Although phone calls have suffered with the advent of messaging apps, we still need save our contacts. Generally, our Android mobile uses the Google Contacts app which works like a charm. However, the alarm went off when Google itself announced the removal of unsynced contacts.
We have tested and tried to reproduce the automatically delete contactsso we tell you everything you need to know about synchronizing these, where it is best to save them and what to do to avoid deletion.
How does contact synchronization on Android work and what is it for?
When you save a contact on an Android mobile we have various options: save it on the device (the internal memory of the mobile), on the SIM card (they have a small space) or in our Google account. Each of these three options is valid, although it is always recommended to synchronize it in the cloud.
The requirement to add a Google account to the Android mobile, on the other hand, provides us with cloud services like contact backup. We have already added them to the phone on the same SIM card, we can synchronize them to avoid loss. Even after changing phones, it will be enough stay our account and synchronize them to have them again without complications.
Operation it’s quite simple: Synchronized contacts are uploaded to Google servers, but they are private to our account. Now you might be wondering the real usefulness of this method. Well, beyond avoiding losing them when changing mobile phones, it is useful for other things: we can edit them and consult them from the computer, add an e-mail address to them, and even export them to a file.
Like any other aspect of syncing our account, if we have it enabled, we won’t have to worry about losing themwhen there is a change, it automatically syncs.
When to save contacts to device or SIM card
If you’re a user concerned about sharing personal data with companies, you’ll still have the remaining two options. maybe the the safer the SIM routeWell, if we launch a new mobile, inserting it we will recover the contacts. On the contrary, if we opt for saving on the device, we will have to make a backup copy on another computer, exporting the entire agenda.
To do this, after dialing the number, we will touch “Create a new contact” and under the label “Save to” we will be able to select the location. Here, you can choose the account or “Device” or “SIM card”.
What is deleting unsynced contacts?
As we mentioned at the beginning, Google has changed the synchronization policyadding in version 23.30 of Play Services the following measure:
[Teléfono] Disabling syncing with Google Contacts will now remove previously synced contacts from your Android phone.
For our part, we have updated Google Play Services to this version, trying to unsync contacts. Nothing that the Mountain View company said happened: even if we deactivate the synchronization, they are still present, yes, the Contacts application warning us that the said synchronization is deactivated.
In theory, this is done to unify all Google tools, because like Photos, if we disable synchronization, we will not be able to see the images already downloaded. However, as we commented, this did not happen to us, but also we must be prepared for when the case.
What to do to avoid deletion
While we haven’t been able to replicate the change that Google is pushing, it doesn’t hurt. prepare our phone for the future. To prevent all those contacts you’ve added over the years from disappearing, it’s best to have an always-on sync. It hardly generates battery consumption, and they will always be safe.
This is why it is smarter choice, although if you’re not using cloud save, it would be worth making a backup. To do this, go to the third visible section of the lower menu, called “Fix and manage”. Click on the “Export to a file” button then select the backup locations (accounts, SIM card or device), in order to obtain a VCF file.
This may be imported in any other mobile, and in this way we will avoid depending on the decisions of the Mountain View giant. The good thing is that all contact apps are compatible with the format in question, so there is nothing to worry about.
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