How To Sync Apple Contacts With Google Contacts

Posted : admin | On 01-05-2021



Things to check first. Check if you still need help after each of the steps below. Check the system. You can sync your U-M Google Contacts across all your devices, including Apple iOS and macOS. When you change a U-M Google contact entry on one of those devices, it will change across the rest of your devices. That way, you won’t have to make changes on each device, and you won’t lose anyone’s contact.

Things to check first

Check if you still need help after completing each of the steps below.

  1. Check the system status of iCloud Contacts, Calendars and Reminders.
  2. If a reminder isn't appearing on some devices, make sure you're running the latest iOS, iPadOS or macOS on each device. Upgraded reminders and shared reminders in iOS 13 or later or macOS Catalina or later aren't compatible with earlier versions of iOS or macOS. Learn more.
  3. Make sure the date and time settings on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC are correct.
  4. Make sure you're signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID on all of your devices. Then check that you've turned on Contacts, Calendars and Reminders* in your iCloud settings.
  5. Check your Internet connection. Open Safari and go to www.apple.com/uk. If the page doesn't load, find out what to do.
  6. Check that you can access secure websites. Open Safari and go to your Apple ID account page. If the website doesn't load, contact your Internet service provider for help.
  7. Make sure you haven't exceeded your iCloud storage limit or the storage limits for iCloud Contacts, Calendars and Reminders.

* On a PC with Outlook 2016 or later, Reminders are called Tasks.

Try the steps for your device

If you still need help, try the below steps for your device.

iOS 13 and iPadOS or later

After each step, check your contacts, calendars or reminders.

Refresh your contacts and calendars

To refresh your contacts, open Contacts and swipe down on the list. To refresh your contact groups, tap Groups in the top left-hand corner, then swipe down on the list.

To refresh your calendars:

  1. Open the Calendar app.
  2. Tap the Calendars tab.
  3. Swipe down on the list to refresh your events.

Check your app settings

  1. Make sure you've turned on Contacts, Calendars and Reminders on your device.
  2. If you use multiple groups or accounts in the Contacts or Calendars app, make sure your iCloud Contacts and Calendars are set to appear:
    • Open the Contacts app and tap Groups in the top left-hand corner. Make sure All iCloud is selected.
    • Open the Calendar app and tap the Calendars tab. Make sure all iCloud calendars are selected.
  3. Change how often your calendars update:
    1. Tap Settings, then Calendar.
    2. Tap Sync.
    3. If All Events is selected, choose a specific timeframe instead, such as Events 1 Month Back. If a specific timeframe is selected, choose All Events instead.
    4. Return to your Home screen.
    5. Wait a few minutes, then open the Calendar app. Tap the Calendars tab and swipe down to refresh.

Since the iCloud Birthdays calendar is updated daily, you may not see changes to birthdays in the Calendars app until the following day.

Set iCloud Contacts, Calendars or Reminders as your default

If your contacts, calendars and reminders are in iCloud, then iCloud will automatically update your information. If your information is in a third-party account, such as Google or Yahoo, you can change your default account to iCloud. Changing your default account to iCloud won't move your existing information from a third-party service to iCloud.

Contacts

To see which account your contacts are in:

  1. Open the Contacts app and tap Groups in the top left-hand corner.
  2. Untick the All [account] option for any third-party account, such as Gmail or Yahoo.
  3. Make sure All iCloud is selected.
  4. Tap Done to see your list of contacts. If you can't see the contact you're looking for, it's stored in another account.
  5. If you have a copy of your contacts from a third-party service in vCard format version 3.0 or later, you can import the contacts into iCloud.

Set iCloud as the default account for your contacts:

  1. Tap Settings, then Contacts.
  2. Tap Default Account.
  3. Select iCloud.

Calendars and Reminders

To see which account your calendars are in, open the Calendar app and then tap the Calendars tab.

Set an iCloud calendar as the default calendar:

  1. Tap Settings, then Calendar.
  2. Tap Default Calendar.
  3. Tap a calendar under iCloud to make it your default calendar.

