Contacts will not sync in iTunes - not using iCloud

Hi everybody,

Summary:

after a lot of manual editing, I finally can confirm what some users already wrote, namely that removing the entries "son", "daughter", etc. ... solves the issue. Now my contacts are syncing correctly again between my MacBook and my iPhone.

Explanations:

I removed the entries "son", "daughter", etc. ... on my MacBook. Even after doing that the syncronisation still did not work properly till I realised that (!!!) the entry "mother" was set as a standard field in the template for vCards: "contacts --> settings". Removing that standard field from the template made the syncronisation possible.

Why do I write this in such a detailed way? I want to emphasise that it is not sufficient to remove all entries "son", "daughter", etc. ... from your contacts. Additionally, you need to remove those fields from standard template in the application "contacts", too. As far as I know, you can only edit this template in macOS, but not in iOS - or at least I could not find it on my iPhone ("settings --> contacts"). I do not know whether you can edit the template in iPadOS as I do not have an iPad.

Final thoughts:

Eventually, I would like to ask Apple why they do not remove those entries completely if it is obvious that these entries make the syncronisation fail? So many people here have reported it and this bug should have reached you, Apple.

Good luck to you all with editing your contacts and making the sync work again!

It looks like I finally got this working with Mojave. I went through all of my contacts (over 2000...) and made sure there were no fields assigned as "Son" or "Daughter" and that "Child" was selected. After doing this, sync still didn't work. Then I noticed that with some of the "Related Name" fields I had included additional info bedsides a name (like birthday date). This never caused a problem under Sierra, but I'm guessing that with High Sierra and Mojave if there's anything other than text (like numbers or special characters) in a name field it causes a sync error. Once I cleaned up those entries the sync worked again. Hope this helps.

I had the same problem. I'm on iPhone 6 running ios 12.1.2 with iTunes 12.9.2.5. Contacts updated on my Mac would not upload to my iPhone when syncing. This is a recurring problem after ios updates on either on my Mac or iPhone. After logging into iCloud via a browser, I discovered that my Contacts, Calendar, and Notes were syncing to iCloud even though I have set iCloud to OFF for all apps on my iPhone. Somehow, some ios update turned these on in iCloud without my permission. I had to login to iCloud from my Mac (System Preferences > iCloud) and unclick Contacts, Calendar, and Notes in iCloud, then sync my iPhone again in iTunes. Finally got my Contacts to sync to my iPhone (instead of iCloud).

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205754

This has been driving me CRAZY! Thanks to seeing this thread, I found a workaround today. My iMac is running Mojave and all my iOS devices have the latest updates. Local sync through iTunes was not working as has been described here. Since my desktop file was the most up to date, I exported a Contacts archive and copied to another mac (Mini) running Sierra. I then synched my iPhone through iTunes on the Mini using the "replace" option to overwrite the iPhone. This resulted in a successful sync with the contacts matching on the Mini and the iPhone. When I then did a sync on the iMac running Mojave, I got a message saying the device was synced to another account and did I want to replace or merge the contact information. Here's the weird thing, selecting "merge" resulted on a bunch of conflicts with both new and modified contacts flagged. The data on the iPhone should have been exactly the same as the data from the Contacts app since that's where it was originally exported from, but iTunes didn't see it that way. To me this suggests that under Mojave the Contacts and iTunes apps are reading from and/or writing to different databases. Apple - any insight??? This is basic functionality here!!!

I don't know how you figured that out, BUT thank you!!

I looked for "non-child" fields and changed to "child", and for good measure put custom fields in the notes instead of in the related field. Everything is syncing successfully now.

We’re not saying iTunes has its own contacts database. In order to conduct a local sync between MacOS contacts and iOS contacts, iTunes would have to access the databases for both. This worked up to and including Sierra, but is broken under High Sierra and Mojave.

I just went through my several hundred contacts on my MacBook Pro looking for any with "son" or "daughter". I found only 2 records and changed "son" or "daughter" to "child". I then synced my iPhone 6 with iTunes and VOILA!! My contacts synced!! Now, if I could only find out what is preventing my PHOTOS from syncing I'd be a happy camper! (I am using MacBook Pro with Mojave with latest updates and iPhone 6 with latest iOS and updates).

