Database Develop

I want to root but have questions first!

Currently, I keep getting force close errors when sending messages and creating or editing contacts, I really want to fix this so I thought I might as well try and root my phone at the same time.
Here are my questions:
1. Should I fix these force close errors before I root my phone. If so, how?
2. Does rooting my G1 mean I'll lose my messages, contacts, etc?
3. Is there anyway I can save my messages, contacts, etc before I root my phone and reinstate them afterwards? (If they are lost in the process).
I hope my questions aren't too stupid!
Thanks!

Giggity giggity...... don't bother fixing the fc's, they would be fixed in the process. You will lose messages, call log, browser bookmarks, internal save apps, almost everything on your phone when you wipe it. Your contacts are synced with gmail and will auto restore, any apps you purchased will be availible for redownload in my downloads in the market, they are also linked to your gmail. Back-up wise, the only programs that I know back-up on root only or you have to pay for use. So you are **** out of luck there

Gridlock pretty much said it all. But I will add one thing tho, there are apps that will allow you to back up your sms first without root. Just go to the market and look up "backup" and you will see a bunch of apps that you might want.

If you are having FC while sending messages my personal opinion would be to not backup and restore anything that has to do with those messages. Just imo.
Make sure you have data sync turned on and you do a manual sync before you root to ensure you have an up-to-date backup of your contacts.
Menu > Settings > Data Sync > Menu button > Sync Now

Thanks for the answers guys. I've come across another damn problem now that I've been trying to back up my contacts. I have a bunch of numbers on my phone that appear to not be in any 'sync group'...I select all contacts in sync group and then make my contacts sync. I check my g-mail account and its just got all my e-mail addresses but not my phone numbers. When I sync My Contacts it sends only a few numbers. I can view "Contacts With Numbers" but I cant seem to sync them.
Also, when I select 'all contacts' to sync I get that damn red exclaimation mark.
In an attempt to sort this, I selected all my e-mail contacts in 'All Contacts' and sent them to a new group called 'E-mail'. Then I selected to delete 'All Contacts' expecting to retain them in my new 'E-mail' group and it deleted ALL my bloody contacts including 'My Contacts'. I've now lost the few numbers under 'My Contacts' (even on my phone somehow...) and all my damn E-mails!
Can someone please tell me how the hell I can sync "Contacts with numbers" onto my g-mail so I can root my ****ing phone!!!

Are the contacts you lost still on your gmail account if so it will prob just resync them and you still have your contacts on your sim card also well just the ones you had before you started using this phone. The most I ever backup is my app data, bookmarks always give me a fc on the browser when I restore. I don't worry bout contacts though since gmail handles that

Well this is my problem. My g-mail had none of my contacts! When I got this phone it was a fresh sim card with nothing on. I put all my numbers in by hand. My numbers were last (fully) synced on 27th Jan 09. Everytime I sync, I get My Contacts only. All the other numbers fail to sync, I'm guessing because they're not in any group. Even if I select all numbers to sync they don't go to my G-Mail. I had about 15 number sync in My Contacts (before I deleted the buggers). Now I'll have to get those back.
I need a way of putting all my numbers that aren't in My Contacts, into My Contacts to Google will sync them! I'm guessing this is because they were put into my phone because the update where Google made all newly entered numbers go into My Contacts...Hmm

Right, I've sorted it.
Downloaded an app from the the market place called ExportContacts. Worked like a treat. It wrote all my contacts to a .csv. Simply imported them on G-Mail. Added them to contacts, deleted all of them on my phone and re-synced. AT LAST I CAN ROOT!

