This is both an observation and a request for help. I "fixed" this problem by removing Skype but would still like to be able to install Skype.
So when ICS came out it bricked my Thunderbolt. I had to get a refurbished TB which of course arrived with a clean factory reset and once everything was brought up to date and ICS was upgraded I've actually been a little happier with this Thunderbolt than my original one as it doesn't have the dropped 4G issue as much and can get 3G connections whereas my original phone was either 4G or 1X only. Anyway, that has nothing to do with the problem its just a little background info.
I noticed a few days ago that my Google contacts had not had a sync since 2/12/13 which is the day after I got the replacement TB and would have been re-installing apps and all the stuff you have to do with a new phone. Since I don't update contacts all that often it took me this long to notice the problem. When I went in to sync settings for contacts and tried to force sync a message would very quickly pop up that said there was a temporary problem with sync and it would be back shortly. All other forms of sync have been working fine (Mail, calendar, Chrome, Currents, etc). So I left contacts sync off for a day then turned it back on only to get the same error message and no sync took place. I started to worry more about it then and researched the problem. One common thing I found among people that had this problem and the apps I had installed was Skype. Well, that was easy enough so I uninstalled Skype. FYI, in the Skype sync settings I had all the options turned off. Turning them on before I removed Skype didn't help the Google Contacts sync. After I removed Skype I went back to my contacts on the TB and saw all my contacts were gone! I immediately made a backup from the desktop of my contacts which is something I do occasionally anyway just in case. I then forced a sync of Google Contacts and everything worked and my contacts on the phone were brought up to date although I lost a few changes I had made on the phone itself between the 12th and today. So for now having contacts work properly is more important than having Skype and I can live without it. If you have Skype on your TB you might want to check that your contacts sync is up to date. If you have encountered this issue and know how to have Skype on the TB w/ICS and not break Google Contacts sync then please share. :smileyhappy:
