iOS 15.7.2 duplicated all my contacts

I ran the iOS 15.7.2 on my iPhone SE yesterday and now every single contact in my contact card list is in duplicate. How can I fix this without having to individually merge each one?

iPhone SE

Posted on Dec 29, 2022 08:58 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 31, 2022 07:50 PM

This doesn't address how to remove duplicates without having to individually merge each one. Like I said in my original post, I don't want to have to edit each one individually just because iOS launched with this bug.

7 replies

Dec 30, 2022 11:48 AM in response to lovelycrimsonred

Hi lovelycrimsonred,


Here's some information from the Get rid of duplicate contacts on iPhone resource that might be helpful:


"Resolve duplicate contacts

If you have more than one contact card with the same first and last name, you can merge the duplicate contacts.

  1. Below My Card, tap Duplicates Found.
  2. Tap individual contacts to review and merge them, or tap Merge All to merge all duplicate contacts."


However, if you're looking for a different method to do this you may find a third-party option in the App Store. Best of luck.


Take care.

Dec 31, 2022 12:56 PM in response to lovelycrimsonred

Hi lovelycrimsonred,


To assist with your duplicated being found, update to the latest version of iOS 16 to utilize this feature. If you prefer not to update, you can manually link your contacts.


"If two entries for the same person aren’t linked automatically, you can unify them manually.


  1. Tap one of the contacts, tap Edit, then tap Link Contacts.
  2. Choose the other contact entry to link to, then tap Link.


When you link contacts with different first or last names, the names on the individual cards don’t change, but only one name appears on the unified card. To choose which name appears on the unified card, tap one of the linked cards, tap the contact’s name on that card, then tap Use This Name For Unified Card.

Note: When you link contacts, those contacts aren’t merged. If you change or add information in a unified contact, the changes are copied to each source account where that information already exists."


You can find these details in the iOS 15 iPhone User Guide Hide duplicate contacts on iPhone.




Regards.


Feb 2, 2023 11:14 AM in response to lovelycrimsonred

OK, it gets weirder. I decided I'm finally going to go through and delete one of the duplicates on my phone. So, on my phone each contact has two entries (see screen shot in earlier post), but on my MacBook there's just one. So I start deleting, and the contact is immediately wiped from my MacBook! No longer there! Totally gone! So I say "oh %$^&" and I then go onto my Macbook and, using the info that's in the still-existing copy of the contact on my iPhone, I manually add each contact back in as a Contact on my MacBook. Then, immediately, the contact ive just added to my MacBook shows up on my phone.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

iOS 15.7.2 duplicated all my contacts

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.