Why are my phone contacts duplicated – What to do?

Why are my phone contacts duplicated? What to do if contacts are duplicated and how to delete them?

Many users are faced with a problem when duplicates appear in their contact list – the same contacts duplicated two or more times. There are several reasons why the same contacts appeared on the phone. The most common of these is to synchronize contacts.

When a user signs in to accounts that use contacts (such as a Google account, social networking or messenger accounts), that account gets access to the user’s phone book. The contacts are then stored on the server. This is usually where synchronization ends. But in some cases, the contacts are saved in the contacts list of the SIM card or phone again. This is how identical contacts appear: the first ones are initially saved on the SIM card (in the phone’s memory), the second ones are taken from any account.

Other reasons for duplicate contacts include:

• Errors when transferring backup data from one phone to another.
• Crashes during phone software update.

What to do if contacts are duplicated on the phone?

There are several ways to solve this problem. If one of them did not produce any effect, it is necessary to try others.

Enable merge duplicates . Merging duplicated contacts is a standard feature available on most phone models. To use it, follow the instructions:

1. Go to the contacts menu on your phone.
2. Find the Settings button . It can be accessed by clicking on the ellipsis in the corner of the screen.
3. In the list of settings, find the action Merge duplicate contacts (or something similar).

All duplicates that can be merged will appear in the window that opens. It remains to select the desired and confirm the action.

Merge duplicates with apps . If the built-in merge feature is not available on your phone, you can find it in third-party apps. To do this, open Google Play and enter the phrase “duplicate contacts” in the search box. From the list of applications that appear, you can select any, for example, “Cleaner” (application in Russian) or “Duplicate Contacts” (application in English). Both applications work on the same principle: they look for duplicates, then display a list of them. The owner selects the desired ones, and then clicks to merge them.

Unfortunately, merging duplicates for many users is a temporary solution, as the same contacts appear again. Next, we’ll figure out what to do if the contacts on the phone continue to be duplicated.

Disable contact sync . Since in most cases duplicate contacts are due to synchronization, disabling it may help. For this you need:

1. Open phone settings.
2. Select section Accounts . The name may differ depending on the phone model.
3. Select the desired account (for example, Google or WhatsApp).
4. Uncheck the box next to the line Synchronization of contacts  or Contacts .

This scheme must be repeated with all accounts that have access to the user’s phone book.

Show SIM/Phone contacts only . In the call settings, you can choose to display only the contacts that are stored on the SIM card or in the phone memory. For this you need:

1. Open the Contacts section .
2. Go to contact settings.
3. Find Contacts Display or Contacts Filter .
4. Check the box next to Phone , SIM or other source only.

Here you can also select another account, for example, WhatsApp. This way, only contacts synchronized with the messenger will be displayed in the contact list.

Reinstalling apps . If contacts continue to be duplicated despite your best efforts, reinstalling apps that access your phone’s contacts may help. You can find out which apps are synced with your contacts from Contacts view  in call settings. All applications that are present there must be uninstalled, and then reinstalled and logged into accounts.