While iPhones are advanced and security friendly in many ways, there are a few things which are not exactly simple in the phone. Those who have been using iPhone since some time now, would know that it is not easy to find and merge duplicate contacts on iPhone.

Users need to manually merge the contact information or even use a third-party application to locate the duplicate apps and merge them in an iPhone. Up till now, Apple’s contact app didn’t have the ability to locate and eliminate duplicate contacts. But the new iOS 16 update makes this possible.

Your SIM card won’t have duplicate contacts anymore with this new update.

How to merge duplicate contacts on iPhone?

Follow the below steps to merge duplicate contacts on iPhone:

Open the contacts app on your iPhone.
Make sure you have installed the iPhone 16 update on your phone beforehand.
You will see a notification card in the contacts app with the “Duplicates Found” message. It generally appears at the top of the contact list.
If you don’t see a notification like this, scroll to the bottom of the contacts list. Here, you will be able to see the total number of your contacts and the number of duplicate contacts.
Now click on the card to see every duplicate contact on your phone.
Tap on ‘merge all’ option present at the bottom. Just by clicking on merge all, your duplicate contacts will get merged easily. If you don’t wish to merge them, tap on ‘ignore all’ option.
If you wish to inspect individual duplicate cards, tap on the contact card you wish to inspect. Once you see the details in an expanded form, inspect, and decide if you wish to merge it.
In case, you wish to merge, tap on the merge button. You will see the contact info being consolidated under one single contact card in your phone.
If you don’t want to merge the contact, tap on ‘ignore’ to not merge the contact.

Thanks to the iOS 16 update, it has become very easy to merge duplicate contacts on iPhone.

If you still don’t have iOS 16 update, you can also merge duplicate contacts manually.

How to merge duplicate contacts on iPhone manually?

Follow the below steps to identify and merge duplicate contacts on iPhone manually:

Scroll through your contacts list and identify the duplicate contact.
Tap on the duplicate contact.
Now choose the ‘edit’ option.
Post that, select ‘link contacts’ option.
You will see your contact list now. Scroll and select the identical contact from your list and then click on the link button.
Tap on done to complete merging of the contact.

You will have to follow these steps for every duplicate contact on your iPhone.

Note: By merging two duplicate contacts, you are also deleting the duplicate contact from your iPhone.

What is the new iOS update?

The new iOS 16 update was rolled out this year for enhancing iPhone performance with its all-new personalizing feature and new ways to communicate and share. The changes are introduced for following sections of the phone:

Lock Screen
Focus
iCloud Shared photo and library
Messages
Mail
Safari
Live Text

And many more.

The update also includes a feature to identify and merge contacts. Let’s look at this feature and the steps involved.

FAQs on Merge Contacts in iPhone

1. Is the feature to merge the duplicate contacts in iPhone free?

Yes, you can merge duplicate contacts in iPhone for free. Both the smart and manual ways are free of any charges.

2. Why are there duplicate contacts in my phone?

Sometimes, when contacts are imported to your iPhone from several sources, various contact entries with identical data happen. This results in duplicate contacts in your phone.

3. What to do if my iPhone is running on iOS 15 or lower?

As discussed above, only iOS 16 offers the smart way to delete or remove duplicate contact cards. Therefore, you will need to use third party apps to identify and merge duplicate contact cards in your phone.

Also read: Airtel missed call alert – How to activate on your phone