Giggity said:
Right, I've sorted it.
Downloaded an app from the the market place called ExportContacts. Worked like a treat. It wrote all my contacts to a .csv. Simply imported them on G-Mail. Added them to contacts, deleted all of them on my phone and re-synced. AT LAST I CAN ROOT!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
woot glad you got it to work and this is good info for general use as well

which roms emulate 1.5 sytle of choosing which gmail groups to sync to the phone

Hi Everyone
I really liked how in 1.5 one could chose which of their gmail contact groups they wanted to have synced to the phone. Now let me take a min to explain what I am talking about because I think when I say this I have confused people in other thread topics when asking about it. Using the web interface of gmail I have created a couple of groups (phone family, phone friends, etc). I created these groups because I did not want all 500 of my of my gmail contacts on my phone. Creating these groups allowed me to specifically choose which contacts would be synched from the web to my phone and keep them organized based on how I know them. Now in 2.1 this was taken away and replaced by a sync all contacts approach (this was already aval in 1.5 so I don't know why they would chose to take out the group syncing ability). I know there are ways to limit which contacts appear in people by going to view and then choosing no phone number this is not enough control for me because my contact list/people app on the phone is still over loaded with contacts.
Are there any 2.1 roms that emulate the syncing options that were available in 1.5?
Thank You

There isn't. Only 1.5 has that option

That really SUCKS!!!! I could have sowrn that I read in one of the threads here that at least one rom did support that functionality but I have tried it and it has been a no go :-(
Is it a HTC thing or is it an android thing? By that I mean does 2.1 just make that impossible to do or is it something that if I or someone else wanted to to make a custom rom could add in or bring that functionality back?

I agree that this sucks that this option was taken away. I have asked a few different places about this option and have got no response.

I figured it out...
Hey everyone
I can't believe it I figured it out :-D I am feeling super happy I am one step closer to bringing full functionality back to my phone :-D
I haven't duplicated it on anyone else's phone so not sure if it is a fluke or what. Also only have it working in the custom rom I am using (ALOYSIUS 2.1)
If you want to know what I did pm me and I'll let you know.

you could just, you know, tell us in this thread so everyone doesn't have to PM you

This thread will most likely be moved to the hero general forum....but I just got his PM on how he got it to work.....
dsMA said:
Here is how I got it to work. I went to settings; accounts & sync; I have background data, auto-sync, and google, email checked.
You then exit out of settings and open contacts. Go to the contacts tab, menu, display options, click on gmail account, now a list of all your gmail groups should appear, check the ones you want to sync. Click done to save changes. Now the contacts tab should be populated by all the people in those groups you have selected. And now when you go to people it should be populated by only those groups that were checked in contacts. (i didnt change any settings in people, clicking menu, view, the only things checked are phone and google)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

interesting. i wonder if the same technique would work with a facebook group? i don't want all those people in my phone haha

I agree I don't really need all my facebook friends in my addressbook. In fact when you go to people -> view -> I leave facebook unchecked so none of them do. So if you would rather none of your facebook friends show up in the people app that is the way to do it.
Now it would be cool though if you could do something similar with facebook contacts that you could do with gmail contacts; I personally don't know. I suspect you might be able to filter the facebook contacts and sync/display by groups provided that facebook allows you to create groups of contacts but I don't know if they do.

Contacts in Phone App not necessarily People App....
I have 4200 contacts. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want this solved.
While testing the Andriod App and Google Contacts I realized a couple of things.
In Google Contacts selecting ALL Contacts I could REMOVE them from MY CONTACTS under GROUPS.
If you look to the left hand side column you will see MY CONTACTS now has ZERO contacts in it and ALL CONTACTS has all your contacts.
Then I selected ALL CONTACTS in the left hand side column. The I selected only the contacts I wanted to be in MY CONTACTS. When you click on a CONTACT you now have an option next to GROUPS at the top that say MOVE TO MY CONTACTS.
The great thing about this is under the PEOPLE APP only MY CONTACTS and the GROUPS I have created show up in the PEOPLE APP.
This is what I hoped would happen.
What happened in addition to this you ask?
Now when I go into the PHONE APP I click on MENU then PEOPLE and voila! Only the selected contacts come up. Perfect so far right?
Wrong. From the HOME screen I press the TALK BUTTON. When I start scrolling through the HISTORY of the calls and I arrive at the last HISTORY call I see that the 1st CONTACT of my 4200 contacts shows up. Then I scroll on down and realize that all 4200 contacts ARE THERE!!!!
So it is not only the PEOPLE APP that needs work but ALSO the PHONE APP. In my opinion.
Am I missing something?
So my question is now how do I tell the phone app to only sync whats in PEOPLE APP and not request ALL CONTACTS?
Any thoughts? Ive only worked and researched this for about 5 hours. So I am probably missing something.
Thank you for your help.
David
Build: Damage Control v2.09.01
Firmware: 2.1-update1
Baseband: 2.42.01.04.27
Kernal: 2.6.29-bc0d2cf

