For the life of me, I can't figure out how to sync my iPhone contacts with iCloud. There is one entry that has been on my phone for a month, and it still isn't showing in Contacts on iCloud, and several contacts that I just entered on my phone that I'd REALLY like to be on iCloud NOW. How do I sync NOW, and why isn't everything getting copied from my iPhone to iCloud? I am at iOS 15.6.
iPhone SE
Hello Dannymac22,
This page here helps to provide some assistance for getting iCloud Contacts up and running: Set up and use iCloud Contacts - Apple Support
It'll help to provide the following steps for doing it on an iPhone:
1. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
2. Turn on Contacts.
3. When you're asked if you want to Merge or Cancel, tap Merge.
4. All of the information stored in Contacts uploads to iCloud.
Be sure to also check if your contacts are currently synced via a third-party account on the device. This can be found in Settings > Contacts > Accounts. If you're looking to sync the contact from the third-party account, follow the "Add Contacts from third-party accounts" section's steps from the above link.
Lastly, be sure to also check out the "If you have trouble setting up iCloud Contacts" section at the bottom of that same link, as it has a handful of things to check out if things still aren't working well.
Cheers.
Hello Dannymac22,
This page here helps to provide some assistance for getting iCloud Contacts up and running: Set up and use iCloud Contacts - Apple Support
It'll help to provide the following steps for doing it on an iPhone:
1. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
2. Turn on Contacts.
3. When you're asked if you want to Merge or Cancel, tap Merge.
4. All of the information stored in Contacts uploads to iCloud.
Be sure to also check if your contacts are currently synced via a third-party account on the device. This can be found in Settings > Contacts > Accounts. If you're looking to sync the contact from the third-party account, follow the "Add Contacts from third-party accounts" section's steps from the above link.
Lastly, be sure to also check out the "If you have trouble setting up iCloud Contacts" section at the bottom of that same link, as it has a handful of things to check out if things still aren't working well.
Cheers.
Hi there Dannymac22,
Thanks for that information. Let's check the settings for Contacts on your iPhone. Go to Settings > Contacts > Fetch New Data, and make sure that "Push" is set to On. On that same page, make sure that iCloud is set to "Fetch", and below that Fetch is set to "Automatically". Let us know the outcome, and we can go from there if needed.
Best regards!
Thanks. But I did all that merging. Several times. Not clear that any merging is actually happening.
MOST of my iPhone contact list is on iCloud, but a bunch of new entries that I inserted on my iPhone are not. So something must have changed with regard to syncing. That is, it seems to have once been syncing. I am carefully logged on with the same login to both my iPhone and iCloud on my computer. As far as I know, I'm not trying to sync with a third party account. Tried power cycling my phone.
My accounts in Setting->Contacts are just iCloud and Gmail. I have iOS15.6 and Monterey 12.5.
FWIW, my Mac Contacts app shows all of the contacts that iCloud shows. But the updates to Contacts on my phone don't seem to want to get there.
In Settings > Contacts > Accounts > Fetch New Data, "Push" is on, as is Automatic Fetch. However, iCloud was not set to Fetch. Now it is. But this is about getting my iPhone contacts UP to iCloud. The iPhone isn't "Fetch"ing anything. Maybe I haven't waited long enough, but I don't see any change in my iCloud contacts.
Hey Dannymac22,
Got it. Thanks for still checking that setting. Also make sure that both the date and time settings are correct on your iPhone by following the steps from If you can't change the time or time zone on your Apple device - Apple Support
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
Make sure that you have the latest version of iOS or iPadOS.
Turn on Set Automatically in Settings > General > Date & Time. This automatically sets your date and time based on your time zone.
If a message appears saying that updated time zone information is available, restart your device and any paired Apple Watch.
Allow your device to use its current location to determine the correct time zone. To do this, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services and turn on Setting Time Zone.
Check that your device shows the correct time zone in Settings > General > Date & Time > Time Zone.
Let us know how that goes.
Dannymac22,
Got it. From here, try the remaining steps for Contacts listed here since it is specific to iCloud Contacts under "iOS 13 and iPadOS or later": If your iCloud Contacts, Calendars, or Reminders won’t sync
If they still aren't syncing, like it says at the bottom of the same article, reach out to Apple directly here: Get Support
Take care.
OK, as I said, I am at iOS 15.6.
Settings > General > Date & Time is on Automatic.
Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services has Setting Time Zone on.
Somewhat oddly, in Settings > General > Date&Time, while Set Automatically is on, in the Time Zone field I just get a spinning ball.
Now, the iPhone clock DOES display the correct time in my time zone, so it must have the time zone right. But that spinning ball is puzzling.
OK, this is funny.
If I open the iPhone Contacts app, I see everyone. In Groups, all boxes are checked, including "All Gmail".
But if I uncheck "All Gmail" the only contacts displayed on the iPhone is the subset of contacts that managed to make it to iCloud. Um, does that mean that the new contacts I added on my iPhone that did not make it to iCloud were somehow not pointed to iCloud, but rather to Gmail?
That is, when I uncheck "All Gmail", and check "All iCloud", the only contacts displayed on my phone are those that DID make it to iCloud. The contacts that did not get uploaded to iCloud are somehow in the "All Gmail" group.
When I entered those new contacts, did I somehow specify that they NOT be in an iCloud group? In fact, I created an iCloud group for them - "Neighbors", and put them in it!
sync Contacts from iPhone to iCloud NOW?
