In the past, with analog cell phones and old-style PDAs and address books, keeping our contacts updated and copying them from one place to another was a real pain. SIM cards helped solve this problem, but only partially and on cell phones, leaving most people with most of their contacts in their computers. However, nowadays with the help of online services like Google account and Apple’s iCloud, contacts can be stored and updated in real-time across multiple devices, and even if you lose a device your contact list is still safe in the cloud. Despite all this convenience though, there tends to be problems when trying to sync your Google Account contacts to your iOS devices. Missing contacts, duplicate items and even missing contact information are some of the most common occurrences. Despite all these problems, there are quite few ways to sync your Google Account contacts to your iPhone, iPad or other iOS device with ease. Let’s take a look at some of the best of them.
Add Your Google Account Contacts Directly On Your iPhone
You can add your contacts from your Google Account to your iPhone right from your device itself. To do it.. Step 1: On your Home screen go to Settings > Mail Contacts, Calendars > Add Account… Step 2: Once there, tap on Exchange and enter your Google Account login information. Step 3: On the next screen, enter m.google.com on the Server field and your Google Account email address on the Username field. When you are done tap Next. Step 4: Once your new Exchange account has been created, make sure to have the Contacts toggle turned to ON and then tap on Save. Repeat the process for all your Google Accounts and after that all your Google contacts will be synced to your iPhone.
Sync Google Contacts From Your Mac Via iTunes
You can have your Google Account contacts synced to your Mac and then have them transferred to your iPhone or other iOS device via iTunes. Step 1: On your Mac open the Contacts application and from the Menu Bar click on Contacts > Preferences. On the left panel of the Preference Pane click on On My Mac and then check the option Synchronize with Google. Step 2: Once you do, Agree with the terms and introduce your Google Account login information. Click Ok and your Google Account contacts will start syncing with your Mac. Step 3: Plug your iOS device to your Mac and open iTunes. Click on your iPhone on the left panel of iTunes (or at the top of the iTunes window if you are using iTunes 11) and then click on the Info tab at the top of the window. Make sure the Sync Address Book contacts option is checked and then click on Sync at the bottom right of the iTunes window to apply the changes and have all your contacts transferred to your iPhone or other iOS device.
Use CardDAV to Sync Your Google Contacts to Your iOS Device
Not long ago, Google introduced support for the CardDAV open protocol, a new way to sync contacts with the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and other mobile devices that makes it far easier to do so. To use this protocol to sync your Google Account contacts to your iOS devices follow these steps: Step 1: From your Home screen go to Settings > Mail Contacts, Calendars > Add Account… Step 2: Tap on Other and under Contacts, tap on Add CardDAV Account. Step 3: On the next screen, enter the following information where prompted:
Server: Enter “google.com”User Name: Enter your full Google Account or Google Apps email address.Password: Your Google Account or Google Apps password.Description: Enter a description of the account.
Step 4: Once done, tap on Next. Once your Google Account is verified, your contacts will be added to your iPhone. There you go. Three different ways to sync your Google Account contacts to your iPhone and other iOS devices. I recommend the last one, since it is easy, effective and by far the most reliable.
