what happened to the notes under contacts?

I recently did the 17.4.1 update and appears that any "notes" that I had attached with certain contacts have suddenly disappeared? Specifically, one of the contacts where notes disappeared from shows "Linked contacts" one under Gmail and one under iCloud. Can anyone help me recover the "contact's notes" I had prior?

iPhone SE, iOS 17

Posted on Mar 25, 2024 7:01 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Apr 13, 2024 9:02 PM

You completely misunderstood the question and the underlying issue.

I’m having the same problem (noticed sadly a week after applying the update and iCloud only has a contacts recovery option of yesterday and today) as the OP and very very upset.


Perhaps you don’t use the feature and instead have assumed that their statement of


“…notes" that I had attached with certain contacts have suddenly disappeared”


implies the contact(s) itself/themselves are missing. They’re not. It’s the Notes FIELD within specific contacts which are now blank. They previously had information which the update has now, and inconsistently at that, wiped out.


You can see the feature by simply opening your contacts and scroll down to see a field called “Notes”. Of course the braintrust at Apple should have called it something else so confusion won’t arise but that’s besides the point…


I’m attaching a screenshot for my contact for AAA (emergency car service in the US) where I previously had entered the membership number and expiration date in the notes section. It’s now blank. That’s not a big deal. What is?



Oh things like extensive notes saved under my own contact “My Card” that had important information gathered from MANY sources so they’re at my fingertips. Things like the alarm code for my folks house stored in the notes section of their contact entry. Things like notes saved under my partner’s contact where I had her dress & shoe size, ring finger size and other little tidbits of information I didn’t want to forget.


Guess what? Apple just “forgot” it all for me. Just great…


I am seriously considering abandoning Apple products over this.

6 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Apr 13, 2024 9:02 PM in response to SravanKrA

You completely misunderstood the question and the underlying issue.

I’m having the same problem (noticed sadly a week after applying the update and iCloud only has a contacts recovery option of yesterday and today) as the OP and very very upset.


Perhaps you don’t use the feature and instead have assumed that their statement of


“…notes" that I had attached with certain contacts have suddenly disappeared”


implies the contact(s) itself/themselves are missing. They’re not. It’s the Notes FIELD within specific contacts which are now blank. They previously had information which the update has now, and inconsistently at that, wiped out.


You can see the feature by simply opening your contacts and scroll down to see a field called “Notes”. Of course the braintrust at Apple should have called it something else so confusion won’t arise but that’s besides the point…


I’m attaching a screenshot for my contact for AAA (emergency car service in the US) where I previously had entered the membership number and expiration date in the notes section. It’s now blank. That’s not a big deal. What is?



Oh things like extensive notes saved under my own contact “My Card” that had important information gathered from MANY sources so they’re at my fingertips. Things like the alarm code for my folks house stored in the notes section of their contact entry. Things like notes saved under my partner’s contact where I had her dress & shoe size, ring finger size and other little tidbits of information I didn’t want to forget.


Guess what? Apple just “forgot” it all for me. Just great…


I am seriously considering abandoning Apple products over this.

Mar 25, 2024 9:20 AM in response to Gigi1000000

Contacts on iOS and iPadOS devices are synced to an email account


Contacts on iPhones and smartphones are not stored locally but are synchronized with email accounts. The primary storage is on the email server, with a local copy on the device for offline access. Syncing allows changes made on any device to be updated across all connected devices. You can sync contacts with various email providers, enabling access from multiple devices. This method ensures convenience and seamless management of contacts across platforms.


When you add and enable the Contacts feature on your iPhone, it provides you with the ability to sync your contacts with a specific email account. This email account can be from various providers such as Google, iCloud, AOL, Exchange, Outlook, Yahoo or any Other email client server that supports contact synchronization.



Please see the pic below for a better understanding...



If you are unable to find your contacts which were stored on iCloud, then try this --> Restore contacts, calendars, bookmarks, and more using ...


Check if the email account has been removed from the iOS mail app.

Add the email account that stores your contacts in the IOS mail app and enable Contacts.



What is your default Contacts account? If none, please add an email account and enable contacts.


See the pic below



Unlike some Android devices, contacts are neither stored locally on an iPhone nor in SIM. They are synced to an email account that you had Google, iCloud, AOL, Exchange, Outlook, Yahoo or any Other



If you have a corporate email account added through a profile on your device, please check with your organization's system administrator.


May 22, 2024 10:48 AM in response to spnsgeek

I have the same problem. I sync my gmail contacts with the gmail app on my iPhone11. My notes exist in my gmail contacts when accessed through my browser, but:

  • they are COMPLETELY missing on my iPhone contacts (accessed via the phone icon) when I update my contact's notes in gmail and then sync.
  • they STILL EXIST on my iPhone contacts (accessed via the phone icon) for contacts that I have NOT changed recently.
  • when I add a new contact in gmail and then sync, the notes SUCCESSFULLY come across.


I'm debating whether I should delete the gmail app completely on my phone and then resync to get everything. Gulp!

what happened to the notes under contacts?

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