Set an iCloud reminders list as the default list:

  1. Tap Settings, then Reminders.
  2. Tap Default List.
  3. Tap a list under iCloud to make it your default list.

Restart the Contacts, Calendar or Reminders app

  1. Close the app.
  2. Return to your Home screen.
  3. Wait a minute, then open the app again.

Turn off iCloud Contacts, Calendar or Reminders, and turn it back on

  1. Tap Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
  2. Slide to turn off Contacts, Calendars and Reminders.*
  3. If you see your calendars or reminders on iCloud.com or any of your devices, you can choose Delete from My [device]. If not, choose Keep on My [device].
  4. Wait a few minutes, then turn on Contacts, Calendar or Reminders again.

* Local reminders will be deleted from your device, but your information won't be deleted from iCloud. After you've turned Reminders back on, your reminders will be re-synced to your device.

Restart your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch

Here's how to restart your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

iOS 12

After each step, check your contacts, calendars or reminders.

Refresh your contacts, calendars and reminders

To refresh your contacts, open Contacts and swipe down on the list. To refresh your contact groups, tap Groups in the top left-hand corner, then swipe down on the list.

To refresh your calendars and reminders:

  1. Open the Calendar app.
  2. Tap the Calendars tab.
  3. Swipe down on the list to refresh your events and reminders.

Check your app settings

  1. Make sure you've turned on Contacts, Calendars and Reminders on your device.
  2. If you use multiple groups or accounts in the Contacts or Calendars app, make sure your iCloud Contacts and Calendars are set to appear:
    • Open the Contacts app and tap Groups in the top left-hand corner. Make sure All iCloud is selected.
    • Open the Calendar app and tap the Calendars tab. Make sure All iCloud is selected.
  3. Change how often your calendars and reminders update:
    1. Tap Settings > Calendar, or tap Settings > Reminders.
    2. Tap Sync.
    3. If All Events or All Reminders is selected, choose a specific timeframe instead, such as Events or Reminders 1 Month Back. If a specific timeframe is selected, choose All Events or All Reminders instead.
    4. Press the Home button.
    5. Wait a few minutes. Open the Calendar app, tap the Calendars tab and swipe down to refresh.

Since the iCloud Birthdays calendar is updated daily, you may not see changes to birthdays in the Calendars app until the following day.

Set iCloud Contacts, Calendars or Reminders as your default

If your contacts, calendars and reminders are in iCloud, then iCloud will automatically update your information. See if your information is in iCloud or a third-party account, such as Google or Yahoo. Then change your default account to iCloud.

Contacts

Find out which account your contacts are in:

  1. Open the Contacts app and tap Groups in the top left-hand corner.
  2. Untick the All [account] option for any third-party account, such as Gmail or Yahoo.
  3. Make sure All iCloud is selected.
  4. Tap Done to see your list of contacts. If you can't see the contact you're looking for, it's stored in another account.
  5. You can import the contact from a third-party service into iCloud.

Set iCloud as the default account for your contacts:

  1. Tap Settings > Contacts.
  2. Tap Default Account.
  3. Select iCloud.

Calendars and Reminders

Find out which account your calendars are in:

  1. Open the Calendar app.
  2. Tap an event to open it.
  3. Tap the calendar name to see if the event is in an iCloud calendar.

Set an iCloud calendar as the default calendar:

  1. Tap Settings > Calendar.
  2. Tap Default Calendar.
  3. Tap a calendar under iCloud to make it your default calendar.

Find out which account your reminders are in:

  1. Open the Reminders app.
  2. Tap the list name in the top left-hand corner to view all of your lists.
  3. Find out if the list is stored on your device or iCloud. Open a list and tap Edit. If you can see Sharing, then your list is in iCloud.

When you create a reminder, you can choose to store it in iCloud or on your iOS device.

Restart the Contacts, Calendar or Reminders app

  1. Double-click the Home button to see your open apps.
  2. Find the app, then swipe up to close it.
  3. Press the Home button to return to your Home screen.
  4. Wait a minute, then open the app again.

Turn off iCloud Contacts, Calendar or Reminders, and turn it back on

  1. Tap Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
  2. Slide to turn off Contacts, Calendars and Reminders.*
  3. If you see your calendars or reminders on iCloud.com or any of your devices, you can choose Delete from My [device]. If not, choose Keep on My [device].
  4. Wait a few minutes, then turn on Contacts, Calendar or Reminders again.

* Local reminders will be deleted from your device, but your information won't be deleted from iCloud. After you've turned Reminders back on, your reminders will be re-synced to your device.

Restart your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch

Restart your device. Here's how to restart your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Force sync Calendar data on Apple Watch

To force sync Calendar data on your Apple Watch:

  1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone and tap the My Watch tab.
  2. Tap General, then tap Reset.
  3. Tap Reset Sync Data.

If a family member set up your Apple Watch for you, you can't force sync Calendar data.

Sync Apple Contacts To Google

macOS

After each step, check your contacts, calendars or reminders.

Refresh your calendars and reminders

You can refresh your calendars from the Calendars app:

How To Sync Apple Contacts With Google Contacts Using

  1. Open the Calendar app.
  2. Choose View.
  3. Refresh Calendars.

Since the iCloud Birthdays calendar is updated hourly, you may not see changes to birthdays in the Contacts or Calendars app for an hour.

To refresh your reminders, quit the Reminders app and then open it again.

Check your default Calendar, Reminders and Contacts account

If you store and edit your events in iCloud instead of another place, such as On My Mac, Exchange or Google, then iCloud will automatically update your calendars. If you use multiple accounts on your Mac, such as iCloud, Gmail and Yahoo, make sure iCloud is your default Calendar account:

  1. Open the Calendar app.
  2. Choose Calendar > Preferences.
  3. In the General tab, make sure one of your iCloud calendars is the default.

If you store and edit your contacts in iCloud instead of another place, such as On My Mac, Exchange or Google, then iCloud will automatically update your contacts. If you use multiple accounts on your Mac, such as iCloud, Gmail and Yahoo, make sure iCloud is your default Contacts account:

  1. Open the Contacts app.
  2. Choose Contacts > Accounts.
  3. Click the iCloud tab and make sure you're signed in with your Apple ID.

As long as you've turned on Reminders in System Preferences, you see your iCloud reminders on your Mac.

Turn off iCloud Calendar and iCloud Reminders, then turn it back on

  1. Quit the Calendar and Reminders apps.
  2. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Apple ID and then click iCloud. If you’re using macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences and then click iCloud.
  3. Deselect Calendars and Reminders.*
  4. Close System Preferences and wait about a minute.
  5. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Apple ID and then click iCloud. If you’re using macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences and then click iCloud.
  6. Select Calendars and Reminders.
  7. Open Calendar and Reminders.

* Local reminders will be deleted from your device, but your information won't be deleted from iCloud. After you've turned Reminders back on, your reminders will be re-synced to your device.

Restart your computer

After you've restarted your computer, see if the issue has been fixed.

iCloud.com

If you can't see all of your updates or are experiencing a different issue, try these steps on iCloud.com:

  1. Update your browser and clear the cache.
  2. If you can't see updates from other devices, open another app on iCloud.com, such as Mail. Then go back to the Contacts, Calendar or Reminders app.
  3. Sign out of iCloud.com, then sign back in.
  4. Clear your browsing history. Choose History > Clear History.

Since the iCloud Birthdays calendar is updated daily, you may not see changes to birthdays in the Calendars app until the following day.

If you've received a spam iCloud Calendar request

If you've received a calendar request that you think may be spam or junk, let us know. Sign in to iCloud.com with your Apple ID and go to the Calendar app. Open the event that you want to mark as junk, click Report Junk and then click OK. We'll automatically delete the event from your Calendar on all of your devices that are signed in with the same Apple ID.

You can also go to the invitation from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Mac and choose Report Junk > Delete and Report Junk.

