Where do 2 Contact Lists Come From???

[ckball52]

I have a 34-item Contact list on my DroidX 2.2 home page. I went online to Backup Assistant and edited it, emptied the Trash, synced it from online. SOME of the 34 contacts were edited, some were deleted, and in Backup Assistant there are 3 that do not--and never had--last names, but on the phone they do. And the sort order I set up online does not carry over. So I synced it from the phone, still no change. So it is pretty clear that syncing does nothing.

Then there's the (apparently) Google sync 356 item Contact list under the phone symbol on the Home page. Also sorted so totally uselessly I am about ready to throw this thing out. I have tried to clean it up in Google, where it is sorted correctly AND grouped; no joy.

So two questions:
Am I using the Backup Assistant wrong, and not getting the correct results?

WHY --or HOW--can't I sort the Google Sync list??? Or at least Group the contacts?

What am I missing here?

 

[BodyBagz]

Its a mess aint it...

My advice, do as you decide...scrap Back-Up Assistant for now. Go to you Accounts and "Sync" your Contacts to your Gmail account. Log in to your Gmail account and double check that ALL contacts from the phone are there, as well as any contacts from Verizons Back-up Assistant(if the VZW BUA contacts arent there, then go in and add them)...then do any and all editing that you need to do. After this, export your contacts to a .CSV file from Gmail...save that file to your PC and the SD Card of your phone.

Now, after doing all the above, and ONLY after double checking again that you have ALL Contacts from the phone as well as Verizon saved in the .CSV file, delete ALL contacts from your GMail account. Now, on the phone, re-sync back to your Gmail account...this should clear your contacts completly from the phone.

Now go to your Gmail Account from your PC. Select Contacts--->More Options--->Import...from there navigate to the .CSV file you saved earlier and select it. Once the Import is done, from the phone, go back and again re-sync your Contacts. You should now have the same exact contacts on your phone, edited the same, as you do in your Gmail account.

From this point on, when you add a New Contact to your phone, when the "prompt" pops up asking which to allow to manage the Contact, select Google and the contact will then be added to your Gmail account when the phone next syncs back to Googles Cloud. If you decide to use VZW BUA as well, sync it only after syncing the Gmail account, and then it to should reflect the same contact list.

Sorry if this is long and drawn out, but its what I did and now my contacts are a lot easier to deal with and I dont have to deal with partial syncs between VZW and Google...

 

[ckball52]

Sounds like a great plan.

Still unanswered:
1. can I group contacts in DroidX? And how do I control the sort order?

2. And when I add a contact on the DroidX, will it start the deleted Contact list all over again??? I can't figure out how to direct the location to save it in, and I don't want to restart the deleted list!

 

[hookbill]

Sounds like a great plan.

Still unanswered:
1. can I group contacts in DroidX? And how do I control the sort order?

2. And when I add a contact on the DroidX, will it start the deleted Contact list all over again??? I can't figure outhwo to direct the location to save it in.

You can create groups on the X, but it's easier to do it on a computer in Gmail. Once you set it up there it automatically syncs to your phone.

I don't understand your second question, I've never had a problem adding a contact to my phone.

 

[pool_shark]

I don't bother syncing my contacts at all. I exported my contacts from outlook, imported them to the phone contacts, not Google.

When I add new contacts or add info to a current contact, I export them to the sd card, and I always backup my sd card to my PC.

 

[ckball52]

You can create groups on the X, but it's easier to do it on a computer in Gmail. Once you set it up there it automatically syncs to your phone.

I don't understand your second question, I've never had a problem adding a contact to my phone.

I already have my Gmail contacts in groups--they don't apparently carry over, unless I don't know how to enable them.

It looks to me like the contacts in the VBA were things I've added while on the Droid, and I would really prefer, after I go through all the hassle of geting them straightened out, not having them go back into that second Contact folder at all.

 

[hookbill]

You can create groups on the X, but it's easier to do it on a computer in Gmail. Once you set it up there it automatically syncs to your phone.

I don't understand your second question, I've never had a problem adding a contact to my phone.

I already have my Gmail contacts in groups--they don't apparently carry over, unless I don't know how to enable them.

It looks to me like the contacts in the VBA were things I've added while on the Droid, and I would really prefer, after I go through all the hassle of geting them straightened out, not having them go back into that second Contact folder at all.

When you tap on the bar that says contacts your groups should show up.

 

[ckball52]

I am unfamiliar with this phone language--I teach PCs. (And of course I can't find my manual...:icon_eek

bar=?

I am on my home page; I see 3 icons at the bottom: phone which opens the dialer, Recent, Contacts (356), Favorites; menu circle; Contacts symbol, which opens the (34) VBA list.

 

[hookbill]

OK, lets try this. From your home page click on the contact icon. At the top there should be something that says contacts A-Z and a bar. That bar is black with a green + symbol. Tap that and your groups should appear.

 

[ckball52]

When I go to that page I already see all (34) of my contacts, no groups. (This is what I have been referring to as my VBA Contacts.)
Tapping the black bar brings up a sub-menu: Show, Create New Group, All Contacts, Favorites, Google, Phone Contacts.

If I can Group this list, can I do it with the OTHER (apparently GMAIL) Contacts list?

 

[hookbill]

Do you see Create New Groups? Title your group and all your contacts in Gmail will be in the back ground. Check off the ones you want in that group.

I still think you can create them in Gmail, but I'm not at my computer now, This way looks pretty easy to work with. That should help you out.

 

[ckball52]

All I get is a black screen saying "You do not have any contacts", and tapping on the Family Bar brings up "Text Group" or " eMail Group". And opening a contact gives me no way to put it into a group--that I can see.
I think something is not connecting here (probably me)--the Show list has "Family", "All Contacts, " Google Contacts", and "Phone Contacts" ; except the new Family, they are the same 34 list; my 356 list is still out there somewhere else...

I think in the interest of my sanity and your time, I should just go over to the Verizon Store tomorrow and see if they can help. Not that I think they will, mind you, but at least they can see what I see. (I have been teaching apps for years, and I know the frustration of trying to troubleshoot something I can't see...) Thank you so much!