Taking Charge of my Contacts

[Jimspy]

Hello, I am trying to get a hold of my contacts database, but finding this all very confusing.  My goal is to have ONE PLACE - be it in the cloud, on my phone, or on my computer - ONE PLACE to serve as my master Contacts Database, and to have all other databases sync with that one.  Right now, I have contacts databases....

1. On my phone (LG G7, the standard phone app)
2. In Google Contacts (cloud)
3. In Outlook (local hard drive, + OneDrive)
4. On My Verizon - Manage Contacts

Forget about #3 for now.  Allegedly, when I save a contact to my phone, it goes into#1, then is synced with #4?  Which is then synced with #2?  Is this correct?  If it is, it's not working.  

Also allegedly, if I edit a contact in #4, it's supposed to reflect that edit in #1?  Is that correct?  If so, again, not working.  

Am I doing something wrong, am I way off base, am I misinformed?  

Also, I've just learned that there is an app on my phone for the Verizon cloud.  I've never used it, that I know of, but apparently this is another place where contacts can be synced?  

Again, all I want is a single point of entry, or a final master database that syncs with all the others.  I would prefer that to be #2, but whatever's most practical.  Thanks. 

[Scott5337]

In my opinion the best option is Google Contacts if you have an Android phone and plan to stick with Android. That way your contacts are always in one place and are accessible from your phone, computer, tablet, etc. It's pretty easy to move all contacts from local phone storage into Google Contacts. The Verizon Contacts app is not bad, but if you ever leave Verizon all your contacts are gone.

[tikibar1 · Accepted solution]

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@Jimspy wrote:

Again, all I want is a single point of entry, or a final master database that syncs with all the others.  I would prefer that to be #2, but whatever's most practical.  Thanks. 

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In my opinion, I'd ignore #4 (and the Verizon Cloud) and not worry about a carrier-specific place to save your contacts.

On your phone's contacts, next time you save a contact, change where it's stored so that instead of going to your device, it's stored in your Google account (where it can be accessed by any device). There should be a 'save to' section when you save the contact that has a drop-down to choose whether to save to the device or to an account on your device, such as your Google account. Once you save a contact to your Google account, that option should then be the default but double-check before saving another contact and ensure that drop-down is set to save the contact to your Google account.

Any contacts saved to your device (rather than to your Google account) can be exported/moved to your Google account via the phone's Contacts app. You can export contacts saved in Outlook and then import them into your Google contacts. There are numerous how-to videos on the internet.

Ensure that your phone is set to back up to Google (in the Settings > System section).

You should then be able to access your contacts via any device (phone, tablet, computer) via your Google account.

[Scott5337]

Excellent advice by @tikibar1 . One other benefit to using Google Contacts (other than always having all contacts in one easy to manage location) is the Fix & Manage feature within the Google Contacts app and their website Contacts page. When you merge contacts together from multiple sources you are bound to have some duplicates.  Fix & Manage does a great job of helping you merge dupes into a single contact.

[Jimspy]

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@vzw_customer_support wrote:

Hello! We understand how important is to simplify the process to sync and manage your contact list, and we would like to help. To better assist, I'll be sending a Private Note, please reply to it, so we can get started. 

~Maria

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Roger Wilco.