Microsoft Windows

How To Sync Apple Contacts With Google Contacts

After each step, check your contacts, calendars or reminders.

Reminders are called Tasks in iCloud for Windows.

Refresh Outlook

Turn off iCloud Contacts, Calendar and Tasks, and then turn it back on

  1. Open iCloud for Windows.
  2. Deselect Mail, Contacts, Calendars and Tasks, and then click Apply.
  3. Wait a few seconds, select Mail, Contacts, Calendars and Tasks, and then click Apply.
  4. Open Outlook.

Make sure the iCloud Outlook Add-in is active

In Outlook 2010 and later:

How To Sync Phone Contacts

  1. Click the File menu.
  2. Click Options in the left-hand panel.
  3. Click Add-Ins in the left-hand panel of the Outlook Options window.
  4. Look at the list of add-ins in the Active Application Add-Ins section.
  5. Select the iCloud Outlook Add-in.

Find out how to manage Add-ins with Microsoft Outlook.

How Do I Sync Apple Contacts With Gmail

Check your default account in Outlook

In Outlook 2010 and later:

  1. Click the File menu.
  2. Select Info > Account Settings > Data Files.
  3. If iCloud is the default account in the Comments column, select a different account and click Set as Default.

Sync Outlook Contacts With Google Contacts

Restart your computer

After you've restarted your computer, see if the issue has been fixed.

If you still need help

If you still need help, contact Apple Support. You can also use these steps to remove duplicate contacts or calendars.

Since long I had been using Android based smartphones and thus all my data has been getting stored in various Google services. All my phonebook contacts were also stored in Google Contacts. When I began to use iPhone, I still wanted all my phonebook to stay updated in Google Contacts. For this, I needed to sync my iPhone Contacts with Google Contacts. Syncing helps in downloading phone numbers from Google account into any of your new phone. You can buy any phone and you can download all your contacts into it.

Syncing Google Contacts with iPhone (or iPhone contacts with Google) is a process in which new contacts will be uploaded into your Google account and old contacts will be downloaded into your iPhone. Thus both your iPhone and Google Contacts will have all your contacts.

How to Sync iPhone with Google Contacts

Syncing iPhone is an easy process but often people find it confusing. Below we are giving the exact steps to sync iPhone contacts with Google:

  1. Open Settings in your iPhone
  2. Go to Contacts > Accounts
  3. Now go to Add Account > Google
  4. You will be asked to log into your Google account. If you’re using 2-step verification, you will receive a code on your mobile phone as usual. Sign into Google.
  5. Now your iOS (i.e. the operating system in your iPhone) will connect with Google and Google will seek your permission to allow iOS to access and manage your mail, contacts etc. Tap on Accept to allow.
  6. You will see what all items from your Gmail could be accessed on your iPhone. Make sure Contacts toggle is set to ON (i.e. it should be green)

Now your iPhone Contacts app will sync with your Gmail / Google Contacts. But syncing will happen only when you will open the Contacts app in your iPhone. So, after following the above mentioned steps, you should open the Contacts app in iPhone. When you will do so, you will notice that your mobile data transfer icon will begin to spin. This means that the iPhone is transferring data to and from Google Contacts. You should keep the Contacts app open as long as the spinner shows data transfer. This will ensure that all your contacts are synced.

Afterwards too, whenever you will open Contacts app, iPhone will check if there is a newly added contact in your iPhone. If there would be new contacts, syncing will again take place.

Existing iPhone Contacts are not Syncing with Google Account

Before setting up your iPhone to sync with Google account, if you already had Contacts in your iPhone, they may not get synced with Google. Only those contacts will be synced which will be added after sync is setup. To get around this problem you will have to export iPhone contacts and import them manually into Google account. We have published an article on exporting iPhone Contacts and import them into Google.

We hope that this article was helpful for you. Should you have any question on this topic, please feel free to ask in the comments section. Our reader community and we at TechWelkin will try to assist you. Thank you for using TechWelkin!