved as a home number and that is the only number you have they WILL not be displayed

-=Jason=-

 

[certifiedfryguy]

on the eris, when you add a new contact it gives you the option to add the gontact to "google" or to "phone". when you add a new contact to phone the contact appears under people. but even when i force sync google, the contact will not appear under " All contacts" in my gmail account when I look at it on a computer. When I add a new contact under "google" then it will sync no problem.

The problem i think Bob has is all of his contacts are on the Eris under "phone" and he wants them all to be transfered to "google" so it syncs correctly.

 

[certifiedfryguy]

I guess for bob the easy way to do this since there is no quick way is to download ExportContacts in the Market that will export your contacts as a csv file onto your SD card. Then you can import them into google contacts via your web browser..

 

[lostpilot28]

on the eris, when you add a new contact it gives you the option to add the gontact to "google" or to "phone". when you add a new contact to phone the contact appears under people. but even when i force sync google, the contact will not appear under " All contacts" in my gmail account when I look at it on a computer. When I add a new contact under "google" then it will sync no problem.

The problem i think Bob has is all of his contacts are on the Eris under "phone" and he wants them all to be transfered to "google" so it syncs correctly.

I'm new, so cut me some slack...but I checked in here to see if there was a fix for this. I'm having the same problem. I believe that all of my contacts were imported when I used HTC Sync with Outlook, which is where I prefer to keep all of my contacts. I figured having another backup on my Gmail account would be a good idea, but alas, I can't get my "Phone" contacts to sync to GMail.

 

[Bob Dammit]

The problem i think Bob has is all of his contacts are on the Eris under "phone" and he wants them all to be transfered to "google" so it syncs correctly.

Exactly! Well, except its my wifes problem, not mine. I flashed the 2.1 update to her phone, and all but 11 of her contacts were lost, because they werent saved as google contacts, and I wiped them out when I flashed. I believe the the issue lies in the contact list being transferred over at verizon from her dumb phone when she bought the phone. The damage has been done, but I want to prevent it from happening again.
This just looks like an oversight on HTC's part, but it should be fixed at some point.

 

[Bob Dammit]

I guess for bob the easy way to do this since there is no quick way is to download ExportContacts in the Market that will export your contacts as a csv file onto your SD card. Then you can import them into google contacts via your web browser..

You dont need a 3rd party app to export contacts with the 2.1 rom, it is an option under the people tab.

 

[certifiedfryguy]

You dont need a 3rd party app to export contacts with the 2.1 rom, it is an option under the people tab.

Just noticed that too

So yes anyone reading this I guess we came up with a solution.

 

[Erron]

What ive noticed is that when I add a contact through my phone, I cant find them int he contact list when i go to add their name to a text message.

what text messing app are you using.

I ONLY use handcent I remove the stock messaging app together off my droid

but I just created a new contact called TESTING I assigned a phone number and labeled it as a mobile number

I opened up handcent created a new message and clicked on the contacts tab scrolled down to the T's and there was my new "TESTING" contact..

Handcent DOES have an option to display only MOBILE numbers so if your contact was saved as a home number and that is the only number you have they WILL not be displayed

-=Jason=-

I use the standard messaging app. Since we are talking about handcent...how can I make it not show the regular message and handcent message in the taskbar?

Cancel that, I read some and found it. Tried installed and it rebooted my phone twice. Back to stock.

 

[hlaalu]

I had the same problem, my recent contacts that I've added were set to phone (I had no idea) and they weren't syncing with google.