I don't see my contact names on my ipad, just their phone numbers

Go into Settings > Contacts and there select an account that you want to use to manage your contacts. Make sure that when you select that account, you see that “Contacts” is turned on to sync those. If there are other things you want to sync as well, make sure they are turned on too. Make sure that you have all the accounts on your iPad that you also have on your MacBook and your iPhone as a different account other than your AppleID could be what has all your contacts. For instance, my contacts all sync from Google, I don’t see the contacts on a new device until I sign that device into my Google account and make sure that the Google account is set to sync all that information.

I had this same problem for a while where contacts didn't have names on my ipad. i just figured out that I needed to toggle on Contacts under Apple ID.

1. Go to "Settings"
2. Tap on "Apple ID"
3. Tap on " Show All" under 'Apps Using iCloud'
4. Toggle the button next to Contacts
5. Close your iMessage App and relaunch

It sounds like you might need to check a few settings to get your contacts to sync properly on your new iPad. Here’s what you can do:

1. Check iCloud Settings:

- Go to Settings on your iPad.

- Tap on your name at the top, then select iCloud.

- Ensure that the toggle for Contacts is turned on.

2. Check Default Account:

- Still in Settings, scroll down and select Contacts.

- Tap on Default Account and make sure it’s set to iCloud if you want to use your iCloud contacts.

3. Sign Out and Back In:

- If the above doesn't work, you can try signing out of your Apple ID and then signing back in. Go to Settings, tap your name, scroll down, and select Sign Out. After signing out, sign back in.

4. Update iOS:

- Make sure your iPad is running the latest version of iOS. Go to Settings > General > Software Update to check.

5. Restart Your iPad:

- Sometimes a simple restart can help resolve syncing issues.

After doing these steps, give it a few moments to see if your contacts sync up. If the problem persists, let me know!

I had the same issue. Contacts was turned off in iCloud. Go to Settings, iCloud, Saved to iCloud (see all), turn on Contacts. Now everyone in messages has a name and face 👍

Hi. I been having the same problems for days. I just figured it out.

Go to settings> scroll all the way down and go to apps> go to contacts > go to contact accounts> click on each of your accounts and toggle on Account. I have iCloud and outlook and contacts was turned off in outlook. I turned it on and all my contacts in messages had names.

This frustrating event happened to me also! I tried all of the tricks mentioned. This one worked: Sign out of Apple on all devices. Then sign back in. Check settings in the device that does have your contacts with names and phone numbers (mine was my iphone). Make sure you have icloud and that sync devices is on. Then log into apple on the other device. You'll need to add icloud again in settings. Voila! I hope it works!

Trin_ity wrote:

just got a new ipad. I have the correct apple ID in all devices (iPad, MacBook, iPhone). My apps and my contacts don't seem to sync to my new iPad.

Apps don't sync from one device to another. The App Store maintains a record of your purchases, and you might be able to download an app to your iPad that you had previously purchased for your iPhone without having to pay again, but each device has its own set of installed apps.

With regards to contacts, did you check that the iCloud option for syncing Contacts is turned on on all devices?

This just happened to me. New phone and a new iPad. My contacts weren’t merging to my iPad. So like someone else said in this thread, Sign out of your Apple ID on both devices. I led with my iPhone first. Both with signing out AND logging back in. Just make sure when it asks you to merge to do so. Problem solved. You’re welcome 🙂

*** SOLVED (for me)***

A reddit post suggested to change the Region from my home region to a random region like United Kingdom and then back to my home region. This is located under the "Language & Region" menu inside of "Settings"

I noticed a pattern that any contacts that were missing the preceding 3-digit area code for the phone number were not being recognized by their Contact name. Switching the Region settings to United Kingdom and then back to my home Region was enough to make the iPad wake up and recognize all my Contact names in the Messages app.

I hope this works for anyone who finds this thread.

Apple - please fix this annoying bug. There are tons of threads on the internet about this problem with a lot of bad answers from people that don't actually solve this issue.

Found a fix for myself, incase you havent, make sure that you have your accounts all signed in on every device, this means gmail contacts, outlook, or any other contacts must be signed in on all devices. Once i added my gmail account on my ipad, half of my accounts had names which were on my phone as well :) hopefully this helps 1 person <3

Thanks for this (and others who added this information). This is what worked for me. Had to go to Settings -> Contacts -> Accounts, and add my gmail account. Just added gmail contacts. All name immediately showed up.

Okay I had the same issue and after tips and tricks each one failed I found my issue tho. My phone would not sync with my icloud for some odd reason.

on iPhone , go to settings>(your name)>ICOULD>show all> turn off contacts > keep on my iPhone > toggle back on > merge

then on your ipad , go to settings > left panel contacts > My Info

this should pop all your contacts list and show if it worked!

I have had this problem several times. What I just did that seem to work was after everything is set up. I went back into my account and turned off messages in iCloud. (turned off the toggle that says use on this iPad). And then once I turned it back on again all the contacts were there.

This worked for me! iPad was default setting to “world”. Once I changed it to the correct region all names showed up. Thank you!

Yes! This did it for me. For anyone trying to solve this problem, make sure you check that all of your accounts are added. Settings—>Contacts—>Accounts—>Add Account.