iOS 6 sync issues

[marcnyc]

I'm having some sync issues I'm hoping to troubleshoot

1. Some contacts I added on the iPhone 5 do not show up in my address book after syncing and viceversa

2. Even though I enabled the feature to import pictures and contacts from facebook some contacts still have old and wrong pictures... Is there a way to delete ALL the contact pictures only and restart that sync process?

Thanks

[vtp-hn01]

I also get an error like this. Very inconvenient when sync with PC.

[marcnyc]

any ideas?

[NaOH]

So you're not using iCloud to manage your contacts?

[marcnyc]

I am. iCloud is enabled in System Preferences but these sync incongruences continue

[NaOH]

Okay. I was uncertain because you mentioned syncing as if you were initiating the process through iTunes.

The rule of thumb with iCloud is that what's on the server is considered the master copy of your data. First, you may want to make a copy of your Mac Address Book data if you don't have active backups. The key folder is ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook.

Next, on your phone, if iOS 6 is like iOS 5, head to the root level of your contacts (so that the heading in the window is Groups, not All Contacts or some group you have). There should be a button for syncing. It looks like an arrow going in a circle. You can give that time to propagate changes to your Mac or you can press that button on the phone and then use System Preferences > iCloud to disable then re-enable iCloud contact data.

[marcnyc]

I was initiating sync on the iPhone, wireless sync...
I do want to have the same thing on the computer as it is on the cloud but right not it isn't so
I can try what you suggest but I wouldn't want to loose contacts that are on the phone and not on the cloud because the cloud is considered the master, you know what i mean?

[NaOH]

Quote: Originally Posted by marcnyc I was initiating sync on the iPhone, wireless sync...

I don't think wireless syncing will move any changes in iCloud-stored data. Wireless syncing covers only the stuff moved between Mac iTunes and the phone (movies, music, etc.). As I understand it, that type of sync ignores all iCloud data.

Quote: Originally Posted by marcnyc I can try what you suggest but I wouldn't want to loose contacts that are on the phone and not on the cloud because the cloud is considered the master, you know what i mean?

I do know what you mean, and that's based on an experience which didn't lead to data being everywhere as expected.

[marcnyc]

basically I don't care much for iCloud... I only have it enabled so I have a backup in the cloud I can access if I am ever stranded without a phone and without my computer, but I want my computer and phone to be in perfect sync

[NaOH]

Set iTunes and your iPhone to use iCloud but not handle Contacts. I'm guessing you don't need this information, so I'm thinking more for others who may read this thread, in iTunes you can simply have your phone connected and selected in the sidebar, then under the Info section disable iCloud contacts.

Since it sounds like your key copy of your contacts is on your phone, you may want to look at the ideas in this thread for getting a copy of them to your Mac so that the two devices are holding the same data.

http://apple.stackexchange.com/quest...-icloud-or-mac

Alterntively, going back to my earlier idea, I'm wondering if disabling/enabling contacts under System Preferences > iCloud is all you need to do. I mean, if you remove contacts from your Mac, then re-enabling them should pull data from iCloud. Since your Mac data is clearly not how you want it, I'm not seeing how this would be a risky move since the phone already has the desired data set.

[marcnyc]

that's not entirely correct
I have been adding contacts on my address book on the computer but they are not being synced with the phone... if I type a search string in my phone, my computer's address book app and the icloud website I get three different sets of data. I don't want to loose any of it, I want all of it to be synced between the three places. I thought that was the whole concept of iSync and I don't understand why it doesn't work...

[NaOH]

Honestly, I'm reluctant to strongly suggest anything since I fear data loss. If I were in your position, I'd probably

1. export vCards from all three sources (Mac, web, and iOS device);
2. disable iCloud contacts on the Mac and iOS (and remove existing contacts from them);
3. delete all contacts from the iCloud site;
4. enable iCloud contacts on the Mac then import those vCards;
5. as necessary, sift through this new set of Mac-based contacts to resolve duplicates.**

**I was testing something yesterday under Address Book in Lion, and under that OS I don't recommend using Card > Look For Duplicates because it didn't show details of what it found and only offered the choice to proceed or cancel. I don't know if that's a Lion thing or the fact that there was only one duplicate. You may want to try it since there may be more information presented, and there is an option to cancel if you feel that what's shown is inadequate for making an informed decision.

Certainly, you shouldn't have to do this. But unless there's a procedure we've missed for reconciling your diverse data sets, it seems like taking one step backward for future steps forward is worth considering.

[marcnyc]

with over 4000 contacts I can't really manually go through the contacts as you suggest...

