Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Delete all contacts

How do I delete just my contacts without affecting any other info, ie; mail, ringtones, etc

3G, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Feb 7, 2009 12:05 PM

Reply
2 replies

Feb 7, 2009 5:51 PM in response to 086ijuf

Hello 086ijuf,

In order to remove all the contacts from your iPhone there are three possibilities. You mentioned in a previous post that you were syncing with Mobile Me.
If that is the case, you can turn off Contacts in the settings for your Mobile Me account on the iPhone.

You can manually delete each contact from the iPhone by selecting Edit and Delete.

If you are sycing contacts via USB, you would need to sync the iPhone with an empty Address Book database and choose to replace contacts under the Advanced section in the info tab for your iPhone. You should ONLY attempt this if you have good working backups of all your data.

If you are syncing contacts on your computer with Mobile Me, you will want to backup your Address Book (and iCal as well while you're at it) from Export > Address Book Archive selection in the Address Book File Menu before turning off Mobile Me syncing in System Preferences. You will want to leave Mobile Me sycing off until you're done syncing your empty Address Book to the iPhone.

If you're using Time Machine, you can do a fresh backup of your data before attempting to remove your contacts:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1284

Once you've turned off syncing and backed up your data (and confirmed the backup data is intact). Delete all the contacts in Address Book. You will want to leave the "Me" contact there.
Before you connect your iPhone, put a check in "Disable Automatic Syncing for iPhones and iPods" in the Devices section of iTunes Preferences.

Connect your iPhone.
In the Info tab for the iPhone, put a check in the "Contacts" box under the Advanced section.
Apply to sync the blank address book data to the iPhone.
After the sync is complete, uncheck "Sync" in the Contacts section of the Info tab.
Once the sync is complete, you can manually Delete the "Me" contact from the iPhone -- this will leave the iPhone with zero contacts.
You can then Import your Address Book data from the Import > Address Book Archive selection in the Address Book File Menu.



Charles H.

Delete all contacts

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.