How to delete contacts from iPhone 4s. Quickly delete numbers from iPhone: mass or selective

Accumulated information sooner or later needs to be systematized. This rule fully applies to the address book of a smartphone, the number of entries in which is constantly increasing. Over time, some stored data may no longer be relevant. Having disappeared from your sight, a person can change their phone number, email address or Skype login. In this case, it is useful to know how to delete all contacts from iPhone or perform selective editing.

The structure of the address book in iOS remains virtually unchanged with the release of new versions of the operating system. The changes are cosmetic in nature, without affecting the main functions. Thanks to this, contact management for any iPhone model, be it 4S, 5, SE, 6, 7, 8 or X, is absolutely identical. You can work with them in a separate application or directly in the phone book.

Apple is constantly increasing the autonomy of the iPhone, reducing its dependence on the computer and iTunes. Each new version of the program gets rid of unnecessary functions that can be performed on the smartphone itself. To this day, iTunes is not needed to update firmware, manage software, and synchronize contacts. All this is done over the air using wireless networks.

Individual removal

For user safety and protection from erroneous actions, iOS does not have the ability to mass delete address book entries. You cannot select several subscribers at once and completely erase them in one motion. This rule works regardless of whether you are holding the 4th or 10th iPhone in your hands. The need to clear the list of duplicates is often caused by Viber, WhatsApp messengers or social network clients who have access to the address book.

  1. In order to clear the saved list of subscribers, we use the single deletion mode. We open the card that we are going to remove from the list. Click on the button indicated by the arrow.
  1. Let's scroll through several screens on which you can view all the records related to the subscriber. At the very bottom there is a button highlighted with a frame. Click on it to erase data.
  1. We confirm the decision by using the corresponding pop-up menu item. The deleted contact will be automatically erased from the main area and favorites. The number will only be saved in the black list if it was previously placed there.

It will be impossible to cancel this action in case of an error and return the contact.

Complete removal

You can completely delete all data associated with your account from your phone only if you disable synchronization. You can find the necessary parameters in two places.

  1. Open the settings and go to the marked item.
  1. Using the preview, we look at which account mentions the “Contacts” item. By default, the storage that is set as the primary storage for synchronization is placed at the top of the list.
  1. If you use several accounts, open the duplicate ones first. We move the marked switch to the “Off” position.
  1. The same operation performed in the master record will require confirmation. To delete the entire address book, select the specified pop-up menu item.

iCloud Settings

Most users use only Apple's proprietary cloud service to store phone numbers. In this case, you can choose a faster erasing method.

  1. Open the main settings page. At the top of the screen, in the area indicated by a frame, are iCloud management options. Click on it to enter the main menu.

To delete contacts from an iPhone, you can use both the company’s native applications, its services, and third-party software. Let's look at all the available ways to delete numbers from the iPhone book.

Deleting contacts from the iPhone phone book is very easy - you don’t need third-party applications for this, and you don’t even need to synchronize with your PC via iTunes or iCloud. Let's look at a simple instruction:

  • go to the “Contacts” application and select the desired number by clicking on it;
  • then click “Change” in the upper right corner;
  • Click “Delete” and confirm the action to complete the operation.

The instructions are suitable for models 6s, 7, 8, X, XS, XR with the latest version of the iOS operating system. With older smartphones, the appearance of the interface or the location of the necessary buttons may differ.

How to completely delete all contacts from iPhone at once

To delete all contacts at once, you will have to use synchronization with another device - a personal computer. To do this, you can use iTunes or Apple's internal cloud - iCloud. Each method is convenient in its own way. Its choice depends only on the individual preferences of the owner and the speed of access to a particular platform.

If you don’t want to tinker with programs, and there is no more valuable information on your smartphone besides contacts, you can erase all data at once by clearing the internal memory card through the device settings.

Synchronization is always required to use programs. This means that without an Internet connection to your home or mobile network, you will not be able to clear your phone book.

This method is very simple. To delete all contacts at once, you must:

  • launch the software and connect the smartphone to the PC via a USB cable;
  • Click on the phone icon in the upper left corner and go to the “Information” section;
  • in the required part of the page, check the box next to synchronization and click on “All”;

  • By clicking on “Contacts” in the “Add-ons” section, confirm the action using the “Apply” button.

This method will work if the selected options for synchronization, for example, Outlook or Windows Contacts, do not contain any contact information. That is, all numbers on the smartphone will be replaced with an empty file.

To delete it through the company’s internal service, just make sure that the device is synchronized with the PC via the cloud and go to the website. Next we follow these instructions:

  • on the main page click on the “Contacts” icon;

  • in the presented list, select the numbers and click on the gear icon in the lower left corner to open the context menu;
  • Click “Delete” and confirm the action.