I had a similar problem...and a different fix. In Contacts on my Mac (running Mojave), I deleted some groups and renamed others. Then I went to the "Info" tab for my iPhone 6+ (running iOS 12), and under "selected groups" were still the names of the old groups. I rebooted, etc. without success. Then I left both Contacts and iTunes on while I read this thread. Then I logged onto iCloud and looked at the settings there. Once I went back to iTunes, the groups in the Info window had updated to the correct ones!

So I don't know whether this was a function of logging into iCloud, or just giving iTunes enough time with Contacts open to see that the groups had been updated, but it worked.

I don't know if my comment will be of any help as I'm not technically savvy. However, I was having the same difficulty; i.e., I have turned off iCloud syncing and only sync via my MacBook. Recently I noticed a contact missing from my iPhone, even though it's in my Contacts on my MacBook. No amount of syncing was working; I even deleted the '&' in the first name field and an '/' in the last name field, thinking those symbols might be causing a problem now (even though they didn't use to). I eventually realized there was a blue label 'Groups' on the top of my iPhone screen and when I tapped it, it displayed a list of all my groups, starting with 'All iPhone'. All but that one were checked and the contact that kept NOT syncing was not in any of the groups that I had created. I did not 'uncheck' All iPhone at any time so don't know how this happened but as soon as I checked it, the contact I thought was no longer syncing was now displayed. Perhaps one of the iOS updates 'unchecked' the 'All iPhone' option in the Groups display for those of you who are also experiencing this problem. Try it out...it might work?

This was a process but I solved my issue for syncing contacts. I went to my phones Settings> click your name at the top where you can see you icoud info, unselect contacts and click "keep on my phone" when prompted. Then I wen to my macbooks settings > icloud, unselected contacts and "delete from this computer" if prompted (I wasn't but others were). Then plug your phone into your laptop via USB, open itunes, click the phone icon and summary, then select backup via icloud then back it up. Then go back to your iphone and reselect contacts for icloud syncing. Go back to itunes and press the sync phone. Then go to your laptop settings and reselect sync contacts. They should now be in your imessage on your computer. What a wild ride.

Yes. I too have been in contact with a senior advisor several times in the past 3 weeks. Haven’t heard anything for a week now. Apple seems to take the position that I am doing something wrong and then at times they seem surprised that I am having this issue. Was told by senior advisor that syncing only updates contacts from Mac to iPhone, and not from iPhone to Mac.

I said, “then that is not syncing, that is copying” and “it has done true syncing for many years, up until it stopped sometime last year”. Silence from her.

This exactly thing happened to me too, starting about 3 months ago. I've been on the phone twice with Apple, including a senior tech advisor. No solution.

I personally think that Apple is trying to drive people to use their Cloud, but I'm not about to put sensitive and private information, such as my Contacts, on any cloud. I don't know who can access this data, or if it ever gets hacked.

If Facebook can get hacked multiple times in 2018, and our electrical grids and nuclear power plants can too, as well as Marriott and other corporate information systems, Apple's can too.

I hope Apple did not get rid of the syncing capability on iTunes, particularly on Contacts between the Mac and iPhone.

On the last call with Apple, I had to completely clear out my iPhone and reset it, per the advisor's suggestion. That took a while. The syncing now is only 1-way, where contacts I create in my iPhone now move to my Mac's Contact database, but not the other way around.

Very frustrating, as I use this for business, personal, etc.

I tried that before removing all of the “family” fields and it did not wipe out the contacts on my phone; on the other hand, it did not actually transfer my MacBook contacts to my phone. I would consider one last check to see if any of the family fields are filled-in on your phone or MacBook. Just a thought . . .

This is a strange post. iTunes does not have a Contacts database. It has never had a Contacts database. You have never been able to launch iTunes and look at contacts.

I agree. It seems that Apple is wanting to 'force' users to use the iCloud, but I personally don't trust putting my personal contacts and other personal info (e.g., cc info, sign-on passwords and IDs across all online accounts, apps, hotel/travel, financial info) to a cloud. I have no idea who can see or access this info.

Given the hacks from overseas into U.S. security, political databases, the electrical grids, nuclear plants, and corporate systems (eg., Facebook, Expedia, Marriott), do you think I'm going to trust that Apple will be able to keep the above info secure from hackers? No chance in **** I will trust it.

Apple needs to continue to provide the local syncing via USB between multiple devices. I've been on the phone with a senior advisor twice now in the past two months, with no solution yet.

Very unhappy about this. It is a real problem with my business, where I develop hundreds of new contacts, and none of them sync to my phone.