[FAQ] Why Are My Phone Contacts Linked to Another iPhone
by Sophie Green Updated on 2024-07-04 / Update for iPhone Tips
Recently sold my iPhone 7 privately and purchased an iPhone 13. Before selling I had the phone unlocked by the career and reformatted the device to factory settings. Recently my new iPhone 11 pro has been adding contacts that I myself have not put in and deleting contacts of close friends. How can I fix this?"
If you have bought a shiny new iPhone and it is automatically adding new contacts, you might wonder why are my phone contacts linked to another iPhone. There are various reasons why this happens with iCloud sync being the Biggy. You can fix this issue using various methods and that is exactly what you are going to learn in the following guide.
Turning off iCloud sync, erasing your device on the iCloud website, and deleting your iCloud account are some of the ways for how to remove my contacts from another phone procedure.
- Part 1. Why Are My Phone Contacts Linked to Another iPhone?
- Part 2. How to Stop My Contacts from Syncing to Another Phone?
- Part 3. Recommended Free iOS Backup Tool to Backup iPhone Contacts
Part 1. Why Are My Phone Contacts Linked to Another iPhone?
Before you apply the fixes to your iPhone, you may want to find out why are my contacts showing up on another iPhone, this section answers that question for you.
A reason why your iPhone shows contacts that you have not added is because there is another Apple device that uses the same iCloud account as you.
Everything that that other user uploads to their contacts shows up on your iPhone. You are both syncing your data with the same iCloud account which is then reflected on your iOS devices.
Part 2. How to Stop My Contacts from Syncing to Another Phone?
Once you have learned why the issue occurs, you may want to find out how to stop my contacts from syncing to another phone. There are actually multiple methods to fix this sync conflict on your iPhone and the following covers those methods for you.
Method 1. Toggle Contacts in iCloud Off
One of the most effective methods to get around the issue is to disable Contacts sync for iCloud on your iPhone. This will prevent your contacts from being synced to your iCloud account which will then not load any unwanted contacts on your device.
- Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
Tap on your name banner at the top, select iCloud, and turn off the Contacts option.
That should fix the issue for you.
Method 2. Delete the iCloud Account on the iPhone You Want to Unlink
Another way for how to unlink contacts on iPhone is to delete the iCloud account from your iOS device. You will then have to create a new account and link it to your phone to be able to use all iCloud features.
- Launch the Settings app on your iOS device.
Tap on your name banner at the top and tap on Sign Out on the following screen.
You can then link a new iCloud account with your iPhone.
Method 3. Change Your Apple ID Password
If you change your Apple ID password, the other person using your account will have to enter this new password. If they cannot do it, their contacts will not sync with your iCloud account and you will be able to fix the issue you are currently facing on your iPhone.
The following should teach you how do I unsync my phone from another phone.
Open the Settings app, tap on your name, and select Password & Security.
Tap on the option that says Change Password to change your password.
You can then enter a new password for your iCloud account.
Method 4. Erase a Device in Find My iPhone on iCloud.com
iCloud web allows you to erase your iOS devices remotely and you can use this feature to erase everything, including contacts, saved on your iPhone. This should fix the contacts conflict issue you have on your device.
- Head over to the iCloud website and log-in to your account.
Click on Find iPhone on the following screen.
- Click on All Devices at the top and choose your iPhone.
Select the Erase iPhone option to erase your device.
That should fix the issue that phone contacts linked to another iPhone for you.
Part 3. Recommended Free iOS Backup Tool to Backup iPhone Contacts
Regardless of what you do with your backups, it is a good idea to first create a backup of your contacts. While there are several ways to do it, a third-party lets you do it the easiest way.
Enter Tenorshare iCareFone, a software that allows you to transfer items from your iOS device over to your computer. Using this feature, you can have all your contacts backed up to your machine before you make any modifications to them on your device. The following shows how to do that.
- Download the latest version of the software and install it on your computer.
- Plug-in your iPhone to your computer and launch the software.
Click on Backup & Restore at the top of your software interface.
On the following screen, you will be asked what you want to backup. Tick-mark the option for Contacts and click on Backup at the bottom.
When your contacts are backed up, you will see the following message on your screen.
Now that your contacts are safely copied to your machine, you can go ahead and play around with them on your iPhone.
Summary
If you are not sure why are my contacts showing up on my daughters iPhone, chances are you have enabled iCloud sync on all of your devices. The above guide shows how to fix the issue and also shows how you can backup your contacts to avoid losing them in case things go south.
FAQs on iPhone Contacts Linked to Another iPhone
1. Why are my contacts showing up on my daughters iPhone
Your contacts are showing up on your daughter’s iPhone because you are both using the same iCloud account. This way both your phones’ contacts are syncing to each other.
2. How do I stop my iPhone from syncing contacts?
You can head to Settings > [your-name] > iCloud and disable the Contacts toggle to stop your iPhone from syncing contacts. This is the easiest way to do it.
3. How do I unlink my iPhone from another iPhone?
You can unlink your iPhone from another iPhone by changing the iCloud account that you use on your device. Go to Settings, tap on your name, and select Sign Out to unlink your iPhone from your current account. You can then link your iPhone with another account.