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Level 1

58 points

iCloud contacts do not sync on macOS Sierra

The contact.app on my mac does not download the new contacts that I have added to iClound via iPhone. I am sure the contacts are added successfully as I have checked on iCloud.com.

I have also check and unchecked "Enable this account" (iClould Account) in Contacts.app preference but it does not work. The Fetch setting is set to "Automatically" or "Every minute" but neither solves the problem.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015), macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Sep 25, 2016 8:26 PM

Best reply

D.R.C.

Level 2

189 points

Posted on Jan 4, 2017 6:43 AM

nectarina wrote:

a quick fix that worked for me:

close the contacts app

go to ~/Library/Application Support/

rename the AddressBook folder to something like AddressBook(old) just to be safe

open the contacts app

it will create a new AdressBook folder that syncs to icloud properly

if it's all dandy delete the renamed AddressBook folder

I tried this. It made things worse. Specifically, it left me with zero contacts. (previously, Contacts displayed about 30 out of 850).

I've also tried disabling Contacts syncing in iCloud. That didn't help.

Also tried logging out of iCloud completely, then logging back in. After doing so, everything else synced from my iCloud account (Photos, Notes, Reminders & Calendars), but not the contacts.

I then called AppleCare, and spent a couple hours with a Senior Advisor. She suggested many of the same things here, and finally recommended that I wipe (erase) the hard drive in my MacBook Pro and re-install everything from scratch, including a new copy of 10.12.2. This on a brand-new MacBook Pro that is less than a month old.

Instead of spending hours doing that, I did a little experiment on a friend's MacBook Pro. It's also brand-new, with 10.12.2. So as not to mess up his account, I created a new user, and linked it to my iCloud account. Within minutes, all my photos, notes, calendar events, and reminders appeared. But not the contacts.

It's clear this is a systemic iCloud/Contact Sierra bug, not a random glitch on my machine. I'm waiting to hear back from the Senior Advisor, at which time I'll ask that she escalate the case to Engineering.

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67 replies

Aug 15, 2017 12:06 AM in response to Cerniuk

Your procedure did not help me.

I have 279 contacts on MacBook and 107 contacts on iMac after update.

On both of Mac is installed last macOS Sierra. My last opinion is that iMac's from mid 2010 and MacBook Air is Early 2015

Any idea?

Cerniuk

Level 1

27 points

Aug 15, 2017 6:01 AM in response to holifieldCZE

It is hard to tell which one is not sync'ing with iCloud. Perhaps neither. In that case it gets more interesting fixing this issue... To be on the safe side, first recommend you export the Contacts from both iMac and MacBook Air to the desktop first, using the Contacts app and File -> Export > Contacts Archive...

Best thing to do is to check how many in iCloud. See which machine it matches if iCloud's count matches either of them. This will tell you which one is your "Source", be it iCloud, iMac or MacBook Air.

Do either of the Contacts lists from iMac or MacBook Air match iCloud? (this determines course of action)

Sep 16, 2017 7:39 AM in response to VickeVireG

Your procedure did not help me.

I have 279 contacts on MacBook and 107 contacts on iMac after update.

On both of Mac is installed last macOS Sierra. My last opinion is that iMac's from mid 2010 and MacBook Air is Early 2015

msumin

Level 1

10 points

Sep 30, 2017 2:38 PM in response to Z-Ray

Finally solved this issue with my iMac. It was as simple as going to System Preferences, iCould, Sign Out. I then restarted the computer. Then went back in to sign into iCloud. Waited for everything to sync. Went back to Contacts and everything was showing.

Cerniuk

Level 1

27 points

Oct 27, 2017 8:35 AM in response to pete35

Should not be another library but things change from OS to OS.

Try log-out and log-in or even reboot. This will restart any address book processes that may be using something other than a pathname.

The original Mac way of managing files did not rely on a fragile pathname and every so often Apple fixes software that uses pathnames which easily break with a file/folder name change. This "fix" relies on the fragile nature of UNIX pathnames and what might be considered an implementation error in address book in using such fragility. By renaming the folder, the fix attempt to create a condition where address book processes cannot find the folder and are relegated to creating a new one. Ideally I did not want to tell anyone to just delete the folder for the chance that they might lose data.

Another *possible* way to "hide" the folder from the address book processes is to archive the folder which creates a zip archive of everything in it. Then you could delete the folder and not risk data loss. The address book processes would have no choice but to create a new folder and then hopefully populate it from your cloud data.

zinacef

Level 10

88,407 points

Sep 25, 2016 8:55 PM in response to Z-Ray

If you've already toggled Contacts on/off under Settings > iCloud, another option would be to sign out of your iCloud account on the device and sign back in.

Z-Ray Author

Level 1

58 points

Sep 25, 2016 9:44 PM in response to zinacef

I have tried signing off and then signing back in the entire iCloud account but did not work.

zinacef

Level 10

88,407 points

Sep 26, 2016 6:43 AM in response to Z-Ray

Seems like you may have done everything I would've suggest. If you wish, you could consider reaching out to Apple Support for further assistance.

Z-Ray Author

Level 1

58 points

Sep 26, 2016 6:44 AM in response to zinacef

Yep spent 3 hours with a senior advisor and solved it...

zinacef

Level 10

88,407 points

Sep 26, 2016 6:46 AM in response to Z-Ray

Ouch....3 hours? 😟

At least it's resolved now, thankfully.

Eric Root

Level 10

684,117 points

Sep 26, 2016 2:19 PM in response to Z-Ray

If you would post how it was fixed, it might help someone else.

Sep 27, 2016 12:16 PM in response to Z-Ray

I have had a similar issue and this is how I solved it:

I logged in to iCloud.com, and under Settings > Advanced chose "Restore Contacts", and then restored the contacts from a backup that iCloud.com had automatically performed yesterday. Then, all my contacts appeared on my iMac. Do note that all contacts that have been added after the backup will be lost. (But iCloud.com seems to have made a backup of the current state before reverting, so it might be possible to then revert back to this state - but I have not tried it, since I had not done any important updates.

I do not know if you dare try, and if it will work for you, so perform the move on your own risk. But it worked for me, so I am happy!

(Btw, Advanced Settings are found on the bottom of the screen.)