How to Fix iPhone Contacts Not Syncing with Gmail

iPhone contacts not syncing with Gmail? Read this guide to get five solutions to fix this issue.

Lena

By Lena / Updated on June 6, 2023

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Problem: iPhone Contacts Not Syncing with Gmail

Gmail is a free service provided by Google and you can sync iPhone contacts with it. It’s a good way to backup iPhone contacts and it also lets you access the contacts anywhere. However, you just find that your iPhone contacts not syncing with Gmail as expected.

You are not the only one that meets this annoying problem and we have received quite a few reports from other users. Various reasons can lead to the iPhone contacts not syncing with Google issue like incorrect settings or network error. Don’t be too worried, just keep reading to learn the solutions to figure it out.

How to Fix iPhone Contacts Not Syncing with Gmail

Here in this part, I’ll list all the potential solutions that you can have a try to troubleshoot the iPhone contacts not syncing with Google problem. The methods described works for all iPhone models including iPhone 14/13/12/11/XR/XS/X/8/7S/7/6S/6.

Solution 1. Enable Contacts Sync of Gmail

To sync iPhone contacts to Gmail, you should add a Google account in iPhone Settings and then enable the Contacts sync. Go to have a check whether you have set it properly.

1. Open Settings app > Scroll down a little to choose Accounts & Passwords.

2. Tap Add Accounts > Choose Google > Enter the required information to add your Gmail account and tap Next.

3. Tap Save when your account is verified.

4. Turn on Contacts > Tap Save to confirm.

Email Sync Contacts

Solution 2. Select Gmail as the Default Account

If the Gmail is not the default account of contacts, the iPhone contacts not syncing with Gmail problem may occur. You should set Gmail as the default account of the Contacts. Go to Settings app > Choose Contacts > Tap Default Account > Select Gmail to make it.

Set Gmail as the Default Account

Solution 3. Check Internet Connection

The iPhone contacts not syncing with Google problem may occur due to the poor Internet connection. Please make sure your iPhone is connected to a stable Wi-Fi network or you can choose to use the cellular network.

You can try to reset network connection: go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings to make it. It will not erase any data on iPhone but will erase the Wi-Fi network, cellular data settings. You’ll need to re-enter the password to join the W-Fi.

Solution 4. Enable Cellular Network for Contacts

If you choose to use cellular to sync iPhone contacts to Google, you should go to have a check whether you have turned on the cellular option for Contacts. Go to Settings > Tap Cellular > Toggle on the button next to the Contacts.

Solution 5. Sync iPhone Contacts to Gmail via iTunes/iCloud

If all the above methods cannot help you fix the iPhone contacts not syncing to Google issue, you can try to import iPhone contacts to Gmail with the help of iTunes or iCloud.

Import iPhone Contacts to Google with iTunes

1. Connect your iPhone to computer and run iTunes.

2. Click the Device tab > Click Info.

3. Check the box “Sync Contacts with” > Select “Google Contacts”.

Sync Contacts with iTunes

4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process to transfer iPhone contacts to Google. When it finished, you can go to Google Contacts website to have a check.

Transfer iPhone Contacts to Google via iCloud

1. Sync iPhone Contacts to iCloud: Go to Settings > Tap [your name] > iCloud > Toggle on the Contacts option.

2. Export Contacts from iCloud: Go to iCloud.com on computer > Sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID and the password > Choose Contacts > Click the Gear icon in the lower-left corner and click Select All if you want to export all contacts > Click the Gear icon again and choose Export vCard... to save contacts to computer.

Export iPhone Contacts from iCloud

3. Import iPhone Contacts to Google: Go to https://contacts.google.com/ and sign in with your Google account > Click Import > Click Select file on the pop-up window > Choose the vCard file that exported from iCloud > Click Import.

Select File

An Easy Way to Backup iPhone Contacts

Indeed it’s a good choice to sync iPhone contacts with Google, in this case, you can access your contacts anywhere. However, you may also meet various syncing issue like the iPhone contacts not syncing to Gmail we discuss above. So if you’d like to make a backup for your contacts, you can choose to transfer iPhone contacts to computer.

To make things easy, one free iPhone backup manager named FoneTool is recommended here. It can help you backup all contacts in one click or only the selected contacts as per your needs. Besides contacts, it also supports messages, photos, music, videos, etc.

Back Up All

When the backup is finished, you can check the transferred contacts on your computer any time you want. The triangle tab allows you to make an incremental backup to save both time and storage space. You can also choose to restore the contacts to any iDevice and it will not erase any existing data.

View Contacts Backup

Get the tool to discover more by yourself now! Totally free for all functions.

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Conclusion

That’s all for how to fix the iPhone contacts not syncing with Gmail. Does this passage solve your problem? You could share it to help more people. Or if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and we will reply to you as soon as possible.