How to Make Sure Your Android Contacts are Saved to Your Gmail Account

This is very important if your backing up your Android phone to perform a factory data reset. It’s also a good idea to check this on a regular basis. Android phones typically backup your contacts automatically BUT this feature can be turned off or the sync might not be working properly. Verifying that your contacts are saved onto your Gmail account will provide you with extra security when backing up your address book, just in case your phone ever gets lost, stolen, broken, or simply malfunctions.

Once you have Synced your Android phone to your Gmail account go to a computer, open up your web browser and type www.google.com/contacts/ into the address bar. Log into your Gmail account by typing your Gmail account into the Email field and then the password that you chose when you first setup your Gmail. If you cannot remember your password then click on the “Can't access your account?” link. You can actually click this option if you don’t know your password, username, or for other issues, but I digress. Note: if you’re not sure what your Gmail account actually is then it will be shown on your phone.

To check what your Gmail account is

• Go to your Settings. (Home key, Menu key, then Settings).
• Tap Accounts. It might say “Accounts and sync” or it might just say “Accounts”.
• Look for your Gmail. Your Gmail should be shown on the Accounts page. It might be listed under Google. It should end with @gmail.com.

Once you’re logged into your Gmail account you should see all the contacts from your Android phone. It’s as easy as that.

If you’re Androids contacts are not displaying in your Gmail account even after syncing your contacts then try the Merge account option (if available).

To Merge Accounts

• Go into your Contacts (the address book on your phone).
• Tap the Menu key to see some additional options.
• Tap Merge accounts. (Note: you should have already tried the Accounts option selected your Gmail account made sure that Sync Contacts is checked and tapped Sync now at the bottom left).
• Tap Merge with Google.
• Select Ok when you see the confirmation message “Your phone contacts will be merged with contacts from your Google account”.

Look back to your computer screen where you’re still logged into your Gmail account from earlier and your Android contacts should pop right up. It’s usually very quick, taking only a few seconds to sync/merge your phone contacts with your Gmail contacts.

And that’s all there is to it. If you’re about to perform a reset on your phone or would like to learn how to backup other information from your device then I recommend reading How to Backup and Reset an Android phone for some additional tips and suggestions. Having multiple backups is never a bad idea.          source