Sync Salesforce Contacts with iPhone: A Simple Solution

Introduction

Trying to sync Salesforce contacts with your iPhone might sound straightforward – until you actually try doing it. What should be a standard feature in one of the world’s most powerful CRMs – accessing contact data across smartphones – turns out to be a frustrating mess of discontinued features, half-working workarounds, and missing functionality.

That’s where Contactzilla comes in.

For comprehensive, step-by-step instructions on syncing Salesforce contacts with your iPhone using Contactzilla:Help Guide: Importing contacts from Salesforce to ContactzillaVideo Tutorial: Watch the Setup Process on YouTube

The Problem with Current Salesforce Contact Syncing

Once upon a time, Salesforce offered something called Lightning Sync. It allowed contacts and calendars to sync between Salesforce and your phone’s native apps. But that service has since been sunset in favor of Einstein Activity Capture (EAC).

EAC has its perks, but syncing contacts directly to your iPhone isn’t really one of them. It stores data in Salesforce-owned AWS instances, complicates compliance and accessibility, and doesn’t actually push contact data to your phone’s contact list.

Reddit users and Salesforce community members frequently voice their frustrations:

“Einstein Activity Capture is terrible. It’s a black hole of data with no transparency.”

“We need contacts in our phone so that when a client calls, we know who it is. Einstein doesn’t help with that.”

Why Syncing Contacts to Mobile Matters

If your team works in sales, support, property management, or field services, you need more than just app-based access to contact info. Keeping business contacts accessible across devices is essential. You need to:

See who’s calling before you pick up – without synced contacts, incoming calls may display only numbers, leaving you guessing who’s calling.
Share contact access across teams and devices – including groups of contacts. Sharing contact access across teams and devices ensures everyone is on the same page, reducing miscommunication.
Trust that updates in Salesforce flow to mobile devices automatically – Ensuring that updates in Salesforce reflect promptly on mobile devices keeps information current and accurate.

All of the above are essential for maintaining professionalism and operational efficiency.

Introducing Contactzilla’s Salesforce Importer

Contactzilla’s Salesforce Importer offers a clean, flexible way to manage your Salesforce Sync and get your CRM contacts where you actually need them: your phone. Whether you’re syncing 200 records or 20,000, it handles the job with minimal fuss. It connects Salesforce to your mobile device via a secure CardDAV bridge, syncing company contacts into the native contacts app (address book) on iOS or Android. with custom field support, sync control, and two-way updates baked in.

Share read-only contact lists across 100’s of devices

14 DAY FREE TRIAL NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

Would you like a walkthrough? Book a demo

Sync from Salesforce

Contactzilla performs a one-way sync from Salesforce to your connected devices. That means your iPhone always reflects the latest contact data from Salesforce, but changes made on your phone won’t flow back into the CRM. This setup keeps Salesforce as your single source of truth.

Custom Field Support

Contactzilla supports syncing Salesforce custom fields, meaning you’re not limited to name and number. Internal notes, region codes, or anything else you track in Salesforce can be displayed on your phone exactly the way you need it. During setup, you can map which fields to include, exclude anything irrelevant, and be confident that the important context carries through to your device.

Sync Frequency Options

You can choose how often Contactzilla pulls fresh data from Salesforce — from every hour to once a month, or stick with manual if you prefer to run syncs on your own schedule. This setting is configurable during setup and can be adjusted later to match your Salesforce sync preferences.

If you’re just getting started or working with a high volume of contacts, starting with manual sync is usually a safe bet. Once everything looks good, it’s easy to automate from there and keep your iPhone contacts synced.

Handling Deletions

When a contact is deleted in Salesforce, Contactzilla gives you the option to reflect that in your synced devices. Just map the deletion status field—typically IsDeleted—and the sync process will handle the rest. If you’d rather keep the contact in place on your phone, you can skip that step. Either way, it’s up to you.

Handling Duplicates

Contactzilla gives you three straightforward options for managing duplicates:

Skip duplicates: Leaves existing records in place and ignores incoming ones that match.
Replace duplicates: Overwrites existing contacts with the latest Salesforce data (labels in Contactzilla are preserved).
Merge duplicates: Combines the imported contact data with what’s already in Contactzilla, useful if details are stored in both systems.

You can decide what makes sense based on how your team works. For most users syncing with Salesforce, “Replace” is often the most practical choice—keeping the CRM as the primary source of truth.

Tip 💡: Want to understand what makes a great contact sync platform? See our guide on choosing the best CardDAV server for secure contact management.

How it works in brief

Install the Contactzilla Salesforce Connector in your Salesforce account
Choose the Salesforce data to sync (leads, contacts, etc.)
Set how often the sync should run (manual, hourly, daily)
Map fields like name, phone, email, and Salesforce ID
Choose how to handle deletions and duplicates
Done—your address book is now on your phone and always up to date

Benefits Over Traditional Methods

Compared to Einstein Activity Capture:

Native phone integration (caller ID, call logging, etc.)
More control over what syncs and how
Transparency and data ownership
No extra EAC subscription fees

Compared to manual exports:

No CSV juggling
No batch updates
Real-time syncs

Conclusion

You shouldn’t have to choose between full-featured CRM data and mobile accessibility. With Contactzilla, syncing Salesforce contacts with your iPhone is easy.

If you’re ready to finally make your CRM contacts as mobile as you are, give Contactzilla’s Salesforce importer a try.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sync Salesforce contacts with my iPhone?

Yes, you can sync Salesforce contacts with your iPhone using Contactzilla. It creates a secure CardDAV connection between Salesforce and your phone, allowing contacts—including custom fields—to appear in your native contacts app and stay up to date automatically.

How can I ensure my Salesforce contacts sync accurately to my iPhone?

To ensure accurate syncing, use a tool like Contactzilla that lets you map specific fields, choose how to handle duplicates, and set a sync schedule. This helps your iPhone reflect exactly what’s in Salesforce, including updates and any relevant custom fields.

Why is my contact list not syncing on iPhone?

Your contact list may not sync if your sync settings are set to manual, field mapping is incomplete, or your iPhone isn’t connected to the CardDAV source. Double-check your sync frequency, permissions, and connection to ensure updates from Salesforce are flowing through correctly.

What happened to Salesforce Lightning Sync?

Salesforce Lightning Sync was retired and replaced by Einstein Activity Capture. While Lightning Sync supported contact and calendar syncing with mobile apps, its successor focuses on email and event logging, with limited support for syncing contacts directly to native phone apps.