Is your Contact Names Showing Numbers in iOS and not the contact name you have saved? Nowadays, I don’t need to remember the contact number. I save and then dial them by searching the name. But, this comes with many problems – especially for iPhone users.
The error of contact names showing numbers and not names in iOS can be annoying. It can be scary, too.
That’s why I have compiled a list of all the working solutions for you. You can try these step-by-step or as you want.
Fix Contact Names Showing Numbers in iOS
- Reboot Your iPhone (Force Restart)
- Add New Contact Information
- Edit iPhone Contact’s Name Or Country Code
- Check Contact App Settings For Groups
- Use The iCloud Contacts Settings
- MMS Messaging In iMessages
- Try To Reset Network Settings
- Ask Siri To Solve The Issue
- Disable The Dial Assist
- Try Changing The Region
1. Reboot Your iPhone (Force Restart)
You can solve most iPhone problems by restarting it. The reboot refreshes the system software, clears RAM, and more. So, try these out:
1. For iPhone 6S And Earlier Models
- Press the power button
- Then press the home button
- Keep holding the home button until Apple Logo Appears.
2. For iPhone 7 Models
- Press the power button first.
- Then press the volume down button.
- Keep holding the volume down, and you will see the Apple Logo.
3. For iPhone 8 And The Latest Models
- Press the Volume up button.
- Then press the volume down button.
- Then press the Side Button and the power button.
- It should reboot the system.
2. Add New Contact Information
Refreshing the contacts database can also solve the Contact Names Showing Only Numbers On iOS issue.
You can easily do this by adding a new contact name. Each time you create a new contact, the iPhone will refresh the contact list. This is a great way of fixing the error.
3. Edit iPhone Contact’s Name Or Country Code
Sometimes, the phone won’t register the country code. As a result, it can cause Contact Names Showing Only Numbers On iOS error where you only see the numbers. So, you can try adding or removing the country code.
Similarly, don’t forget to check for duplicate iPhone contacts’ names. When you have two names with exact letters, space, etc., it can trigger the error. In such cases, it is better to edit one of the names.
4. Check Contact App Settings For Groups
There is a feature that allows you to group contacts together on an iOS device. Try these instructions for missing names error:
- Launch the Contacts App
- You will see a ‘Groups’ option at the top corner. Tap on it.
- You will see the ‘Show All Contacts’ option at the bottom of the Groups.
- Once you tap on it, you will see groups or other contacts that it is not showing.
- Select the groups. You can select all the groups.
- Click on Done Button. This should fix the error.
5. Use The iCloud Contacts Settings
If you use iCloud for contacts, it will back up the information. You can easily solve the Contact Names Showing Only Numbers On iOS issue by following these instructions:
- Go to the settings of your iPhone device.
- Next, click on your Apple ID and find the iCloud option.
- You will see the Contacts Toggle and turn it off.
- A prompt will appear, asking you to take steps for previously synced contacts.
- You can choose to Delete it. This will delete all contacts in your iPhone, but they will have the iCloud backup.
- After this, you can choose to restart your phone or simply turn Contacts on.
- A new prompt will appear, asking to Merge with iCloud. Go ahead and use it.
- You can restart your device again.
- The sync should fix the error.
6. MMS Messaging In iMessages
Maybe the problem hasn’t spread throughout your iPhone or iPad. It could be limited to messaging. In that case, this solution works great:
- Open all the messages apps one after another.
- Go to the settings and find the option for MMS messaging in SMS/MMS options.
- Toggle it off and then wait for a bit. You can casually restart your device, too.
- Toggle it back on and see if this solves the issue.
Often, you follow this solution by resetting the network settings. That’s the next solution, as well.
7. Try To Reset Network Settings
A network glitch or network connection error can lead to the issue, as well. You can easily fix the issue by following these steps:
- Go to the Settings of your Apple device.
- Find the General Settings and then get to the Transfer or Reset option.
- There could be an extra step where you will have to select Reset at the bottom.
- In there, you will find an option to Reset Network Settings.
- Tap on it, and you might have to provide a password accordingly.
This will reset your phone’s network, Wi-Fi connection, and other features.
8. Ask Siri To Solve The Issue
Apple has worked remarkably well to make Siri more useful than just a simple virtual assistant. You can now ask her to diagnose or fix an issue. So, access your phone’s Siri.
Once you do so, ask her to restore your contacts. You can also ask her to delete a random contact and more. Siri will most likely provide you with the solution.
If Siri fails, she will likely provide you with an internet database. That could have solutions as well.
9. Disable The Dial Assist
Many users have claimed that disabling the Dial Assist feature also helps them. You can do it in the Phone Settings of your iPhone. Go to the Dial Assist option and toggle it off.
Dial assist is useful in automatically filling in country codes and other necessary information. Sometimes, it can tamper with the iPhone’s contact name even when you don’t want it to. So, it is a good idea to disable it.
10. Try Changing The Region
This is also one of the less conventional solutions. Sometimes the iPhone can have an unrecognized region. It happens when you travel or randomly due to some calibration error.
So, follow these steps. If nothing else worked, this one is worth a try:
- Go to Settings once again.
- Find the General Settings and track the ‘Language & Region’ settings.
- You can try changing the language once, as well. But go ahead and click on the Region option.
- Select the correct region. If the correct region is already selected, choose some other region temporarily.
- Restart the phone and once again go to Settings and change the Region to the right one.
This can help you fix the issue easily. After changing the region again, you might have to restart the phone once more.
Conclusion – Contact Names Showing Only Numbers On iOS
Whether you have an iPhone x, XR, XS, older, or the latest model, these solutions will help you out.
But we aren’t sure if these will work for iPods. Either way, if the solutions work, great. If not, please take your phone for repair.
If none of the solutions worked, the issue could be technical. It could be software-related, as well. It is better to ask the experts before trying anything else. They can provide a better outlook.