Why are my contacts showing up as numbers instead of names?

Recently, my contacts show up as numbers instead of names. I've tried numerous fixes for this and can't seem to get the issue resolved for longer than a day.

I've tried this fix:

Settings, Contacts, Accounts

in each account turn off Contacts

Delete from phone? Yes.

Restart the phone

Back in settings again turn on the correct account for contacts

It did not work. I've changed the region in my settings and shut down my phone and turned it back on and changed the region back. That didn't work either. I've checked for software updates and those are all up to date. Sometimes it will fix it for a few hours or once it lasted for a day, but then they always go back to numbers. It's very frustrating since this is a new phone and I'm constantly trying to fix this issue. Please someone help!!

Posted on May 11, 2021 7:39 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 11, 2021 10:54 AM

If it changes back to numbers that means that the Phone app cannot access your Contacts app. Make sure that you have Contacts enabled in Settings/Cellular, that you have Cellular Data on (in the same settings), and that you have Settings/General/Background App Refresh enabled for Phone and Contacts.


And possibly also that the phone is not in Low Power mode (yellow battery icon), although that’s just a guess I suggest because of the intermittent nature of the issue.

21 replies

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Why are my contacts showing up as numbers instead of names?

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