Connect a directory
An IT administrator setting up RingSync chooses a directory provider and a connection method, connects the directory, then triggers the first sync from a phone.
Before you start
- A RingSync dashboard account with the Owner or Admin role.
- Microsoft: an account in the tenant that can grant admin consent to an application. This account must be a member of the tenant, not a guest.
- Google: a Google Workspace administrator account that can open the Google Admin Console.
Connect the directory
- Click Connect a directory, on the empty home screen or in the menu.
- At the Name step, enter the Directory name. It appears in the directory switcher, in emails and in the mobile app, and you can change it in Settings.
- At the Directory provider step, choose Microsoft Entra ID or Google Workspace.
- Choose the Enrollment method from the table below.
- For Manual entry and Service Account (DWD), click Test connection, wait for Connection successful, then click Connect the directory. For the other two methods, finish the connection on the Microsoft or Google page.
| Provider | Method | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | Sign in to Microsoft (recommended) | You click Sign in to Microsoft, sign in as an administrator and approve the RingSync application, which asks for read-only access. There is nothing to copy. |
| Microsoft | Manual entry | You created your own application in Entra. You paste its credentials and its client secret. The application must be multi-tenant: a single-tenant application is refused. |
| Service Account (DWD) (recommended) | You create a service account in your Google Cloud project, authorize it with domain-wide delegation, then enter the domain, an administrator's email and the JSON key. | |
| Sign in to Google | You sign in as a Google administrator and consent to read-only access. This method depends on Google verifying the RingSync application. |
Step-by-step guides: Microsoft Entra ID and Google Workspace.
With Sign in to Microsoft, RingSync checks that you belong to the directory you are connecting. Use a member account of the tenant, not a guest account. Otherwise the message "We couldn't verify that you belong to this Microsoft directory." appears.
Two common refusals at this step: "This directory is already configured on RingSync." and "Your plan limit has been reached (number of directories)." The number of directories per plan is in Seats and limits.
An Entra secret has a limited lifetime. When it expires, RingSync can no longer read the directory and syncs fail. RingSync shows the expiry date in Settings and emails owners and admins 30 days before. See RingSync lost access to the directory.
The 14-day trial starts when the first directory is connected.
Follow the setup
The directory Dashboard shows a Getting started list:
- Directory connected.
- Decide who gets access.
- Get the app installed, with the Deploy the app page (link, QR code, MDM). See Deploy the app.
- First sync, which happens as soon as someone opens the app and allows access to contacts.
The Directory connection card shows whether RingSync reads your directory normally: Working, Needs attention or Down.
Decide who gets access and which contacts are synced
Two separate settings decide what each person receives.
| Setting | Where | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Access (one seat per person) | Microsoft: the RingSync enterprise application in Entra ID, opened from Settings → Who has access. Google: Settings → Authorized seats. | Who can sign in to the app and receive the directory. |
| Sync scope | Settings → Sync scope | Which contacts of the directory are written to phones: The whole directory or Specific groups, plus Groups to exclude. Specific groups and group exclusion are available on Pro plans and above. |
RingSync reads access again every 15 minutes. To avoid waiting, click Refresh now (Microsoft, in Settings → Who has access) or Sync from directory (Users page).
The dashboard cannot add an access by hand: the directory decides. See Seats and limits.
People with no first name and no last name, no email address, or who are guests are ignored, whatever the scope. See Synced information and Select and exclude groups.
Run the first sync
Sync always starts from the phone.
- A person who has access installs the app and signs in. See Install on iPhone or Install on Android.
- They allow access to contacts.
- On the directory card, they tap Sync, or they let automatic sync start.
The first sync is a full one. The card in the app shows a status and the date of the last sync, not a number of contacts. The number of contacts written is in the directory detail screen, under On this phone. See Sync on demand.