Find and Merge Duplicate Contacts on iPhone in iOS 16 or Later
Not sure how the duplicate contacts removal tool works? Let’s first briefly discuss it!
So, How Does the Duplicate Contacts Removal Tool Work on iPhone
iOS 16 analyses your entire address book to dig all the duplicates. And when it finds the duplicate contacts, you get an alert right under your profile showing the total number of duplicate contacts. After that, you can take a close look at the duplicates and choose to merge all the duplicate contacts at once or do it individually. Sounds well thought-out, doesn’t it?
Merge Duplicate Contacts on iPhone
- On your iPhone running iOS 16 or later, open the Contacts app.
- Now, you should see an alert with the total number of duplicate contacts right below your profile. Tap on the View Duplicates option to proceed.
- On this screen, you should see a list of duplicate contacts. Next, if you want to merge a specific contact, tap on it. After that, tap on the Merge button at the bottom of the screen.
- Should you wish to merge all the duplicate contacts at once, hit the Merge All button and you are good to go! So, that’s how you can find and merge duplicate contacts on your iOS device.
Duplicate Contacts Removal Tool Not Working on your iPhone? Here is the Fix
Some iPhone users have complained that the Contacts app is not showing the total number of duplicates even though the address book is cluttered with too many duplicate contacts. There are three viable solutions that should try to resolve this issue:
Turn OFF/ ON iCloud for Contacts App
The very first thing that you should do to fix the duplicate contacts removal tool is to turn off/ on iCloud for contacts. Since it has enabled me to resolve this issue, I can vouch for its effectiveness. So, give it a go.
Head into the Settings app on your iPhone > Apple ID banner > iCloud > turn off the toggle next to Contacts. Now, choose the Keep on My iPhone option.Next, restart your iPhone. Once your iPhone has rebooted, go back to the iCloud setting and then turn on the toggle for Contacts.
Factory Reset
Another reliable solution that you should try to fix the duplicate contacts not showing in the Contacts app issue is to factory reset the iPhone.
Navigate to the Settings app on your iPhone > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings and confirm the action.
Update Software
If the duplicates are still not showing in the Contacts app, there might be a software bug behind this issue. Hence, try updating the software.
To do so, open the Settings app on your iPhone. Now, tap on General > Software Update. Then, download and install the latest version of iOS.
Signing Off…
That’s done! So, that’s how you can keep a track of the useless contacts and wipe them out so that they do not clutter your address book. Since we are talking about the way to reduce the clutter, make sure to find out the method to track and delete duplicate photos. Moreover, you may also want to catch up with the posts for exporting all contacts from iPhone and transferring all Gmail contacts from your iOS device. Read more: How to Lock Photos with Face ID or Touch ID on iPhone in iOS 16
