What to do if contact names disappear in WhatsApp

There are 7 main reasons that WhatsApp does not display contact names. This failure can be fixed by consistently checking the presence of each of them, until the program starts to work correctly.

WhatsApp does not display contact names.

Why the names of contacts are not displayed in Vatsap

If in “Vatsap” instead of the usual nicknames of the interlocutors only their phone numbers are played, you do not need to immediately try to reinstall the application. This problem can sometimes be solved in a simpler way. In addition, if it is caused not by errors in the messenger, but by incorrect settings or a virus that has infected the gadget’s operating system, this action will not help.

Faced with such complexity are most often users of devices running on Android. However, if it arises from the owners of the iPhone, then you can resort to the same solutions.

Update phone book

The reason for the disappearance of the names of the interlocutors may be the removal of some of the entries from the gadget’s phone book. The first step to take in this case is to update the data..

To do this, you must:

  • open the list of subscribers in the program by clicking the chat icon located in the lower right corner of the screen;
  • click on the icon in the form of three points;
  • in the menu that appears, select the “Update” section.

Thanks to this action, the names of people previously deleted from the phone book of the smartphone will disappear, and the added ones will appear in the list of available interlocutors.

Check access to contacts

The most common cause of the failure is the application’s lack of permission to view the contact list. This is due to a failure in the privacy settings of the phone you are using..

You can fix the problem by following the instructions below:

  • open the “Settings” section;
  • select the “Applications” tab;
  • find WhatsApp in the list that appears;
  • go to the “Permissions” parameter;
  • move the marker located near the “Contacts” item to the active position;
  • exit the menu and restart the social network.

Restore the permission to view contacts in the Application.

Check Sync

Some mobile devices have the “Contact Sync” feature. It can be used if “Vatsap” began to play incorrect data..

To do this, you must:

  • open phone settings;
  • go to the “Accounts” section;
  • Find WhatsApp on the list;
  • Check if synchronization permission is set;
  • click on the “More” button or the icon with 3 dots;
  • in the menu that appears, select “Sync now”.

Step-by-step contact synchronization.

Filter setting

Some smartphones have the option “Hidden contacts”.

You can disable it by following the instructions:

  • enter the phone book;
  • go to the “Settings” section;
  • find the line “Contact Filter”;
  • check the box “All contacts”.

If the user is unable to find the function on his device, most likely, it is not provided, and the reason for the loss of nicknames is not this.

Application update

An old version of the program may be installed on the gadget, as a result of which various malfunctions occur in its operation, including and if the messenger does not see the contacts.

You can solve it by acting in accordance with the following instructions:

  • open the “Play Store”;
  • in the search bar enter the query “WhatsApp”;
  • go to the messenger page;
  • click the “Update” button.

There is also a second way:

  • Open the section “My applications and games” in the menu of your Google account;
  • select the tab “Updates”;
  • Find a malfunctioning social network in the list;
  • click the “Update” button located to the right of the WhatsApp name.

The application will not be displayed in this list if the latest version is installed on the device.

To prevent this problem from happening again, it’s advisable to enable automatic updates in your phone’s settings..

The number is entered incorrectly

To correctly transfer the contact list from the device’s memory to the WhatsApp social network, phone numbers must be specified in the international format.

Therefore, you must enter the data of the new subscriber as follows:

  • the symbol “+”;
  • code of the country;
  • code of the city or mobile operator;
  • 7 digits.

Virus or temporary failure

The above recommendations do not always help resolve the issue. Then, perhaps the problem is caused by the smartphone’s operating system being corrupted by a virus. You can check with special programs for smartphones. If no malicious application is found, it is recommended to restart the gadget.

If this does not fix the problem, you should remove the application from your phone and install it again. A more cardinal method, which is worth resorting to last, is to return the device to the factory settings, followed by reloading the messenger.