"This morning, my employee messaged me to let me know that all of the names are missing from our contacts in OpenPhone (which we use for our office phone). I logged in to the web version, and sure enough, our contacts list is just a giant list of phone numbers. Is anyone else experiencing this?"
- from Reddit
Are you experiencing the iPhone contacts missing names issue, meaning that when you receive a text message or phone call, only the phone number is displayed instead of the contact's name? This problem can be quite frustrating and may affect your normal communication. This article will explore why iPhone contact names missing and offer several effective solutions.
If iPhone contact names disappeared and only showed up numbers, a software or hardware problem is to be blamed for the issue. Below are possible glitches or bugs to lead to contacts in messages but not in Contacts on iPhone:
When iPhone contact names disappear from iPhone, it is not hard to find them back. We have concluded the top troubleshooting solutions here for your reference.
Restarting the iPhone can generally resolve all common glitches. Thus, when iPhone lost contact names, try restarting your iPhone to check whether the contact names come back.
If the contact names disappear from the phone calls or messages but still exist in the Contact app, you can edit any contact in the Contact app or add more contacts to refresh the contact database.
Sometimes, iPhone contacts missing names result from the syncing issues between iPhone and iCloud. You can disable the Contacts option in iCloud for a while and enable it again to fix the issue quickly.
Here is how to do it:
Step 1. Open "Settings" > "Apple ID" > "iCloud" > turn off the "Contacts" option.
Step 2. When it asks you whether to delete or keep the previously synced contacts, select the "Delete from My iPhone" option to wipe the contacts in your iPhone but not in iCloud.
Step 3. After restarting your iPhone, go to "Settings" > tap your "Apple ID" > select "iCloud' > turn on the "Contacts" option.
Step 4. Then, the contacts will resync to your iPhone.
It is quite common for you to delete an email account that you no longer use from your iPhone. However, the contacts may have been synced to that email account and thus caused the contact name to be missing. For this, you can add the email account to your iPhone again to get the synced contacts.
Sometimes, iPhone not showing contact names due to settings issues. If you're not using iCloud for contact backup, you might encounter this issue when the Contacts display settings are set to show All iCloud. To resolve this, you should switch the setting to Show All Contacts.
Here is how to do it:
Step 1. Go to the Contacts app > tap "Groups" on the screen.
Step 2. Choose the "Show All Contacts" option instead of "All iCloud".
You can also ask Siri to get the contacts back. Siri can do much more than you think. Therefore, you can try this method.
Network connection errors may give rise to iPhone contacts missing names, too. To fix this problem, you can reset the network settings on your iPhone. To do that, follow the steps below:
Step 1. Open iPhone's "Settings" > scroll down to "General" > tap "Reset".
Step 2. Choose the "Reset Networking Settings" option and confirm the operation.
The Short Name feature can cause some contact names to display incorrectly. You can try disabling the Short Name feature to fix this issue. To do this, follow the steps below:
Step 1. Go to "Settings", select "Contacts", and then tap "Short Name".
Step 2. Turn off this feature and check if your contacts display correctly.
If you are using contacts stored on your SIM card, make sure the SIM card slot is functioning properly. Sometimes, if your SIM card is not correctly placed in the tray, it can cause your iPhone contacts to become messed up. (How to change SIM card on iPhone?)
If all the above ways cannot help, get yourself a professional iOS system repair software to fix the iPhone contacts missing names issue. In this regard, I will recommend you try iOS System Recovery. It has helped millions of iOS users repair over 32 kinds of iOS system problems, including missing iPhone contact names, charge issues, battery drain, black/red/white/blue screen of death, iTunes error 4005, etc.
Here is how to use iOS System Recovery to fix iPhone not showing contact names:
01Install and launch the iOS System Recovery on your computer. Next, connect your iPhone to the computer using a USB cable and choose "iOS System Recovery" on the interface.
02The program will automatically detect the iOS system issue and display it on the interface. Then, tap the "Start" button to continue to the next steps.
03Confirm the iPhone information on the interface. If incorrect, select the right information from the drop-down lists. Once done, tap the "Repair" button to start fixing the problem.
Suppose that you don't want to use any third-party apps to fix the problem. In that case, you can reach out to the Apple Support team for help. You can get in touch with them via the Apple website, telephone calls, or taking your device to the nearby Apple Store. Don't forget the original warranty or the AppleCare+ package of the iPhone with you. Then, you probably won't cost anything to get the problem fixed.
If your contacts are lost, you can recover them using the Coolmuster iPhone Data Recovery tool. It is a specialized iPhone data recovery software that scans your device for deleted or missing contacts and restores them, regardless of whether you have a backup.
Highlights of Coolmuster iPhone Data Recovery:
Here is how to restore iPhone contacts and names using iPhone Data Recovery:
01Open the tool on your computer after you've downloaded and installed it. Later, plug your iPhone into the computer via a USB cable. Typically, the software will quickly detect your device. Please tap "Trust" on your mobile device to enable recognition.
02Once connected, you will see the interface below. Select "Contacts" on the interface and tap the "Start Scan" button to scan the contacts.
03Once finished, it will display all the contacts on the interface. Preview all contact information from the left panel. After preview, check the wanted contacts to recover and tap the "Recover to Computer" button to save them to your computer. (If you want to save them on your iPhone, you can click here to learn how to transfer contacts from a computer to an iPhone.)
Video Tutorial:
We hope the methods introduced above can help you quickly fix the iPhone contacts missing names issue. iOS System Recovery is the best choice to fix system problems without data loss. Meanwhile, Coolmuster iPhone Data Recovery is the ideal way to recover lost contacts in minutes. You can select one way according to your demands. That's all for iPhone not showing contact names.
If you run into difficulties when using the above ways, please tell us in the comments below.
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iPhone Deleted Contacts Randomly? Here's What You Need to Know