Duplicate contacts out of control now. I think this has ramped up since I upgraded to Ventura 13.3.1(a)?

I have the some problem in Sonoma (M2). I cannot even remove Duplicates manually! They just keep increasing.

Btw, Safe Boot did not help. It just kept repopulating. Duplicating certain contacts over and over.

Pdg2015 wrote:

I've got something going on where contacts just keep duplicating and now I have an unmanageable number of contacts.

I tried the "merge duplicates" function on my Mac Contacts app as suggested in another thread. That seems to have just given up with over 21,000 duplicates and isn't doing anything now but sitting on the "Merging duplicated data" screen forever with no error message (and no completion of the function).

I logged into iCloud.com and the duplicates are there as well. So, I clicked through on the "contact Apple support" link in the user's guide found there. All that does is take me back to the Support page. When I search for this problem, it tells me to contact Support... It is a useless loop.

Help?

The current stable release of Ventura including bug fixes, security updates is macOS Ventura 13.4

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

ref: If you see duplicate contacts after setting up iCloud Contacts

I've spent more than three hours on the phone with apple. and another three on my own and still no fix. eff apple. they've become the pits at every turn. over it.

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.