Q: Contacts not syncing

I have the same issue, but in my case, all contacts are missing. It also means that Messages shows numbers instead of contact names. 

I have tried a reboot of the computer, I have tried to log out and then back in to iCloud, I have tried to uncheck Contacts in the iCloud settings to force it to download my data, but none have worked.

If a contact is changed on iCloud.com, it downloads to my computer. But I have too many to use that as a fix, for now. I tried creating a folder and dropping contacts there, but that only updates the folder on the computer, it does not download the contact information.

I will continue trying, let me know if you guys find something.

btw, in other respects, Sierra seems great thus far!! Still happy I upgraded!

(iMac 27", late 2013)

Happened to me to. Quick workaround is to export them from the iCloud website and import them into Contacts.app.

Thank you! But did you get any duplicates then, when the contacts.app tried to upload the imported contacts to iCloud?

This has happened to me too. The only contact i still have on my Mac is one that I added (on my iPhone) after the upgrade.

I tried all of the things that you  describe too to no avail... I have not imported them from an iCloud export yet though as the whole point of iCloud is that they sync between devices.

I have also found that safari has stopped working (though FIrefox does so it is not the internet connection) and my emails are no longer visible in my Personal Folders...

not happy.

This is not a solution, but perhaps at least a way of making the problem less annoying, as we wait for a fix:

Make a small edit in the most important contacts (either on iCloud.com or any of your iOS devices) as these contacts will (at least in my case) then be downloaded to my iMac (Contacts.app). This will at least make the Messages app more easy to use, since the conversations with my most important contacts will show their names, and not only their numbers or e-mail addresses.

I wrote "Test" in the notes section of the contact card, e.g. This prompts syncing.

Best regards!

Hey guys!

Just found out something that might interest you, and perhaps help somebody find a solution. I tried exporting an archive of my contact database, and it turned out to be several MB big. Currently, I only see one contact on my Contacts.app on my iMac, so that single card should not take up several MB of space. I started looking in the contents of the archive, and found that several pictures of contacts that are currently not visible on my mac, but that are visible on iCloud.com and in my iOS devices, was found in the database archive on the iMac. This suggests that there are contacts data on my iMac that simply are not showing up in the app. Before this finding, I thought that the problem was that the data was not downloading, but now it seems that it is downloaded but not showing. I do not know why, though.

Cheers!

Yay! I have now found a solution that worked for me:

I logged in to iCloud.com, and under Settings > Advanced chose "Restore Contacts", and then restored the contacts from a backup that iCloud.com had automatically performed yesterday. Then, all my contacts appeared on my iMac. Do note that all contacts that have been added after the backup will be lost. (But iCloud.com seems to have made a backup of the current state before reverting, so it might be possible to then revert back to this state - but I have not tried it, since I had not done any important updates.

My guess is, as I have noted before, that somehow the contacts.app did not show "old" contacts, but after the restore, it has started to treat all contacts as updated. Well, that's my guess, anyhow.

I do not know if you dare try, and if it will work for you, so perform the move on your own risk. But it worked for me, so I am happy!

(Btw, Advanced Settings are found on the bottom of the screen.)

In System Preferences > iCloud, uncheck contacts. This will remove your iCloud contacts on your Mac.

Now, add back by checking Contacts again.

This should bring back your iCloud contacts.

Unfortunately, we tried that before, and it did not work. But as I said in my last comment above, I think I found a solution that works. (If you guys find it helpful, I would appreciate if you marked it.)

Thank you anyway!

This has happened to me too. The only contact i still have on my Mac is one that I added (on my iPhone) after the upgrade.

I have also found that safari has stopped working (though FIrefox does so it is not the internet connection) and my emails are no longer visible in my Personal Folders...

not a happy bunny.

I have tried your "edit contact on another device trick and that worked... I have not been brave enough to restore the whole lot in iCloud yet though but it sounds like a cunning solution! Thank you for the tip.

There seem to be several things that have gone wrong since the upgrade for me that I am planning to show these latest ones to the Apple Senior engineer when he rings me back again. I am hoping that by doing so I can help Apple come up with a more comprehensive fix... otherwise i fear that the next dot release of Sierra will just cause the same problems again.

Nice! I'm glad that it worked for you, and I'm thankful that you shared, too. I would be very grateful if you marked my suggestion as helpful, if you found it so, to help others find help too (and me to level up ).

If the other issues include Messages or Mail, I think that the contacts might be (at least part) of the source of some of those issues. A restore might help, then ... Please let me know if you try it, and if it works. For me, it was a pain free and quite easy solution.

Yeah, tell the engineer about our findings, so that it can hopefully contribute to a fix.

Best regards!

Janccg,

I think I have solved our problem. See my post above (link here) that starts "Yay!".

Please, if it works for you, mark it as solved, so that other users can find the solution quickly.

Best regards!