Q: iCloud.com Contacts Error: "Your changes to this contact couldn't be saved because it was just updated by another device"

I had the same problem. The error ("Your changes to this contact couldn't be saved because it was just updated by another device") happened consistently when trying to save edited contacts in browser-based icloud.com which is synced with my iPad 3 and iPhone 4S. This probem occured both in Firefox and Chrome on Windows 8.

Then I remembered a contact I was trying to edit was linked to contact entries from gmail, exchange server (work), outlook.com, etc. After unlinking the contact, editing and saving changes worked fine in iCloud.com. Afterwards, I linked the contacts again on my iPhone. It appears iCloud.com is not compatible with linked contacts.

I have this problem, too.  It seems to have just started today.  I don't know what "linked contacts" are, and I don't use Windows or Outlook or Gmail.  I only use a Mac (YW Apple) and iPhones (again Apple YW).  I have three iPhones configured to use this iCloud account for Contacts, but frankly only one of them has been powered up at any time in the last three days.  And no one is editing the contacts from the iPhone, only from the Mac desktop browser.  So, Apple, a little help here? 

P.S. I'm using Mac OS X 10.6.8 and Firefox 24.0 for Mac. 

I realized, after hanging up with the first Apple support rep, that his explanation didn't quite make sense.  I was accessing the iCloud service in a very modern web browser, so the operating system (OS X 10.6.8 or even a non-Mac) should not have the kind of problem I was experiencing.  So, I made a second call to Apple Care, described the situation and the previous rep's explanation,  enabled Screen Sharing, and duplicated the error using multiple browsers and multiple iCloud accounts.  After creating a bug ticket, I was transferred to a senior level tech.  After 55 minutes I'm still on the phone with Apple Care, so I don't have a solution for you yet (sorry), but I will post it if I am ever made aware of it.  My guess is it's a bug and Apple will resolve it whenever they feel like it.  (Maybe the solution is to contact Apple Care and spend an hour on the phone with them.  Add up the hours, maybe it'll get escalated.) 

For the record, the changes ARE being saved correctly and synchronizing with my iOS devices without fail.  The only real problem here is the fact that an error message pops up. 

(It's almost like the system thinks I'm double-clicking the submission, but I definitely am not doing that.)  Anyhow the error message doesn't pop up every time, and it doesn't seem to matter whether the contact is a new one added today or an old one from a year ago.  It also doesn't seem to matter if I using Firefox or Safari.  Unfortunately the Apple Care rep wasn't able to duplicate it in her Safari browser, but she was using the latest version Mac OS X

(Mavericks). 

It definitely seems like one or more bugs in sync functionality that can be triggered by various conditions and/or a combination thereof. I guess linked contacts is only one condition that can cause it.

Warning: In a recent test, I thought the information was saved. I even closed the contact, refreshed and viewed it again and saw the new information still there in spite of the error msg. But 5 minutes later, I opened the contact again and the new infomation was gone. This test was on icloud.com using Chrome browser. This is before I tried the unlink workaround which worked for me, but turns out is not revelevent for you. Hopefully, Apple engineers will sort this out.

Two years later I am still having the identical problem on multiple browsers. Even the error message graphics are identical. It does not happen every time I make an update. After logging in, I can sometimes edit three or four contacts before the message comes up but once it happens, it happens on every contact update until I log out and back in. It seems to happen quicker if I am updating contact photos than if I am just making small text changes such as new phone numbers but that is just an impression; I have not collected definitive data on that point.

This is very disappointing because I can be far more productive entering contact data on the desktop than on my mobile devices, although the iPad is not too bad so I may have to switch to that method.

I am using FireFox and Chrome on WIndows 10.

Any new light on this in the two years since the last post?

Thanks.

CK