Tutorial: Direct and Free Synchronization of Google Contacts and Calendars

Finally, Google allows us to synchronize contacts and calendars with our iPhone in a free and without intermediaries. Until now, those of us who wanted to have everything in "the cloud" had to pay to have a MobileMe account or use NuevaSync, who has offered us a good service as well as free.

However, from now on we will no longer need this intermediary with the improvements that this entails in speed and reliability. To configure our iPhone we will follow these steps:

  1. Make sure we have at least version 2.2 firmware and that we have made a backup of the data, because when synchronizing the first time will erase everything what we have to replace it with what Google has in contacts and calendars. Ideally, backup to the corresponding Google calendar and contact services. In this way, when synchronizing, everything will come out.
  2. Go into Settings> Mail, contacts, calendars> Add new account.
  3. We select Microsof Exchange. We can only have one Exchange account, so we will have to delete the NuevaSync first who has it.
  4. We enter our Google email, in username again the full address and password and we click «Next». Domain we leave it empty.
  5. We will get a message saying "Unable to verify the certificate ..." we accept. We get the "Server" box where we enter "m.google.com" and click on next.
  6. We select Contacts and Calendar to synchronize and deselect Mail. Email is not supported yet, so we will have to continue using IMAP or POP3 as before. We accept and it will notify us 2 times that everything will be deleted to synchronize, if we have made the backup we will have no problem.

That's it: all our contacts and calendars perfectly synchronized!!!

Note: Those of you who use more than one calendar will see that only the main one has synchronized. To synchronize more you have to enter m.google.com/sync from the iPhone and after logging in with our account, select which calendars we want to synchronize. Apparently this page is not available right now, but google explains it, so soon it will be possible.


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  1.   Sergio said

    It is possible to select the calendars to synchronize users with Google Apps in the following way:

    - Enter the URL with the iPhone: http://m.google.com
    - Below, where there is a box that says "Google Apps user?" we press.
    - We indicate the domain name when it asks.
    - New icons for our domain appear.
    - Click on Sync.
    - We accept login with our username / password.
    - We select our iPhone from the list (we must have already synchronized for our iPhone to appear).
    - Clever! It already synchronizes the calendars that we want (max. 5).

  2.   lordyeurl said

    the contacts were already possible to synchronize them from the iTunes ..

  3.   Jaume said

    I simply to make the Sync option appear I have put the m.google.com interface in English and it appears right away.

  4.   lordyeurl said

    Well, I was just saying that synchronizing them was already possible ..

    In any case, I am not saying that it is still interesting to use this method, although the ideal would be for the application itself to control it ... something like a push or something like that.

  5.   Carlos Hernandez-Vaquero said

    Lordyeurl, this has nothing to do with what you say. Here you don't need to turn on the pc or use itunes for anything. It is like mobileme but free.

  6.   Crosby said

    One question, when you say that you have to do the backup with the google contact services, do you mean the gmail contacts? Or is there some other special dating program? Pucha, it will be difficult to organize my gmail contacts, because they are all just emails, and several emails belong to the same contact with different addresses, and to that I add that I have to import the outlook ones (that's what I use to synchronize my contacts currently), well I'm going to spend a few hours putting all that in order, hahaha ... but hey, if there is no other way, to start soon ...

    Thank you!!

  7.   lordyeurl said

    Pilates: Yes, from itunes you can synchronize the phone.

    Nico: If I'm not mistaken, push is the option (that I don't use) so that compatible applications (such as email) update automatically. For example, Yahoo has push, if you have your yahoo email with push put the emails will give you they would arrive on the spot and not every X sync time (or manually). And what I'm saying is that it would be nice if the application itself (either calendars or contacts) would update themselves without having to do all this of creating an account in Microsof Exchange and all that ...

  8.   Nico said

    Lordyeurl: do some research because you don't know what it is, how it works, or what it's for

  9.   pilates said

    And is there no way to transfer iPhone contacts to Gmail?

