Can iSync add contacts to a phone?

[blurb23]

I've got a Motorola e815 from Verizon right now, and I've got no problem syncing it up with my iMac. I can edit the contacts in Address Book, and then the edits will get ported over.

Whenever I add a contact in my phone, that will get added to Address Book after a sync.

But does it work the other way around? Can I add a contact in Address Book, and have that added to my phone? I recently added a "Test McTest" in Address Book, and after a sync, that was not in my phone.

My main point of asking this is to see whether I can use Address Book and iSync to completely port over my contacts to a new phone.

 

[kylos]

I've got a Motorola e815 from Verizon right now, and I've got no problem syncing it up with my iMac. I can edit the contacts in Address Book, and then the edits will get ported over.

Whenever I add a contact in my phone, that will get added to Address Book after a sync.

But does it work the other way around? Can I add a contact in Address Book, and have that added to my phone? I recently added a "Test McTest" in Address Book, and after a sync, that was not in my phone.

My main point of asking this is to see whether I can use Address Book and iSync to completely port over my contacts to a new phone.

Did Test McTest have a phone number? I just did a test with two different new contacts, one with, and one without a phone number. The one without a phone number did not transfer while the one with a phone number did transfer.

 

[mkrishnan]

IIRC, there's an option you can check that will sync contacts even if they only have an e-mail address and no phone number.

The other issue, though, is that if you're using a more basic phone (which I think the e815 is?) it may be set up to just sync a "group" of contacts -- check Address Book to see if you have a group defined. I had to do this for my RAZR V3, because it could not hold as many contacts as my address book. The nuisance with this is that the new contacts are not placed in a group automatically, so you have to add them to the group (or else create a smart group of new contacts, maybe, and add that to the phone) in order to have them automatically added.

But yes, the basic idea is that new contacts in AdBk should be showing up in the phone.

 

[blurb23]

Did Test McTest have a phone number?

That was it. I didn't realize that a contact had to have a phone number (which, now that I think about it, totally makes sense.)

The other issue, though, is that if you're using a more basic phone (which I think the e815 is?)

The e815 used to be the shizz back in the day when it came out It can actually hold it's own against modern phones of today, it's only setbacks being Verizon's utter annihilation of the phone's BlueTooth features; you can only send contacts back and forth, and do headsets and such. There's no file transfers or anything.

I'm thinking of upgrading to either the enV/enV(2), Blackberry Pearl 8130, LG Venus, or the LG Voyager.

 

[kylos]

IIRC, there's an option you can check that will sync contacts even if they only have an e-mail address and no phone number.

The other issue, though, is that if you're using a more basic phone (which I think the e815 is?) it may be set up to just sync a "group" of contacts -- check Address Book to see if you have a group defined. I had to do this for my RAZR V3, because it could not hold as many contacts as my address book. The nuisance with this is that the new contacts are not placed in a group automatically, so you have to add them to the group (or else create a smart group of new contacts, maybe, and add that to the phone) in order to have them automatically added.

But yes, the basic idea is that new contacts in AdBk should be showing up in the phone.

You're right about the option to sync all contacts. When you click on a device in iSync to access its settings, the "More Options" button at the bottom of the window activates a sheet that has a check box to sync only contacts with a phone number.

 

[mkrishnan]

The e815 used to be the shizz back in the day when it came out

Ahh, okay, sorry. I can never keep the numbered-name Motorola phones straight. I googled it, and I was thinking of a different phone.

You're right about the option to sync all contacts. When you click on a device in iSync to access its settings, the "More Options" button at the bottom of the window activates a sheet that has a check box to sync only contacts with a phone number.

Thanks for checking! This is a good option button to (not) check for anyone who owns a smartphone; as long as you have enough space, you might want those e-mail only contacts so you can e-mail them from your phone....

 

[chadvonnau]

...The other issue, though, is that if you're using a more basic phone (which I think the e815 is?) it may be set up to just sync a "group" of contacts -- check Address Book to see if you have a group defined. I had to do this for my RAZR V3, because it could not hold as many contacts as my address book. The nuisance with this is that the new contacts are not placed in a group automatically, so you have to add them to the group (or else create a smart group of new contacts, maybe, and add that to the phone) in order to have them automatically added...

I made a page detailing how to solve this exact problem, using basically the method you talked about.

http://chadvonnau.com/isync_sync_group.html

hope it helps.

love,
chad