Why Are My Messages Not Showing a Contact Name on Apple Watch?
Even if your contacts on your Apple Watch have worked in the past, a few issues could cause them to stop working. For example, a software update or even adding a third-party app from the App Store could make your contact names stop showing up, or it could make your contacts disappear completely.
While it might seem like the update or the new app is to blame for the problem, more likely, there’s a problem with the syncing function preventing your contacts from syncing entirely from your iPhone to your Apple Watch. Fortunately, there are a handful of troubleshooting steps likely to solve this problem so you can get your contacts back in order on your Apple Watch.
How Do I Get My Contacts to Show on My Apple Watch?
Regardless of what causes your Apple Watch contacts to go missing, you’ll want to get the problem fixed as quickly as possible, so you can tell who is trying to get in touch with you from your Apple Watch. These troubleshooting steps should help. Work through them one at a time until you find the solution that solves your problem.
Restart your Apple Watch. If you’ve just updated your Apple watch, a simple restart could fix the issue you’re having with your Contact names not showing. Restarting can trigger your Apple Watch to sync with your phone again, which may pull all the data over correctly. After the restart, recheck your Contacts to see if the names have reappeared. Restart your iPhone. Restarting your iPhone may also fix the problem because when it restarts, it will reconnect with and resync with our Apple Watch, which, just as above, could cause the missing data to be pulled over to the Apple Watch. You can restart your Apple Watch and your iPhone simultaneously to make this process a little faster. Check your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections. Once you’ve restarted everything, check your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections to ensure your Apple Watch is connecting to your iPhone if your contacts are still not syncing correctly. If it’s not, then the contact information won’t be able to sync. You’ll need to connect your iPhone to Wi-Fi and turn on Bluetooth before trying to sync again. Unpair your Apple Watch and then and reconnect it to your iPhone. If, for some reason, your Apple Watch is still not syncing with your iPhone, unpairing and then repairing the devices could fix the problem. It should be a relatively quick process, and when you’re done, the Apple Watch should automatically sync with your iPhone, which should pull the contacts and all their information into the devices. When you unpair your Apple Watch, it will remove all the apps and data from the watch. Be sure you backup your Apple Watch before you begin, so you can restore the watch from the backup once it’s reconnected. Resync the data on your Apple Watch. After you’ve tried all the connections and pairing on your Apple Watch and iPhone, if the contacts are still not appearing properly, try resyncing the data manually. That may get the sync working again, which means all your data will be synced appropriately, including your contact information. Check any third-party apps you have installed. A third-party app could prevent syncing, especially if the app is having a problem. Look for any apps with access to your Contacts and remove them altogether. Once you’ve finished, force restart your Apple Watch by holding down both the side button and the Digital Crown for about 10 seconds. You can release the buttons when the Apple logo is displayed. Once the restart is complete, check to see if your contacts are syncing properly. When all else fails, an Apple Genius Bar appointment might be your best option for getting the issue fixed. You can get the help you need to get your contacts showing up properly again.
