My iPhone has started losing contacts since I updated 16.1.1. Has anyone else seen that?

Hello vanita247,

Thank you for reaching out to Apple Support Communities, and we'll be happy to help in any way we can. We understand you're having issues with contacts since updating your iPhone. Do you sync your contacts with iCloud? If so, try the steps listed here: If your iCloud Contacts, Calendars, or Reminders won’t sync - Apple Support

"Things to check first

1. Check the system status of iCloud Contacts, Calendars, or Reminders to check for services outages or connection issues.
2. If a reminder isn't showing up on some of your devices, make sure that your iPhone and iPad have the latest version of iOS or iPadOS, or that your Mac has the latest version of macOS.
3. Make sure that you're signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID on all of your devices. Then, check that you turned on Contacts, Calendars, and Reminders in your iCloud settings.
4. Check the date and time settings on your device to make sure they're correct for your current location.

Try the steps for your device

If you still need help, try the steps for your device below.

• iOS 13 and iPadOS or later
• watchOS
• macOS
• iCloud.com
• Microsoft Windows

iOS 13 and iPadOS or later

After each step, check your contacts, calendars, or reminders. 

Restart the Contacts, Calendar, or Reminders app

1. Close the app.
2. Return to your Home Screen.
3. Wait about one minute, then open the app again.

Refresh your contacts and calendars

To refresh your contacts, open the Contacts app and swipe down on the list. To refresh your contact groups, tap Groups in the upper-left corner, then swipe down on the list. 

To refresh your calendars:

1. Open the Calendar app.
2. Tap the Calendars tab.
3. Swipe down on the list to refresh your events.
4. 

Check your app settings

If you use multiple groups or accounts in the Contacts or Calendars app, make sure that your iCloud Contacts and Calendars are set to appear:

• Open the Contacts app and tap Groups in the upper-left corner. Make sure that All iCloud is selected.
• Open the Calendar app and tap the Calendars tab. Make sure that all iCloud calendars are selected. 

Change how often your calendars update: 

1. Tap Settings, then tap Calendar.
2. Tap Sync.
3. If All Events is selected, choose a specific timeframe instead, like Events 1 Month Back. If a specific timeframe is selected, choose All Events instead. 
4. Return to your Home Screen. 
5. Wait a few minutes, then open the Calendar app. Tap the Calendars tab, and swipe down to refresh.

Since the iCloud Birthdays calendar updates daily, changes to birthdays might not appear in the Calendars app until the next day.

Set iCloud Contacts, Calendars, or Reminders as your default

If your contacts, calendars, and reminders are in iCloud, then iCloud automatically updates your information. If your information is in a third-party account, like Google or Yahoo, you can change your default account to iCloud. Changing your default account to iCloud won't move your existing information from a third-party service to iCloud.

Contacts

To see which account your contacts are in:

1. Open the Contacts app and tap Groups in the upper-left corner.
2. Deselect the All [account] option for any third-party account, like Gmail or Yahoo.
3. Make sure All iCloud is selected.
4. Tap Done to see your list of contacts. If you don't see the contact you're looking for, it's stored in another account.
5. If you have a copy of your contacts from a third-party service in vCard format version 3.0 or later, you can import the contacts into iCloud.

Set iCloud as the default account for your contacts:

1. Tap Settings, then Contacts.
2. Tap Default Account.
3. Select iCloud.

If you still need help

If you still need help, contact Apple Support. "

We hope this helps.

Cheers!

Yes I’m experiencing the same issue… including my own details - very frustrating to say the least