Seeing the same contact appear two or three times on your Realme 16 can get annoying fast. It clutters your phonebook, confuses caller ID, and makes messaging harder than it should be. The good news is that duplicate contacts usually happen because of syncing settings, and you can fix them in just a few minutes.
Why Your Realme 16 Shows Duplicate Contacts
- Contacts are synced from multiple Google accounts.
- SIM card contacts and phone contacts are both displayed.
- WhatsApp or other apps are creating contact copies.
- Automatic sync duplicated entries during backup.
- Imported contacts were added more than once.
Merge Duplicate Contacts Using the Contacts App
Most duplicate entries happen because the same contact is saved in different accounts. Merging them combines the information into a single, clean entry.
Open the Contacts app, and then tap the three dot menu.
Tap Settings, and then select Merge contacts.
Choose Merge duplicates, and confirm to combine matching entries.
Adjust Contact Display Settings
Sometimes the contacts are not truly duplicated. They are just being shown from multiple sources at once.
Open the Contacts app, and then tap the three dot menu.
Tap Settings, and then select Contacts to display.
Choose a single account, such as your Google account, and check if duplicates disappear.
Turn Off Sync for Extra Accounts
If multiple Google accounts are syncing contacts, duplicates can appear after every sync cycle. Limiting sync to one main account often fixes the issue permanently.
Open Settings, and then tap Users and accounts.
Tap the secondary Google account, and then tap Account sync.
Turn off Contacts sync for accounts you do not use.
Remove SIM Card Contact Display
Your SIM card may store older copies of your contacts. When both SIM and Google contacts are visible, it creates duplicates.
Open the Contacts app, and then tap the three dot menu.
Tap Settings, and then select Contacts to display.
Uncheck SIM contacts, and leave only your preferred account enabled.
Delete Duplicate Contacts Manually
If only a few contacts are duplicated, removing them manually may be faster. This works best when the duplicates are not automatically synced.
Open the Contacts app, and then select the duplicate contact.
Tap Edit, and then tap Delete to remove the extra entry.
Repeat the process for other duplicates if needed.
Duplicate contacts on your Realme 16 are usually caused by syncing from multiple sources. Once you merge entries and clean up your sync settings, your contact list should stay organized and easy to manage.
FAQs
Why do my contacts duplicate after syncing Google?
This happens when contacts exist both on your phone storage and your Google account. When sync runs, both versions appear unless they are merged.
Will deleting duplicate contacts remove them permanently?
Yes, but only from the account where they are stored. If the same contact exists in another synced account, it may appear again unless that sync is disabled.
How do I prevent duplicate contacts in the future?
Use only one main Google account for contact sync, avoid importing the same contact file twice, and periodically use the Merge duplicates feature to keep your list clean.
