Syncing Contacts from outlook.com

[mike2874]

My 85 year old mother was having so much trouble with her email through a local ISP I created a new outlook.com account for her. She uses Windows Live Mail as her email client on her PC and she has an iPhone & iPad.

I set up outlook.com email on all three devices and deleted her old email account. On her computer I also went through her Contacts list and cleaned it up for her.

Anyway how do I get her outlook.com Contacts to sync with her iPhone & iPad?

I'm not where I can see her IOS devices but when I deleted her old email would this have deleted her Contacts on them?

 

[twerppoet]

If you use the Mail app on the iPad, and the outlook.com setup, then syncing her contacts should be as simple as making sure the switch is turned on in the account's settings.

I don't have an Outlook account, so the second screen shot may not show the exact same options.

 

[mike2874]

Thanks twerppoet that looks easy it maybe a few days before I can check her settings.

Do most people use one consolidated Contacts list for both their email client/web mail and phone? I'm thinking my mother's iPhone/iPad Contacts are/were different from her outlook.com web mail/Windows Live Mail Contacts.

It looks like to me it would be simpler to just have one Contacts list. Doing that I could see where you might have some Contacts with only a phone number and no email & vice versa but guess there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[twerppoet]

It is possible to sync several contat lists with the Contact app, but as you suggest, it is not ideal. The best solution is to pick one service and stick with it.

Its possible your mother was using iCloud or local contacts on the iPad/iPhone before.

If iCloud, they they would probably still be in her iCloud account, if she has one. Settings > iCloud will turn these on/off, along with email, notes, calendars, and other syncable services.

If no service was set up before (iCloud, Google, Outlook, whatever) then the contacts were probably stored locally.

The important thing is whether you have all the contacts you want to keep in one place now. If so, I recommend sticking wiht that on all her computers and devices. If not, you can explor the other possibilites and work on migrating the missing contacts to the new service.

It's fairly easy to see if you have more than one set of contacts syncing to iOS. Open the Contacts app, and tap on the Groups button t the top left. Each service will have a header like "iCloud", "Google", Outlook, or "Local". Under that header will be any contact groups you've created.

Note: Contact groups can not be created on the iPad or iPhone, but if you've created them using other computers or a website then they will sync to your iOS devices. These groups are groups of contacts by catagory (Business, Friends, Family), not email groups which are used to send to bulk mail (Clark Kent, Barry Allen, Oliver Queen).

 

[mike2874]

Thanks that gives me some things to check out. I have went through all her Contacts on outlook.com and edited/consolidated them so I have them the way I want them now.

I'm thinking iCloud is set up on her devices but not sure if some Contacts were stored locally.

So I guess if I have her devices set to sync to Outlook Contacts and turn off syncing to iCloud Contacts everything should be fine then.

 

[twerppoet]

Thanks that gives me some things to check out. I have went through all her Contacts on outlook.com and edited/consolidated them so I have them the way I want them now.

I'm thinking iCloud is set up on her devices but not sure if some Contacts were stored locally.

So I guess if I have her devices set to sync to Outlook Contacts and turn off syncing to iCloud Contacts everything should be fine then.

Yes. That sounds like the best plan.

 

[mike2874]

Thanks twerppoet I appreciate all your help and good information you've given me!

 

[twerppoet]

No problem.

 

[mike2874]

Twerppoet hope you are still around.
After following your suggestion and setting up a new email account (Outlook.com ) I though everything had been working fine for a couple of months with my mom's iPhone & iPad... apparently not. She just told me her iPhone keeps asking her to sign in with with Apple ID even though she's already signed in.

Let me back up. After creating a new email account for her I logged in and changed her email within iTunes to her new one. I logged out of her Apple ID on both her iPhone & iPad and signed back in with her new email... everything appeared to be fine.

I changed her iCloud login old email to her new email by using the Windows iCloud app and then signed back in... everything was fine it was accepted. I logged out of her iCloud on her iPhone and tried to sign back in with her new email but it wouldn't take it. I had to still log in with her old email to be logged in on her iPhone (can't remember if her iPad behaved the same. At the time I didn't understand what was happening but since I was busy just thought well her email works now so I won't investigate anymore for now.

So why does her phone keep asking for her to sign in with her Apple ID when she's already signed in (with new email) and how do i fix it?

Is her Apple ID email & her iCloud email being different causing this issue or are these two separate things going on here?

Why does her Windows iCloud app email login work (accept it) correctly with her new email but her phone iCloud login only accepts her old email? How do I fix?

 

[twerppoet]

While it is possible, and usual, for the iCloud and Apple ID to be the same, they don't have to be.

If you created a new iCloud account and set up that email, then chances are your Apple ID is still the old one. You'll still be using it to purchase and download apps. You probably don't want to change this, or you'll lose all the apps, books, music and other content you purchased under that Apple ID.

Here's the general rule.

For iCloud and Mail, Contacts, Calendars settings; use your iCloud ID.

For all content like the App Store, iBooks, Music use your Apple ID.


It is not unusual for the iPad to occationally ask for your iCloud, iTunes, or Mail password every now and then; especially after a reset or restart. If it becomes persistant, go to the settings for the account or store that is causing problems and re-enter the password there. That usually clears things up.

 

[mike2874]

While it is possible, and usual, for the iCloud and Apple ID to be the same, they don't have to be.

If you created a new iCloud account and set up that email, then chances are your Apple ID is still the old one. You'll still be using it to purchase and download apps. You probably don't want to change this, or you'll lose all the apps, books, music and other content you purchased under that Apple ID.

Here's the general rule.

For iCloud and Mail, Contacts, Calendars settings; use your iCloud ID.

For all content like the App Store, iBooks, Music use your Apple ID.


It is not unusual for the iPad to occationally ask for your iCloud, iTunes, or Mail password every now and then; especially after a reset or restart. If it becomes persistant, go to the settings for the account or store that is causing problems and re-enter the password there. That usually clears things up.

Thanks I'll give your suggestions a try!

 

[mike2874]

Ok my mom just forwarded me an email from iCloud saying her iCloud storage is about full. What do I disable on her iPad, iPhone, & Windows iCloud app in order to free up space? Does disabling certain settings immediately free up space?

The only thing I don't want disabled is the option to sync her Contacts across devices... and whatever else you recommend leaving checked. I put the Picasa Photo app her devices so that should take care of being able to access her Photos. Thanks!