Android Contacts Sync

[Ian D.21]

I have Dropbox up & running on 2 Android phones. I have ticked the box in Dropbox Settings to Sync Contacts on both phones. What am I supposed to do next? I can find no sign of any "contacts" on Dropbox and no syncing process happening. I can find no guidance anywhere in help or on a Google search. They all seem to say it happens automatically after ticking the right box.

Frustrated and annoyed at being made to feel foolish !!

[Ed]

Hello Ian

Chris's first point was spot on. You won't see any change on usage upon syncing your contacts, but rather have the ability to easily find them when trying to share a folder or a file. 

The 'sync' you are looking for (camera, etc) has no relation to "contacts" (people) sync. You can read more about contacts sync here: https://www.dropbox.com/en/help/1979

[Ian D.21]

Nothing Chris has said is incorrect. It just doesn't address my question.

THERE IS A TICKBOX IN DROPBOX MOBILE APP TO "SYNC CONTACTS".
I HAVE TICKED IT.
IT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING.

The process, option or tickbox....whatever you like to call it on the Dropbox Mobile app in the "Settings" menu purporting to "Sync Contacts" doesn't work.
When I asked if I was missing something the responses have talked 'all around the park' about the differences between the Windows app and the Mobile app, downloading scenarios etc. none of which is relevant to the question.

Ed
What is "change of usage"? Change where? On what usage?. What on earth are you talking about?  I am not looking for "Sync Contacts". I have found it !! It doesn't work.
It is really strange you don't seem to read what I have said at all.
It is very frustrating to me.

The process should be no different to the syncing of photos (which works well).
In the end I have done it manually (proving the process is the same and simple).

I created a .vcf file of all my contacts on the first mobile (a mobile phone function) and transferred it to my laptop using a USB cable, then did the reverse, having connected my second mobile phone via the USB cable.

It looks like I wasn't missing anything....only that there is a non functioning option in Dropbox.

[Chris_J]

Dropbox purpose of that option is different from what you are seeking.  period.  As I said, not within Dropbox has that ability.  There are quite a few third-party apps that does what you are seeking.

[Ian D.21]

So the purpose of "Sync Contacts" is not to sync the contacts. !? How foolish of me not to realise.
I mistakenly thought that "Sync Contacts" was intended to sync contacts.
The issue is not that it doesn't work then, it is just misnamed.
Now I can see it was my mistake reading what it said !

WHAT A LOT OF IRRITATING CRAP !

[Mark C.49]

Gotta say - I'm with Ian on this one.  I've been looking for an app to sync my contacts to my dropbox.  Googling led me hear.  Ian's request seems straightforward.  Why is this so difficult?  What options do we have to Sync our contacts (I'd like calender too) to my dropbox account.

Dropbox make it so simple to backup pictures from my phone.  Why all the run-around and non-answers to backup contacts?

Thanks,

Mark

[Chris_J]

The way I see it, it was just a misunderstanding between what Dropbox team sees and us users sees.  I see where you are coming from.

Frankly, there are other 3rd party apps that can sync contacts and some are able to link to their Dropbox account.  That is because developers of these apps use the Dropbox API to make it available for one to access their Dropbox folders.

I use iPhone now but when I had Android, there were many that does this beautifully and I was able to sync backups to my DB Folder.  There is probably an app for iPhone too, but I haven't bothered to look

I believe the Dropbox team just wanted to leave this task to other developers

[Rohan M.]

1) The current feature called "Sync Contact" should be renamed to "Access Contacts".
    As Ian said: "So the purpose of "Sync Contacts" is not to sync the contacts. !? How foolish of me not to realise.
    I mistakenly thought that "Sync Contacts" was intended to sync contacts.
    The issue is not that it doesn't work then, it is just misnamed."

2) A lot of people want a solution to actually synchronize their contacts, especially across platforms. A search for a solution using dropbox brought me to this page also. I have two Macs and an Android phone. The Google contact sync is indescribably horrible. iCloud does not work on Android. "Leaving this task to other developers" is not happening. It would be great if Dropbox would make this work on the 4 major platforms (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android).

If you decide not to address this very real need, please encourage other developers to do this by describing a good solution on a wiki post and inviting the community to do that (and rename the feature so that developers don't feel like Dropbox actually intends to get into this space). 
Thanks,
-rohan

[SentientFlesh · Accepted solution]

I know this is an old(er) post, but I wanted to do this today and found this page. After a little playing around, there is a very simple way to do this.

Firstly, The 'Sync Contacts' option label in the Dropbox settings is misleading, it is there to share Dropbox content with your contacts.

You can however very easily add your contacts to Dropbox:

1) Go into your contacts app
2) Select all your contacts
3) Select the share button
4) Select 'Add to Dropbox'
It will upload a file called 'Contacts.vcf' to your Dropbox, and will be visible in your files. Just make a folder for it and you're good to go.

Hopefully this helps someone looking into this same issue.