When it comes to saving your contacts, one of the most devastating things would be losing them unceremoniously. This is especially so if you have your important business contacts on your mobile device and suddenly it crashes, gets stolen or simply deletes your contacts.

To ensure you do not lose your important contacts, the first thing you should always do once you get a new Android device is to sync the contacts with your Gmail account. When this is done, all your contacts are imported to your Gmail account for backup. This way, you will always have access to your contacts in case anything happens to your Android device.

Gmail contacts backup – Syncing Android contacts with Gmail

For you to be able to retrieve your lost contacts from Gmail, you must sync your contacts with Gmail while you still have your android device fully functional.

To sync your Android contacts with your Gmail account:

• Go to the Android menu button and select ‘system settings’.
• From the options available, choose ‘accounts and sync’ which is listed under the ‘personal’ tab.
• From the accounts availed, choose to sync with Gmail. This option has a blue background with the letter ‘g’. Check the space box next to this option on the right side of the option to ensure it syncs with Gmail.
• Tap on the ’sync Gmail’ option for your contacts. You can also choose Gmail for backing up other data like photos, movies and books among others.

After this process, your contacts will be automatically synced with your Gmail account. This creates a backup for your contacts on your Gmail account. If you lose your phone it for some reason it stops working, you can easily restore your contacts to another phone exactly in the same state they were when you lost them.

Gmail contacts backup – How to restore lost contacts from Gmail

Gmail comes with a restore function for contacts. This function restores your contacts exactly the way they were. This tool is ideal for recovering lost contacts after accidental deletion or after an unsuccessful sync.

To restore your lost contacts:

• Sign in to your Gmail account.
• From the left hand side of the screen, click on the Gmail drop down arrow and go to contacts.
• Go to the ‘more’ tab under the search bar and choose ‘restore contacts’.
• Choose a time frame to restore your contacts after which you should click on restore for your contacts to be restored.