Cannot add new contacts on Mac

[icanhazmac]

New, old problem here, might have started back up again after last MacOS update to 10.15.5 on a 2017 MBP, the mail and contacts app are the front end for my work emails coming from google. iCloud is not involved.

Whenever I try to add a new contact I have about 10 seconds, whether I type anything or not, until the new contact window closes and I am back to the main contacts screen and there is a contact added to the bottom that says "No Name". A little internet research found a workaround where you disconnect from the internet till you are done entering contacts then reconnect and they sync properly.

Anyone else familiar with this and know how to fix it?

Many thanks in advance!

P.S. - I can enter the contact on my iPad or iPhone and it works fine and syncs to the Mac but......
P.P.S. - I can edit existing contacts on my mbp, cannot create new ones

 

[sergioarista]

Same here...

 

[icanhazmac]

Same here...

Damn you sir! I was happy to see another post in here and thought it might be a solution, well at least misery loves company. Welcome aboard.

 

[georgembaker]

Same for me.....however I have also noticed that there is always a blank contact card (listed as no name) at the bottom of my contacts list....you can open and edit it with your new contact details and create a new contact card that way.......this blank card will be re created at the bottom of your contacts every time you open your contacts even if you just delete it ......Obviously this is not the way it should work but at least it gets around the problem.

 

[icanhazmac]

......Obviously this is not the way it should work but at least it gets around the problem.

Thanks for the post and it works that way for me as well.

 

[BrianBaughn]

See this current thread:

new contact failing

When I try to create a new card in Contacts, after entering a field or two, the card quits. The window lands in another card that looks as if it may have matched a short text sequence - but it may also be random. This happens when in the account that syncs, or All Contacts. However, if I chose...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Pam Clifton]

New, old problem here, might have started back up again after last MacOS update to 10.15.5 on a 2017 MBP, the mail and contacts app are the front end for my work emails coming from google. iCloud is not involved.

Whenever I try to add a new contact I have about 10 seconds, whether I type anything or not, until the new contact window closes and I am back to the main contacts screen and there is a contact added to the bottom that says "No Name". A little internet research found a workaround where you disconnect from the internet till you are done entering contacts then reconnect and they sync properly.

Anyone else familiar with this and know how to fix it?

Many thanks in advance!

P.S. - I can enter the contact on my iPad or iPhone and it works fine and syncs to the Mac but......
P.P.S. - I can edit existing contacts on my mbp, cannot create new ones

I have the same problem. I pretended to send an email then told Mac that I wanted it kept as a contact and was then able to go to contact list and edit it to add other information and name of person. But that's just working around the problem. i would like to actually fix it. Never had any problem until just recently.

 

[icanhazmac]

I have had this issue come and go so it has to be something between Apple and Google... shocking I know.

 

[wildest]

I was having this problem and found out that if I click on "all iCloud contacts" I can enter new contacts without a problem.

 

[mrmrwilliams]

I am having this same issue, have been for well over a year. I keep expecting an update to fix this, but so far still an issue even as of today. I can create contacts on my phone, but not on my Mac. Very frustrating.

 

[DenverCoder9]

I ran in to the problem yesterday.

My fix (including steps that failed on the off chance it was a combination):

Update OS (latest Big Sur in this case)

Run Onyx utility

(This part REALLY should have nothing to do with it working, but in case)
Created a new user to see if it was just a profile issue.
New user had no issues, so...


What actually fixed the issue:
Disabled Sync for Contacts
Rebooted
Enabled Sync for Contacts

 

[milleron]

I ran in to the problem yesterday.

What actually fixed the issue:
Disabled Sync for Contacts
Rebooted
Enabled Sync for Contacts

Of everything suggested over the last two years, and counting, the first and only thing that has solved the problem for me is this suggestion to go to System Settings/Accounts/iCloud and on that list disable Contacts and then re-enable it.

I've tested it only a couple of times, but that's probably sufficient, because for every other suggestion over those last 2 years, it would fail during the very first attempt to enter a new contact if I persisted long enough in filling in different fields.
Although I don't exactly understand the logic that led you to it, I am SO grateful for this solution.

 

[mrmrwilliams]

Of everything suggested over the last two years, and counting, the first and only thing that has solved the problem for me is this suggestion to go to System Settings/Accounts/iCloud and on that list disable Contacts and then re-enable it.

I've tested it only a couple of times, but that's probably sufficient, because for every other suggestion over those last 2 years, it would fail during the very first attempt to enter a new contact if I persisted long enough in filling in different fields.
Although I don't exactly understand the logic that led you to it, I am SO grateful for this solution.

Bummer... I tried 5 variations of this process... no dice. Same issue. Glad it worked for you though.

 

[milleron]

I'm pretty surprised. I'll test it again in a day or two to see if my success persists through another restart or two. I'll post results here.

And I'm also surprised that Apple has allowed this bug, whatever it is, to go unsquashed for years already. Deplorable.

 

[icanhazmac]

I have found that if I hit the '+' to create a new contact and wait the 10 seconds until the windows closes it creates an entry at the bottom of the contacts list labeled 'no name'. I always create 10 or so of these as they can then be edited. It is the only workaround I have found.

 

[rwintheiser]

I had a similar problem, could not DELETE Groups from Contacts on my Mac. I went to iCloud (I'm synced) and was able to achieve it. Could the issue be around iCloud?

 

[Gregg2]

Here's a guaranteed solution: don't make new friends.

 

[Skeinjunkie]

I did not encounter an issue until I upgraded the operating system to Catalina. The only solution working for me that I found, and the easiest, was suggested some years ago by someone on another site. I disconnect from the internet, do whatever I need to do in Contacts, including setting up and editing groups, and then I reconnect and my new contacts/edits are there. A pain, but it works. I think this is known as Murphy's law: When I actually had an Apple person on the phone who was very helpful with another issue, she asked if I had any other problems. Realizing I could not monopolize her time for the next 24 hours, I told her about this problem. As she already had access to my computer we tried to replicate the problem. The new entry saved just fine. Of course, the next day, I was back to disconnecting. . . . .

 

[Dave Parry]

I have this also and none of the above have worked.

 

[drmajor]

Fighting this for some time....Think I found solution.. from https://www.mac-forums.com/threads/contacts-crashes-when-searching.329986/

Back up all data.

If you use iCloud, uncheck the box marked Contacts in the iCloud preference pane.

From the list of groups on the left side of the Contacts window, select All Contacts. From the menu bar, select

File ▹ Export ▹ Export vCard

Save the exported contacts to the Desktop, then quit Contacts.



Triple-click the text on the line below to select it, then copy it to the Clipboard (command-C):

~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook

In the Finder, select

Go ▹ Go to Folder

from the menu bar, paste into the box that opens (command-V), and press return.

A Finder window will open with a folder selected. Move the selected folder to the Desktop, leaving the window open for now.

Launch Contacts. Your contacts will be gone. From the menu bar, select

File ▹ Import

and import from the file you exported above. Your contacts will reappear.

Re-enable Contacts in the iCloud preference pane, if you disabled it earlier. Test. If the issue is resolved, delete the AddressBook folder and the vCard file on the Desktop and close the open folder window.


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