  10.   Roll said

    Hello,

    And when does it sync? automatically just connect to wifi or 3G? If I make a change in a mobile contact while connected by wifi, it is instantly reflected in gmail without touching anything? and vice versa?

    regards

  11.   kastor said

    What is there that deletes all your contacts and the calendar in the first sync ??? Upload them first to google servers and then download them? or clean them completely and start over?

  12.   derek said

    But how do I upload the iPhone contacts to Gmail? I sync Itunes with Google Contacts and nothing.

  13.   TT said

    What files are synchronized in the other section on my impod touch, because today it synchronized 3.5 gbytes and that takes up too much space, and I have no idea why it does it

  14.   Nutrition Protein Supplements said

    Thanks for the Tuto, it has helped me a lot.

  15.   iMarius said

    You can synchronize all the contacts that you have in your Mac agenda with an application called A to G creates a * .csv file that you can import to your gmail agenda .. and then synchronize with the steps that have been given here and thus not you will lose any contact .. 😛 enjoy… Thanks for this great contribution guys !!

  16.   Carlos Hernandez-Vaquero said

    muffin, it may take a few seconds, but it's almost instant.
    Derek, the first time I uploaded the contacts by importing a .csv file from gmail that can be done in outlook from windows that is what I use. Then you can edit in gmail or on the mobile and it synchronizes itself. The images of the tmb contacts.
    Kastor, delete what you have on your iphone and put what you have in google.
    Peter, I don't know what you mean by the others section, it synchronizes me in seconds and I have about 300 contacts.

  17.   Carlos Hernandez-Vaquero said

    For those who do not know it, the iPhone could be backed up with programs such as "sync in a blink" for contacts and nemus sync for calendars. Anyway, I recommend doing it from the pc because using these programs sometimes there are conflicts that are not resolved well or strange things such as entering name and surname in the name field. Finally, from the pc you do not have to pay anything.

  18.   Elyas said

    And I say, that synchronizing is great and all that, but is it not faster to put things directly in the calendar of the iphone, instead of putting them in the computer and then synchronizing?
    From my humble opinion I think it is a waste of time.
    If at least there was an app that would allow us to see the calendar so beautiful with the google website, well, but the calendar is that of the iphone itself, which is if it is very practical but very bland.
    Anyway I guess for color tastes.

  19.   number said

    @Sergio

    Which domain are you referring to?
    I can't see the s Sync icon.

    Best regards

  20.   Carlos Hernandez-Vaquero said

    Elyas, for many people like you, it may be much easier and more useful to use the calendar without synchronization, but many others could not live without it. I'm going to tell you only the advantages that occur to me on the go:
    1. Use shared calendars from the iphone (invitations come to your mobile and new events come out automatically.
    2. Use public calendars, for example of national, religious holidays ...
    3. You have a backup of everything in "the cloud" and if you lose the phone or restore it for example, it is infinitely easier to restore the contacts and calendar.
    4. If somewhere you have internet but no wifi in gmail you have all your contacts and calendars.
    5. Adding many events is a hassle for the iphone and easier for the pc.
    6. You do not depend on the data you have on a pc, not even on a specific operating system.
    Etc etc. I am in that group of people who consider it essential.

  21.   Carlos Hernandez-Vaquero said

    I forgot to finish answering you, with this you can enter the contacts or events from the iphone or from the pc, you choose. It is not necessary to put it in the pc and synchronize. In addition, you will not find even a button to synchronize, it is done in a transparent way for the user.

  22.   Elyas said

    I understand the usefulness it can have and even since I have a gmail account I am going to encourage myself to try.
    I have seen that in the appstore there is a paid program called Saisuke that also synchronizes and gives a pretty nice look to the calendar theme and so on.
    Is anyone using it? I say it in case it's worth it.
    I know it's silly but for me aesthetics is important and as I say the application that comes with iphone is very bland.
    Long live the colors hahaha.

  23.   anco said

    It may be a silly question but how do I get back my calendars and contacts that I previously had on the iphone ,,,, ???

