Numbers not Names now in Messages?

[Eli727]

In the last week, in Messages, some (not all) of my texts show a phone number and not their name. They are still in my contacts though.

I have google'd and tried some of the fixes I found (turn off iMessage, turn it back on. turn off SMS, turn it back on. Reboot. Change short name in contacts to off. Etc.)

I also just got an Apple Watch last week which is around the time this started intermittently as well, but at first I just noticed it on the watch and now its both. And seems to be getting worse, more names are turning into numbers.

I am not sure if this is IOS 11 problem (my best guess?) or my new Apple Watch....

Help!

 

[Chazzle]

In the last week, in Messages, some (not all) of my texts show a phone number and not their name. They are still in my contacts though.

I have google'd and tried some of the fixes I found (turn off iMessage, turn it back on. turn off SMS, turn it back on. Reboot. Change short name in contacts to off. Etc.)

I also just got an Apple Watch last week which is around the time this started intermittently as well, but at first I just noticed it on the watch and now its both. And seems to be getting worse, more names are turning into numbers.

I am not sure if this is IOS 11 problem (my best guess?) or my new Apple Watch....

Help!

I believe this is an issue with iCloud syncing your contacts. In my experience, it was fixed by opening the Contacts app and navigating to the contact card of any of the contacts that are showing just the phone number instead of the name. Possibly do this with a couple of the contacts.

It seems that this process helps the OS link the contact together and fix the glitch. Very annoying, I know. This hasn’t happened to me in a month or so though.

 

[Eli727]

Thanks Chazzle. For some reason, my contacts synch with my Gmail account and not iCloud.

I actually think I fixed it -- kept googling and found more "tries".

Resetting my network settings ended up fixing the problem. No idea how that worked or helped but it did!

 

[Chazzle]

Thanks Chazzle. For some reason, my contacts synch with my Gmail account and not iCloud.

I actually think I fixed it -- kept googling and found more "tries".

Resetting my network settings ended up fixing the problem. No idea how that worked or helped but it did!

Oh I see. The ol’ Reset Network Settings’ that randomly fixes a whole host of bugs haha. iOS 11 sure is a work in progress and we’re all just along for the ride. I guess it’s given the average user a glimpse into beta testing haha. Glad it’s fixed for you now!

 

[C DM]

Oh I see. The ol’ Reset Network Settings’ that randomly fixes a whole host of bugs haha. iOS 11 sure is a work in progress and we’re all just along for the ride. I guess it’s given the average user a glimpse into beta testing haha. Glad it’s fixed for you now!

Similar things happened with all kinds of other releases with a reset of one type or another often enough being something that would end up helping.

 

[Chazzle]

Similar things happened with all kinds of other releases with a reset of one type or another often enough being something that would end up helping.

Okay...