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Duplicate contacts

How can I get rid of duplicate contacts easily?

iPhone 13 Pro, iOS 15

Posted on May 24, 2022 7:24 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 24, 2022 7:42 PM

VeYoung92 Said:

"Duplicate contacts: How can I get rid of duplicate contacts easily?"

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Troubleshooting Duplicate Contacts:

Contact Apple Support:

  1. Go Here: If you See Duplicate Contacts after Setting Up iCloud Contacts - Apple Support
  2. As it Reads: If you see duplicates in Contacts on iCloud.com, visit Apple Support for help.


Apple Contact Info:

  • Contact Us - Choose Locations
  • Proceed from there, as necessary
  • Why the Wait: Phone calls are taking a bit to go through at the moment, due to lots of calls. With the Coronavirus Pandemic, many are at home at the moment, with much time on their hands to contact Apple. So, just stay on the line, and you will get through :)
6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 24, 2022 7:42 PM in response to VeYoung92

VeYoung92 Said:

"Duplicate contacts: How can I get rid of duplicate contacts easily?"

-------


Troubleshooting Duplicate Contacts:

Contact Apple Support:

  1. Go Here: If you See Duplicate Contacts after Setting Up iCloud Contacts - Apple Support
  2. As it Reads: If you see duplicates in Contacts on iCloud.com, visit Apple Support for help.


Apple Contact Info:

  • Contact Us - Choose Locations
  • Proceed from there, as necessary
  • Why the Wait: Phone calls are taking a bit to go through at the moment, due to lots of calls. With the Coronavirus Pandemic, many are at home at the moment, with much time on their hands to contact Apple. So, just stay on the line, and you will get through :)

Jul 16, 2022 12:01 AM in response to TheLittles

You are indeed dedicated to your mission and I owe you an apology if you really are spending so much of your personal spare time pasting information from one part of Apple's website to another without any sort of financial recompense from Apple. That's dedication!

However you are assuming that people can't & haven't searched exactly the same information (which in this case doesn't solve the problem) for themselves before coming here as a last resort.

I have to say though, posting "solutions" which tell people "contact apple support" is as annoying as it is useless. Why have such fora?


Anyway, in case it helps anyone: I (sort-of) solved the problem of hundreds of iCloud-only duplicates building up over the years by

  • exporting an archive of my Contacts on a Mac
  • deleting everyone on iCloud and in Contacts, then
  • reimporting the archive to the Mac
  • choosing Card > Look for Duplicates, then
  • letting it sync back to the empty iCloud

Jun 14, 2022 9:18 AM in response to VeYoung92

Back up your contacts to iCloud.

Then, go to your laptop or desktop mac and open the Contacts app. You can find it in the spotlight app. Once that is open, go to Cards in the main menu and search for duplicates. At that point, you can merge all of the duplicates.

Then, Go to your contacts on your phone. At the top there is a blue link, "Groups"

Click on it, and you'll likely see that you are receiving contact information from more than one group. Turn off the groups you don't need and only keep iCloud. For me, this solved the problem.

Jul 15, 2022 11:38 PM in response to Adam Sebire

Adam Sebire Said:

"Who are these apple-associated people who cut and paste useless replies that don't answer the specific question? (those steps above just take you in circles if you don't have a PC or Mac) What's worse is that they automatically "recommend" their own answer then close the topic. It makes these fora useless."

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About these Forums:

No one here is associated to Apple. The reply if there to refer to, when it comes troubleshooting duplicate contacts. Point being: Contact Apple Support.

Duplicate contacts

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