13 Best Ways to Fix Google Contacts Not Syncing on Android

When you add the account to your Android phone, the contacts are automatically synced to your Google account. While some may dislike this behavior, for others it is a blessing. Firstly, because contacts are automatically saved to the cloud. So even if someone loses or formats their phone, the contacts will be safe. Unfortunately, the contacts sync function doesn’t work for some Android users. That is, Google contacts are not syncing on their phones.

If you are facing the same issue, here you will find 13 solutions to fix it. Whether the issue is with the Google Contacts app or the Google contacts sync service on Android, the fixes will cover solutions for both.

Let’s start.

1. Reboot Phone

Restart your Android phone once before trying other solutions. This should fix any temporary issues causing Google contacts not to sync.

2. Check Internet Connection

Usually, sync fails due to bad internet connection. Make sure your internet is working fine. If you’re using Wi-Fi, try switching to mobile data and vice versa.

3. Enable Airplane Mode

Although airplane mode is designed for flights, it is useful for troubleshooting network problems. If contacts can’t sync on your Android phone, turning Airplane mode on and off can help.

To do this, go to Settings > Network & internet. Enable the airplane mode toggle. Wait a minute and then turn off the toggle. Alternatively, you can enable and disable Airplane mode from the Quick Settings panel.

4. Turn Contact Sync On and Off

Next, you must first verify if the sync service for contacts is enabled on your Android phone. If not, enable it. And if it is already enabled, turn it off and then enable it again.

For this, go to Settings > Accounts. Tap your Google account. Tap on Account sync.

Enable the toggle next to People. If it’s on, disable it and then turn it back on.

Pro Tip: Go to Settings > Google > Account services > Google Contacts sync. Check the status under Sync status. If it’s showing off, tap Manage settings. Enable sync on the next screen.

5. Remove Special Characters

If the problem arose suddenly, you should think about and remember which contact you registered last. Open this contact and remove special characters from the name or other fields. If you are unsure of any special character, remove it and manually add it again. Or export all your contacts as a CSV file and open the file. Check for any columns with unidentified characters. Delete this contact from your phone or delete all contacts in your phone and get back the edited CSV file.

6. Check Storage

If you get the message ‘Unable to update contact’ when trying to sync contacts, the problem is with the storage space. Google allows up to 25,000 contacts per account, or 20MB without photos. You may have exceeded your Google contacts storage quota.

7. Turn off Battery Saver

Designed to save battery on Android phones, this feature prevents many apps from working normally. One of them is Google Contacts. If Battery saver or Power Saver mode is enabled, your contacts will not sync properly. Close.

The steps differ for different handsets. In most cases, you can find this under Settings > Battery > Battery Saver.

On Samsung, go to Settings > Device Care > Battery > Power Mode. Select Optimized and disable Adapter power saving. Go back and tap on App power management. Turn off the adaptive battery. Also, open Sleeper apps and see if Google Contacts or Google app is added to the list. remove it.

8. Allow Use of Background Data

Then allow the Google Contacts or other Contacts app on your phone to access the background data. To do this, go to Settings > Apps. Tap the People app. Tap on Mobile data and Wi-Fi or Data usage depending on the option available. Enable the toggle next to Background data and Unlimited data usage. Repeat the same steps for the Google app.

Pro Tip: You should also check if data saving or similar features are enabled on your phone. For example, on Samsung phones you have Ultra data saver mode under Settings > Network connection > Data usage/Data saver. Check if anything related to contacts has been added in the mod. Disable this.

9. Update Google Contacts App

Sometimes the problem can be caused by a bug in the Google Contacts app. Update from Play Store and that should fix it. Your best bet would be to update all Google apps on your phone. Open Play Store and go to My apps & games from the sidebar. Update all apps.

10. Clear Cache and Data

Clearing cache and data for the Contacts app has proven beneficial for many Android users suffering from syncing issue. Clearing the cache or data for the Contacts app will not delete your contacts. However, we recommend exporting your contacts as a CSV file before clearing the app’s data. Save the CSV file to your phone or upload it to Google Drive.

Note: Do not clear the data of the Contacts Storage system app in Settings > Apps as it will definitely delete your contacts.

To clear the cache and data of the Contacts app, go to Settings > Apps > Contacts > Storage. Tap on Clear cache first. Restart your device and see if the sync is working properly. If the problem persists, tap on Clear data or Clear storage depending on the option available. Repeat the same process for Google Play Services i.e. if sync still not working clear its cache and data.

Pro Tip: Check out various ways to backup your contacts on Android phone.

11. Check Data and Time

Sometimes, incorrect data and time also interfere with the synchronization function. Go to Settings > System > Date & time. Set the correct time or enable Automatic time settings.

12. Reset App Preferences

Android phones come with an interesting feature that allows you to reset all the settings on your phone to their default values. So, if any settings are blocking contacts functionality, resetting app preferences will fix it.

To reset app preferences go to Settings > System > Reset options > Reset app preferences. No data or files are deleted when app preferences are reset. Find out in detail what happens by resetting app preferences and other methods to reset app preferences.

13. Remove Google Account

Finally, if nothing works, you should take the plunge and remove the Google account from your phone. Find out what happens by removing Google account from an Android phone.

To remove the account, go to Settings > Accounts. Tap your Google account. Tap Uninstall. Once removed add it again and allow sync functionality for contacts.

Sync Cares

The ability to automatically backup contacts in the background is a great feature. Losing or breaking it would bother anyone. We hope one of the solutions will fix the Google contacts not syncing issue on your Android phone.

Next: Did you accidentally delete your contacts or lost them due to sync error? Learn how to restore deleted Google contacts from the next link.