The Fix
For people who stumble upon this thread and need an answer let me share my experiences.
In version 1.5 of the OS HTC allowed us to pick which contact groups we wanted to sync to our phones from our gmail accounts. Enter 2.1, now we no longer have that granulated control, we are forced to sync all of our gmail contacts. After talking with HTC they told me that this is not a result of a change in their contact app (people) but rather a change google made to the android os.
I will now talk about some of the display options provided by people:
launch people - click menu (physical phone button) - click view
As it relates to google here if you want to sync your google contacts you must check the google box. Unfortunately as I stated above this syncs all google contacts. HTC does allow you some limited control over which contacts are actually displayed in your contact list though sadly the controls are not all that great. The only real useful option is at the top "show only contacts with phone numbers". This will only display those contacts which you have a stored phone number for. This option applies globally so if you have your phone tied to flicker, facebook, and twitter then also only contacts with phone numbers present will be displayed. There is a setting under Google that says "show auto gmail contacts" this will display those contacts that are set to show up in your gchat.
How to fix the problem.
Simple answer is that you are going to need to have the AOSP contacts app on your phone. The easiest way to do this is find a rom that includes it. This is actually easier said then done if you want to keep sense on your phone. Everyone has their opinion of sense, either you like it or you don't; personally I like it. The only rom that has both that I am aware of is Alyosius. I find it to be a good rom with both oc and non oc versions aval. If you have a rom that has the aosp contacts app here is what you do:
1. launch the contacts app (contacts)
2. menu (physical phone button)
3. display options
you will now be provided with the various accounts your phone syncs to
click on your gmail account
a set of sub options should now show up, after scrolling through the suboptions you will notice that all your gmail contact groups are shown.
4. check which ever groups you want displayed
Note: this does not prevent your phone from syncing all your contacts, there does not seem to be a way to prevent your phone from syncing all your gmail contacts. this simply makes managing the contacts that show up on your phone more manageable. This trick will limit the contacts that show up in the contact/people app to just those whose groups you have checked.
Note: when preforming a search view the search app or search button it is still possible to search for contacts that are not displayed i.e. since all groups are synced no matter what you will get search hits on those contacts same goes for when using the dialer.
If the rom you use does not have AOSP contacts I would contact the rom developer and see if it is possible to install the AOSP contacts app on your own and see if they can help you.
I hope this is helpful to people.

Empty Duplicated Contacts Read Only?

Ok I've done some digging and can't seem to find anything with my exact problem.
Yes I have looked up duplicated read only contacts BUT everyone seems to have this issue with contacts synced from another app. Mine is no.
Got this baby this past Sunday (found out that I can upgrade 7 days early so of course I did it. Love the phone and think I will be okay without root. Got Helium backup to backup my data. Only thing left is for them to add a Restart in the power menu then I'll be fine with no Root. OH and they need to get Lolipop out ASAP)
But ever since then I've been having this issue. I've been having new contacts made, same name as a contact I have, but with not info (most of the time. Sometimes it has their number in it). Now here is where it gets weird.
They are Google contacts that it says are saved under my Gmail. I go to Gmail, No duplicated contacts there, I try to delete, says they are read only and can only hide, AND it seems like the contacts that are getting duplicated are contacts that I seem to call most often. I have all other apps and their contact sync turned off so I know it's not an issue with them, and since they are saved under Gmail and when I turn off the local Phone contacts they are still there so I know they are not local saved/SIM contacts.
If anyone has any suggestions let me know. I felt like I had this issue loooooong ago with another phone but pretty sure it was back when Facebook synced its contacts and I had to link them.
I'm a savvy guy and know my way around Android.
Thanks

