Android contacts or Google Account not syncing? 7 fixes

2 min read · 7 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Sync keeps the contacts, calendar and email on your phone identical to what is stored in your Google Account. When new contacts do not appear on another device, sync has stopped. Usually one switch or a restart of the sync brings it back.

Menu names below are from Google Pixel phones on a recent Android version. Samsung, Xiaomi and other brands rename some of them. The pictures are simplified diagrams of the screen, not screenshots.

Step by step

1. Check the internet connection

   Open a web page in Chrome. If it does not load, connect to Wi-Fi or switch on mobile data. Sync needs a working connection.

   Done

2. Check that your account works

   Sign in to Gmail in a browser on a computer. If that fails, the problem is with the account or its password, not with the phone.

   Done

3. Turn on auto-sync

   Open Settings and tap Passwords, passkeys & accounts. At the bottom, switch on Automatically sync app data. On older versions the page is called Accounts. If you cannot find it, type sync into the search box at the top of Settings.

   Done

4. Sync by hand

   Open Settings, tap About phone, then Google Account, then Account sync, and choose your account. Tap the three dots at the top right and tap Sync now. On many phones the same page is reached through Passwords, passkeys & accounts. The list shows when each item was last synced.

   Done

5. Force a sync with the date trick

   Google's own tip: open Settings, System, Date & time. Switch off Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically, set a wrong date and time, and go to the Home screen. Then go back, correct the date and time and switch both automatic settings on again.

   Done

6. Clear the cache of the Contacts app

   Open Settings, tap Apps, then Contacts, then Storage & cache, and tap Clear cache. Tap Clear cache only, not Clear storage.

   Done

7. Remove the account and add it again

   In Settings, Passwords, passkeys & accounts, tap the account and tap Remove account. Restart the phone and add the account again with Add account. Data stored in the Google Account comes back. Anything that existed only on the phone and was never synced is lost, so check first.

   Done

Good to know

Battery Saver and Data Saver can pause sync in the background. Switch them off for the test.

Contacts saved only on the phone or on the SIM are not part of the Google Account. In the Contacts app, check which account a contact is saved in.

Syncing contacts is no replacement for a full backup: how to back up an Android phone to your Google Account.

In short: Internet, account works, auto-sync on, Sync now, date trick, clear the Contacts cache, remove and add the account.