As a Google Apps for Business client (a paid, cloud-based productivity suite that helps you and your team connect and get work done from anywhere on any device using ad-free Gmail), I was seeing that my Gmail contacts were rarely identical to my iPhone contacts. The number of contacts I had in my Gmail contacts was nowhere close to the number of my iPhone contacts. This problem happens because when I receive an email from someone in Gmail and add them to my contacts, it didn't always sync with my iPhone contacts. You'd think it would; but it doesn't. And the same thing happens when I add a contact on my iPhone.
I called Apple; but the solutions they gave me didn't work, so I turned to the App Store.
The sync solution
Contacts Sync For Google Gmail ($2.99), is an app that does exactly what it's supposed to do. When you run it, it scans your Gmail contacts and your iPhone contacts and then makes them the same.
Once the app is installed and you have logged into your Gmail account, you have several options:
- Two-way Sync (Gmail to iPhone/iPhone to Gmail)
- Gmail Contacts to iPhone
- iPhone Contacts to Gmail
- Manual Sync
- Facebook Contacts to Gmail
I have not had any problems with this app as of the date of this post.
Note: this app does not run automatically or in the background. You must manually run it (I run mine whenever I think about it, which is often because I have a lot of contacts and it is important to keep them in sync).
When you do the two-way Sync, Contacts Sync For Google Gmail will tell you if there are duplicate contacts in Gmail before you sync them with your iPhone contacts. At this point, you can cancel the sync, go into Gmail to find and merge duplicate contacts, and then run the sync, OR you can just tell the app to continue anyway.
Why I choose Contacts Sync For Google Gmail
When searching for apps in the App Store that claimed to sync Gmail contacts with iPhone contacts, the free apps received poor reviews. Contacts Sync For Google Gmail had several 5-star reviews. Disclosure: I didn't spend a lot of time searching for the perfect app; nor did I try any poorly reviewed apps. Once I installed the Contacts Sync For Google Gmail app and found that it worked as described, I was happy.