Contact sync
Contacts Not Syncing? Start Here
The checks below come from Apple’s, Google’s and Microsoft’s own help pages. Run them first, then jump to your case: iPhone to Mac, iPad, iCloud or a new iPhone.
At a glance
Check the account before the device. Every device has to be signed in to the same account, with Contacts switched on for it.
- Apple’s first check is the same Apple Account on every device
- New contacts save to your default account, so check that it’s the one you expect
- Low Data Mode and Low Power Mode both cut back background activity
- Your device pair has its own page with the full fix
- ContactsPlus keeps Google, iCloud and Outlook in one address book
Find your situation
Which contacts aren’t syncing?
Each page below has a troubleshooting list for that pair.
iPhone to Mac
Contacts that show on the phone and not on the Mac, or only some of them.
iPhone to iPad
Two Apple devices that disagree about who is in the address book.
iPhone to iCloud
Contacts that never upload, or that stay on the phone only.
To a new iPhone
Some contacts arrived and some didn’t. The steps are further down this page.
Google contacts
Gmail contacts missing or out of date on a phone. On an iPhone, start with these steps.
Outlook contacts
Contacts in Outlook or Microsoft 365 that stay on one computer or never reach the phone. If it’s the iPhone that’s missing them, the steps below cover it.
Check these first
Six checks that apply to every case
These come from Apple’s guide to iCloud Contacts that won’t sync. Go in order and look at your contacts again after each one, so that when the problem clears you know which step fixed it and can leave the rest alone.
Use the same Apple Account everywhere
On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings and read the name at the top, and on a Mac, open System Settings and look for your name at the top of the sidebar. If they don’t match, you’ve found it. Two accounts means two separate address books, and no setting on either device will make them agree.
Switch Contacts on for iCloud
On an iPhone or iPad, go to Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, tap See All next to Saved to iCloud and turn on Contacts. On a Mac, open System Settings, click your name, click iCloud, click See All next to Saved to iCloud and turn on Contacts. You may need to scroll down. Do it on every device.
Check the default account
On an iPhone or iPad, go to Settings, Apps, Contacts, Default Account and choose iCloud. On iOS 17 or earlier it’s Settings, then Contacts. On a Mac, open Contacts, choose Contacts, Settings, General, then pick the account from the Default Account menu, which only appears if you use more than one account on that Mac. Changing it won’t move contacts you’ve already saved somewhere else.
See which account the contact is in
Open the Contacts app and tap Lists, then choose All iCloud. If the contact is missing, it may be stored in a different account. Tap Lists again and check each All [account] in turn.
Rule out the connection
Get on Wi-Fi. Low Data Mode pauses automatic updates and background tasks when the iPhone isn’t on Wi-Fi. You’ll find it under Settings, Cellular, Cellular Data Options, Data Mode. Low Power Mode also cuts background activity, including email fetch and Background App Refresh. Last, check that the date and time are correct and that the iPhone, iPad or Mac has the latest software.
Check Apple’s status page, then refresh and restart
Look at Apple’s system status page for an iCloud Contacts outage. If Apple’s side is down, nothing you change on the phone will help. Otherwise, open Contacts and swipe down on the list to refresh it. If that does nothing, close the app, wait about a minute and open it again. Still nothing? Restart.
New iPhone
Contacts not syncing to a new iPhone
A new iPhone gets its contacts from your accounts, so the fix usually comes down to which accounts are signed in on it. These steps cover the iPhone side. For moving between phone brands, see how to transfer contacts to a new phone.
Sign in with the old phone’s Apple Account
Open Settings and tap your name. If you don’t see your name, tap Apple Account and sign in.
Turn Contacts on in iCloud
Still in Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, tap See All next to Saved to iCloud and turn on Contacts. Then open the Contacts app, tap Lists and choose All iCloud.
Add the accounts iCloud doesn’t hold
Google and Microsoft Exchange contacts live in their own accounts. Go to Settings, Apps, Contacts, Contacts Accounts, tap Add Account, choose the provider, sign in and turn on Contacts.
Let a wireless transfer finish
If you moved your data from the old iPhone during setup, keep both phones next to each other and plugged in until the migration is complete.
Coming from Android
Apple’s Move to iOS app only runs during first setup, so once setup is finished your choices are to erase the iPhone and start again or to move your data by hand. See transferring contacts from Android to iPhone.
Contacts that were only ever saved on the old handset have no account to sign in to, so none of this brings them back. The transfer page explains why and what to do about it.
Google and Outlook on iPhone
Google or Outlook contacts missing on your iPhone
The iCloud checks above don’t cover accounts from other providers. These steps come from Apple’s page on contact accounts, Google’s Contacts error help and Microsoft’s page on syncing calendar and contacts to a phone. The wider picture is on Google Contacts sync and Outlook contacts sync.
