What it means for users

Google is tweaking the way Contacts are synced to a Google Account on Android smartphones. The change, though small, could bring big problems for some but a quick solution can get things streamlined again. Going forward, if your contact list suddenly disappears, it is because Google updated the Contacts sync option.

What is changing
If users turn off sync in Google Contacts, all previously synced contacts will be removed from the Android phone. It is to be noted that the change is rolling out to all Android devices through Google Play Services v23.20.

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In this scenario, previously synched contacts remained on that particular phone and the new contacts that were added did not carry forward on to the next device. Contacts sync is a feature that allows easy transfer of contacts when a user changes their Android phones.

If you want to remove synced contacts for a phone, the only way is to remove the Google account with which the contacts are synced. If there is only one Google account on the phone, then it cannot be removed because in order to fully use other Google services, like YouTube and Maps, among others, a Google account is necessary.

While it may not be a big deal for tech-savvy users, an average Android user who knows less about these features may end up having problems in case they accidentally turn off contact sync feature.

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How to bring contacts back
In case you are one of those who have accidentally turned off contacts sync and are having problems getting your contact list back, you can enable contacts sync. Users can go to Settings > Passwords & Accounts, select a Google account and enable the toggle for Contacts. Users can also check whether they’re present at contacts.google.com, if yes, then there might be a syncing problem.

Google is also rolling out more system updates which you can access here.

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