Install on iPhone

A colleague installs RingSync on their iPhone, signs in with their work account and finds their company directory in Contacts.

Before you start

The app only shows a directory to people who have access to it. Your administrator must therefore have given you access. Access is recognized by the email address of the account you sign in with: it must be the one on your directory entry.

If you were just added, access can take up to 15 minutes to appear.

Install and sign in

1. Open the App Store, search for RingSync and install the app. From the iPhone, the ringsync.io/app link also opens the App Store.
2. Open the app.
3. Tap Sign in with Microsoft or Sign in with Google, depending on your company's work account.
4. Sign in with your work account in the window that opens. The app only asks for your identity (openid, profile, email), not for access to your mailbox or files.
5. If iOS asks for permission to send notifications, you can allow it: RingSync uses them to receive the order to remove the contacts of a directory you lose access to. Without notifications, that removal happens at the latest the next time you open the app.

Allow access to all contacts

The One permission screen appears after sign-in if contacts access has not already been granted.

1. Tap Allow access to all contacts.
2. Accept the iOS prompt.

iOS has no write-only access: RingSync needs full access to create a dedicated folder in your Contacts. Your personal contacts are never changed and never leave this phone.

Run the first sync

The first sync starts by itself when the app is open, if automatic sync is on for the directory. You can also start it by hand.

1. On the home screen, find the directory's card. Its status is Never until a sync has run.
2. Tap Sync on the card. The Syncing screen opens.
3. Wait for Sync complete. The recap shows the contacts added, updated and removed.
4. Open the Contacts app: your colleagues are in a group named after the directory.

Automatic sync then takes over: see Automatic sync. To sync at another time, see Sync on demand.

The cards do not show a number of contacts. To see it, tap the card: the On this phone row shows how many contacts RingSync wrote.

Troubleshooting

• "Aucun annuaire ne t'a été partagé. Contacte ton administrateur.": on the sign-in screen, this message appears in French whatever the app's language. You have no access, or the address of the account you used is not the directory's. See Contacts missing on a phone.
• personal_account_not_supported: you used a personal Microsoft account. Use your work or school account.
• email_not_verified: the Google account's address is not verified.
• A message about contacts access during the sync: tap Open settings → and grant full access.

Technical details

• RingSync writes contacts to the iPhone's local container when iOS offers one. Otherwise, iOS uses its default container, which is iCloud when iCloud Contacts sync is on. See Security and data.
• Each entry RingSync creates carries a web address labelled "RingSync" of the form ringsync://…. This mark lets the app find its own contacts and avoid duplicating them after a reinstall.
• Signing out leaves the synced contacts on the phone. To delete them, see Remove synced contacts in Sync on demand.
• What RingSync keeps is described in Data RingSync keeps.