iOS5 Contacts freezes

I am having the same issue. I have tried restoring from backup, but am still experiencing this issue. Have you resolved this yet? Barring any other solution, my next action will be to set up as a new phone.

Katie

I was finally able to sign up on iCloud and merge MobileMe. That solved my contacts issue.

my touch screen has become so erratic, sometimes cant even cancell a call or answer a call because the screen is so irresponsive.i dont know if it is only the 3gs or all the other models.

Hi Garry,

Your advice to perform a soft reset worked on my iPhone4. Contacts freezing problem, after upgrading to iOS5.

[Thought the issue may have been MobileMe and iCloud related. Reason: had downloaded the iCloud Outlook application, but have not moved to iCloud (as all family devices are yet to be upgraded to iOS5, as suggested by Apple). Phone just required the soft reset.]

Thank you.

Unfortunately, the reset isn't working for me. Neither did a full restore--initially, when there were only the orginal Apple apps on the phone (before it reloaded all my other apps and data), I tried using Contacts--it still hung when I tried to select an individual contact, wouldn't respond at all after that.

After the freeze, I can back out using the Home button, and the iPhone is perfectly responsive, other apps work fine. But if I go back into Contacts I just get a blank screen--menu bar and search fields across the top, but nothing below that. After displaying that for a few seconds, Contacts crashes and goes back to the Home screen. Then I can go back into Contacts, see the list of contacts again, and the whole thing repeats--select a contact, and it freezes. Likewise, if I return to the Home screen, then quit Contacts, I can enter Contacts again and it behaves the same way.

It's an iPhone GS, running iOS 5.0.1. I've been syncing it via a wired connection with my MacBook Pro, and syncing the laptop data with iCloud. My contacts are perfectly accessible via Address Book on my laptop, and on iCloud.

Me too...I updated my iphone today and I'm having the exact symptoms -- my contacts freeze whenever I try to access a contact. I've tried restoring the phone to factory settings and resoring from backup, erasinging my contacts and restoring them. I even tried erasing them and adding a new contact manually -- but no luck. It there a way to go back to a previous IOS? This one just isn't working. I really need my contacts lists.

I called AppleCare, and eventually got put through to a second-level tech. He had me do another restore, this time as a new device (not from a backup). That put back all my apps (all 162 of them), but all jumbled, not in all those neat, tidy folders I'd arranged them in. I was also without all of the data they had contained--passwords in my password safe, notes in Iconic Notes, etc. But--hallelujah!--my contacts had re-loaded, and they were working again.

So I went back and did yet another restore, this time from the last backup (iTunes saves it--the AppleCare tech assured me it would, before I wiped out my data with the previous restore). I was just going to copy all my passwords, notes, and folder names, so I could do a clean restore again and then re-enter them. But it put everything back the way it was, AND my contacts were still working. I have no idea how or why, and the AppleCare tech wasn't sure, either--but it worked, so I'm happy.

Well, the saga continues...today the frozen-Contacts problem came back on my iPhone.

In the interim, since I had fixed it with the help of AppleCare phone support, I had changed one thing: I re-checked the box in iTunes on my Macbook Pro, under Info, to sync my Contacts with my iPhone when I sync it. Since I signed up with iCloud, I've been syncing my iPhone with my MacBook Pro via a cable (as I did pre-iCloud), and not with iCloud. I sync the MacBook (including Contacts) with iCloud. It seemed like that should work, but it wasn't--I had added a contact to my Address Book on the MacBook, and it was appearing on my iPhone, but not in iCloud. I hadn't figured out how to fix that yet, but in poking at it, I did discover that the "Sync Adress Book Contacts" box in iTunes wasn't checked, so I checked it again. And I can't tell you why--this whole thing is starting to make my head hurt--but something tells me that might have something to do with the problem coming back.

Fast forward to today, when I'm back on the phone with AppleCare. This tech said I couldn't do that--I was never really clear about why, but he said I should be syncing my Contacts from the iPhone to iCloud, and not from the MacBook to iCloud. So we changed all the settings accordingly...and Contacts was still frozen on my iPhone.

So then, I did a restore from a backup...and the problem was gone. Contacts is behaving itself on my iPhone, at least for now. We shall see if it lasts! I do intend to leave all those sync settings as they are, and not **** around with anything with regards to iTunes or iCloud syncs for a while--I just think that's where things have been getting screwed up.

Oddly enough I found resetting the network settings to fix the problem. I went to Settings --> General --> Reset --> Reset Network Settings. I'm now able to access my contacts and some of the other apps that were freezing. I'm suprised because even resetting and restoring from backup didn't work. Will see how long it lasts and will update in a few days.

I had exactly the same problem and this is on a replacement iPhone4 out the box with latest software. Contacts freezing as per your post. Reset has fixed it today...time will tell. Thanks for the post.

Thought I had it beat but it keeps coming back.

One suggestion (from AppleCare and others) was that I had a corrupted contact somewhere. So I tried deleting all my contacts from the iPhone (kept them on my laptop only), planning to put them back, a few at a time until I identified the bad one. I didn't even get that far--I added one sample contact as a test, and it froze up immediately. So, probably not a corrupted contact.

It came back after I had disconnected everything--iPhone and laptop--completely from iCloud, so it doesn't seem to be an iCloud issue.

The "reset network settings" trick (above) didn't work for me, but the "Reset all settings" on that same screen did the trick, this time. It's faster than doing a full restore, but it's still a pain in the butt to put them all back the way they were.

AppleCare claims to have never heard of this problem (they should read their own message board). One tech suggested that it's just one of those things I'm going to have to with--yeah, that's not really an option. I was hoping maybe it had something to do with my 3GS being a couple of models old now--that maybe I'd leave it behind when I finally scrape together the cash for a new 4s. Hearing here that it's happening on a brand-new iPhone 4 is not encouraging.

So I can fix the problem temporarily by resetting all my settings, or with a restore (or two, or three), but it keeps coming back, and usually at the worst possible time, when I need my ****** contacts. You won't find many diehard iPhone fans as hooked as I am, but I am starting to wonder if I can keep using one, if one of the key functions is going to be this unreliable.

Have you tried restting just the network settings? I tried everything you did and was so frustrated. I don't know why but maybe resetting just the network setting forces the phone to reconfigure your network settings where as restoring from back up uses your old configuration? I haven't had a problem accessing my contacts since 12/22 and I haven't had to reset the phone since. Good luck -- I know how agravating this problem can be.

It's been over six weeks and the problem hasn't come back. I'm going to call it good. "Reset all settings" (not "reset network settings"--I did try that first and it didn't help at all) seems to have fixed it for good--or at least, for a good, long while.

Have an iPhone 3GS, upgraded to iOS 5 after lots of reassurance from coworker with a 3GS about two months ago. No problem with using the contacts within the phone app or the contact app until the past two weeks. Tried all of the above recommendations, soft and hard reboot, reset all settings, reset network settings, restored the phone and none worked. Finally unchecked the "Sync Contacts" box on the "Info" tab in iTunes, then synced again. All contacts stayed on my computer and my phone and now I can use the contact list like I had been able to for over two years prior to "upgrading" to iOS 5. Will keep y'all posted.