Some Users Experience Contacts Bug With iOS 5.0.1

Over at The Startup Foundry, Paul Hontz reports that after updating to iOS 5.0.1 on his iPhone 4S, the device can no longer remember the namez of any of his contacts! He updated using the over the air (OTA) method, and then the troubles began.

Hontz reports:

I updated my iPhone 4S earlier today (using the OTA method), and I discovered a nasty bug. My iPhone could no longer remember the names of any of my contacts! I opened up the contacts app on my phone and discovered that all of entries were still there but if I got a text or a call my iPhone would have a sudden bout of amnesia and forget the contacts name.

It’s even more bizarre when you’re trying to create a new text. In the example above I texted Erin Hontz. After I selected her as the contact, I wrote my message and hit send. In the message pane (pictured on the right) it would forget my contact’s name and just show the number.

Hontz noted that he had mentioned this on Twitter, and found that many of his followers had similar experiences.

How to trigger the bug (according to Hontz):

• Use the Delta Update (The OTA version)
• Be on an iPhone 4S (Hontz hasn’t had reports with the 4)
• Be on Verizon

Partial Fix (fixed incoming calls but not incoming text messages):

1. Open the Phone and dial *228. This is a Verizon over-the-air programming number.
2. When the system answer press 1 for “Program or activate your phone”
3. Wait for the call to disconnect. You should get a prompt stating something like, “Settings updated.”
4. Open the Task Manager (double click the home button) and kill the Phone, Message, and Contacts Applications
5. Wait a few minutes (Hontz waited 3 just to be extra safe)
6. Open the Message App to verify the fix.

Hontz says if the issue continues to happen, kill the Message App again, then reboot your phone.

Apple released iOS 5.0.1 on Thursday to address battery life issues and other bugs in the operating system. The release also marked the first public over-the-air iOS update.