Keep losing contacts

What are you syncing them with?

I have this same problem and I don't sync to anything. It isn't an issue in that during a sync the contacts disappear. for me I don't have to be using the phone and then I go to look up someone and the contact will be gone. I can re-enter them but then at a random period they will be deleted again. This has now expanded to messages, where out of the blue saved messages will disappear

When you go to contacts and hit "Groups" at the top left and see if they are falling in other groups possibly.

Also do you have contacts in icloud set to on?

I don't see a groups at the top left of contacts. I actually don't have any groups created so that may be why i don't see it.

But as I stated before I don't sync to anything so no I don't have icloud turned on. I have never setup or sync'd with icloud, itunes, yahoo or anything. Actually this week I've disabled wifi and cell data so there was not connectivity to anything ( charge with USB power adaptor not my Mac) and the same thing still happens.

this is where I miss windows because the mac is so restrictive when stuff like this happens it's hard to troubleshoot because you can't really do anything

I would recommend turning icloud on and at least doing contacts. That will always keep things updated if the phone has a flaw when it looses the contacts. But it sounds like you may have a corrupt phone. The storage or something. From what you listed above.

Do you loose anything else that you notice or is it just 100% contacts?

Could also see groups if you go to settings > mail, contacts, calendar scroll down till you see contacts and see what is selected for default account for contacts.

Not syncing contacts to an address book or cloud service is dangerous. They are part of the backup as a way to maintain the favorites list and recent call history, but restoring contacts from backup, if the need arises, without having them synced to something, very often results in the loss of all contact information.

I second cdcgrinch. At the very least, turn on iCloud and sync the contacts to that to avoid data loss.

I don't think adding another variable to this is the solution. Turning on icloud or some other sync application isn't the resolution to the issue. I do have a back up of my contacts I just don't sync it with my iphone

As for my phone being corrupt....I don't know what to say to that one, as after doing some research it seems like I'm not the only who has had or is having this problem. But the thing that is frustrating is that I have yet to find an instance of an offical acknowledgement of it or a solution.

It is generally only my contacts and more recently messages. the only thing that isn't random is the fact that it's the same contacts that are getting deleted. At the moment I'm testing re-adding the contacts with slightly different info but otherwise, I don't do anything on my iphone that should cause this. No apps or anything on the phone. again it's maddening because Apple limits the ability to really trouble shoot this aside from stating the obvious. I had already considered the items you suggested and was already working on trying to isolate instead of adding more variables.

So if I have an iphone that is isolate: not on a network, not syncing to anything or whatever, then that points to the phone. At the moment I'm trying to remember if it started before or after the last IOS update. for it to be a corrupt phone (file system) you'd think it wouldn't just effect the same contact over and over. From were I'm sitting it seems like something isn't being saved and when a process runs and refreshes the contact list it takes the last saved version. kind of like changing the config on a Cisco routing without saving it and a reboot restores the last saved version

I am also having the SAME EXACT issue. I do sync to itunes and I have icloud turned on but this is obviously some sort of glitch. Apple please help!

Sorry - accidental duplicate post. Now deleted.

I have three iPhone 4s phones in my business as well as several iPhone 4's and ALL of them intermittently lose their contact data. This happens during daily use, not whilst updating or syncing. This has only started after the last OS upgrade. I was slow to update to the latest version of the OS, did it all two days ago. The loss of contact data started almost immediately. There are many thousands of similar reports if you care to Google for them.

Once again Apple shows it arrogance and disdain for for its customers by refusing to so much as acknowledge that there is a problem. When it comes time to renew these phones, after nearly two decades with Apple products I will be changing allegiance. This is not acceptable. I am getting SMS requests for phone number and addresses several times an hour on some occasions. If you can't rely on an iPhone in business and support from Apple, then it's time to consider a change.

I also use my iPhone 4 for business and keep losing contacts. I am syncing with my google account online and what I don't understand is why the sync keeps over writing the account online. The only reference I know is my old android which had a check for who would come out on top when syncing and what to do with conflicts. There is no conflict resolution to my knowledge with Apple so I lose the contact on my iPhone and then seamlessly also lose them in my google account. Dumb huh? I agree not seemingly up to Apple standards we have come to know.

I just got a replacement iPhone 4g with the updated iOS (5.1.1) and I keep losing contacts randomly after I've entered them. I back up to iCloud and the contacts still aren't re-appearing. I'm getting tired of having to re-enter some over and over, only to lose the information yet again! Apple needs to come up with a solution to this very BIG problem! My old iPhone was still running the 4 version iOS and I never had any issues with it whatsoever. This is really ticking me off!

Chalk me up to having the same flippin problem. Very frustrating losing contacts randomly. Can be new ones, old ones and there is no ryhme or reason to it. Apple, figure this out!

What are you syncing the contacts to?

Just going to chime in to keep on top of this being that I have the same issue, hoping a fix is to come.