Eduard_BMS
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Address Book problem - Groups copy itself unpredictably

Hi all. I've faced a problem with my Address Book. Recently groups in the book started to copy itself many times.

There is no pattern in it. Any group may start copying itself. Have no idea what caused such problem.

My configuration.

MacBook Pro 2010. OS X El Capitan

Address Book Version 9.0 (1679.4)

I have several accounts connected to my MAC

Contacts syncronized between two accounts: iCloud and Google.

I usually join cards of these accounts in order to have one name appeared in the list.

Groups.png

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Feb 1, 2016 5:57 AM

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Eduard_BMS

Q: Address Book problem - Groups copy itself unpredictably

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  • Helpful answers

  • by joe_7399,

    joe_7399 joe_7399 Feb 2, 2016 11:36 AM in response to Eduard_BMS
    Community Specialists
    Feb 2, 2016 11:36 AM in response to Eduard_BMS

    Hello Eduard_BMS,

     

    Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!

     

    From your question, I understand that you use two different services for storing your contacts and now see a lot of duplicates. To clean up these duplicates, I suggest working through the suggested steps in the following article. 

     

    If you see duplicate contacts after setting up iCloud Contacts - Apple Support

     

    Cheers!

  • by Eduard_BMS,

    Eduard_BMS Eduard_BMS Feb 15, 2016 1:48 AM in response to joe_7399
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2016 1:48 AM in response to joe_7399

    Hi Joe,

    You don't understand. I don't have duplicate contacts in my address book.

    I have duplicated Groups (content is the same in each duplicated group).

    These duplicates appear itself without any actions from my side.

    Thus solutions you provided are not useful.

  • by joe_7399,

    joe_7399 joe_7399 Feb 15, 2016 7:13 AM in response to Eduard_BMS
    Community Specialists
    Feb 15, 2016 7:13 AM in response to Eduard_BMS

    Hi again Eduard_BMS,

     

    Thanks for replying with this information and I apologize for the misunderstanding. To troubleshoot this situation, I do have a few different steps for you to attempt. 

     

    This procedure shouldn’t affect any of your data, but I would always recommend having a current backup. You can Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac. 

     

        1. Quit Contacts (if it is open)

        2. Open System Preferences > iCloud and remove the checkmark next to Contacts 

        3. Highlight and copy the following line:  ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook/Metadata

        4. Open Finder

        5. In the Finder menu bar choose Go > Go to Folder

        6. Paste ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook/Metadata in the tex box that appears

        7. When a new Finder window opens, move the Metadata folder to the desktop

        8. Open Contacts to test the situation with the duplicate groups 

     

    If your Contacts groups look as they should, you can move the Metadata folder to the trash. Please let us know the results so we can further assist you if necessary. 

     

    Best!

  • by Eduard_BMS,

    Eduard_BMS Eduard_BMS Feb 15, 2016 7:39 AM in response to joe_7399
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2016 7:39 AM in response to joe_7399

    Hi Joe,

    I followed your steps. Nothing happened.

    When I unchecked iCloud Contacts and later opened Contacts

    after moving Metadata folder, simply no contacts and groups

    appeared at the Address Book. It was empty.

    After I checked iCloud Contacts again and opened Address Book

    all the duplicated Groups appeared again. Nothing changed.

  • by joe_7399,

    joe_7399 joe_7399 Feb 15, 2016 8:03 AM in response to Eduard_BMS
    Community Specialists
    Feb 15, 2016 8:03 AM in response to Eduard_BMS

    Thank you for replying again to let us know the outcome of the previous steps. Because this issue continues, I suggest contacting AppleCare directly. Contacting Apple Support will allow us to look at your situation more in depth and provide you the best support possible. 

     

    Contact Apple Support - Apple Support

     

    Cheers