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dkkerr Author

Level 1

82 points

updated to macOs Sequoia now contacts gone

I updated to macOs Sequoia 2 days ago and none of my 1000+ contacts are visible in the Contacts App. I have an iMac 5K 2020, and my contacts are fortunately on my other devices and in iCloud. After searching Apple Support and the web, the most up-to-date (Aug 28, 2024 or last month) help was on iDownloadBlog (thanks Ankur Thakur) and I tried everything suggested (eg restart, force quit, sign out of contacts on my iCloud settings & re-sign in, rename the Addressbook folder in Library and even to copy the .vcf from iCloud and paste locally.)

Nothing helped. The closest I came was when I tried pasting the copied cumulative .vcf file from iCloud, there was a greyed out or ghost of my contacts visible for a moment behind the dialogue box, but it then became a repeating "No Name" 1000+ times after clicking the blue Import button. (confusing description but the best I could do)

Any ideas? Thx

Posted on Sep 21, 2024 11:44 AM

Top-ranking reply

Ron Klein

Level 1

57 points

Posted on Sep 25, 2024 10:20 PM

Same here.

Contacts app on MacOs is non-functional after upgrading to Sequoia 15.0 on MacBook Pro M1 Max:

Zero contacts remaining on MacOs Contacts app
MacOS Contacts app crashes every time I try to add a new contact to On My Mac (via app)
MacOS Contacts app crashes every time I try to add a new contact to iCloud (via app)

Other devices all Ok (no issues).

All contacts are still on iCloud, and still syncing
All contacts are still on iPhone, and still syncing

Standard fixes failed:

Confirmed all devices signed into same iCloud account
Turned Contacts syncing on and off in System preferences (didn't work)
- Note: both with and without restarting in between turning back on
Signed out of iCloud, restarted and resigned into iCloud account (didn't work)
Removed (temporarily) AddressBook folder in Library/Application Support, restarted, had it auto-recreate (didn't work)
- NOTE: In the Sources folder within that AddressBook folder, I can still see ALL my old contact card files (the app just doesn't want to load them).
Removed all com.apple.AddressBook files various Library folders (didn't work)
Even experimented with TimeMachine to recover all the above mentioned Library files from before MacOs 15.0 Sequoia install (no effect)

I have not yet tried to reinstall 15.0.

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52 replies

OCMG

Level 1

58 points

Sep 22, 2024 9:16 AM in response to dkkerr

Same thing here. iPad, iPhone, iCloud all show all contacts. Tried disabling and re-enabling the two accounts (iCloud-based CarDAV accounts) to no avail. Did not delete accounts yet, as all other apps are syncing correctly and was hoping for a less invasive fix. Can't believe that you and I are so special, can you dkkerr?

snf123

Level 1

8 points

Sep 22, 2024 1:56 PM in response to dkkerr

Likewise after updating to OS Sequoia - 'Contacts' not loading on my MacBook Air, but do on my iphone and iPad. Tried re-starting and switching Contacts on and off but to no avail. Not sure where to find an answer.

dougchia

Level 1

8 points

Sep 27, 2024 11:48 AM in response to dkkerr

Ditto here. Sequoia 15 wiped out all Contacts on my Mac Mini. I tried rebooting, signing out of and back into iCloud, and all of the other standard stuff. I don’t know if I’m going to bother with the more advanced DIY hack solutions since I’ve been so frustrated with how glitchy Contacts has been for me for years now. Not sure I even need it on my desktop. I also ditched the iOS Contacts app on my iPhone and now use the A2Z contacts app.

dkkerr Author

Level 1

82 points

Oct 2, 2024 10:55 AM in response to jp_leif

Good point, thanks for clarifying: the Contacts are not "gone" in the conventional sense, they are being prevented from populating the application's fields. They are gone from view but still in the data base.

I am grateful that someone from the Apple Support team has heard that this is a glitch in the coding that will be fixed. Perhaps I will stop my fruitless attempts to get around the problem and just wait to see if that will happen or not.

I am curious about the steps you took to make the Shortcuts app reveal the hidden Contacts. Thx

dkkerr Author

Level 1

82 points

Oct 2, 2024 11:10 AM in response to OCMG

Thanks for the question. I returned from my trip yesterday and followed the link provided by Apple (in follow-up to my hour-long session) to re-install Sequoia. However, I chose Recovery method Option-Command-R on Startup and that triggered Internet Recovery rather than the base System loaded on my hard drive on upgrade.

