Tech Tip: Contacts automatically merging on Android phones

Some users report  that not all PC contacts sync to their Android device.  Or, contacts with similar names are not synchronizing at all.

Here’s what one user reported:

For instance, in Outlook contacts, I have a Jon Lewis, a Jonathan Lewis, and a John Lewis — all with different organizations and different contact info. But CompanionLink only sends the “Jonathan Lewis” info to my Droid.

This might be due to one of the “features” of Android.  The device automatically merges similar contacts with the goal of merging potential duplicates.

Here’s how to fix for contacts you feel are missing or automatically merged by Android:

1. Go to the contact in question on the device.
2. Select the “Menu” option.
3. Select the “Separate contacts” option.

This will separate each contact as its own entity.  In the John Lewis example above, you will now have three contacts: 1) Jon Lewis, 2) Jonathan Lewis, and 3) John Lewis.