Ok well i ended up getting it myself.
For people with this issue:
Turn off google contact sync. Then go to apps in settings and then look for the contact storage app. Force stoo the act and clean all data. Check contacts to make sure its empty. Then enable google contacts sync.
Sent from my XT1254 using XDA Free mobile app

Contacts in Android are stored in a database, and as they come from multiple sources (synced from Google, Facebook, Whatsapp, LinkedIn and copied from SIM or stored as "local phone" contacts...) it's easy to have multiple instances of same contact with different info or even duplicates. Contacts app let you "join" multiple contacts from different sources so they will appear joined in your contacts list, but they will still be stored inidividually in the database.
Anyway, there are multiple apps that let you manage your contacts at a deeper database level. With MiniContacts https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brapeba.minicontacts you can see all raw contacts one by one showing its original account source (group). And you can delete all contacts from a source (i.e. those coming from LinkedIn, or Facebook) or choosing manually those you don't want. Notice that if you don't disable the syncronization with the source those deleted contacts will reappear again. So, first disable syncronization! If you want to delete the contacts permanently from everywhere instead of just from your Android database, go to the source (LinkedIn, Facebook...) and delete them there.
Hope it helps...
drtweak said:
Ok I've done some digging and can't seem to find anything with my exact problem.
Yes I have looked up duplicated read only contacts BUT everyone seems to have this issue with contacts synced from another app. Mine is no.
Got this baby this past Sunday (found out that I can upgrade 7 days early so of course I did it. Love the phone and think I will be okay without root. Got Helium backup to backup my data. Only thing left is for them to add a Restart in the power menu then I'll be fine with no Root. OH and they need to get Lolipop out ASAP)
But ever since then I've been having this issue. I've been having new contacts made, same name as a contact I have, but with not info (most of the time. Sometimes it has their number in it). Now here is where it gets weird.
They are Google contacts that it says are saved under my Gmail. I go to Gmail, No duplicated contacts there, I try to delete, says they are read only and can only hide, AND it seems like the contacts that are getting duplicated are contacts that I seem to call most often. I have all other apps and their contact sync turned off so I know it's not an issue with them, and since they are saved under Gmail and when I turn off the local Phone contacts they are still there so I know they are not local saved/SIM contacts.
If anyone has any suggestions let me know. I felt like I had this issue loooooong ago with another phone but pretty sure it was back when Facebook synced its contacts and I had to link them.
I'm a savvy guy and know my way around Android.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks for the reply but it is making blank contacts with theur name and storing then as phone contacts. Google is the only source i sync any contacts from but ill give this a try
Sent from my XT1254 using XDA Free mobile app

Thanks for the tip, @drtweak! This was driving me nuts and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Good work...

Thanks!
drtweak said:
Ok well i ended up getting it myself.
For people with this issue:
Turn off google contact sync. Then go to apps in settings and then look for the contact storage app. Force stoo the act and clean all data. Check contacts to make sure its empty. Then enable google contacts sync.
Sent from my XT1254 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could kiss you right now. I have been scouring the internet and downloading apps for hours trying to figure out how to fix "read only" and "can't be deleted" contacts on my second replacement dud Turbo 2. Duplicates galore, and they wouldn't go away. Thank you, thank you, thank you! :laugh: No more Verizon Cloud - that really messed it up both times. Merry Christmas! :good:

Christina729 said:
I could kiss you right now. I have been scouring the internet and downloading apps for hours trying to figure out how to fix "read only" and "can't be deleted" contacts on my second replacement dud Turbo 2. Duplicates galore, and they wouldn't go away. Thank you, thank you, thank you! :laugh: No more Verizon Cloud - that really messed it up both times. Merry Christmas! :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The app Simpler Contacts can merge duplicate apps. I've used it on friends' phones to do that.
Of course, Simpler Contacts also would like you to keep using their app and even their backup service, and they have a Dialer app too. But you don't need all that. I just use Simpler Contacts once in a while to check for duplicate contacts.
But this solution above is good too.
I also used Simpler Contacts to export all contacts from a "local" account. Helped to friends do this when they switched from iPhone to Android and the carrier store exported all their iPhone apps to "local" phone account -- which is STUPID. All the contacts need to synced with Google.

