[Fixed] Google Pixel and Samsung owners report missing contacts on Android

Abner Li | Jun 15 2023 - 11:11 am PT

More than a few Google Pixel and Samsung owners today are reporting that their contacts are missing and have disappeared from their Android phone.

Update: Google this evening acknowledged that a “bug within Google Contacts resulted in contact data not appearing for some Android and Web users.” The problem is described as a “data access issue” and that “no contact data was directly affected.”

We have fully rolled out a bug fix for affected users.

Users can manually sync contacts to their Android device via Google Contacts sync (open your device’s Settings app > Google > Settings for Google apps > Google Contacts sync > Status > tap Sync arrow) or refresh contacts.google.com in their web browser for the fix to take effect and see their contact data.

Those impacted opened the Google Contacts app on Android to find that there are “No contacts in this account.” This is a frightening thing to have happen, but fortunately all contacts still appear online at contacts.google.com, which offers a passable mobile web experience.

Attempts to restore or re-sync contacts do not work, though some have had success: Settings app > Passwords & accounts > [@gmail.com address] > Account sync > Contacts toggle.

As such, this missing contacts issue on Android appears to be a sync problem possibly related to Google Play services.

It’s unclear whether this is related, but Google recently (with version 23.20+ of Play services) made it so that “turning off sync with Google Contacts sync will now remove the previously synced contacts from your Android phone.” The problem users are now encountering could be due to that underlying change.

Top comment by Carl Steffen

Liked by 27 people

Thanks for the hint on Google Play services - on my Pixel 7, I long tapped on my Play Store, selected "app info", did a force stop, then cleared the storage. I then went back to my contacts and refreshed, and they all came back. Not sure if it was a coincidence of timing or the fix but I'm finally working again.

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There are dozens of reports of this occurring over the past day alone, especially among Pixel owners of all generations. This should not be tied to OS version, including the recently released Android 13 QPR3 update. However, there are also reports from Samsung and other OEM devices, which again suggest this is a broader issue with Google Play services.

We’re reaching out to Google for more information.

Updating…