DAVx⁵ accounts are gone after updating DAVx⁵, rebooting or safe mode

At some occasions (especially when booting), Android looks for orphaned accounts which are not associated to a sync adapter. Unfortunately, this check is sometimes run before DAVx⁵ is available.

So, if this check doesn't find DAVx⁵ for whatever reason, it thinks that all DAVx⁵ accounts are orphaned and deletes them, including all your local contacts, calendars and tasks (together with all unsynced changes). This problem is known for at least these cases:

  • when DAVx⁵ has been moved to the external storage or SD card (although this is forbidden by the app manifest),
  • when the device is booted into safe mode, and
  • because of a Google Play bug which may affect users who have got DAVx⁵ via Google Play on
    • many Android 4.4.x devices, regardless of the manufacturer, for instance LG G3 (LG-D855) with Android 4.4.2,
    • and some other devices.

How to fix it

  1. DAVx⁵ must not be moved to external storage (SD card or USB storage).
  2. Upgrade your device to the latest available Android version (if your firmware is really old, you may consider a custom ROM).
  3. If you boot into safe mode, be prepared that all local DAVx⁵ data (including unsynced changes) will be lost. At the next synchronization, all data will be downloaded from the server again.
  4. You may consider to install DAVx⁵ from another source (e.g. F-Droid).