IPhone – Force contacts to sync with iCloud right now

contactsdata synchronizationicloudiphonemac

I just updated a contact's phone number in the Mac Contacts app. Now I want to call them on my iPhone (4S), but my iPhone does not have the new number. Both the Mac and the iPhone are configured to sync to my iCloud account. How do I force them to sync now, one after the other, so I can make this call?

Best Answer

To summarize, follow these steps:

  1. Close and reopen the Contacts application. Did that work?

    Side Note: Generally contacts will sync whether the app is open or closed, it doesn't matter, but sometimes devices act up. It tends to happen with older devices, especially if running newer versions of iOS (iOS 8).

  2. Try switching the Contacts tab under iCloud settings on your iPhone. If that does not work, check if that number is visible in iCloud.com
  3. If the phone number is not there, it might be one of two things:
    • Your Mac is not uploading to iCloud.
    • You might have added that contact under the contacts of a different email account setup on your Mac.
  4. Check your iCloud settings on your Mac and open the Contacts app, taking note if the contact is under the iCloud account by selecting the iCloud account alone, NOT "All Contacts". You will see different accounts (emails) on the left hand side if you allowed contact syncing for email accounts on the Mac.
    • If so, drag-and-drop the contact to the iCloud tab.
  5. To confirm whether your Mac is uploading to the cloud, login to iCloud.com and check the Contacts app. If you don't see the new contact, you know to focus on the Mac to iCloud sync.
Related Question