Fix: “Not all contacts were deleted” Error in iPhone

Not all contacts were deleted error on your iPhone, means that iPhone was unable to delete one or more contacts because they were read-only.

What are read-only contacts?

Read-only contacts are those which are saved to the phone book by a third-party app like WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. These contacts can not be deleted directly from the phone book, instead, you have to first delete them from the app itself. 

Fix ‘Not all contacts were deleted’ error

How can I fix this issue and proceed to delete the contacts?

In this article, we have mentioned certain ways to deal with this iPhone error and delete all the desired contacts successfully. Let’s have a detailed look at each of the methods.

1. Delete Contacts From iCloud

The contacts that you want to delete have been synced to your iCloud account. Because of this, you are not able to delete them from your iPhone. Unlike some Android devices, the contacts in iPhone are neither saved on the device nor the sim.

Therefore, you need to delete them from the account that you are using, as the contacts are associated with them. However, you need to check which email account you are using on your device. But most probably, the contacts have been synced to the Apple account.

When you delete a contact in Contacts on iCloud.com, it will be deleted on every device that is using the feature of “contacts turned on in iCloud settings.”

Here’s how you can delete all the contacts from your iPhone and turn off iCloud syncing:

1. Go to Settings and tap on your Apple Profile.

   

   Tap on your Apple Profile

2. Then, tap on iCloud.

   

   Go to iCloud

3. After this, tap on Show All under Apps Using iCloud.

   

   Hit the Show All button

4. Turn off the Contacts toggle.

   

   Turn off the Contacts toggle

5. Lastly, tap on Delete from My iPhone to confirm.

   

   Tap on Delete from My iPhone

2. Restart iPhone

After you have followed the above steps, restart your device to ensure that the settings have been applied.

Restart iPhone SE (1st generation), 5, or earlier models:

1. Start by pressing the top button and hold it until the power-off slider appears on the screen.
2. Then, drag the slider, and wait for around 30 seconds for your iPhone to turn off.
   Lastly, press the top button and hold it until you see the Apple logo to turn on your device.

   

   Press and hold the top button, slide power off, wait 30 sec, then hold the top button to turn on

Restart iPhone SE ( 2nd or 3rd Generation), 6, 7, or 8:

1. Press the side button and hold it until the power-off slider appears on your iPhone.
2. Drag the slider to turn it off and wait for around 30 seconds.
3. Lastly, turn on your device by pressing the side button and holding it till the Apple logo appears on the screen.

   

   Press and hold the side button, slide the power-off slider, then hold the side button again

Restart iPhone X or later versions:

1. Press the volume up or down button, along with the side button, till the power-off slider shows on the screen.
2. After this, drag the slider to turn off your iPhone and wait for around 30 seconds.
3. Lastly, press the side button until the Apple logo appears on your screen to turn it on.

   

   Press and hold the volume button, slide the power-off slider, then press the side button to turn it back on

After restarting your iPhone, open the Contacts app, and you will see that all the contacts are deleted.
However, if you do not want to delete every contact from your iPhone or iCloud, you can also delete them manually. Here’s how you can do that:

1. Log into iCloud.com on your PC.

   

   Sign in with your Apple ID

2. Scroll down and click on Contacts.

   

   Click on Contacts

3. Next, click on the contact that you want to delete.
4. Then, click on Edit.

   

   Hit the Edit button

5. After this, click on Delete Contact to delete the selected contact.

   

   Click on Delete Contact

6. Click on Delete “Contact Name” to confirm.

   

   Click on Delete “Contact Name” to confirm

3. Delete the Contact From WhatsApp

Another reason why you are unable to delete the contact from your device is that you have saved it on any third-party app instead of the default Phone app. The app can be any messaging app, such as Telegram or WhatsApp.

Thus, if you use any of them (or both), try deleting the contact from the app first, as it will immediately solve the issue. Follow the below steps to delete the contact from WhatsApp:

1. Go to WhatsApp and tap on the new chat icon in the top right corner.

   

   Tap on the new chat icon

2. After this, scroll down and tap on the contact that you want to remove from your device.
3. Next, tap on the contact’s name at the top of the chat.

   

   Tap on the contact’s name

4. Then, tap on Edit in the top right corner.

   

   Go to Edit

5. Tap on Delete Contact.

   

   Hit the Delete Contact button

6. Lastly, tap on Delete Contact to confirm the action.

   

   Tap on Delete Contact to confirm

You can do the same to delete contacts from other third-party apps, such as Telegram. After doing so, follow these steps to delete the contact from your iPhone:

1. Go to the Default Phone app, scroll down, and tap on the contact that you want to delete.
2. Next, tap on Edit in the top right corner.

   

   Go to Edit

3. Scroll down and tap on Delete Contact.

   

   Hit the Delete Contact button

4. Lastly, tap on Delete Contact to confirm. With this, you will be able to delete the contact without seeing the error of “Not all contacts were deleted.”

   

   Tap on Delete Contact to confirm

3. Remove the Contact as a “Siri Suggestion”

If you have tried to delete the contact from any third-party app and turn off iCloud syncing, but the issue persists, check whether the contact is saved as a Siri suggestion. Many users have reported that when the contact is saved as a Siri Suggestion, they are unable to delete it.

The cause is still unknown. However, it is assumed that when the contact is saved as a Siri Suggestion, it means that the contact is marked as “frequently used”. Thus, you can not delete that from your device unless you remove it as a Siri Suggestion.

Here’s how you can solve this issue:

1. Go to the Settings app, scroll down, and tap on Siri & Search.

   

   Go to Siri & Search

2. After this, scroll down and tap on Contacts.

   

   Select Contacts

3. Lastly, turn off Show Contact Suggestions.

   

   Turn off Show Contact Suggestions

You can also remove the contacts individually by going to the contact and removing it as a Siri suggestion. After this, you will be able to delete the contact without seeing any pop-up message.

In this post, we have gone through 3 effective methods that will help you solve the issue of Not all contacts were deleted. However, if you have tried all of them and none of the methods worked for you, contact Apple Support and tell them about the issue.

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