Title: iOS 27 – Contact management has become confusing, with missing edit options and duplicate contact issues
Hi everyone,
I’ve been using iPhones for many years, and I’ve always managed my contacts directly through the Phone app. Until recently, this worked perfectly, but with iOS 27, I’m experiencing several frustrating issues that make something as simple as saving a phone number unnecessarily complicated.
1. Contacts appearing under “Other Known” instead of regular Contacts
Several people I’ve known and called for years are now appearing under “Other Known” rather than in my regular contact list.
Some of these contacts were originally saved directly from recent calls, while others were received through AirDrop and saved.
However, I’ve discovered that some of them were never actually saved to my iCloud Contacts, despite having names and phone numbers associated with them on my iPhone.
Why does saving or recognizing someone’s contact information not necessarily create a proper contact?
2. Missing contact editing options
When opening these contacts, I often cannot find the normal “Edit” button.
Instead, I only have limited options, such as changing the name, calling the person, sharing the contact, or marking them as unknown.
To properly save these people, I’ve had to manually create new contacts through the Contacts app.
Previously, I could simply open a recent call, add the number to an existing contact or create a new one, and save it.
Why has this process become so complicated?
3. Duplicate contacts that won’t disappear
After manually creating the missing contacts, my iPhone started identifying duplicates.
I selected the option to merge them, but the duplicate warning remained.
Eventually, I had to remove the duplicate manually. Unfortunately, this also resulted in a phone number disappearing from the contact I wanted to keep.
Luckily, I had the number saved elsewhere.
This is particularly concerning because merging contacts should preserve their information, not risk losing it.
4. Dual SIM settings
I also use two phone numbers on my iPhone.
When creating or updating contacts, I repeatedly have to select which phone line should be used for calling them. The phone doesn’t always seem to remember my previous selection, making the process even more frustrating.
5. Contact search and alphabetical organization
When searching for contacts in the Phone app, results are divided into categories such as regular Contacts, Other Results, and Other Known.
I would prefer a straightforward alphabetical list of my saved contacts, as I was accustomed to using for many years.
The current presentation makes it difficult to distinguish between properly saved contacts and people the phone merely recognizes.
My setup:
- iPhone running iOS 27.0.1
- iCloud is my only contact synchronization account
- I have always used iCloud to store my contacts
- Dual SIM with two active phone numbers
My questions are:
- Is this expected behavior in iOS 27, or are these software bugs?
- Why do some previously saved contacts appear under “Other Known” without being properly stored in iCloud?
- Is there a way to restore the previous, simpler contact management workflow?
- Why does merging duplicate contacts sometimes fail or result in missing information?
- Are other users experiencing similar problems?
I appreciate improvements and new features, but I find it difficult to understand why basic functions that worked reliably for years have become more complicated.
I would really appreciate feedback from Apple or other users who have experienced the same issues.
Thank you!