Contacts won't open; "Error fetching donated me card"

Hey Gisborne!

Sorry for the troubles. It is possible there is a corrupted contacts database on your Mac.

However first......I'd try deleting your own contact card, re-launch contacts if able to, re-add your own contact card and see if resolved.

Otherwise, are you able to upgrade to Mac OS Ventura? I'd give that a try first......however if not.....is this the only device this error is occurring?

If so, and you still have the issue, I'd follow these steps:

I may first export a copy of ALL your contacts:

Export or archive contacts in Contacts on Mac - Apple SupportOfficial Apple Support › guide › contacts › mac

That's the best way to keep a copy, and likewise at iCloud.com:

Import or export a vCard in Contacts on iCloud.comOfficial Apple Support › guide › icloud › icloud

Next, make sure to disable ALL accounts using Contacts in System Preferences > Internet Accounts.

Quit the Contacts app.

Remove any files or folders named:

AddressBook or com.apple.addressbook in these directories in the user Library:

Open Finder.

While holding Option, on the top menu click Go and choose Library, (You can release the Option key now):

Move for a backup, (Or delete) the suggested files above from these locations in the ~/Library:

Application Support

Cache

Containers

Preferences

Preferences > ByHost

Saved Application State

Restart your Mac, (Making sure to un-check the option to reopen apps).

Once restarted,re-launch the Contacts app.

Next, go back to System Preferences > Internet Accounts, and re-enable the Contacts for each account and make sure the issue is resolved by quitting - relaunching.

If by chance, the issue were to re-occur, I may do the same steps, enabling Contacts for one account at a time, just to see if there is a particular account that is causing the problems. Hope this helps!

Hi gisborne,

We understand you're having some trouble launching Contacts and we have some steps you can try to get this working posted below.

Judging from the error, there may be a contact card or account causing this problem you're facing.

If you haven't tried already, let's try launching Contacts in safe mode to see if we can get it starting correctly there. That will make sure no third party apps are interfering with your Contacts app:

How to use safe mode on your Mac

Let us know if Contacts gets started there.

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.

Hey gisborne,

Thanks for giving that a try. There's not a safe mode for just opening Contacts. However, you can try the troubleshooting steps here as it may help to resolve your issue. See: If an app on your Mac stops responding, closes unexpectedly, or won’t open

Quit and reopen the app

Quit the app, then open it again. If the app won't quit, force the app to quit. Then check to see if the problem with the app is fixed.

Restart your Mac

Restart your Mac. Then check to see if the problem with the app is fixed.

Check for updates

To see if updates are available for the app, open the App Store, then click Updates. If updates aren't available for the app, update the software on your Mac. Or if you didn't get the app from the App Store, look for updates to the app on the app developer's website. Then check to see if the problem with the app is fixed.

Reinstall the app

Delete the app. When you do this, you might lose data that was stored in the app. Then redownload the app. If you didn't get the app from the App Store, redownload the app on the app developer's website. Then check to see if the problem with the app is fixed.

Kind regards.

Hello gisborne,

We appreciate you for letting us know. Based on the information we've gathered, we recommend for you to contact Apple Support. They can review this further. You can contact them by using this link here: Apple - Get Support

Best regards.