How can I sync Facebook contact photos?

Having your Facebook friends’ profile pictures show up when you get calls, texts, or emails from them on your smartphone can be extremely convenient. It saves you the extra step of having to manually assign contact photos. But getting your contacts’ Facebook profile pictures to sync across devices doesn’t always happen automatically. Here’s what you need to know about syncing Facebook contact photos on both iPhone and Android devices.

Why sync Facebook contact photos?

There are a few key benefits to syncing your Facebook friends’ profile photos as contact photos:

See who’s calling/texting/emailing at a glance – You’ll recognize friends and family right away without having to read their name.

Avoids duplicate contacts – Syncing contact photos can help merge duplicate contacts on your device into one entry.
Saves time – Manually assigning contact photos takes ages, syncing happens automatically.
Always up to date – As friends change their Facebook profile pic, your contacts stay current.

How to sync Facebook contacts on iPhone

The iPhone makes syncing your Facebook contacts’ profile pictures pretty straightforward, thanks to built-in integration with the Facebook app. Here’s how to do it:

Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Tap on the Facebook option.

Make sure the Contacts option is enabled under “Allow These Apps to Use Your Account.”
Open the Contacts app on your iPhone.
Tap on Settings in the upper-right corner.

Enable the “Facebook” contact group.

That’s it! Now when you look at your contacts, their Facebook profile pictures will appear as long as you’re friends with them on Facebook. This syncing happens automatically in the background whenever you open your Contacts app.

Troubleshooting Facebook contact sync issues on iPhone

In some cases, your Facebook contacts’ profile pictures may fail to sync correctly to your iPhone. Here are some steps to try if that happens:

Double check that contact syncing is enabled in both the Facebook app and your iPhone Contacts app settings.
Open the Contacts app and manually refresh it by pulling down on the list of contacts.
Force quit and re-open the Contacts app.

Sign out of Facebook and sign back in again on your iPhone.
Delete the Facebook account under Settings > Facebook and re-add it.
Update to the latest version of iOS and the Facebook app.

As a last resort, delete all Facebook contacts from your Contacts app and let them re-sync from scratch.

Syncing Facebook contacts on Android

Syncing Facebook profile pictures as contact photos on Android devices is fairly straightforward if you use the Facebook app. Here are the steps:

Open the Facebook app on your Android device.

Tap the More tab.
Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings.
Enable the “Sync Contacts” option.

Open your Contacts app on Android.
Tap the menu button in the top-right corner.
Select “Contacts to display.”

Make sure the “Facebook” contact group is enabled.

After following these steps, your Android device will automatically pull profile pictures from your Facebook friends and set them as contact photos. The syncing should happen in the background whenever you open your Contacts app.

Fixing Facebook contact photo sync problems on Android

If the Facebook profile pictures of your friends fail to appear in your Android Contacts app, here are some troubleshooting steps to take:

Confirm that contact syncing is enabled in both the Facebook app and Contacts app.
Force stop the Contacts app and clear its cache/data.
Re-open Contacts and manually refresh by pulling down on the list.

Sign out of Facebook and sign back in on your Android device.
Remove your Facebook account in Contacts and re-add it.
Check for app updates for Facebook and your Contacts app.

As a last resort, delete all Facebook contacts and let them sync over again from scratch.

Using third-party contact sync apps

If you’re having trouble getting built-in Facebook contact syncing to work properly on your device, another option is to use a third-party app to handle the syncing. Here are some top choices:

App	Platform	Key Features
Sync.me	Android, iOS	– Syncs Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google contacts – Matches contacts automatically
FullContact	Android, iOS	– Syncs Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn – Clean duplicates & merges contacts
My Contacts Backup	Android	– Backs up contacts from Facebook & more – Schedule automatic syncs
CopyTrans Contacts	iOS	– Syncs Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn – Also transfers contacts between devices

These apps provide more advanced contact management and syncing capabilities between Facebook and your mobile device’s address book. Many allow syncing with multiple social networks too. They can be helpful if the built-in tools aren’t doing the trick.

Syncing Facebook contacts on Windows

To sync Facebook contacts and their profile pictures on a Windows PC, you’ll need to use the Facebook website:

Go to Facebook.com and log into your account.
Click on the down arrow at the top right and select “Settings.”

Click “Contacts” in the left sidebar.
Click the “Sync contacts” button.
A popup will ask you to confirm syncing contacts with Facebook. Click “Okay.”

This will sync friends from Facebook with your Outlook or Windows contacts list. Contact pictures should automatically populate as well. Any new Facebook friends you add will also have their profiles synced.

If pictures aren’t syncing properly, try disconnecting and reconnecting your Facebook account under Windows Contact account settings. You can also manually assign profile pictures to individual contacts.

Syncing Facebook contacts on Mac

Mac users can sync their Facebook friends’ profile pictures using the Contacts app on MacOS:

Open Contacts app on your Mac.
Select Contacts > Preferences from the menu bar.
Click on Accounts.

Select your Facebook account.
Check the box for “Enable this account” and “Sync Contacts.”
Click “Okay” to save changes.

Your Mac will now automatically pull profile pics and contacts from your connected Facebook account. You may need to right-click on a contact and select “Refresh” to initially populate the pictures.

If syncing fails, unlink and re-link your Facebook account in Contacts Preferences. Also ensure Contacts has permission to access Facebook in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy tab.

Syncing contacts from Facebook to Gmail

If you use Gmail as your primary contacts list and want Facebook profile pictures too, here’s how to sync them:

On your computer, go to Gmail.com and log into your account.
Click on the Google apps grid icon in the top-right.
Select Contacts from the menu.

On the left sidebar, select “Manage Contacts.”
Click “Import” at the bottom of the contacts list.
Select the option to import from Facebook and click “Import.”

A popup will ask you to confirm granting Contacts access to your Facebook profile info. Click “Allow.”

This will connect your Facebook friends list with Gmail contacts. Profile pictures should import automatically after a short time. You can return to Manage Contacts and click “Import” again in the future whenever you want to update the synced information.

Troubleshooting Facebook-Gmail contact sync

If Facebook profile pictures are not syncing properly to your Gmail contacts, try these troubleshooting tips:

Confirm Contacts has permission to access your Facebook info under Facebook app settings.
Revoke contact access in Facebook settings, then re-enable it.
In Gmail Contacts, reconnect your Facebook account under Other Contacts > Add Contact.

Sync contacts again using the Import option.
Check that photos are enabled in Gmail Contacts settings.
Manually assign individual photos by editing each contact.

Conclusion

Syncing Facebook profile pictures to your mobile or desktop contacts is a great time-saving convenience. For most users, enabling built-in Facebook contact integration is the easiest option. If that doesn’t work properly, third-party sync apps provide a good alternative. With contacts up to date, you’ll always know who’s reaching out based on their latest profile photo.