Gmail users started reporting loss of contacts or missing contacts from contact groups back in November, 2016. The issue seems to be with the web client of the service. Google acknowledged the bug and assured that they were on it.
“Our Contacts team is aware and investigation this issue” said an employee at Google on November 24, 2016.
On December 6, 2016 he further added that
“the contacts team has identified the root cause for the issue and will begin the recovery process for a group of affected users (those who haven’t made any changes to their contact groups since the issue began). They are still working on the recovery plan for those who don’t fall into the above category and will be providing an update on that soon”
On December 8, 2016 he said
“I wanted to answer some questions that came up after my previous update. The recovery process will be occurring on a rolling basis and will begin today (Dec. 7th PST), although we cannot provide dates/times for when this will reach specific users. Additionally, the Contacts team already knows the group they will be starting with, so no need for you to confirm. This group will include those who haven’t added a contact to a group, removed a contact from a group, or edited a contact in a group since the issue began for them”
In addition, on December 9, 2016 he further said
“Glad to hear the recovery process has restored contacts for some of you. As mentioned before, this is just the first group we are beginning with and the process for this group won’t be completed until Dec. 11th (PST). For those who do not fall in this category, I’ll have more updates shortly”
On December 12, 2016 he updated users that
“the Contacts team has completed the first phase of their recovery efforts. Next, they will attempt to recover the remaining modified contacts into their respective groups”.
He further concluded the successful cure of this issue on December 20, 2016 adding that
“the Contacts team has completed their recovery efforts, and affected users should now have their contacts fully restored to their respective groups”
Adding to the above, he further updates on January 6, 2017
“Many thanks for your patience. The recovery efforts by the Contacts team for remaining users has taken longer than the initial 2-week estimate, but it is still very much active & ongoing. Unfortunately, I don’t have another timeline to provide, but I’ll continue to update this thread as I hear back and may reach out privately should any individual information be necessary”
on January 10, 2017 he said
“I’ve just updated my previous message, but wanted to let you all know the Contacts team believes they have completed recovery efforts, so affected users should now have their contacts fully restored to their respective groups. If your contacts have still not been restored, please reply back on this thread letting us know and include if you are posting with the affected account. We will reach out for further details so that our team can investigate”
Google’s claimed successful restoration has left many users unanswered. A quick look at the official Google Product forums thread reveals that despite the increasing number of reported cases after completion of recovery, there were no further updates for the ones troubled. The problem still prevails.
Dr. Aparajita Sharma
1227 Posts
Currently, I am pursuing Ph.D (Psychology), and have been teaching the same for past four years. Coming to PiunikaWeb, I know it was a complete switch over, but the idea was appealing enough to put in all the effort it called for. My work primarily involves research. Oh, and yes, some of the photographs you see here are clicked by me. Overall, I am enjoying whatever I am doing, and hoping you’ll also feel the same reading all my articles. You can find me on LinkedIN.
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