Migrate contacts from ActiveSync to Nextcloud

General
1

When setting up contacts sync to Nextcloud only the locally created contacts are uploaded/synced to the Nextcloud contacts.

Is there a way to get all contacts on the phone synced, even if they were originally synced from another external source?

I would like to move from having my contacts synced to an ActiveSync account to Nextcloud.
The Nextcloud account is new so I don’t have any contacts or calendar entries to save in that end.

Thanks for any ideas
/Andreas

2

Yes, there is.
You have to export all contacts to a VCF file and then reimport them to your phonebook locally. Now the new sync account will notice them as local contacts and sync them.
This has been explained in detail either here over still over on TJC.

3

Another way would be to export your contacts from the old servkce and import them into your Nextcloud. That way I switched from iCloud to Nextcloud years ago, works with calendars as well.

4

Thanks for the suggestions

I chose to export/import the contacts, there were quite a few steps that I had to perform though.

This is what I did, or that I remember that I did :wink:

  • Backed up my contacts using Outlook - just in case
  • Export all contacts to VCF (In People app select all contacts and then “share” to email sent to myself)
  • Then I removed the Exchange/ActiveSync account to make sure it was not in use.
  • I deleted all contacts in my NextCloud account
  • Removed the contacts.db from the phone (all contacts would not sync to NC otherwise) - steps for this below.
  • Imported contacts from the previously exported VCF (In “Settings, Apps, People” you can import from VCF)
  • Made sure everything was synced to NC
  • Added back the Exchange/ActiveSync account, but without choosing to sync contacts. I still need the mail/calendar to be synced for that account.

To remove the contacts.db I did this:

systemctl --user stop contactsd.service
devel-su rm /home/nemo/.local/share/system/Contacts/qtcontacts-sqlite/contacts.*
devel-su rm /home/nemo/.local/share/system/privileged/Contacts/qtcontacts-sqlite/contacts.*
# Rebooted phone
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5

I did not do this yet but I believe this hard way of deleting contacts.db is not necessary.
I would say a simple delete all and then re-import should have sufficed?

6

You are probably correct, but I remember having some issues previously with the contacts.db so I opted to do it this way so I knew it would be starting from scratch.

I’m not saying my way is the way to do it, just the way I did it;

1 Like