Unable to add contacts to lists on iCloud on Mac

Hi,

I had the same problem today. I could add a contact to a list using the iCloud website and on my iPhone but couldn't on my Mac. Nor could I delete any of my contacts using the Contacts app on my Mac.

What finally worked for me was by going into the Contacts>Settings>Accounts>iCloud. I unchecked Enable this account then rechecked it.

When I unchecked Enable this account all my contacts disappeared and when I rechecked them, they all got downloaded again. After that I could add contacts to a list and delete old contacts.

Hope this helps.

I frequently have this issue. I notice it happens right after I create a new contact and then cannot drag it to a list. However, I have found that if I quit Contacts and restart, it always works after that. Seems like an annoying glitch. I hope Apple fixes it. And I hope this works for you!

TO me it's getting to the point that Apple clearly isn't supporting mac software very well... this is the most basic levels of functionality that does not work and requires some flakey work around due to lack of apple testing.

THANK YOU! This is the only suggestion that actually worked for me. Apple Contacts is an unacceptably lousy piece of software, considering how long it's been around, and I'm researching replacements.

I have discovered if I do two or more operations like adding a card or two, I am unable to add them to a list or edit a list. But if I shut the application down and wait a few minutes and reopen the application, I can then edit lists or add to them. It seems the application can tolerate one or two operations on lists until it cannot anymore. Than I have to shut it down again and restart it after a few minutes. Is this an issue with iCloud? It is annoying.

The only way I found is to make sure your contacts are synced with iCloud online. Log into iCloud and click on contacts there. You will be able to drag the contacts to the correct contact group.

Hello K_Faith,

Part of these instructions from Apple make no sense to me.

1. In the Contacts app  on your Mac, select one or more contacts listed in the sidebar.

Is near as I can tell Contacts are not listed in the sidebar just lists/groups.

I can't populate my lists either.

Thank you!

This was just the tip of the iceberg for me. Glitchiness returned almost immediately, whack-a-mole style.

I found this exhaustive solution on Reddit.

To cut a long story short:

1. Stop syncing on every device!
2. Delete all contacts on every device.
3. Use iCloud (which turns out to be the master, even if you've never used it before) to tidy up any left over junk, like duplicates and empty lists.
4. Re-sync every device.

But read the original for all the details - it's wonderfully explicit and evangelical in the joy that the outcome brings!

Hello croshaven,

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 adding a contact to a list on your Mac. Try the steps here to see if they resolve the issue: Create and change lists in Contacts on Mac - Apple Support

"Add contacts to a list

1. In the Contacts app  on your Mac, select one or more contacts listed in the sidebar.
2. There’s no limit to the number of contacts you can add to a list. If you use more than one account in Contacts, make sure the contacts you select are in the same account.
3. Drag the selected contacts to a list in the sidebar.
4. If the contacts aren’t added to the list, check if it’s a Smart List—you can’t add contacts to a Smart List.

If you use an Exchange account in Contacts, those contacts can belong to only one folder at a time. Any contacts that aren’t in a folder you create are in the default Exchange Contacts folder."

We hope this helps.

Cheers!

Native Mac apps are becoming almost unusable--this Contacts issue is a perfect example. Thanks Francesca Rocca for the workaround.

This fix worked for me in Contacts (MacOS Ventura 13.7.1). After a year of frustration. It only took two mouse clicks to enable and re-enable iCloud; and it is scary to see your contacts disappear and then reappear. I have 1,569 cards in iCloud that I share across devices. Thank you.

I can now once again create a new contact and add it to a list on my iMac. I will report back if this reverts again.

The quit-restart trick worked for me (after trying other suggestions that didn't work here).

It's annoying, but since I don't make changes to lists often, I can live with it as an ugly workaround.

Problems with syncing lists seem to have been around for ages (I found discussions of similar problems from over ten years ago). It may be that there's some gnarly problem with synchronizing over iCloud that I don't understand, but on the surface it's hard to see why this should be so difficult to get working happily.

Very frustrating problem on Ventura 13.3.1. This solution also worked for me. Thank u muchly.

Thanks. I had the same problem with not being able to drag contacts to a list. Disabling and re-enabling iCloud worked. Apple, please fix all these Ventura glitches.