Contacts and Calendar syncing

[sadievan]

Faterson,

Did you set up your contacts using CardDAV. From what I am reading you have to use that when setting up an IMAP acct.

[Faterson]

Nope, Carol, I proceeded in the "dumbest" way possible: no hassle, nothing. I just set up the Gmail IMAP account using the default "Gmail" icon offered by iOS, and that's it. Contacts are syncing for me. No idea why they wouldn't sync for you. Are you not offered the option is iOS settings? I definitely am, for every Gmail account I have set up here. I'm on the most recent iOS 6, and this works for me both on the iPad and iPhone.

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by Faterson

Nope, Carol, I proceeded in the "dumbest" way possible: no hassle, nothing. I just set up the Gmail IMAP account using the default "Gmail" icon offered by iOS, and that's it. Contacts are syncing for me. No idea why they wouldn't sync for you. Are you not offered the option is iOS settings? I definitely am, for every Gmail account I have set up here. I'm on the most recent iOS 6, and this works for me both on the iPad and iPhone.

Nope. I am on the latest iOS 6.1.2 and I set up my Gmail account the same way you did. I get the option to sync calendars, notes, and mail but not contacts.

On Googles site they give these directions.

Link

And THIS from Lifehacker

[Faterson]

Ah, OK, you're right. I got misled because in my iPad settings, it says "myaddress@gmail.com" and underneath that it says "Contacts"... but in fact, it's not a Gmail account -- it's an Exchange account. I had set it up such a long time ago I forgot how I originally did it.

So, Exchange works fine for me for syncing Gmail contacts. What didn't work fine (and I confused that with Exchange), was syncing contacts via iCloud -- so I disabled Contacts syncing via iCloud.

As to CardDAV, this is the first time I hear anything like that is available -- probably because, like I said, I've been syncing Google Contacts using the Exchange way for years, and CardDAV seems to be a recent addition. And because Exchange seems to work OK for me, I have no reason to switch to CardDAV.

Anyway, syncing Gmail contacts should work reliably for you using either the CardDAV or Exchange way. Good luck.

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by Faterson

Ah, OK, you're right. I got misled because in my iPad settings, it says "myaddress@gmail.com" and underneath that it says "Contacts"... but in fact, it's not a Gmail account -- it's an Exchange account. I had set it up such a long time ago I forgot how I originally did it.

So, Exchange works fine for me for syncing Gmail contacts. What didn't work fine (and I confused that with Exchange), was syncing contacts via iCloud -- so I disabled Contacts syncing via iCloud.

As to CardDAV, this is the first time I hear anything like that is available -- probably because, like I said, I've been syncing Google Contacts using the Exchange way for years, and CardDAV seems to be a recent addition. And because Exchange seems to work OK for me, I have no reason to switch to CardDAV.

Anyway, syncing Gmail contacts should work reliably for you using either the CardDAV or Exchange way. Good luck.

What was iCloud doing to mess up your contacts?

[Faterson]

Don't quite remember that either, but in any case: it seemed to be interfering with (or not as fast/reliable as) the earlier Contacts syncing I had set up via the Exchange account, long before iCloud even existed.

I do use iCloud for other syncing: it's especially fantastic for syncing PDF files I read and mark up in GoodReader. I also use iCloud for syncing in other apps, such as Scanner Pro. (Soon, I hope, also for syncing the best iOS e-reader software, Marvin, between iPad and iPhone.) I also find iCloud convenient for syncing iOS Notes and Photo Stream.

I don't use iCloud for syncing Contacts (handled by the Gmail Exchange account), Calendars (handled by Readdle Calendars) or Reminders/Tasks (handled by Toodledo). Neither do I sync Mail via iCloud -- handled by 4 Gmail accounts I have set up on both of my iPads and the iPhone.

To sum up, iCloud is very nice for certain things, but not for everything, so I think it's best to pick & choose those services you'd like to have synced via iCloud -- not necessarily all services.

Originally Posted by sadievan

Are you saying you set up your google account as an IMAP account on your iPad? I set mine up as a gmail account on my phone and it gives me the option to sync my calendar but not contacts.

