3 Ways to Add a Contact on an iPhone

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Add people to your contacts in the Contacts, Phone, and Messages apps

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: June 26, 2023 Tested

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Using the Contacts App

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Adding a Contact from a Text Message

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Adding a Contact from Recent Calls

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Video

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Q&A

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Tips

This wikiHow article teaches you how to save the contact information (phone number, address, etc.) of a person or a business as a contact in your iPhone.

Things You Should Know

Open the Contacts app and tap + to add a new contact.
To add a contact from a text message, tap the phone number at the top of the message, tap Info, and then tap Create New Contact.
To add a contact from a recent phone call, open the Phone app, tap Recents, tap the "i" in a circle, then tap Create New Contact.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using the Contacts App

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1
Open Contacts. This is a gray app that contains a person's silhouette and colored tabs along the right side.
- Alternatively, open the Phone app and tap Contacts at the bottom of the screen.
It's in the top-right corner of the screen.

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Use the "First name," "Last name," and "Company" fields to name the contact in a meaningful way that you will be able to call up at a later time.
It's below the "Company" field. Doing so brings up a text field labeled "Phone".
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Type in the contact's phone number. At a minimum, you'll usually type 10 digits here.
- The exception to this rule is when you add a number that belongs to a service like Facebook or Venmo, where the phone number is only five digits long.
- If the number is from a different country, add the corresponding country code (e.g., "+1" for the U.S. or "+44" for the U.K.) in front of the phone number.
- You can also change the type of phone associated with the number by tapping home to the left of the Phone field and then tapping an option (e.g., Mobile).
Use the labeled fields to add other contact information such as email address, birthday, mailing address, and social media accounts.
It's in the top-right corner of the screen. Now you've saved the information to your iPhone's Contacts.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Adding a Contact from a Text Message

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It's a green app that contains a white speech bubble.
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Tap a conversation. Select one with a person who you'd like to add to your contacts.
- If Messages opens to a conversation, tap the Back (<) link in the top-left corner to see a list of all your conversations.
3
Tap the phone number. It's at the top of the message.
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Tap Info. You'll see this button on the right side of the screen.
This option is near the bottom of the screen.
Use the labeled fields to add the person's name and other contact information such as email address, birthday, mailing address, and social media accounts.
It's in the top-right corner of the screen. Now you've saved the information to your iPhone's Contacts.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Adding a Contact from Recent Calls

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It's a green app that contains a white phone icon.
It's at the bottom of the screen and to the right of the Favorites option.
Doing this will bring up a list of options related to the number.
This option is near the bottom of the screen.
Use the labeled fields to add contact information such as name, email address, birthday, mailing address, and social media accounts.
It's in the top-right corner of the screen. Now you've saved the information to your iPhone's Contacts.

Community Q&A

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Question

How do I erase a contact?

Community Answer

Go to your Contacts and select the name of the contact you wish to delete. Then, tap "edit" in the top right hand corner, scroll all the way to the bottom of that page, and tap "Delete Contact."

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Question

How do I save a contact that is embedded in a text?

Community Answer

Tap on the message and then tap the info button in the top right corner. There will be an option to make a new contact.

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Question

Why can't I save the number from my phone?

Community Answer

The easiest way to do this is to click open your contacts app and click "add new contact". Then you need to enter in the number and name. When you go back to your messaging app, press "new message", type in the name and text away!

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