iCloud contacts showing under gmail

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iCloud contacts showing under gmail

When I turn off All Gmail in my contacts on my iPhone all contacts disappear. When I turn off All iCloud all contacts remain.

I was under the impression that all my contacts were being updated in iCloud specifically.

Instead of complaining about how did I screw this up, my time would be better spent correcting the issue.

What is strange is that my calendar updates under iCloud.

So how do I move all gmail contacts to iCloud contacts and so that future additional contacts are updated on all devices

iPhone 12 Pro Max, iOS 14

Posted on Jul 26, 2021 7:53 AM

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Answer 1

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dnorth12 Author

Level 1

79 points

Jul 27, 2021 9:09 AM in response to jdo_apple

Hi jdo,

I did figure it out. Found a video that explained it. I ended up exporting my gmail contacts as well as my iCloud contacts which were not updating my devices. I then deleted all contacts in both places.

Since my gmail contacts were the most up to date I imported them into iCloud contacts. 71 were imported and 40 were not. The 40 were all company contacts, so there must be some inconsistency in how Apple reads gmail company contact info. I went through the contacts and added back the company contacts. So now I am back up and running with all contacts being updated via iCloud.

This brings up another question. Since all my contacts are in the cloud with nothing on my devices what happens if I am out of cell phone range or lose wifi at home? Do I temporarily have no access to contacts on my devices? I know it doesn't really matter since if I don't have service I have no immediate need for contact info. Just a curiosity.

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Answer 2

jdo_apple

Community Specialist

Jul 27, 2021 8:50 AM in response to dnorth12

Hi dnorth12,

Thank you for posting in Apple Support Communities.

Having your contacts where you believe they should be is important. That was great troubleshooting to determine where your contacts were being stored.

You can transfer the contacts. First, you will need to go to Gmail and export your contact and select the file format vCard. If you are unsure how to do this, Gmail should have help or support links to explain it.

Once you have your file, follow the steps found in Import a contact on iCloud.com. It will explain how to import the file into iCloud Contacts.

If you have any questions at all just let us know.

Have a great day!

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iCloud contacts showing under gmail

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