Carol

No, I worded that poorly I guess. I have email through GoDaddy via my personal website account. I set that up as IMAP rather than POP3 so I can have the folders maintained on any device. I do have a Gmail account, and I think it might be IMAP but I'm not sure, although I rarely use my Gmail account for anything other than logging into Google Calendar and Contacts.

EDIT: I am able to sync Google contacts with my iOS devices and with Mac OS X Mountain Lion. I don't remember exactly how I set everything up now. But in iOS I have to use iTunes to sync up contacts after I change them in Google, so it isn't as automatic as I would like. The Mac OS X automatically syncs them though. Sorry, I wish I could remember how I set them up in the beginning. I might just have imported them then set them to sync via iTunes At any rate it wasn't as intuitive as it should be!

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by jswinden

No, I worded that poorly I guess. I have email through GoDaddy via my personal website account. I set that up as IMAP rather than POP3 so I can have the folders maintained on any device. I do have a Gmail account, and I think it might be IMAP but I'm not sure, although I rarely use my Gmail account for anything other than logging into Google Calendar and Contacts.

EDIT: I am able to sync Google contacts with my iOS devices and with Mac OS X Mountain Lion. I don't remember exactly how I set everything up now. But in iOS I have to use iTunes to sync up contacts after I change them in Google, so it isn't as automatic as I would like. The Mac OS X automatically syncs them though. Sorry, I wish I could remember how I set them up in the beginning. I might just have imported them then set them to sync via iTunes At any rate it wasn't as intuitive as it should be!

If you go on your iPhone or iPad to setting\mail contacts calendars and then click on your gmail acct at the top it will tell if it is set up as gmail or exchange

Carol

[sadievan]

Well I guess Google eliminated the Exchange account option as of January 2013. Those that have it on their devices are grandfathered in for that device, but new devices will have to use the Gmail method and CardDAV for contacts. Looks like they will be doing the same for the calendars.

LINK

I had to set mine up as Gmail with CardDAV

Carol

[Faterson]

Congratulations. Doesn't matter in the least how you set it up, as long as it works, and it has worked reliably for me for years.

I can't recommend enough for everyone to get away from anything related to Outlook as fast as possible. Syncing Google Contacts is a very good cross-platform solution.

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by jswinden

But in iOS I have to use iTunes to sync up contacts after I change them in Google, so it isn't as automatic as I would like. The Mac OS X automatically syncs them though. Sorry, I wish I could remember how I set them up in the beginning. I might just have imported them then set them to sync via iTunes At any rate it wasn't as intuitive as it should be!

On your iPhone, iPad, go into settings then mail,contacts, calendars. Scroll down to the Contacts section and make sure the Default Account is set to Google. Same for calendars.

It takes my iPhone longer to sync than my iPad for some reason, but both do over the air. If it doesn't do it fast enough you can go into your contacts and hit the 'groups' button on the top left. There you can hit the 'refresh' button and the contacts should then sync.

HTH
Carol

Originally Posted by sadievan

On your iPhone, iPad, go into settings then mail,contacts, calendars. Scroll down to the Contacts section and make sure the Default Account is set to Google. Same for calendars.

It takes my iPhone longer to sync than my iPad for some reason, but both do over the air. If it doesn't do it fast enough you can go into your contacts and hit the 'groups' button on the top left. There you can hit the 'refresh' button and the contacts should then sync.

HTH
Carol

Thanks for the information Carol. But I do not want Gmail for my default email account. I hate Google but tolerate it because contacts and calendars are usable across platforms. I need and want my GoDaddy email account to be the default.

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Thanks for the information Carol. But I do not want Gmail for my default email account. I hate Google but tolerate it because contacts and calendars are usable across platforms. I need and want my GoDaddy email account to be the default.

You can set just the Contacts or Calendars or both to be default without setting gmail as default. It is a separate area. If you go into settings then mail,contacts, calendars. Scroll down to the Contacts section (this is separate from your mail settings, the mail default setting is made in the mail section just above the contact section) and make sure the Default Account is set to Google. Same for calendars. My default email account is my Comcast account but I have contacts and calendars set to Google for default.

Carol