Level 1

19 points

contacts disappeared in Sierra upgrade

Spent the last three days going through the rigorous job of upgrading from OS X 10.6.8 all the way to Sierra today. My CONTACTS seem to have disappeared. When opened, there is NOTHING there. I tried two things:

1. to import the .abbu file that I had saved on my desktop and to iCloud

2. tried to export the whole (unseeable) address book to the desktop

When I compared the data from yesterday's file to the file I exported today the size is exactly the same.

If all the data is there . . . somewhere on the computer . . . why isn't it showing?

I only did this massive upgrade so I could sync a new iPad to the version of iTunes required. Wish I had stayed at 10.6.8 as it seems as if Apple has dumbed down the whole OS by hiding all the functions needed to have control of your system.

Help is most appreciated.

Macbook Pro

Posted on Sep 30, 2016 3:47 PM

Top-ranking reply

AEG144

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Oct 8, 2017 7:40 PM

I encountered a similar problem. Upgraded from Yosemite to Sierra and my contacts disappeared, but the names of the cards appeared in the sidebar.

I also sync my iphone contacts to icloud and my iphone contacts had no problems. And if I created a new contact on the iphone, the contact appeared OK in the contacts. Ultimately deleting the AddressBook folder (after making a backup), fixed the contacts on the mac.

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59 replies

makey

Level 1

51 points

Jul 10, 2017 8:29 AM in response to dianeoforegon

Thanks for the information.

I started by using the Export method followed by deleting them. I then realised that, as long as I kept one of the cards, I've still got that card remaining so I'm just deleting the repeats, because I have no reason to keep the repeats.

aefoil

Level 1

4 points

Jul 29, 2017 9:34 AM in response to chuck_3rd

Hi, I just upgraded my OS to Sierra and also lost all my contacts on my Mac. I use iCloud. My contacts are still on my iPhone and my iPad, but not on my Mac. I've rebooted my mac and signed out of iCloud on my Mac and then signed back into iCloud on my Mac. Still no contacts on my Mac. I have an abbu file but it's from 2015 (probably pre iCloud usage). How do I get my contacts that are clearly still in iCloud to "blow" back into my mac? Thanks! 😕

Aug 27, 2017 5:42 PM in response to Pam T

Hello! I have read numerous posts regarding this apparently common problem. It's not as hard as some people here make it sound. Here's what you do:

Open your Contacts application.

On the top menu click on Contacts.

Select ADD account.

Add your icloud accounts to the upgraded and wiped out Contacts application.

ALL your contacts, including groups should repopulate.

Apparently when you upgrade your OS several "old" applications are wiped clean and you need to add your icloud accounts to populate the information unto them. Worked for me. Good luck!

Mar 24, 2017 5:41 PM in response to Pam T

Ummm, stupid question? Where might I find the ABBU file? I look in the user's Library folder, under Application Support and AddressBook, but don't see any such thing.

tygb

Level 9

65,010 points

Mar 26, 2017 2:27 AM in response to Pam T

An article : If you accidentally deleted your calendars, reminders, bookmarks, or contacts from iCloud - Apple Support

chuck_3rd

Community Specialist

Oct 1, 2016 5:21 PM in response to Pam T

Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities, Pam T.

If I’m understanding your post right, you upgraded from OS X 10.6.8 to macOS Sierra and now all of your contacts have disappeared. I know how important it is to have access to your contacts on your Mac, so I’m happy to help you get this sorted out.

You've made a big leap going from 10.6 to macOS Sierra, and a lot of things have changed since Snow Leopard was the most recent OS X available. With that being said, the way contacts are stored on your Mac is a little different now. In OS X 10.6, contacts were stored as an ABBU file in the Address Book application. In macOS Sierra, contacts are stored as a CSV file in the Contacts application. To get everything moved to Contacts, you will have to import the ABBU file. Follow the steps in Contacts for Mac: Import contacts , specifically this section:

Import from an archive file (.abbu)

Important: Importing an archive file replaces your current contact information.

Choose File > Import.

Select the archive file, then click Open.

Another option, as well as something you may want to use going forward, is to sync your contacts with iCloud. iCloud is built right into System Preferences in your Mac now. If your contacts are already synced to iCloud already, signing into iCloud on your Mac and enabling iCloud Contacts should sync them to your Mac. Even if you don't have contacts synced to iCloud already, enabling this feature will make sure that contacts stay up to date across your Mac, iPad, and any other iCloud compatible devices you have signed in with the same Apple ID. Take a look at Set up iCloud on all your devices. The rest is automatic. for detailed steps on setting this up.

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

Take care.

Oct 2, 2016 1:50 PM in response to Pam T

Did you install Sierra over your Snow Leopard install? If yes, I recommend you move to a new User. There is a lot of "old baggage" in your User's Library. Starting with a clean new User would give you a better experience.

How to bring back hidden features:

Select a Finder window.

Under View in the Menu bar select:

Show Path Bar
Show Status Bar
Show Sidebar

My image shows "hide" not "show" because I have these options selected.

"Show View Options" Will allow you to customize the Finder item that is selected (window, desktop, folder)

Under Finder in the Menu bar, select Preferences > Sidebar

Check Home folder and any other folder you want. You can also deselect items like All My Files, AirDrop and iCloud Drive if you do not use these folders.

Show User's Library

Select your House in the sidebar.

Under View in the Menu bar, select Show View Options

Select Show Library Folder

Now that you have the Sidebar added you can drag items to the Sidebar. You should see a blue line to show location.

Removing items from Sidebar, Menu bar and Dock now require you to select "remove from..." or drag the item a longer distance. This is to keep you from accidentally removing an item.

Dec 1, 2016 7:07 AM in response to Pam T

This is big problem- It is serious enough for me to destroy this machine and never go back to a Mac. If I cannot find and restore these contacts then this is useless. Please help!

Dec 1, 2016 7:16 AM in response to chuck_3rd

this failed too! Not there none available-- I now have tried every "trick"posted but all have failed! Apple gooned this terribly!

Lost time now exceeds cost of new unit- This unit will cease to exist in 48 hours!

You will hear an explosion that will cease the existence of this machine. APPLE will be gone forever!

xoxosage

Level 1

13 points

Apr 21, 2017 6:05 AM in response to dianeoforegon

Well, I thought Time Machine backups were the smart choice but thanks to your post I am going to add a bootable "clone" backup to my routine. Yeah, I want that. Thanks for the software links. Thanks.

Jun 25, 2017 9:52 PM in response to Jason Sieczkowski

Please Stop.All of this e-mail is coming into my U of M e-mail

On Mon, Jun 26, 2017 at 12:29 AM, Apple Support Communities Updates <

pmccart

Level 1

4 points

Jun 29, 2017 4:50 PM in response to xoxosage

perfect...your suggestion worked like a charm, thanks xoxosage

Jul 6, 2017 4:51 PM in response to Pam T

I lost all my contacts from my Exchange account. Did you resolve this problem?

Where is the .abbu file?

Jul 10, 2017 10:25 AM in response to makey

Glad your contacts are now all cleaned up.

For clarification, these were groups (like a folder) not an individual card.

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contacts disappeared in Sierra upgrade