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Disappearing contacts on iPhone 5 w/ iOS7

Since updating to iOS7, contacts on my iPhone 5 seem to be disappearing then reappearing a few minutes later. This has happened a few times already, but hasn't happened on my iPad yet. Anyone else having this problem? I first noticed it in iMessage because the names were replaced by phone numbers. Looked in my contacts and half of my contacts weren't there. After a few minutes they came back all of the sudden. Anyone else seeing this?

iPhone 5, iOS 7

Posted on Sep 20, 2013 8:02 PM

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34 replies

Apr 17, 2017 7:17 PM in response to blueman67

Most All of my contacts disappeared from my text chat app - A few could still be seen, but they were also gone from my "contacts" in the phone app.


I have had this problem twice - they first time I found a fix online that I couldn't find anymore. It was a simple process that worked the first time. When it happened the second time I chatted online directly with Apple support. After over an hour online trying all of the known fixes and ALL of the ones listed here nothing worked.


Later that week I went home and connected to the WiFi - Boom! All of my contacts suddenly came back. Hope this helps.

Sep 23, 2013 12:13 PM in response to blueman67

Hi blueman67,


Welcome to the Support Communities!


Many times, just resetting the iPhone and/or turning it off and then back on resolves most issues.


iOS: Turning off and on (restarting) and resetting

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1430


If you feel that you need to do more troubleshooting with iCloud, this article may help:


iCloud: Troubleshooting iCloud Contacts

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3998


Cheers,



- Judy

Nov 20, 2013 6:32 PM in response to asimazhar

Resetting my phone does the trick, but doesn't solve the issue. Just today a large majority of my contacts disappeared again. I just waited it out and they eventually came back within 15 or so minutes. It's really annoying and I don't think that just resetting the phone is the answer. iCloud isn't the issue either. I didn't have this trouble until iOS7 came out.

Jan 7, 2014 12:18 PM in response to Alpha_By_7

Alpha_By_7 what can I say? Great idea!!! Now all my iCloud contacts are gone.


So listen people this keeps happening, it happened once to me and now it happened again and they are not coming back. All my iCloud contacts are GONE!


My soolution is get away from iCloud and run the other direction as fast as you can. Obviously this is a BAD PIZZA and the big lesson learned is that whatever Apple is doing it is NOT always right. Nobody has given the company immunity from mistakes.

Jan 11, 2014 12:13 PM in response to blueman67

Thank goodness this isn't just me!! I have alot of contacts and use them for work purposes. I add new contacts to my phone no probs. Then sometimes just randomly all my contacts disappear, sometimes they come back a few minutes later but today it was over an hour and once back there is no guarantee all my contacts are back. The newest ones are definitely not there......today that was 43 contacts I have to reprogram into the phone!! This is very worrying as I provide much needed support to people and if they disappear I won't know without constantly checking. I was syncing with icloud and an ipad2 but I'm really not sure what to do.......any tips?

Jan 16, 2014 6:32 PM in response to judysings

When is Apple going to fix this? This is still a recurring problem. I have iCloud completly turned off, except for Find my iPhone. I regularly backup my iphone via iTunes (locally). I have the latest version of iOS. I have only 1 set of Contacts. But at least once a week, a significant portion of my contacts just vanish. Usually I notice this when contact names revert to phone numbers in Messaging or Contact Favorites. This has been happening for about the past 2 months. This never happened with iOS 6.x.


The ONLY workaround I have found is to reboot/wait an hour, or do a RESTORE via iTunes.


This is NOT a user error. This is not me using the phone incorrectly or messing with the settings.


This is a bug in iOS7, and its about time Apple fess up and fix it in a service pak.

Mar 3, 2014 10:32 PM in response to blueman67

As of March 3, 2014, this is still an issue.

iPhone 5

iOS version: 7.04 (/7.05)


Occured either sometime, or immediately after backing up phone to the cloud. All contacts but 1 disappeared. It has been like this for at least 24 hours. I'm overdue for the SSL patch, going to see if it persists after version update...


....



No dice.

A subsequent power cycle elicits no change.
Strangely, there is a circular arrow (presuming 'refresh') in the top left corner of my contacts menu. When I click it, it chugs away for a second, then pops up a 'Password Incorrect' error message with the subtext:
Enter the password for the Outlook account "Remove Account"



Wait, what? What Outlook account is it talking about, and what does it have to do with my contacts? I most certainly don't have an account named "Remove Account".


I tried pressing enter with a null password field, the phone thought for a second, and the popup goes away without any complaints. Still no change in contacts.


Seems clear not an isolated incident, and from thread history, has persisted throughout the entirety iOS 7.x.


Will continue searching for a workaround that works for me. Until then, I'll just have to remember my entire contact list. Everything except for Mobile Music.

-__-

Mar 7, 2014 6:08 AM in response to blueman67

Same problem here. Woke up this morning and 80% of my contacts are gone. Going on a trip today and don't have time to figure this out + I need my contacts. ***? Also have problem with calendars not synching. Deleted iCloud but no dice. I'm not techie and have apple products because they're all supposed to work. Why can't I just slide my macbook data (contacts and calendars) onto the phone to update it when it's connected? Should I go back to a PC world?

Disappearing contacts on iPhone 5 w/ iOS7

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