Loaded Golden Gate macOS. Contacts freeze.

No, Contacts should work fine on macOS 27 Golden Gate. It certainly does for me.

First, confirm that you are signed into your Apple Account. Go to System Settings and click on your name at the top of the sidebar.

Next, check iCloud Sync. If your Contacts app is trying to sync a corrupted vCard/database from iCloud upon launch, temporarily disconnecting your internet or turning off Contacts sync can help isolate whether the freeze is caused by a local file or a cloud sync loop. To turn off Contacts sync, after clicking on your name in System Settings:

• Click on iCloud
• If Contacts does not show as a 'button' under Saved to iCloud, then click See All
• Toggle Contacts OFF
• See if the Contacts app launched successfully

If that does not help, have you rebooted your Mac? If not, that's the next step. If that does not help, then see if the problem is present when you boot in safe mode. That process performs some system cleanup and clears caches, and also disables 3rd party extensions that may cause problems.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

If that does not correct the issue, test in a new user account. A newly-created user account will have all settings at default, and if the issue does not occur in that new account then it provides guidance on what may need to be changed to correct the issue.

Add a user or group on Mac - Apple Support

Once the testing is complete, the new account can easily be deleted.

Delete a user or group on Mac – Apple Support

Those steps will help to isolate the problem.

It might help to download and run EtreCheck, written by a long-time forum member. The free version is fine. Post the full report using the Additional Text button. No personal information is revealed. 

On your MacBook Air running macOS 27.0.1, first confirm the version under Apple menu >> About This Mac, then check System Settings >> General >> Software Update for any newer macOS 27 update. 

A Contacts freeze does not necessarily mean macOS 27 is the cause. Apple: Update macOS on Mac

Restart your Mac and open Contacts normally. 

If it freezes, quit it and try opening it again while holding the Shift key. 

This prevents Contacts from restoring its previous application state. Apple: Prevent apps and windows from reopening

If it still freezes, try Safe Mode. Since your MacBook Air has Apple silicon, shut it down, Do Not use Restart,  press and hold the power button until the startup options appear, select your startup disk, hold Shift, and choose Continue in Safe Mode. 

Then open Contacts normally. Apple: Start up your Mac in safe mode

If Contacts works in Safe Mode but freezes after a normal startup, something that loads during a normal startup may be involved. 

If it also freezes in Safe Mode, create a new macOS user account and test Contacts there. 

If Contacts works in the new account, the problem may be limited to your current account or its Contacts data. 

If it freezes there too, the issue may be system-wide.

If needed, the next test is iCloud Contacts. 

Temporarily turn Contacts off under System Settings >> your name >> iCloud >> See All >>→ Contacts, carefully follow any prompts about keeping local data, and then test Contacts again.

If Contacts continues to freeze during a normal launch, with the Shift-key launch, in Safe Mode, and in a new user account, while macOS is fully updated, a macOS/Contacts problem becomes substantially more plausible, although that still would not prove macOS 27 is the cause. 

At that point, I would contact Apple Support before considering a macOS reinstallation.

 Product Feedback - and make it known to Apple regarding this ongoing issue

snowwalker1 wrote:

Loaded macOS Golden Gate 27.0.1. Contacts freeze when I try to open it. Is the problem with Golden Gate macOS?

neuroatomist has provided some some good guidance, focusing on your Mac as I agree that something local on your Mac or its settings is likely the key to sorting this out.

You can do more here to explore what is going on:

• Other devices, such as another Mac or an iPhone. Are all the contacts working ok there, assuming they too are syncing like your Mac with OS 27 is.
• Log in to your Apple ID at iCloud.com and inspect the Contacts there. In particular, make sure the number of contacts matches the number of contacts on other devices. If the numbers don't match, try to figure out where the "extra(s)" are, as they might be the ones that could be corrupt.
• Also, assuming the contacts all appear in Contacts online in iCloud, you can export them in vcard format, potentially to then import on your Mac locally at some point. But I would not do that yet as it could disrupt things or create duplicates. But it would be good to check that the number of contacts is correct in iCloud and that those contacts look ok.