[Solved]Duplicated contact

Hi, I've just patched my nexus 6 with 1 March patch.
But honestly I'm not sure if it's from patch or not.
Some of my contacts are doubled, some are tripled, and some have no duplicates.
I checked via web based google contact, and it has no duplicate, just normal.
My other logged account have no contacts at all (even though the contact sync is checked)
I also download contact optimizer app, it gives me no duplicate, and shows normal list.
I go to contacts and try the contact to display, my second account shows only a handful email address (which is true and normal) but my main account shows those multiple contacts
I tried to delete one of the duplicate and end up losing all of the contact. umm..sorry for bad english...i mean ...
i got A, A', and A". deleting A end up losing A' and A"... so i need to re-add the contact from scratch...
the duplicate contain is exactly the same
again, sorry for bad english.
and Thanks.

Assuming you are using the stock contacts app, tap the 3 dot menu, and click "Contacts to display" - is only your primary google account (where your accounts are stored) selected?

jj14 said:
Assuming you are using the stock contacts app, tap the 3 dot menu, and click "Contacts to display" - is only your primary google account (where your accounts are stored) selected?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry for late reply, yup, i selected only the primary google acc.
btw I solved the problem by clearing the data at google contacts and contact storage.
thanks jj14

Can't get New Contacts to sync from Phone to Google

I've tried clearing cache, wiping, reinstalling a new Rom, new Gapps. No matter I try I can't seem to get new contacts which I create on my device to then get synced to my Google account.
*Yes, I'm saving my new contact to my Google account (not to my phone's SIM card)
*Yes I've made sure that Contacts is syncing, and have tried forcing a manual sync numerous times. It says that has synced, and will even download new contacts I create on my Google account (on a computer)
Any ideas?
Running CrDroid 7.1.2
Nexus 6

Which contacts app are you using? Not familiar with that ROM so I don't know if it might come with an AOSP contacts app?
In the google app, in the edit contact screen, right at the top (under the picture) is where it'll tell you where it is saving the contact. Just to double check that account is correct on the contacts that aren't syncing?
In settings -> apps -> contacts app, are the permissions all enabled? Is there more than one contacts app listed? If so, disable the one you're not using.
I think you said you checked this, but in settings -> apps -> accounts -> Google is contacts enabled? And settings -> apps -> accounts -> the 3-dot menu is auto-sync checked?
There's always the age-old; turn sync on/off multiple times thing ☺
The last thing I would try is to remove the account from my phone then add it back. There was a day when that process felt like part of the ROM flashing procedure. ?

jon.s.nelson said:
... I create on my Google account (on a computer)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First try https://mail.google.com to check if you logged in with the same account on your phone.

NLBeev said:
First try https://mail.google.com to check if you logged in with the same account on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am. Is that a problem?
*edit: I signed out from the browser, and still have the issue.

jon.s.nelson said:
...I signed out from the browser, and still have the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was only to check the internet connection and access to your Gmail account.
The post of @ktmom doesn't solve the sync issue. In that case you could try to install the Google contacts app from the play store.

@NLBeev
@jon.s.nelson
I assumed that there was internet available since in the OP it was stated that contacts which had been updated online via a PC were being downloaded to the phone.
The choke point seems to be getting the contacts created on the phone to sync up to google. That's why I focused on app related issues, with the end point being a hiccup in the actual account on the phone.

ktmom said:
... I focused on app related issues, with the end point being a hiccup in the actual account on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. The security update of September contains a new Google contacts app.

Good to know. I'm using PN and we don't have an update yet.