Add the account and switch Contacts on
Go to Settings, Apps, Contacts, Contacts Accounts, tap Add Account, choose the provider and sign in. Turn on Contacts for it. If the account is already there, tap it and confirm Contacts is on, because turning it off hides that account’s contacts on the iPhone and turning it back on brings them all back.
Google: check the account limit
Google says an account can hold up to 25,000 contacts or 20 MB, not counting photos, and once you go past that you may start seeing a “Can’t update contact” error. Google’s fixes are to empty the Trash, export a backup and delete what you don’t need, or merge duplicates. You can’t raise the limit, only get under it.
Set a fetch schedule
Accounts that don’t support Push can update on a schedule instead. Go to Settings, Apps, Contacts, Contacts Accounts, Fetch New Data and choose a schedule. With Automatically, new data only downloads while the iPhone is charging and on Wi-Fi.
Outlook: check it wasn’t added as IMAP or POP
Microsoft says IMAP and POP sync email only, so they can’t bring contacts across. Open Settings, Apps, Mail, Mail Accounts, pick the account and check that Contacts is on. No Contacts option? Delete the account and add it again, choosing Exchange for a Microsoft 365 account or Outlook.com. Removing the account from the phone doesn’t delete anything. The contacts stay in the online account.
Outlook app: Save Contacts only goes one way
With Save Contacts on, new contacts and edits you make in the Outlook app are copied to the iPhone’s Contacts app. Edits made directly in the iPhone’s Contacts app aren’t saved back to Outlook. For the app itself, go to Settings, Apps, Outlook, Contacts, give it Full Access and leave Background App Refresh on.
When it keeps happening
Keep Google, iCloud and Outlook in one address book
Do the checks above first. If your contacts sit in several accounts and the trouble keeps coming back, it’s because each provider only keeps its own account up to date.
Google, iCloud and Microsoft in one list
ContactsPlus connects Google Contacts, iCloud and Microsoft or Outlook directly, with no sync bridge in between, so contacts you add on your iPhone and in Gmail both land in your ContactsPlus list. See how contact sync works.
A direction for each account
Pull contacts in, which is the default, or sync two ways, or push your list out to an account. You choose per account and can change it at any time. Nothing is changed or deleted unless the direction you pick allows it.
Duplicates from out-of-step accounts
When two accounts disagree, the same person can turn up two or three times. Duplicate detection and merge across your connected accounts is a Premium feature. See duplicate contacts in iCloud.
Space for a work account and a personal one
Premium connects five accounts and 25,000 contacts with real-time sync, enough for a work account and a personal one. It costs $9.99 a month billed annually, or $13.99 billed monthly. See the pricing page.
ContactsPlus won’t fix a phone that’s signed in to the wrong Apple Account, so sort that out with the checks above first.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Why are my contacts not syncing from iPhone to Mac?
Apple’s checks start with the account. Both devices need the same Apple Account, and Contacts has to be switched on under Saved to iCloud on the iPhone and on the Mac. If you use more than one account on the Mac, also check that iCloud is the default account for new contacts. The full list is on our iPhone to Mac page.
Why are my contacts not syncing to my iPad?
Check that the iPad is signed in to the same Apple Account as the iPhone, then open Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, tap See All next to Saved to iCloud and make sure Contacts is on. Our iPhone to iPad page covers what to look at if the iPad still looks empty.
Why are my contacts not syncing to iCloud?
A contact only reaches iCloud if it’s saved in the iCloud account. Check the default account too. If it points somewhere else, new contacts save there instead. Open Contacts, tap Lists and choose All iCloud to see what iCloud holds. Changing the default account won’t move contacts that are already saved somewhere else. See iCloud contacts sync for more.
Why are my contacts not syncing to my new iPhone?
Sign in with the same Apple Account you used on the old phone and turn on Contacts under Saved to iCloud. Google and Microsoft Exchange contacts come from separate accounts, so add each one under Contacts Accounts. If you used the wireless transfer during setup, keep both phones close together and plugged in until it finishes. There’s more in how to transfer contacts to a new phone.
Why are my Google or Outlook contacts not showing on my iPhone?
Add the account under Settings, Apps, Contacts, Contacts Accounts, and make sure Contacts is switched on for it. An Outlook or Microsoft 365 account that was added as IMAP or POP syncs email only, so remove it and add it again as Exchange or Outlook.com. Google also limits an account to 25,000 contacts. See Google Contacts sync and Outlook contacts sync.
Can ContactsPlus keep my Google, iCloud and Outlook contacts in sync?
Yes. ContactsPlus connects Google Contacts, iCloud and Microsoft or Outlook and keeps them in one address book, with a sync direction you choose for each account. Premium connects five accounts and 25,000 contacts with real-time sync and costs $9.99 a month billed annually, while a Free plan syncs one account and 1,000 contacts once a day, and the first sync of a large list can take a while because Google or Apple may briefly throttle it and show an error, which usually clears within about 30 seconds. See how contact sync works and pricing.
Keep your accounts in one address book.
Google, iCloud and Outlook together, with the sync direction set for each account.
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