This way you can erase several contacts from your device. The main condition is cloud synchronization so that information from the smartphone is reflected in it.

Deleting contacts for devices with Jailbreak

If the device has previously been jailbroken and the user has been able to install third-party applications, you can download one of the many utilities that can quickly clear any user data. For example, this can be done using iTools or Erase Contacts.

Below are instructions for each program.

Using iTools

The program is a multifunctional file manager, which some iPhone users find more convenient to use than iTunes or the cloud. Based on the features of the software, you can understand that deleting contacts will not take much time.

Instructions:

  • install the program by downloading it from a reliable resource - you can find iTools on any specialized website, but it is better to download the software from trusted torrent resources;
  • turn on the instrument and connect the smartphone to the PC via a USB cable;
  • we wait until the program detects the phone and all the basic information is displayed on the main page;
  • Click on the “Contacts” section to go to the phone book;

  • Then we follow the same principle of action as in iCloud - select the necessary numbers and delete them (you can select all contacts at once with a checkmark).

This option will work if you first disable synchronization with iCloud and other internal Apple applications.

Via Erase Contacts

To carry out an operation with this application, you only need to launch it and confirm the process. Nothing more is required from the user. It should be remembered that since this is a third-party utility and its manufacturer is not responsible for the possibility of software failures, using the software may lead to problems with the current operating system on the device.

Clearing contacts on iOS is quite easy. To completely delete all recordings, you can use iTunes, iCloud or iTools. Each option has its own characteristics that should be taken into account when using. But the process itself takes very little time and in most cases will not require resorting to third-party applications.

When the phone book in the iPhone is “bursting at the seams” and is still filled with useless contacts, its owner, of course, has no time for jokes. He will either have to come to terms with the discomfort arising from this chaos of data, or roll up his sleeves and still restore order to his own device (that is, delete contacts from the iPhone).

If you know how to fight laziness and choose the second option, then check out the various ways to clean up your contact list and start cleaning.

Method No. 1: selective removal using the standard function

1. Open the “Contacts” section.

2. Tap on the contact you want to get rid of.

3. In the “Data” panel, activate “Edit” (the button in the upper right corner).

4. Under the list of contact information, click “Delete Contact.”

Method number 2: cleaning icloud.com

With this Apple service, you can quickly remove a large number of contacts with just the click of a button.

1. On a PC or laptop, go to icloud.com using your Apple ID (identifier).

2. From the tiled menu, select Contacts.

3. In the section submenu, click “All contacts”.

4. In the next column, in the list, select the names of subscribers whose phone numbers, ICQ, email you no longer want to see on your iPhone:

  • if you need to delete one contact, left-click on it;
  • if a group of contacts located next to each other in the list, hold down the “Shift” key and click on the first and last name (after which all the names of the designated group will be highlighted);
  • if there are many contacts, but selectively, hold down the “CTRL” key and select the names of the interlocutors whose data you want to remove.

5. Once selected, press “DELETE” (Del key) to activate cleaning.

6. In the lower left corner, click the “gear” icon.

7. In the context menu of options that opens, select “Update Contacts” to synchronize the changes with your phone.

Method #3: Delete all contacts in iTunes

This “cleaning” option is especially suitable for users who want to quickly “reset” the data in the phone book. And at the same time, don’t bother yourself with the question, but you can delete contacts from the iPhone using its built-in functions.

1. Download the iTunes manager from the offsite and install it on your computer.

3. Connect iPhone to PC via USB cable.

4. When the manager detects a connected device, a corresponding icon (a miniature image of a smartphone) will appear on its panel. Left click on it.

5. Then go to the Info section.

6. Check the box next to the “Sync Contacts” option.

7. Enable the “All contacts” add-on.

8. In the “Advanced” settings block, in the list of elements “Replace information on this...” (Replace information on this...), check the “Contacts” checkbox.

9. Click on the “Apply” button.

10. An additional window will open with a warning message about synchronization activation. To confirm this action, click Replace Information.

Method No. 4: cleaning with the Erase Contacts utility

The Erase Contacts application is available in Cydia - an alternative software store for the iOS shell - in the BigBoss section (installed in the software client by default).

  1. Open Cydia panel on iPhone.
  2. In the search line, enter - Erase Contacts.
  3. Click the block with the name of the utility in the search results.
  4. To install the tweak, first tap “Modify” and then “Install”.
  5. To completely clear your contact database, click the “Erase Contacts” icon on your smartphone’s desktop.

