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High Sierra contacts not working

Hope someone can help. I am trying to use Contacts on my Mac since upgrading to High Sierra.

I keep my contacts in iCloud.

Whenever I open Contacts, no window opens. It changes the menu bar to Contacts but nothing happens. Right clicking the dock icon says "Application Not Responding".

I unchecked contacts in iCloud (System Preferences > iCloud) and was then able to open contacts. The second I re-enabled contacts in iCloud and immediately the app froze again.

Is anyone else having this issue? I'd love to know how to fix it - I use contacts all the time.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch,Early 2015), macOS High Sierra (10.13), null

Posted on Oct 11, 2017 6:55 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 11, 2017 7:01 PM

Start with this fix:

  • Quit Contacts.app
  • Go to User’s Library.
  • Navigate to ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook
  • Make a backup copy of this entire "AddressBook" folder. (in case things goes wrong.
  • Delete the file AddressBook-v22.abcddb
  • Restart Contacts app (on Mac) and this file will be repopulated.


Dave Sag posted these steps that fixed sync for him. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8086745?answerId=32374121022#32374121022


  1. quit Contacts
  2. open ~/Library/Containers and delete anything with addressbook in its name
  3. open ~/Library/Application Support and delete anything with addressbook in its name
  4. open ~/Library/Preferences and delete anything with addressbook in its name
  5. open ~/Library/Caches and delete anything with addressbook in its name
  6. opened System Preferences : iCloud and uncheck contacts
  7. restart your mac
  8. when it boots back up open System Preferences :iCloud and check contacts


Another user posted this fix:


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.


Show User's Library

The User's Library folder is hidden by default. To unhide:


Option 1) Select the Finder in the Dock. Under Go in the Menu bar > hold down the Option key and you’ll see the Library.


Option 2) You can also select the Home folder in the sidebar of a Finder window.

Pull down the “View” menu and select “Show View Options”

Check the box for “Show Library Folder”


User uploaded file

126 replies

Jan 3, 2018 1:09 PM in response to dianeoforegon

The solution dianeoforegon posted from Dave Sag worked for me (thank you as it's been bugging me for ages!). The one thing I'd say is that after I had manually eyeballed all the files with addressbook and deleted those from the stated folders I also did a search of the library which highlighted some I'd missed. You then have to carefully look to see which folder they are in before deleting... then followed the remaining steps and all good.

Jan 21, 2018 11:18 PM in response to Davo10101

sorry to bother you with this again, but after reading 167 answers, I still don't know if you managed to fix the contacts issue and how...
HighSierra served me a 5 year old version of my address book (2/3 missing), and it doesn't allow me to copy my backed-up contacts from other hard drive... so I'm perfectly lost about what to do....
It doesn't seem to be fixable, right?

cheers Julica

Jan 24, 2018 11:06 AM in response to Michael Paine

I was hoping that 10.13.3 would do the trick for me, but alas, I am still seeing the spinning beach ball of death! I have just given up. Having sent three massive logs to Apple and worked through their second level engineers, they want me to reinstall again. Not going to do it. Bought CardHop and decided against Contacts. Will keep checking in to see if Apple ever addresses those of us living without what seems like basic OS dependability.

Jan 24, 2018 1:13 PM in response to Alan Cattier

Just a thought... I use Little Snitch to monitor internet traffic on both my iMac and Macbook. It is possible that this was a factor in Contacts not working on my iMac under 10.13.2 and that the installation of 10.13.3 reset Little Snitch. My thinking is that the problem seems to be related to Contacts connecting to iCloud.

Maybe temporarily turn off the macOS firewall, if you have it turned on, and see if that fixes the problem?

Feb 5, 2018 2:36 PM in response to Michael Paine

The problem is, the problem is obviously too hard to fix. I had an apple support person on the case for over 2 weeks now and they can't figure it out either.
I'm still "working" like this: ask people I meet to send me contacts or write them down (preferably on a piece of paper to not get them eaten up by "contacts" again...).
Time for a new App I guess.

Feb 6, 2018 10:06 AM in response to dianeoforegon

Diane-


I walked through your steps multiple times and worked with Apple for over 3 months. I ended up having to switch to CardHop because I just couldn't live without my contacts any longer. My problem was definitely with the User folder.


10.13.4 fixed it for me. Delighted. I had a related problem where I could not successfully complete a TimeMachine backup. I went for the 90+ days without a successful backup--you can imagine I was sweating it. 10.13.4 restored my capacity to successfully backup, too.


I never encourage anyone to go to a beta without appropriate precautions, but I was ready to send me MacBook Pro off the front roof. So happy a fix became available within the public beta.


Thanks for all your contribution, here.

Feb 6, 2018 4:14 PM in response to Alan Cattier

Glad to hear the beta 10.13.4 build 1 fixed your problem. Just be sure to backup before updating to build 2 due out soonish.


Software used to Clone:


CarbonCopyCloner http://www.bombich.com/download.html (All options are available free for 30 days)


SuperDuper! http://www.shirt-pocket.com/ (Free forever to do an erase and install. Purchased version allows for smart updates and schedules)

Feb 15, 2018 5:24 PM in response to dianeoforegon

I have tried all the helpful solutions you and others have given, most several times. (insanity defined)


The only ones I've not attempted are the "launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.suggestd.plist" and the beta build 10.13.4. I'm unsure about doing either of those as they are likely out of my league and I might mess up more than finding a cure.


The app will simply not open at all, unless you count a beach ball as part of the Contacts usability.


I want to express appreciation for your patience and important help that you've given, resulting in effective solutions for several of those who have had this issue. I'll continue to look here in the future for my solution or likely wait for the new build to be released as "ready".

High Sierra contacts not working

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