Just to further clarify my situation:
1. on my computer's Address Book app I have 4054 contacts and I had iCloud off in the preferences. If I turn iCloud on I see 4012 contacts in "All iCloud" and 4054 contacts in "All on My Mac" and a total of 8196 in "All Contacts"
2. on the iPhone I have 5793 contacts
3. on the iPhone I have iTunes Wi-Fi Sync enabled and I have iCloud enabled only for Contacts, Passbook, Find My Phone
4. in iTunes I currently have Sync Contacts enabled
5. in iCloud online I have 4142 contacts

To avoid data loss I have made backups of the Address Book on my Mac... but since iPhone shows 1750 contacts more than Address Book I'd like to be able to back that up as well and yet I can't even seem to be able to do that because even though Sync All Contacts is enabled I still don't see the same numbers of contacts on the iPhone and the Mac Address Book

I would like these all to be synced and see the same number everywhere. Possible at all?
Thanks!

[mclbruce]

Quote: Originally Posted by marcnyc with over 4000 contacts I can't really manually go through the contacts as you suggest... Just to further clarify my situation: 3. on the iPhone I have iTunes Wi-Fi Sync enabled and I have iCloud enabled only for Contacts, Passbook, Find My Phone 4. in iTunes I currently have Sync Contacts enabled

I think you have syncing of contacts going on in two different ways at once. That will definitely cause problems.

Backing up is your first priority. Select all and export as vCard should work on your Mac and in iCloud. Open up the vCards in a text editor or check the file size to make sure all contacts were backed up.

Backing up your phone contacts could be difficult. I believe there is a way in iTunes to do a sync with a phone where the phone contacts replace the computer contacts. After you are sure that you have backed up the computer that may be worth trying.

Note that there is a "look for duplicates" command in Address Book/Contacts on your Mac.

Ps. Be very, very careful. Back up everything possible as soon as possible. Make sure the backups are labeled well and that copies exist off of your computer and phone. You are either walking on thin ice, in the middle of a slow motion train wreck, or already up the creek without a paddle.

[marcnyc]

Quote: Originally Posted by mclbruce Backing up your phone contacts could be difficult. I believe there is a way in iTunes to do a sync with a phone where the phone contacts replace the computer contacts. After you are sure that you have backed up the computer that may be worth trying.

I see a way to do the opposite but I don't see a way to replace the computer contacts with the iPhone's... can you explain how to do that?

[marcnyc]

I have not found a perfect solution for this but I wanted to report back on what I did in case somebody else has similar issues.
Here are the steps I followed:

- disable iCloud from your iPhone iOS' System Preferences and disable iCloud from your OS X System Preferences (I guess disable Me.com or Mac.com if you use those)
- select all contacts in the OS X Address Book and I export them as a vCard
- backup your iPhone
- download a copy of the freeware iScavenge.app
- select the iPhone backup you just created and then select all contacts from the iPhone and export them to a new folder that you will create somewhere on your computer
- import (drag and drop) all of those contacts in your OS X address book
- purchase a $4.99 copy of Address Book Clearout.app and a $4.99 copy of Spanning Tool Contacts Cleaner.app and use those two softwares, in that order, to remove duplicates (AB Clearout is good to remove exact duplicates while ST CC is good to fix problems with your merges)
- you can additionally use the 'Look for Duplicates' option in the OS X Address Book but with my 6000 contacts mine was not willing to work until after I used the two softwares I mentioned... also the OS X Address Book gives you no way of seeing what the merge is doing and on which contacts it is happening so it is very primitive and rudimentary...
- connect your iPhone to your Mac and select "Contacts" in the "Replace information on this iPhone" section of the "Advanced" section at the bottom of the "Info" tab.

I recommend making a new backup of the address book after every one of these steps so you can always go back and repeat the last step if you have to.

I now have the same amount of contacts in my iPhone and my computer, which is what I wanted.
I ended up with a bunch of duplicate notes in my Notes field and I also have this annoying feeling that some contacts might have gotten messed up but with 6000 contacts it's too hard for me to go look at all contacts individually so I guess I'll have to deal with those when I come across those.

At this point I am keeping iCloud off because I feel every time I turn it on the problems start... I might make backups of phone and computer and try to turning it on but I have been very discouraged by how iCloud and previous mac.com/me.com have messed up my contacts creating duplicates and issues with synchronization...

That's the best I was able to do and I hope my experience will help someone else facing similar issues.

[donmontalvo]

Quote: Originally Posted by marcnyc - select all contacts in the OS X Address Book and I export them as a vCard

Bad advice. vCard strips away some OS X related data...export as Calendar Archive instead:

Messages > File > Export... > Contacts Archive...