Method No. 5: deleting contact database files in iTools

(Advanced users only!)
1. Install iTools and iTunes on your PC (the iTools file manager does not work without the Apple application!).

3. Go to the File System tab.

4. Open the directory:

private → var → mobile → Library → AddressBook

5. In the AddressBook folder, delete the AddressBookImages.sqlitedb and AddressBook.sqlitedb files.

6. Reboot.

Let your iPhone's phone book always contain only useful information.

How to delete all content from iPhone

We have already talked about how to transfer contacts to iPhone, considering options using iCloud and the Yandex.Move service. However, many users are interested in the possibility of deleting all contacts from the iPhone that remain there, for example, from the previous owner. In this article we will look at this simple procedure in detail.

Not all Apple smartphone users know how to properly prepare their iPhone for sale. As a result, the new owner has a whole bunch of problems, including incomprehensible applications with endless notifications, old contacts, a set password for Restrictions, and much, much more. In order not to lose face in front of the buyer and properly prepare your iPhone, you can study, in which we described everything in detail.

But today we’re not talking about that, but about how to quickly and completely delete all contacts from your iPhone. It's very easy to do.

Step 1: Connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable

Step 2: Open iTunes (If iTunes is not installed, you can download the latest version from the official website)

Step 3. Wait until the iPhone is detected by the program, then select it in the side menu. The side menu can be accessed by going to the menu View -> Show side menu


Step 4. Go to section Information and check the box Sync contacts with: and select a program that does not contain contacts

Step 5: Click Synchronize in the lower right corner of the screen


After this, all contacts on your iPhone will be deleted. Some problems may arise during the process, let's look at some of them.

What to do if you still have contacts on your iPhone?

This situation means that the program's contact book already contained some contacts that were automatically transferred to your device. You only need to sync with an empty workbook or clear it. The easiest way is to synchronize with Windows Contacts, having first deleted all files from the folder [System_drive]/Users/[Account_name]/Contacts.

What should I do if iTunes gives me a notification about syncing my contacts over the wireless network?

In this case, the previous iPhone owner did not disable iCloud contact synchronization (or you used it yourself). If you want to delete contacts from iPhone, then you need to disable iCloud synchronization. To do this, go to the menu on your iPhone Settings -> iCloud and deactivate the switch Contacts. If after this iTunes also displays a notification about wireless synchronization, in the same menu on your smartphone at the very bottom, press the button Delete account. Attention: after clicking, the synchronization of your data to the iCloud cloud service will stop.

Over a long time of using a phone, it can accumulate a lot of telephone contacts, which sooner or later you want to get rid of. Apple devices have several ways to remove them all. They are divided into standard ones - using functions natively present on the iPhone and iPad, and additional ones - using third-party programs that require a jailbroken device.

How to delete all contacts from iPad and iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5s, 6, 6s

The first method is suitable for deleting contacts one by one, since you will have to repeat the same steps for each number over and over again.

Manual removal

To delete each number separately, without using third-party programs, follow these steps:

  • Open the Contacts app.
  • Select the one you need from the list and click on it to open detailed information.
  • Click the “Change” button to open the settings.
  • Scroll down and click on the red rectangle that says “Delete contact.”
  • Press the red button again to confirm the action.

Quickly clear the list of numbers through the device settings

This method will allow you to completely erase contacts immediately without any third-party programs or the Internet. But be careful, using this method will also erase all files and applications on the device, and the settings will be reset to factory settings. Use this instruction only as a last resort or after creating a backup copy of all data.

  • Open the phone settings.
  • Go to the “Basic” section.
  • Open the “Reset” section.
  • Click the “Erase content and settings” button and confirm the action.

Cleaning via iTunes

This method is also standard, since we only need the official Apple application - iTunes:

  • We open your iTunes account through a computer, having previously connected the devices via a USB adapter.
  • Click on the iPhone icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
  • Move to the “Information” section.
  • We activate the “Synchronize contacts with Windows Contacs” function and check the box next to the words “All contacts”.
  • Go to the “Add-ons” section and check the “Contacts” subsection. Click the “Apply” button.
  • A notification will appear stating that the numbers will be lost because the iTunes settings have changed. Confirm the action and wait for the process to complete.

Removal via iCloud

If you have enabled device synchronization with the ICloud service, then when you disable it, the numbers will be deleted:

Via Erase Contacts

Erase Contacts is a third-party application that allows you to clear your list of numbers with one click. You can download it through the unofficial Cydia store after jailbreaking your device:

Using ITools

ITools is a file manager for Apple devices that will allow you to delve into system folders, and this, in turn, will help us edit the contact list:
We connect the device to the computer.