Sync on demand
A colleague runs a sync from the RingSync app to see the directory's changes on their phone right away, without waiting for automatic sync.
When to run a sync
- A colleague just joined or left and you want to see it right away.
- An administrator just fixed a problem, such as directory access or scope, and you want to check.
- You just granted the app access to contacts.
Run a sync
- Open the RingSync app. Each directory has a card with its name, its status and "last sync". The statuses are Synced, Error, Never, Syncing… and Pending.
- Tap Sync on the card. The Syncing screen opens.
- Wait for Sync complete. The recap shows the contacts added, updated and removed, and "The contacts on this phone are up to date."
- Tap Back to return to the list of directories.
To refresh the list and the statuses, pull the home screen down.
If the sync fails
The screen shows Sync error and "Check your connection and try again." A Sync failed card gives the cause. Try again runs the sync again, Back returns to the list.
| Card text | What to do |
|---|---|
| "RingSync does not have permission to access the contacts on this phone. Without it, syncing cannot run." | Tap Open settings → and grant contacts access. See Install on iPhone or Install on Android. |
| "The directory returned an empty list. To be safe, the contacts on this phone were not removed. Contact your administrator." | Nothing was deleted. See Sync shows zero contacts. |
| "The directory returned an abnormal number of pages. The sync was stopped to be safe; try again with “Force a full sync”." | Tap Try again. The Force a full sync button the message mentions appears at the end of a successful sync. |
org_suspended or plan_limit_reached | The organization's access is suspended or the contacts limit is reached. See Invoices, payment and VAT and Seats and limits. |
access_revoked | Your access to the directory was removed: RingSync removed this directory's contacts from this phone. |
| Any other text | Check your connection and try again. If the failure lasts, see RingSync lost access to the directory. |
Tapping a card in Error opens the Sync paused screen, which offers Reconnect: this button signs you out and takes you back to the sign-in screen. The card's Sync button stays available to try again without signing out.
Force a full sync
At the end of a successful sync, the screen offers Force a full sync. This button deletes the resume point stored on the phone, re-reads the whole directory, then removes the people the phone holds and the directory no longer lists. Use it if the phone's contacts seem inconsistent with the directory.
For a Google directory, or a Microsoft directory filtered by groups, every sync is already a full one.
Remove synced contacts
- On the home screen, tap the settings icon at the top right.
- In the Data on this device section, tap Remove synced contacts.
- Confirm with Remove.
The app deletes the contacts RingSync wrote from this phone, then shows Contacts removed with their number. Your personal contacts are not affected. A later sync writes the contacts again. If RingSync wrote no contact, the app shows No synced contacts.
The dashboard does not run a sync
It is the app, on the phone, that asks RingSync for the directory and writes the contacts. The dashboard therefore has no button to sync a phone. Sync from directory, in the list of users, updates the list of authorized people without writing any contact to a phone.
Technical details
During a sync:
- The app checks access to contacts, then asks RingSync to create the sync.
- RingSync reads the directory with its own credentials and returns the people page by page. The phone never contacts Microsoft or Google.
- The app writes the contacts to the address book: create, update, delete.
- The app sends RingSync the per-contact result and closes the sync. If a contact could not be written, the resume point does not advance, so the next attempt picks it up.
- The app then re-checks photos.
Only one operation runs at a time for a directory: if you tap Sync during an automatic sync, you join the one in progress. A contact removal waits for a sync to finish, and the other way round.
The resume point of an incremental sync is stored only on the phone. A reset phone, a reinstalled app or removed contacts therefore start again from a full sync. See How sync works.