Mac: Repair broken contacts database

The Contacts app on the Apple Mac shows you local, iCloud and other contacts. However, it can happen that something goes wrong, contact information is missing, individual people and companies are not displayed or the like. You can read in the following instructions how to repair a defective contact database under macOS. Basically, this boils down to forcing the system to recreate the overview and thus eliminate errors. Before you try the procedure on your Mac, iMac, MacBook or other Apple computer, you should make a backup (at least of the contacts) - just to be on the safe side.

If you want to repair a defective contacts database on your Mac, the instructions here will help you. Changing contacts and their e-mail, address, telephone number, etc. also works again.

Background: Help with locally saved contacts

If the faulty contacts in your overview on the Mac are iCloud content, then the instructions below are of little use. To re-catalog cloud-based contacts, you have to remove the corresponding account (iCloud, Exchange, Google, Yahoo, AOL, etc.) and register it again. Then a completely new query of the contacts linked to the service is triggered and the database is updated accordingly. If you need help with incorrectly displayed or missing contacts that you only manage on the Mac, you can continue with the steps shown below.

Cloud-based contact details such as B. You can update the contacts copied via the iCloud by logging out and logging in again. Screenshot source: Apple.com

Repair broken contacts database on Mac

Now let's get to the instructions. The process is pretty simple and you don't even need that Port. In effect, it's just a matter of deleting the Contacts app's directory files to force them to be recreated. If you want to create a backup of your contacts beforehand, simply select from the menu bar filing -> Export... -> Contacts archive and then save the appropriate file.

Then you close the contacts app and do the following:

1. First you have to maneuver yourself to the address book or AddressBook folder. The fastest way to do this is to open the Finder in the menu bar Go to -> Go to the folder ... chooses and then ~ / Library / Application Support / AddressBook entered and confirmed.
2. In the AddressBook folder you look for these files and delete them:
   addressbook-v22.abcddb
   addressbook-v22.abcddb-wal
   addressbook-v22.abcddb-shm
3. Then you open the contacts app and see how (or whether) the contact list is updated

You have to delete these three files so that the contacts database on the Mac is recreated. A backup of the entire folder can be made beforehand.

If nothing changes or something goes wrong, reset the folder named above with the backup created.

Why the procedure can repair the Mac Contact Database

The Contacts app on the Mac saves the contact details individually as vCards. In order to provide a quickly usable list of contacts, these individual vCards are cataloged in a database. If you now make changes to a single contact entry, both the catalog database and the individual vCard must be adapted. If the database is defective for any reason, the changes cannot be saved. Other errors can also occur. By deleting and automatically recreating the above-mentioned files, the contact database is created from scratch from the existing vCards. In this way (ideally) old mistakes are eliminated. 

Jen Kleinholz( Founder & Sir Apfelot )

Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He appears as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with problems of a technical nature. In his free time he drives electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with his iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions for current bugs.