WhatsApp Contact Not Showing? Here’s How to Fix It

If you’ve opened WhatsApp and noticed that your contacts are missing or worse, only showing as numbersyou’re not alone. This is a common issue that can happen for many reasons, like permission errors, sync problems, or app bugs. The good news? It’s usually easy to fix in just a few steps. so there is no need to worry because we have discussed all the ways to fix the problem of WhatsApp Contact Not Showing.

Why Is WhatsApp Not Showing Contact Names on iPhone?

If you are sure that you have saved the contacts, but every time you enter WhatsApp and search for their name, you cannot find them, even if you use two WhatsApps on the same phone and facing the problem of not finding contacts in the second WhatsApp (for example, in WhatsApp Business); use the solutions we provide in this section to fix the problem of WhatsApp Contact Not Showing.

Checking permission to access contacts

One of the most basic things you need to check is to check ifWhatsApp has access to contacts. If you have not given WhatsApp this permission in the settings, this messenger cannot identify contacts and show you their names.

Disabling the permission to access contacts will even prevent new contacts you saved from appearing in the WhatsApp contact list. Giving access to WhatsApp contacts is the same on Android and iPhone. Follow the steps based on the image and description below:

In your phone's settings, select "apps".

Search for WhatsApp in the list of applications.

In the permissions section, click on "contacts".

Select "full access" from the options.

Clear WhatsApp cache

WhatsApp cache can sometimes cause problems. To fix the problem of WhatsApp Contact Not Showing, you can clear the cache of this messenger.

Clearing WhatsApp cache on Android and iPhone is different, so use the separate images and steps for each to do this:

Go to the "general" section of your mobile settings.

Then tap on "iPhone storage".

Select WhatsApp from the list of applications.

The "offload app" option works similarly to clearing cache on Android.

Enable Background App Refresh

You may have turned off background data in your settings. So go to your iPhone settings, apps, and select WhatsApp. Then make sure the "background app refresh" button is turned on, as shown in the image below.

How to Show My Contacts on WhatsApp

One of the guaranteed and easy ways to fix WhatsApp Contact Not Showing is to save the contact in the correct format with the country code.

Since WhatsApp reads numbers in international format, you must save each contact's number with the country code. Instead of saving a contact in the phone contact application, you can save the contact from WhatsApp itself on your iphone, as shown in the image below.

Enter the chat section and click on + at the top of the page.

Then click on "new contact".

Enter the contact's first and last name along with the contact number with the country code and click on "save" at the top of the page.


WhatsApp is an international messenger and in order for it to recognize numbers, you must save your contacts in the correct format. for android do the steps below:

Click on the green "send message" button.

Click on the "new contact" option.

Enter the contact's full name and number, then click "save".

Why Is a Contact Not Showing in WhatsApp on Android?

In the above section, we have explained how you can solve the problem of WhatsApp Contact Not Showing or not syncing if your mobile phone is an iPhone. From this section till the rest of the article, steps are for those who have an Android mobile phone.

📍Also read: How to Change your WhatsApp Account Number

Disable Device Care

Since some Android phones have a feature called device care or battery saver that may prevent WhatsApp from running in the background, you should definitely disable this option.
For instructions on disabling device care, you can refer to the linked article.

Note. This feature is only available on Android phones.

Reset App Preference

If you reset app restrictions, you are resetting the app's default settings. For example, let's say you have disabled access to WhatsApp contacts. If you reset these settings, the messenger will return to its original state and will be able to recognize contacts and sync them with your contact app.

To do this, select "apps" in your phone's settings.

Tap the three dots at the top of the screen and then select "reset app preferences."

Note: This feature is only available on Android phones.

Granting access to contacts

Giving access to contacts on WhatsApp for Android is a little different from iPhone. To do this, use the instructions and images below:

Go to the "apps" section in your phone's settings.

Select "whatsapp" from the list of available apps.

Tap "permission" to enter the permissions section.

Tap "contact" to grant access to contacts.

Tap "allow" to enable this permission.

Clear WhatsApp cache

Clearing WhatsApp cache on Android is different from iPhone, as iPhone doesn't have a clear cache option. To do this, go to Settings and Apps, find WhatsApp, and then follow these steps:

Tap on "storage and cache".

Then tap on "clear cache".

Allow Background Usage

If background usage is not turned on, WhatsApp is not actually running in the background and therefore cannot read contacts. The process for enabling "background usage" is slightly different on iPhone and Android. To do this, go to Settings and Apps on your Android phone, find WhatsApp, and then follow these steps:

Tap on "app battery usage".

Turn on the "allow background usage" switch.

Using the methods recommended in this article, you can easily fix the problem of WhatsApp Contact Not Showing on your Android or iPhone. If you encounter problems while performing the above steps or if the contacts you have just saved are still not showing up in WhatsApp, please share your problem in the comments so that we can answer you.