Q: What is Contact Transfer?

A: Contact Transfer is a feature of Sonim SCOUT that allows for Contacts to be loaded onto a Sonim XP3, XP5s or XP8.

Q: Where can I find Contact Transfer?

A: Contact Transfer can be found by launching the Sonim SCOUT application and navigating to the Utilities tab.

Q: How does Contact Transfer work?

A: There are two primary ways to use Contact Transfer.  Option 1 is to use the feature directly via the phone.  Option 2 is to use Sonim CLOUD to update Contacts over-the-air (OTA).

Q: How can I can transfer Contacts directly via my phone?

A: Contact Transfer allows you to import contacts into your phone if you have your contacts in any one of the following formats: VCF, MDB, or CSV.  If you have your contacts in any of these formats, you can import those contacts into your phone by placing the file into the device’s memory and navigating to that file via the Contact Transfer user interface.

One important thing to note is that if you are using CSV, you need to use a specific CSV format.  You won’t be able to use a CSV exported from Outlook or Google Contacts.  Reach out to [email protected] if you need the Contact Transfer CSV format.

Q: I’m using Contact Transfer to transfer a CSV file directly from the SCOUT application, but the contacts aren’t importing properly.

A: The most likely issue is that you are using an unsupported CSV format.  Contact Transfer expects a specific order of the data in the CSV file.  To get the proper format, reach out to [email protected].

Q: Can I transfer Contacts from another phone using Contact Transfer?

A: Yes, Contact Transfer allows you to transfer Contacts from another phone by connecting the two phones via Bluetooth.  From the main screen of the Contact Transfer feature, select Bluetooth and follow the on-screen instructions.

Q: Can I transfer Contacts over-the-air?

A: Contact Transfer can connect with Sonim CLOUD to allow Contacts to be transferred onto or many phones.  In order to do this, the devices need to be uploaded to your Company’s Sonim CLOUD account.  You can then create a Contacts resource using an existing VCF file or using the Sonim CLOUD Contacts CSV Template.  By assigning that Contacts Resource to your devices and syncing them from CLOUD, the Contacts will be transferred to your phone the next time SCOUT checks in with CLOUD (by default the check-in will happen automatically once every 24 hours and a manual Sync can be done via the SCOUT application).

Q: Can Contact Transfer automatically “sync” my Contacts?

A: Contact Transfer isn’t a “sync” type solution like Exchange or Google Contacts.  It only allows for one-way communication.  For many use cases, Contact Transfer can act like a sync solution to allow Device Admins to easily update Contacts.  By keeping a master CSV file of Contacts and loading those in CLOUD as changes are needed, an Admin can use the over-the-air mechanism to make sure the latest Contacts are on User phones.  The key is to have that CSV have all of the Contacts needed and to use the “Delete existing contacts” option in Sonim CLOUD.

Q: The over-the-air Contact Transfer mechanism isn’t working, what can I do?

A: The most likely cause of this issue is that the permissions haven’t been accepted in SCOUT -> Contact Transfer.  If you launch Contact Transfer from the SCOUT application, you’ll be presented with two permissions.  Both of these must be accepted for the over-the-air transfer mechanism to work correctly.

Q: Can I transfer my contacts to another phone using Contact Transfer?

A: No, SCOUT Contact Transfer can only take in Contacts, it can’t export them.

Q: Why are there duplicate entries in my Contacts?

A: Contact Transfer doesn’t check what Contacts already exist in your Contacts app before transferring new Contacts in.  The feature is best used when you have an empty Phonebook or, if you are using the over-the-air mechanism, when you use the “Delete existing contacts” option.

Q: Can I replace existing contacts with the contacts added from Cloud?

A: Yes, you can select “Delete existing contacts” option in your provisioning profile. This will delete ALL the contacts on your phone and add back the contacts from Cloud.  Very important to note that if you use the “Delete existing contacts” option from CLOUD, Contact Transfer will completely wipe your existing list of contacts.

Q: Can I delete the contacts that I previously added from Cloud and leave my manually-entered contacts on the phone?

A: You can select “Delete contacts previously added from Cloud” option in the provisioning profile. This will delete only the contacts previously added from Cloud and retain the contacts that were manually added from phone. For this feature to work you need to update your SCOUT version 2.0.34 and Contact Transfer version to 2.0.24.

If you have added Contacts using a Contact Transfer version lower than 2.0.24, then all the contacts previously add are treated as manually added contacts even though they may have been added from Cloud.

Q: When I try to transfer contacts via Bluetooth I get a message which says “Lost Bluetooth connectivity, Unable to transfer contacts”

A: The most likely cause for this issue is that you have not accepted the permission to Allow access to your contacts and call history. When you try to transfer contacts via Bluetooth from a phone which is not paired you will get a confirmation for pairing on both the phones which will have an option “Lost Bluetooth connectivity, Unable to transfer contacts” make sure you check this option and pair the device. If the device is already paired, then you can enable “Lost Bluetooth connectivity, Unable to transfer contacts” by navigating to Settings > Connected devices > Bluetooth, under paired devices select the device and check the option “Contact sharing”.

Q: Can I send contacts to other phones via Bluetooth using Contact Transfer?

A: Contact Transfer currently supports getting contacts from other mobile device. It does not provide the ability to send contacts to another device.

Q: Can I transfer contacts from non-Sonim devices via Bluetooth using Contact Transfer?

A: Contact Transfer works best with Sonim Devices. However, it supports transferring contacts via Bluetooth from non-Sonim Android devices but it may or may not transfer all fields from a contact. If you need to transfer contacts from non-Sonim Android devices and you face any issues or missing fields, you can reach out to [email protected].

Q: Can I transfer contacts from iPhone via Bluetooth using Contact Transfer?

A: Contact Transfer currently supports transferring contacts via Bluetooth from Sonim and non-Sonim Android devices. It does not support transferring contacts via Bluetooth from iOS devices or any other non-Android devices.