Tips for Organizing your iPhone 5 Contacts

Create contact groups, sort your contact by first name, and more practical tips for your contact list on the iPhone 5.

1. Group your contacts on iCloud
I find this feature super useful as it helps me create separate groups for my work contacts and friends. To create contact groups, simply log into your iCloud account. View “All Contacts” and click on the red ribbon groups icon at the top of the screen.  Then click the + button to create a new group and assign a name to the group. Then go back to “All Contacts” and drag and drop a contact from the list into new group folder on the left. The new contact groups should automatically sync to your iPhone 5 and you can view them by visiting the Contacts app.

2. Sync Your Facebook Contacts with your iOS contacts
Syncing your Facebook friends with your iPhone contacts is a great way to make your address book more robust. Facebook sync automatically adds profile pictures, email addresses, phone numbers and any additional information to your contact list. To sync your Facebook contacts on the iPhone 5, go to Settings>Facebook>Login>Update Contacts.

3. Sort Contacts by First Name
The iPhone 5, by default, sorts and displays contacts by their last name. However, I find it easier (and more personal) to have my contacts sorted by first name. There’s an easy way to change this default setting. Go to Settings>Mail, Contacts, Calendars>Contacts>Sort Order. You can then select the “First, Last” setting.

4. Merge Duplicate Contacts
I synced my Facebook friends and my work account contacts with my iPhone contacts, which resulted in several duplicate contacts in my address book. I ignored my messy contact list for the longest time until I realized that there’s a simple solution to the problem  — you can just merge duplicate contacts instead of wasting time sorting through you list and deleting each one. To do so, select a duplicate contact in your list. Hit “Edit” and scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap on “Link Contact.” You can then select the contact you would like to merge the other contact with.

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