Regardless, as I waited for the re-install process the time blossomed from '2 1/2 hours' to '72 hours' (always a bad sign) and then got stuck at '50 hours.' The numbers themselves are meaningless but my conclusion is that there is an inherent error that re-installing can't resolve. I did try several times; part of the problem with this step may also be in my anemic Internet connection.

I am encouraged by Leif Jensen-Pistorius' post and will work without Contacts for a little while, although patience is a trait I dislike having to practice. Thx

Oct 14, 2024 6:48 AM in response to dkkerr

I've got the same problem after upgrading to 15.0.1. on my MacBook Pro M2 Contacts don't show up in the Contacts app. The Contacts App crashes when I try to add a contact. All contacts show up in Flexibits Cardhop 2.3.1. I'm able to add and delete contacts in Cardhop and they will show up on other devices in the Contacts App (2024 iPad pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, and MacStudio M1).

MadMark

Level 1

0 points

Oct 17, 2024 6:07 PM in response to dkkerr

Contacts OK on iCloud.

Contacts OK on iphone.

NO contacts on Mac Studio.

Tried all the usuals, restarts, logging in/out, etc.

Tried to restore DB from backup: No directory to place restored DB.

Tried to create a single Contact to force a recreation of the directory and the DB file.

Quit and restarted Contacts, crash dialog box.

Restarted Contacts, no entries still, tried to create another new contact: App quit silently repeatedly.

---------------

Wife updated and ZERO calendar entries.

She found a painful workaround: Change the time on EVERY entry and each reappeared.

After update a few, she logged out/in and it fixed her calendar.

All of her wallet entries gone.

All of her News preferences are nuked also.

dkkerr Author

Level 1

82 points

Oct 18, 2024 4:49 PM in response to Axel Foley

Axel Foley, many thanks for this update and your persistence - especially the feedback/reporting to Apple part. Indeed one other poster also is actively participating in testing of software versions to come and his observations were the same as yours. Disappointing, but one can only hope ...

dkkerr Author

Level 1

82 points

Oct 18, 2024 6:09 PM in response to AlWeir

Yes, hmm, interesting question. If I understand your intent, I would say it might have been that simple back in the old days (like System 7, 8 and/or 9) but not so simple now. When I worked the suggestions of removing ~System/Library/... files under the guidance of Apple Support (Sept 24th), I removed 39 files & folders including "Address Book" but then restarting did not change the problem.

It's likely in the coding. That's the best conclusion I can make without further information.

dkkerr Author

Level 1

82 points

Oct 22, 2024 3:35 PM in response to bikinijack

bikinijack: yes, discouraging that we are not as squeaky a wheel as it takes to urge the engineers to look into our problem.

Regarding 3rd party contact databases, Fred Bock above suggested Flexibits Cardhop 2.3.1; dougchia suggested A2Z contacts app, but I have multiple devices sharing the iCloud CarDAV accounts and I am not as brave as Fred Bock in seeing if there is seamless sharing between native Contacts and 3rd party apps.

dkkerr Author

Level 1

82 points

Oct 22, 2024 3:44 PM in response to bikinijack

bikinijack, I will also point out jp_leif's post with Alfred and Raycast, but as before, I have no experience with 3rd party Contact apps and I am reluctant to endorse them. Just answering your question. Thx

dkkerr Author

Level 1

82 points

Oct 29, 2024 5:00 PM in response to AlWeir

AIWeir, I do respect your input. But my experience (as summarized in the OP) started with that particular page, and didn’t help. Plus my multiple Time Machine backups didn’t help either; in fact trying to restore caused a shut down reminiscent of a kernel panic. Shame, since I was hoping that would have been why those Apple-created backup were invented.

But “user experience may vary”.

Brice21

Level 1

25 points

Oct 31, 2024 3:58 AM in response to jp_leif

I have MacOS Sequoia updated to 15.1 but Contacts is still unable to display my contacts. Of course they are still on iCloud, iPad and iPhone.

On the Mac I installed another app (Cardhop) and it can display my Contacts, so they are still there but the bug in Contact has not been fixed.

AlWeir

Level 4

2,791 points

Oct 31, 2024 5:02 AM in response to Brice21

Can you search for files with the extension .vcf

If you find them right click on one and see what it says when you click on "Open With". It should say Contacts. I am wondering if it will make the Contacts app reappear in the Application folder.

jp_leif

Level 1

74 points

Oct 31, 2024 5:41 AM in response to AlWeir

Nope, tried already in the beginning to import the contacts via vcf. But since the contacts are already on the Mac, it‘s not a solution, because the only place where these will be stored at the end has already a version of the latest sync contacts from iCloud .

updated to macOs Sequoia now contacts gone