Too many contacts? Sync seems to fail.

Question

Level 1

9 points

Too many contacts? Sync seems to fail.

I am wondering if there is a limit to how many contacts are able to sync?

I start out the sync and I can see my contacts start to come in under the phone section of the watch. It will get to about 50-60 contacts and then I think it's crashing. Suddenly it will just say "No Contacts" and "No Favorites". There are over 1000 contacts on the phone so is this going to be a problem?

The friends section is also acting badly. Sometimes there are no "friends" listed at all and sometimes the dial is full.

Very frustrating. I am not able to initiate a new message or phone call at all because my contact list keeps failing the sync (with no error or warning).

Apple Watch, iOS 8.3

Posted on Apr 30, 2015 1:02 PM

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Answer 1

iampr

Level 1

5 points

Apr 30, 2015 6:44 PM in response to Grly

Ditto for all of the above. Have you tried resetting? Do you use an Exchange server? On another thread, someone said turning off contacts sync on the iPhone and then turning it back on worked for them. Have not tried either yet but I guess I will have to. Kinda pointless if you don't have contacts on the device...

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Answer 2

Grly Author

Level 1

9 points

May 1, 2015 8:02 AM in response to iampr

We have reset the watch and reset the sync data several times with no results. I will try your suggestion today. Let me know how you make out with your watch! Would be nice if Apple would chime in here!

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Answer 3

iampr

Level 1

5 points

May 1, 2015 11:54 AM in response to Grly

I have made some progress on this issue. On my iPhone, I sync both Exchange contacts and iCloud contacts. These two lists are kept in sync via a plug-in I have for Outlook, so they always have the same list - and on the iPhone, the contacts app is smart enough to merge the lists on the fly rather than show two of everything. In an attempt to resolve this Watch contact issue, I turned off the syncing of Exchange contacts to the iPhone. Then I did the "resync sync data" option under Reset in the iPhone Apple Watch app. Now I have all my contacts on the iWatch. Not sure if the issue is with Exchange, or having two lists (or something else!). This also seems to fix the nonsensical information which was being presented in the contact wheel (what you get when you press the flat button).

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Answer 4

Boreas90

Level 1

92 points

May 1, 2015 12:01 PM in response to Grly

The side button on Apple Watch gives you quick access to people you stay in touch with the most. Press the side button, pick a friend, then call, send a message, or use Digital Touch. But frst, add your friends to Apple Watch.

Add friends to Apple Watch on iPhone. Apple Watch automatically adds up to 12 of your favorite contacts from iPhone. To change the list of friends that appears on Apple Watch, open the Apple Watch app, tap My Watch, then tap Friends. In the Friends list, tap Add Friend, then tap your friend in the list of contacts that appears. If your friend isn’t in the list, open the Contacts app on iPhone and add them, then try again.

See friends on Apple Watch. Press the side button to see up to 12 of your friends. Turn the Digital Crown to highlight each friend. Tap a friend’s picture or initials, then choose how you want to get in touch.

https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1708/en_US/apple_watch_user_guide. pdf

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Answer 5

Grly Author

Level 1

9 points

May 1, 2015 12:15 PM in response to iampr

Thank you! Glad something worked for you.

At the moment we have let the phone and the watch sit side by side doing nothing other than pairing the 7000 contacts he has. It seems that if we don't use the phone or the watch, the pairing continues. We are hoping that it will end up doing the entire contact list. If not, back to square one.

If we use the phone in the middle of this contact list sync, the sync stops and no entries can be found any longer. It might be a matter of waiting it out with having such a large contact list.

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Answer 6

Grly Author

Level 1

9 points

May 1, 2015 12:16 PM in response to Boreas90

@Boreas90 This is not the issue at all... The contact list I am referring to is the contact list under the phone section of the watch.

The issue is that the user has over 7000 contacts on his phone and they aren't syncing to the watch. They start to sync and then it fails at anywhere between 50-600 contacts OR when we use the phone.

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Answer 7

JJ2984

Level 1

0 points

Jun 17, 2015 3:22 PM in response to Grly

Having the same issue, kind of.... None of my favorites came in under the contacts/favorites but the 12 did come in to the "friends" section(no pics tho) as far as the rest of my contacts the first 30 of the letter A synced no problem.

i have tried reseting and repairing the watch and iphone with no change....i got the watch this morning and plan to go back to apple tomorrow.

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Answer 8

Jun 23, 2015 2:25 PM in response to Grly

Same issue here. I've spent hours at the store and on the phone with AppleCare. Can't get it to sync contacts past the H's (I have 2,000 contacts). Were you guys able to resolve the issue?

Thanks

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Answer 9

Feb 20, 2016 9:46 AM in response to jeffhyman

I have just encountered the same issue. My contacts stop at K. Has anyone seen a solution?

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