WhatsApp continues to dethrone the competition with a huge user base. Over the years, the Facebook-owned company has introduced new features such as voice calls, video calls, WhatsApp payment, and more. But at the same time, WhatsApp kept failing on the basics like lack of multi-device support, video limit, and sometimes contacts not showing on iPhone and Android.

It can be frustrating when WhatsApp fails to display newly added contacts or already added contact list on the device. You might be introducing yourself on WhatsApp to someone, but the mistake can ruin the whole experience.

Let’s solve the problem and put the thighs back as they should be in the first place.

1. Allow contacts

WhatsApp needs the correct permissions to function properly. If you denied permission to access contacts during setup, you need to enable it in the Settings menu.

A recent WhatsApp bug may have disabled the Contacts permission. Allow WhatsApp to scan your phonebook and import all contacts into the app. Here’s how to do it.

The ability to give relevant permission differs on both iPhone and Android. We will cover both platforms. Let’s start with the iPhone.

iPhone

Step 1: Open the Settings app on the iPhone.

2nd step: Scroll down to the WhatsApp menu.

Step 3: Tap WhatsApp and activate Contacts in the next menu.

Open the WhatsApp app on the iPhone and you should see the newly added contacts in the app.

Android

Step 1: Locate WhatsApp from the Android home screen or from the app drawer menu.

2nd step: Long press the WhatsApp app icon and tap the information button at the top.

Step 3: This will take you directly to the WhatsApp information menu. Find Permissions under the Privacy menu. Tap on it.

Step 4: Activate the contact authorization in the following menu.

2. Refresh the contact list manually (Android)

On Android, WhatsApp offers an option to refresh the contact list in the app.

If the recently added contacts are not showing on the Android app, you can try this trick.

Step 1: Open WhatsApp on your Android phone.

2nd step: Tap the compose message button at the bottom.

Step 3: Tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner.

Step 4: Select Refresh and WhatsApp will try to retrieve new contacts from the Contacts app on the phone.

Within seconds, you will notice new contacts appear on WhatsApp. Manually scroll through the list or use the search option at the top to find a new contact.

3. Enable background app refresh (iPhone)

You don’t have a similar refresh option on the iPhone. Instead, WhatsApp on Android features a background app refresh toggle that automatically refreshes data in the background and keeps things in sync.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on the iPhone.

2nd step: Scroll down to WhatsApp.

Step 3: Activate background app refresh in the WhatsApp menu.

4. Add new contacts from WhatsApp

You don’t need to import new phonebook contacts to WhatsApp every time. You can create a new contact from WhatsApp. By doing this, you can make sure to activate that specific contact on iPhone and Android. Here is how to do it.

iPhone

Step 1: Open WhatsApp and tap the compose button in the top right corner.

2nd step: Tap New contact, add first name, last name, cell phone number with country code.

Android

Step 1: Open WhatsApp on Android and tap the compose button at the bottom.

2nd step: Select New Contact from the next menu and add the first name, last name, cell phone number and you are good to go.

5. Ask the other person to send you a WhatsApp message

This is just a temporary workaround to troubleshoot contacts not showing up on iPhone and Android. If you are still having trouble with the newly added contacts not showing in the WhatsApp contact list, you can ask the other person to send the message to you first.

Once you have received the message from an unknown number, you can open the conversation and save that contact on the iPhone.

6. Update WhatsApp

WhatsApp’s failure to display new contacts on iPhone or Android may be due to a recent bug in the current version of the app. Fortunately, WhatsApp fixes these critical bugs quickly.

You can visit the App Store or Google Play Store and update the app to the latest version.

If you are in the beta program, you may consider letting it revert to the stable version for a hassle-free experience.

Fixed WhatsApp contacts bug

It’s annoying not seeing the newly added contacts in WhatsApp. The above troubleshooting steps should resolve the issue for you. If you are still having issues and issues with WhatsApp, we recommend switching to competitors like Telegram or Signal.