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Contacts STILL not syncing from Mac to mobile devices via iTunes

I am using High Sierra on a late 2015 iMac, an iPad (current iOS) and old iPhone 4s (stop laughing!). At some point contacts stopped being synced FROM the mac to the mobile devices. The issue has been reported 100+ times to this site and seems to have started with High Sierra.


Contacts do correctly sync from the mobile device TO the Mac.


The issue has NOTHING to do with using special fields, as some people have suggested in this forum.


Please, please Apple fix this problem...please!


iMac 21.5", macOS 10.13

Posted on Apr 10, 2020 8:35 AM

Reply
4 replies

Apr 12, 2020 2:49 PM in response to bergnorm

Hello bergnorm,


Thank you for posting in the Apple Support Communities. I understand that contacts aren't syncing from your Mac to your iPhone as expected, and I'd like to share some information with you that might help.


If you use iTunes to sync, I recommend taking these steps:

Sync contacts and calendars in iTunes on Mac with devices


Alternatively, you can use iCloud to sync your contacts across your devices. Here's how:

Keep your contacts up to date on all of your devices with iCloud


However, if you're already using iCloud, these steps might be beneficial:

If your iCloud Contacts, Calendars, or Reminders won’t sync


I hope this information is useful. Kind regards.

Apr 12, 2020 4:47 PM in response to bergnorm

bergnorm,


Thanks for getting back in touch with us after reviewing those support articles, and for those additional details. 


From here, I suggest considering how these contacts were added to your Mac, then isolating the issue to a particular account. If you notice a trend happening with a particular account (i.e. Google, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.), try removing those contacts, then adding them back before trying to sync them to your iPhone again. Here's more information about adding contacts from an internet account:

Add contacts from iCloud, Google, and more to Contacts on Mac


You might also test the issue further by logging into a new user account to see if the issue happens there. Here's how:

How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac


If this concern isn't resolved, contact Apple Support for further assistance:

Get Support


Have a great day. 

Apr 12, 2020 2:55 PM in response to Joseph_S.

Thank you Joseph for trying to help me. But no, this does not answer my issue.


  1. I do KNOW how to sync contacts and calendars using iTunes - I do it all the time. However, as I explained above there is a bug that prevents the user from sending new/updated contacts FROM the mac to the mobile device.
  2. I do not use iCloud and have no intention of doing so. This is not an option for me.

Thanks,

C.

Apr 19, 2020 9:24 AM in response to chris_g1

Thanks Chris for taking the time to respond to me. Your suggestions do not apply to me. This a long and outstanding bug with Apple and I was hoping that this for forum was a way to add my voice to the many more that have this problem. I hope(d) that Apple is looking at this forum and getting input from users regarding issues and bugs.


Thanks again for your time,

bergnorm

Contacts STILL not syncing from Mac to mobile devices via iTunes

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