Mac to iPhone contacts does not sync

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Level 1

10 points

Mac to iPhone contacts does not sync

iMac G5 running macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 iPhone OS 11.1.2 iPod 10.3.3

In attempting to setup iCloud on my iMac, I had to turn it off / on several times. I kept all data in an archive file. However, when I did this, my Contacts duplicated every contact. I thought it would be easy to erase the duplicates. Now iCloud has erased the ones I erased from my hard drive and many more. I have lost most of my contacts.

I do have the correct contact list on the iMac hard drive and Time machine. How do I get iCloud to have the correct file so that my iPhone and iPad have the correct Contacts file?

Thanks

Posted on Dec 11, 2017 4:55 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Lawrence Finch

Level 10

202,282 points

Dec 11, 2017 6:34 PM in response to Lil Tippy

First, see where they are. Log in to https://icloud.com and view the contacts. Are they correct? If they are turn off Contacts in iCloud settings on your phone, allow them to be removed. Restart the phone, then turn it back on. This should sync them from iCloud. Do the same thing on your Mac.

If they are NOT correct in iCloud on the web, turn off iCloud contacts both on the phone and on your Mac. Restore your contacts on your Mac from Time Machine. If there are duplicates in the Mac Contacts app go to the Contacts menu in the app - Check for Duplicates. You may have to run this several times. Once you have clean contacts on the Mac turn on Contacts in iCloud settings. Wait for a sync to complete (a few minutes to an hour, depending on how many and your connection speed) then check again at https://icloud.com. They should now be OK. If they are, turn on Contacts in iCloud settings on your phone.

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Answer 2

Lil Tippy Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 11, 2017 6:33 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Helped a little. It did not update the entire contacts file on iCloud. A-R contacts not updated. S to Z are ok.

Thanks.

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