iPhone Contact Sync/Merge

[quietas]

Is there way to have your contacts merge with the server when you first set up an iPhone using the contact sync for the first time?

In other words, I set up my phone and when it went to sync the contacts it notified me that my contacts on the phone would be erased.

How do I avoid them being erased?

EDIT: I found a way further down; I'm posting them here in the first message for simplicity.
* Using Itunes, back up the Iphone including contacts to Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, or anything that can export as a CSV file.
* Verify your contacts are backed up. This is good anyway in case your phone is lost or broken.
* Export your contact list in your mail software that you just sync'd to. Export it as a CSV file.
* In Zimbra > Preferences > Address Book > Import/Export: locate the csv file and Import .CSV into Zimbra. If you import a new folder might be useful, name the folder whatever you wish.
* Verify Zimbra now has your new contacts.
* Then set up the exchange sync and let the contact sync overwrite your contacts.

[jjzhuang]

this is up to the phone implementation. windows mobile 5 and 6 phones do this, but iphone appears to wipe out local contacts first so no.

[quietas]

hhm, now if I were to sync my iPhone via Itunes so that Outlook has a backup of all my contacts and I wiped the iPhone to sync with Zimbra, I wonder if when I resync with Outlook would the two sets merge.

[jjzhuang]

don't mix the two. people who do that always regret. the behavior is unpredictable.

[quietas]

I've got abit of a hack that works for an Iphone with contacts that are different to the contacts you want to have pushed from Zimbra.

Before trying I backed up my phone to Itunes and Outlook, then exported a backup just in case. I recommend a backup before proceeding.

• Using Itunes, back up the Iphone including contacts to Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, or anything that can export as a CSV file.
• Verify your contacts are backed up. This is good anyway in case your phone is lost or broken.
• Export your contact list in your mail software that you just sync'd to. Export it as a CSV file.
• In Zimbra > Preferences > Address Book > Import/Export: locate the csv file and Import .CSV into Zimbra. If you import a new folder might be useful, name the folder whatever you wish.
• Verify Zimbra now has your new contacts.
• Then set up the exchange sync and let the contact sync overwrite your contacts.

You should now have both Zimbra and your iphone contacts listed. Later if you wish to remove the Zimbra contacts you can turn the exchange contact sync off and restore from that CSV file using your mail software.

Backups, always back up and know where your files are located and what they are named.

[joxs64]

The problem with the CSV file approach is that it won't copy contact picture information over. Still, it sounds like the best way.