Some of the most basic functions of the iPhone actually have several in-depth options. This article looks at how to add a new contact into the iOS Contacts app. Learn how to add fields from «name» and «address» to «birthday» and «social media profile». You can also find out how to set custom ringtones and vibrations for your new contact.

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From paper address books to rolodexes to PDAs to smart phones, the method of keeping track of names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. has evolved in tandem with technology. Today, the Contacts app on your iPhone makes it easy to organize contact details for your friends, family, and coworkers. Still, like all iOS apps, new iPhone users need to start from square one when learning how to use Contacts. Here is a step-by-step look at how to add someone’s information to the app.

  1. From you iPhone’s Home screen, tap on the Contacts icon to open the app. You will be taken to an A-Z list of the people you currently have saved under the heading All Contacts
  2. To add a new contact, tap the + sign in the upper right corner of the screen, which will open up the New Contact Page.
  3. Fill in the first and last name of your new contact into the respective fields. If you are adding a company contact, you can also add a business name under the Company field.
  4. Add a photo for your new contact by tapping «add photo» in the upper left corner of the screen. You can choose to either take a new photo—ideal if you are adding someone in person—or to choose a photo from your Camera Roll. Once you select the photo you want to use, you can scale it to fit within the circular frame displayed on the screen. This photo will show up whenever your contact calls as well as next to their name when you send emails.
  5. To add a phone number, tap the «add phone» option. Your device will bring up a field into which you can type your contact’s phone number. Once you have finished adding the number, you can select what type of phone number this is (home. mobile, work, etc.). Tap the field next to the number—the default will be set to «home» — and then choose from the list of labels that comes up. To add a second phone number, tap «add phone» again, and repeat the process
  6. As you scroll down the page, you will be able to add email addresses, URLs (websites), physical addresses, social media profiles, and instant message names via the exact same process that you used to add a phone number. First, fill out the information, and then select a label for each individual entry.
  7. Below the «add email» field, you can set a custom ringtone, text tone, and/or vibration for this specific contact. Say you want a certain ringtone to play when your wife call s you. Tap the Ringtone field and choose the one you want. When setting up vibrations, you can use the standard options that are preloaded onto your phone or create your own so that you will know who is calling or texting you even Men your phone is in your pocket. Tap the Vibration option and scroll to the bottom of the screen. If you want to create a new vibration, tap Create New Vibration under the Custom heading and «record» your own by tapping the screen in a certain pattern.
  8. Other fields you can edit include your contact’s birthday, other important dates (like anniversaries), and «related names», If your contact named June is the daughter of your contact named Sally, you can tap «add related name» and add Sally as June’s mother.
  9. The final standard field on the New Contact page allows you to add Notes about the person. You can use this section as a refresher if you just met someone new and need to remember- relevant information about them.
  10. If you feel like the regular fields aren’t enough, you can go into even more depth by tapping «add field». From here, you can add additional information about your contact such as Prefix, Phonetic First Name, Middle, Phonetic Middle Name. Phonetic Last Name, Suffix, Nickname, Job Title, and/or Department.
  11. Finally, once you are satisfied with all the information you have filled out about your contact, tap Done in the upper right corner of your screen. You will be taken back to the All Contacts page, and you should see your new contact filed there alphabetically.