  24.   Alberto said

    I have followed all the steps but I configure the account with everything then at the time of finishing everything I get a little box that says the password is incorrect and it is the good one, do you know what happens?
    Thank you

  25.   Elyas said

    Thank you all for showing me the usefulness of Google Calendar.
    Until now I had not gone into depth and as I said up there I saw it faster to use the iPhone calendar directly and that's it.
    But after seeing the immense amount of options it has and its excellent presentation, I rolled up my sleeves and started to put data in it 🙂
    If I add this to the sms activation of the notifications and I also mix it with the paid Saisuke for Iphone (it is not free but its presentation is great) that also synchronizes death, we have an essential tool.
    Thank you all already actualidad iphone for opening my eyes to this fantastic utility!

  26.   Carlos Hernandez-Vaquero said

    Elyas, saisuke, like any program for the iPhone other than the "official" calendar, has the problem that it does not fully integrate with the iPhone, and since it cannot run in the background (when you close it, it really stops working), for example alerts they won't work for you. That is, you cannot put it to notify you on a certain day at a certain time if the program is closed. And this I think is essential in an application whose function is that we do not forget anything.
    Trust me, the first time is a bummer, but it's worth it.
    Anco, you have to pass the backup you made before syncing to google. If you didn't backup (which I hope is not the case) you lost everything. Maybe you have a copy in the automatic iTunes backups.

  27.   Carlos Hernandez-Vaquero said

    Alberto, make sure you put all the data correctly because I can't think of what the failure could be if not.
    Elyas, you're welcome, this is done because one is passionate about how technology advances (tmb in software) and we want everyone to enjoy it. And as for the saisuke thing, it's your choice, but I'd stick with the bland apple calendar (hey, you can assign a different color to each calendar, hahaha). At the end of the day, here we are looking for more utility than aesthetics (although there is never enough)

  28.   Carlos Hernandez-Vaquero said

    Well, if you combine it with sms alerts, you can have a rudimentary way to notify you of events, but make sure to put in google calendar that it alerts you by default of events by sms. Of course, you cannot tell him that each event will notify you with a specific period of time, it will always be x minutes before the event itself. If you want to change this, you would have to enter a pc to change the alarm for each event. For me it is a step back.
    With the apple application of the calendar you can put an alert on the iphone on the one hand as long as you want before the appointment and add that it sends you an SMS by default x minutes before the event as with saisuke. It is more difficult to explain than to understand XDDDD

  29.   Elyas said

    First of all, thanks for your comments Carlos, you are a very didactic guy for whom we have little idea even of so many modernities hahaha.
    Regarding Saisuke I will tell you that as it synchronizes with google calendar perfectly in both directions (saisuke-> google and google-> saisuke) and above as you comment, I have set by default in google calendar the notice by sms with two sms (at 30 and 10 minutes) I always find out about the event that is going to happen.
    I do not know if I explain myself.
    If I put the event on the pc with the super google calendar.
    If I add the event to Saisuke and synchronize it, it happens the same, the saiduke uploads it to google, and when the predefined time in the configuration of my google calendar arrives, it also sends me the sms.
    In the end it is the same, or at least I think so hahaha.
    Also I have to give cane to the saisuke that they have nailed me 7.99 hahaha, not to use it now hahaha.
    All the best!!!!!!!

  30.   Alberto said

    I think it must be because I have 2.2.1, does someone else like me? pq the data are more than q checked and are correct but skip the password.

  31.   Carlos Hernandez-Vaquero said

    If you have bought it, there is nothing more to talk about, to enjoy it. I also noticed saisuke a while ago and he looked very good, really.

  32.   Ruben said

    Until I have gone to http://m.google.com/syn (with the language in English because if it did not tell me that the device was not compatible) the synchronization has not worked. I still haven't gotten an event created on the iPhone to show up in Google Calendar. Do you know how often it is replicated?

