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iCloud sync with Google?

I've got a question about syncing My Contacts & Calendar...


Until today, I've used the built in options in Mail to sync the calendar with Google Calendar. I also used the option on iTunes to sync my contacts with Gmail. I do the vast majority of my mail in Gmail (Google Apps Mail technically, but still), so I want my contacts synced to Gmail, too. If I make a change on my phone, and it gets synced to iCloud, that's pointless, I need it in Gmail.


After I installed iOS5, I could still sync calendar the same way as before. But contacts seem to be an either/or. There's no apparent way to have the contacts from my iPhone and my iPad be synced with iCloud, and also sync them with Google Contacts as well. It appears you can't do one and do the other. Am I wrong about that? Is there any "automatic" way to get these synced?


I'd also like it to sync both my Google Calendar and my iCloud calendar, too in a perfect world. Given I share my Google Calendar with a few family members who will never use iCloud, I kind of need my calendar still over there.


Any of this possible without installing some third party addtl software?

Custom Built, Windows 7

Posted on Oct 12, 2011 2:30 PM

Reply
40 replies

Oct 13, 2011 6:18 AM in response to Joe Siegler

Same here...

I sync different devices with Google calenders. iOS, OSX, Win 7 and also share some calenders with people who will not use iCloud. So I can´t just move everything in the iCloud, I have to keep my Google calenders.

So if I want to use the iCloud calender and I want to, I need a way to sync ICloud with Google!!!

Oct 13, 2011 8:15 AM in response to Joe Siegler

I would also be very interested in a real solution to the Google <-> iCloud syncing subject.


But, that's not a real problem for me to have those two worlds apart. As long as i can choose, say, Google Calendar as my main calendar and have it available live everywhere i need it. (Web, iOS, iCal, etc...)


I used CalDav for a while and now I see there is Google Sync via Exchange... What about it? Is it working well? Is it the preferred solution to have your Google Calendars on iOS?


And can it be your syncing solution as well?

Oct 13, 2011 8:42 AM in response to Arkonova

Arkonova wrote:


I used CalDav for a while and now I see there is Google Sync via Exchange... What about it? Is it working well? Is it the preferred solution to have your Google Calendars on iOS?



I've always used Google sync via Exchange. It has worked perfectly for me. I have an iPhone, an iPad and also access my calendar from whatever computer I happen to be working at.

Oct 14, 2011 5:19 AM in response to Joe Siegler

I found this program this morning.


http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1455


It's "iCloud Control Panel" for Windows. It lets you sync your iCloud stuff to your PC. Now it's only option is to sync your calendar/tasks, contacts, & mail with Outlook. Bookmarks with IE, and Photo stream to whatever drive you want on the computer.


It's not optimal, but it's a start. Could then probably use another utility to sync from Outlook to Gmail. It's a kludge, but it's all I can find for now.

Oct 17, 2011 4:10 PM in response to Joe Siegler

I have the same problem. I have happily used gmail and google calendar with my iPad, iPhone, and MacBook Pro for quite awhile. Since the switch to iCloud, Google is not syncing to iCloud. However, I thought all of my devices were syncing correctly... Until I read these posts. Now I'm not so sure! If anyone finds a solution, please post it in the forum!

Dec 1, 2011 7:24 PM in response to Joe Siegler

Apple has intentionally broken third party syncing services. From what I gather in the press, it's an ego battle going on with Google, but third party vendors are suffering.


You cannot, absolutely cannot, use iCloud and sync to Google Apps.


Spanning Sync and Soocial (both of which used to support very nice services in this regard) are out in the cold. I have both, well, had both -- neither has been able to solve the problem. Basically you have to choose between using Apple cloud (iCloud) or someone else's cloud (such as Google). Unfortunately, that means you can either have seamless syncing between all you Apple gizmos... or, you have to take a more manual approach.


So, if you want the more manual approach, here are a few tips:


1. Turn off iCloud for calendars and contacts on your computer.

2. Disable any kind of iCloud syncing for calendars and contacts on your devices, too.

3. I deleted all the contacts/calendar databases from my mobile devices (well, it happens automatically when you disable the iCloud syncing).

4. Now, on your Mac, turn on iCal and AddressBook syncing to Google or, if you prefer a more powerful option with more configurability, get a copy of Spanning Sync or go with Soocial, or some other service. These do good jobs of preventing dupes, etc.

5. Set your iPhone or iPad to use an Exchange server for contact and calendar syncing. (I still prefer to use a Google server for mail, it works better).


There you go. You should be mostly in the same place as with iCloud, although there are a few limitations. For instance, Google doesn't support all the custom contact fields that iCloud supports. That hasn't had much of an impact on me, although it can bother some people. Other than that, I'd just have to say things aren't exactly quite as seamless as with iCloud... for instance, iCal integration with Google Calendar works great, but you can tell from the user interface that they weren't really made to work together from day one.


Hope that helps.


It would be great if Apple fixed their s___ but I don't expect it. They've been making some bad decisions this year... releasing Lion too early, the horrible new AddressBook design, the mess that was iTunes Match (I think it's fixed now but I'm not going to risk it). Seems to me Apple is becoming more political, and less focused on the old mantra of "it just works." Bah. It doesn't work anymore.

Jan 2, 2012 1:31 PM in response to Zacharias Beckman

Well, it's been over a month since this was posted. Does anyone have an update on the icloud syncing with google debacle? I am terribly un-technically, so I have to wait for one of your tech savvy folks to figure a soultion for this. I just hope to have my contacts all stay the same on iphone, ipad, imac address book, and google contacts without having to hook any device up to sync. Is there a way? HELP..............

Jan 3, 2012 5:17 PM in response to Joe Siegler

I have noticed that since upgrading to Lion, ios 5, and switching over from Mobile Me to iCloud, I now have triplicates in my Address Book contacts. Previously, I had my Address Book set to sync with Yahoo and Google as well as Mobile Me. This seemed to keep all 3 accounts in sync. Now, They all show up as 3 separate accounts (hence the perception that there are 3 copies of everything when I view All Contacts). In addition, they no longer appear to be syncing. Is this perception/change since the advent of iCloud accurate? Am I accurate in observing that all my contacts were, in fact, 3-way syncing prior to iCloud and that now they are not? Is there any way to get them all syncing again? And can anyone provide insight as to why this very un-helpful change would have been implemented by Apple?


(Zacharias Beckmen, you seem to know what you're talking about... could you please clarify your response based on my questions? Thank you!)

iCloud sync with Google?

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