How to Fix Contact-Sharing and Synchronization Issues in ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™)

ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™) synchronizes the contacts of your organization’s users so that everyone has access to a centralized, up-to-date contacts database from all their applications and devices.

However, some users may not see recent updates or the shared contact lists. Fortunately, most issues can be resolved with a few simple steps.

Common causes of contact sharing and synchronization issues

Here are some possible reasons why contact sharing may not be working as expected:

How to Troubleshoot the Contact-Sharing and Synchronization Issues

Suspended Subscription

Issue: The subscription was suspended due to payment failure.

Solution: The administrator must click “Buy Now!” to subscribe again to ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™).

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Revoked Application Permissions

Issue: ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™) lost access to Google Contacts, stopping synchronization.

Revoked Application Permissions

Solution: The domain administrator must grant access to ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™). Follow the steps here:  What to Do When Application Status Is “Permission Lost”

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Uninstalled Application

Issue: ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™) was uninstalled by the administrator, resulting in the discontinuation of contact sharing and synchronization with Google Contacts.

Revoked Application Permissions

Solution: The domain administrator must re-install the app. Follow the steps here: What to Do When Application Status Is “Uninstalled”

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Pending Synchronization with Google or other third-party apps

Issue: Contacts not updated as seen in the ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™) app.

When a contact is shared or updated in ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™), the changes are instantly synchronized with collaborators.
However, if you update contacts through third-party apps like Google Contacts or your phone’s default contacts app, instant synchronization may not automatically happen.

Solution: The minimal solution is either:

  • Wait for the next synchronization (max 24 hours)
  • Manually trigger the sync by clicking the “Sync” button in the ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™) dashboard.

Preferably, to ensure instant synchronization without waiting or manual intervention, use one of the following methods:

From the Google Workspace environment

1. Update Contacts via ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™):
Use the Web Application or Mobile Application (for Android or iOs) for direct updates.

2. Integrate with Google Contacts:
Install the ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™) Chrome Extension to synchronize updates made in the Google Contacts interface.

3. Sync through Gmail:
Use the Gmail add-on to keep updates aligned.

From other third-party apps

4. Automate with Zapier:
Set up an instant trigger on Zapier to automatically update shared contacts whenever changes are made in third-party apps.

Need assistance setting this up? Contact our support team for help.

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Collaborator Status Issues 

Issue: Collaborator status other than ✔ (normal).

Solution: To ensure they can view, access, or update shared contacts based on their permission level, all collaborator accounts must be active and display a ✔ (normal) status. Here’s how to check and manage this:

1.  Know the status of the collaborator:

  1. Open the ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™) dashboard.
  2. Navigate to Settings > Users & Licenses in the left pane.
  3. Look for all statuses that are not normal. 

2. If a user’s status is not normal (e.g., Invitation Pending, License Limit Reached, Permission Lost, etc.), follow the steps in Troubleshoot Contact Sync Issues With User Statuses to resolve the issue.

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Insufficient Access Permissions

Issue: When collaborators with a “View Only” permission level attempt to add, edit, or delete contact data in third-party apps like Google Contacts, those changes are not synced to the shared list.

Learn more about the Different Sharing Permission Levels on ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™)

Solution: Grant “Editor” permission or higher to anyone who needs to update the shared contacts.

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No Access to the Shared Label

Issue: The user may not have the necessary access to the shared label, preventing them from contacting the shared contacts.

Solution: Check if the collaborator has access to the shared contact label where the contact/s were added. If they are not listed, add them as collaborators to give access to the shared label.

Example Scenario:

Sarah has access to the Paris and New York contact labels shared by Matthew. Recently, Matthew created a new Tokyo label and asked Sarah to follow up with those contacts. However, she couldn’t find them.

Although Sarah usually has access to Matthew’s shared contacts, the Tokyo label was missing. The issue was resolved once Matthew granted her access to it.

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Updated Contacts Outside a Shared Label

Issue: The contacts may have been created or updated on a label not shared with anyone or the supposed collaborator. 

Solution: Ensure that the contacts are assigned to a shared label and that all necessary collaborators have proper access.

Learn more about how to Create and Share Labels in ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™)

Example Scenario:

Sammie manages contacts under a label named Berlin. Since her entire domain is subscribed to ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™), she assumed all her contacts would automatically sync with Matthew, her supervisor. However, when Matthew needed to send an email to contacts from the Berlin label, she was surprised to find that he couldn’t see them.

The issue was resolved once Sammie explicitly shared the Berlin label with Matthew.

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Using the Wrong Account

Issue: Users may expect the shared contacts to be from an unregistered email or a different account.

Solution: Ensure the collaborator is accessing the shared contact using the same registered account that has access to the shared label. ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™) permissions are tied to the specific email address registered in the app.

Example Scenario:

Sarah wants to send an email to a shared contact, Akito, from the Tokyo label. She knows the label was shared with her, as it was working fine before. But now, Akito’s email address does not appear in the autocomplete of her email’s recipient field. 

Sarah double-checked and realized she was composing the email from her personal account instead of her work email. Since the shared label was linked to her work email, Akito didn’t appear in the autocomplete suggestions. After switching to her work email, she was able to find Akito in the recipient field’s autocomplete.

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Searching in the Wrong Contact List

Issue: Collaborators might assume they are referring to the same contact list or label, but they may not be.

Solution: Ensure that collaborators are referring to the same contact list by verifying who has access to the shared labels. Additionally, you can check which label(s) a contact belongs to by selecting the contact and viewing its contact card.

Example Scenario:

Matthew and James are collaborating on a project and need to access the same set of shared contacts. Matthew informs James that he has added all the necessary clients under the “Clients” label. However, when Matthew searches for some of them, he cannot find certain contacts.

Matthew checked one of the client’s contact cards and realized that some of the missing clients are stored under the “Premium Clients” label instead of the  “Clients” label. Since the labels contain different contact sets, Matthew was only looking at part of the intended list. Once James shares access to the “Premium Clients” label, Matthew can see all the required contacts.

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Google Admin Account Deleted/Downgraded

Issue: If the Google Workspace admin account that installed the application was deleted or downgraded to non super-admin in Google Workspace, then editing, deleting, or resharing contacts becomes impossible.

Solution: The new admin must grant access to ContactsFlow™ (formerly Shared Contacts for Gmail™) to resume the collaborative contact management it offers.

For more information, click here.

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Temporary System Bug

Issue: If you’ve verified all settings and troubleshooting steps but are still facing synchronization issues, a temporary system bug may be the cause.

Solution: Contact customer support

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