carl_kra

Q: iCloud.com Contacts Error: "Your changes to this contact couldn't be saved because it was just updated by another device"

I posted this on a two year old thread where many people were having this same issue but got no response so I'm trying to start a fresh discussion. Two years later I'm having the identical problem.

 

The issue occurs while editing my iCloud contacts when logged into the iCloud website in a desktop browser. When I update existing contact records by adding photos or editing phone number, addresses etc.I can successfully edit and save one or two and maybe three contacts but then I get the following error message when I try to save the changes;

 

This is very disappointing because I can be far more productive entering contact data on the desktop than on my mobile devices, although the iPad is not too bad so I may have to switch to that method.

 

I am using FireFox and Chrome on WIndows 10. I tried the new Windows Edge browser and it happens there too so it does not seem to be browser dependent.

 

Note: There is an iPhone, an iPad and two Macs that also sync with that iCloud account but none of them are changing contacts anywhere near the same time as the edits I am referring to.

 

Hopefully during the last two years someone has figured out what's going on here.

 

Thanks.

 

CK

Windows 10, FireFox, Chrome, Edge browsers

Posted on Dec 23, 2015 12:16 PM

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Q: iCloud.com Contacts Error: "Your changes to this contact couldn't be saved because it was just updated by another device"

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  • Helpful answers

  • by dj2r,

    dj2r dj2r Jan 7, 2016 12:20 PM in response to carl_kra
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 7, 2016 12:20 PM in response to carl_kra

    I have been watching the threads about this problem too. I have the same issue with iCloud, and it it an extremely frustrating one as you are well aware. We're now into 2016 and it seems that Apple is clueless about how to fix the problem.

     

    I have tried all of the suggestions from other people's experiences with this to no avail. At first I thought that linking with Outlook was the cause, as that was the situation in my case. That is, I had Outlook set up to access my mail account at icloud.com. So I removed the iCloud account that was set up in Outlook and unchecked the setting in iCloud to sync mail, contact, and calendar information with Outlook. That seemed to fix the problem, as my tests after making the changes resulted in success. However, the problem reappeared about a half-hour later.

     

    The ONLY way I go to iCloud on my desktop is through icloud.com, using a browser (I've tried 'em all), so I am wondering if the issue is related to the browser cache not being handled correctly by the iCloud website. I am trying out some browser settings to see if things act diferently with various settings. Of course part of the problem is that the behavior is so erratic.This may take a while, but I'll post my results here.

  • by ember91,

    ember91 ember91 Jan 25, 2016 6:21 PM in response to dj2r
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 25, 2016 6:21 PM in response to dj2r

    I think you must be right, dj2r, because I don't have my contacts (or calendar, for that matter) linked to or even stored in any other program. ONLY Apple Contacts (silly me, clearly). I just experienced this problem for the first time today.

     

    Forgot to say that I'm NOT ON A PC. I'm on a MAC. Albeit an old one (mini Mid 2011) but running El Capitan. -- also accessing iCloud via Safari 9.0.2.

     

    Just checked for updates to El Capitan, and I'm now updating to 10.11.3, but the update page doesn't say anything about a fix to this issue:

    About the OS X El Capitan v10.11.3 Update - Apple Support

  • by dj2r,

    dj2r dj2r Feb 23, 2016 3:11 PM in response to ember91
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 23, 2016 3:11 PM in response to ember91

    Here is my report on this issue:

     

    I finally got through to someone at Apple Tech Support who said that this problem is a known issue that started last October, and that is has stumped the Apple engineers since it was first reported. (The issue I'm referring to is the one where you can't make changes to contact information, at least, stick in the browser access to iCloud from a PC. You have to go out of the program, log back in, and make the change. The next time you make a change it won't be saves until you log out and back in yet again.)

     

    Really, Apple. This is unbelievably dunderheaded. Your engineers deserve the dope-slap.

  • by Terry P,

    Terry P Terry P Jul 17, 2016 12:22 AM in response to dj2r
    Level 1 (14 points)
    iPad
    Jul 17, 2016 12:22 AM in response to dj2r

    It's six months later and I'm getting the same problem on my PC, Windows 10.

     

    Astonishing that an organisation of Apple's wealth cannot fix this after three years!

     

    --

    Terry, East Grinstead, UK

  • by charlesfromr,

    charlesfromr charlesfromr Sep 21, 2016 9:18 AM in response to carl_kra
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 21, 2016 9:18 AM in response to carl_kra

    If I chose Edit first, as opposed to clicking and typing contact info, it works fine.

     

    I don't recall if that worked when entering several in a row.

     

    pc, Win 10,  iCloud contacts