  33.   anco said

    Carlos, thank you ,, I think you have helped me, me and many around here in actiphone ,, I think that little by little it is being unpredictable, maybe you could tell us where you could get public calendars relationships with different topics, such as dates of parties or holidays , etc ,,,,, d anyway thanks this great…. (By the way I had done a backup previously and I have my all my contacts)

  34.   Ruben said

    Hello again. Does it replicate all the calendars well? To me for now, only one either way. I have gone through m.google.com/sync to select all calendars but not even those. I have the firmware version good. Greetings.

  35.   Alberto said

    I already managed to synchronize it !!! Finally xo the problem is that I run out of colors, you know xq? In google I have it blue x or when doing sync it comes out like the normal iphone before sync. Can you help me? Thank you.

  36.   ricardo said

    Simply useless. If I activate the synchronization by exchange, the iphone no longer synchronizes with the mac calendar from iTunes. Why do I want to synchronize everything with gmial if my calendar, mail and ical, which are the ones I use to manage everything, remain without updating?

    Is there a way to sync google sync and mac calendar besides ical with google calendar?

    By the way, if it hadn't been for funambol, I would have lost my well-organized data on the iphone and would have kept all the badly made contacts from gmail. Download it is free and it makes online backups with a very effective recovery mode, it also saves the iPhone favorites and the photos with which they were pre-installed. Also Vringo is father since with that you synchronize the photos of your facebook contacts with the iphone so every call they have their photo and you don't have to take them all. Greetings

  37.   Jesus said

    Can someone tell me why itunes does not recognize any calendar application? I have windows vista with windows mail and windows calendar ... thanks

  38.   gerard said

    I have synchronized the calendars with the google calendar but all the information I had has disappeared. I don't want the same thing to happen to me with contacts. Can someone help me to back up the contacts ?????. I have tried it with the Idrive App but it does not work for me.
    Very grateful

  39.   Jesus said

    Has anyone noticed the amount of battery that this service consumes?
    I have been using it for two days and it shows a lot, it does not last 15 hours.
    Does it happen to you tb ??

  40.   Ruben said

    Yes Jesus. I have also noticed it. If we were already fair… .. By the way, has someone been able to synchronize several calendars correctly? Only one synchronizes me well. In the other, although it has identified me, it does not even allow me to create new events on the iPhone. Well, I believe them but they disappear after 2 seconds !!!

  41.   Ruben said

    Hello again. We are getting better. After passing, again, by m.google.com/sync I already synchronize more than one calendar. Now I only need one to sync. I do not know if it will have something to do with being the one with the most events since it is the initial calendar.

  42.   tacheng said

    First of all, THANK YOU for all the information that you post daily and without which my iPhone would not be more than a nice phone with 3G.

    Something worrisome happens to me, after synchronizing as indicated in the tutorial, the iphone is not able to start any application that is not native.
    I have tried to do a reset as you indicated in a previous post and it remains the same ... now if I cancel the synchronization of contacts I lose them again and I do not know what I can do. I have the 16Gb model with 9Gb free and it is unable to start facebook for example.
    I would appreciate help.

  43.   uli said

    Have you noticed an increase in battery drain after setting this up? Is that the battery is used up that flies ...

  44.   María said

    Alberto,

    how did you get it? I have the problem of the wrong password, and I have repeated the process several times

    Thank you

  45.   albert d said

    Good, the truth is that I have been trying to synchronize contacts and calendars with google for several days, and well, the exchange account on the mobile phone is configured without problems, if in gmail, I put some contact, if it replicates me instantly in my iPhone agenda, but From the iPhone to the Gmail I am not capable, I understand that I have to synchronize it through iTunes, but as much as I try to put a google account, when I enter the password and the correct one, the happy error that it is incorrect and the truth that it does not stop I know what to do, if someone gives me a hand thanks

  46.   Pedro said

    Alberto, please, I have the same problem with the password. How did you get it? I keep getting "Wrong password". Thanks

  47.   Josephine Rojas said

    Better impossible .. a step by step with positive results .. thank you.