If you have an iPad with an eSIM and are experiencing missing contact names in Messages or weird number formatting, this might help you.
(This is not an issue if you use a local esim)
I live in a country where phone numbers are typically written like 123 4567. On all my Apple devices, contacts are correctly formatted and names show up properly in Messages.
Everything works fine…
Except on my iPad with an eSIM — after I installed an international eSIM from another country, I noticed:
-Contact names disappearing in the Messages app
-Phone numbers shown in foreign formats, not my local one
No amount of resetting settings or tweaking region/format settings helped — until I deleted the eSIM entirely and reset all settings and restart. After that, the correct local format and contact names came back.
I even tried a different global eSIM from another country — and again, number formatting changed to match that country’s style, breaking name recognition in Messages.
Installing international/global eSIMs on iPads can:
-Change the system’s assumed number format (regardless of you changing settings)
-Cause contact names to disappear in Messages
-Only fully fixable by removing the eSIM and resetting all settings and restarting the device.
Hope this helps someone avoid the same confusion.
(This is not an issue if you use a local esim)
I live in a country where phone numbers are typically written like 123 4567. On all my Apple devices, contacts are correctly formatted and names show up properly in Messages.
Everything works fine…
Except on my iPad with an eSIM — after I installed an international eSIM from another country, I noticed:
-Contact names disappearing in the Messages app
-Phone numbers shown in foreign formats, not my local one
No amount of resetting settings or tweaking region/format settings helped — until I deleted the eSIM entirely and reset all settings and restart. After that, the correct local format and contact names came back.
I even tried a different global eSIM from another country — and again, number formatting changed to match that country’s style, breaking name recognition in Messages.
Installing international/global eSIMs on iPads can:
-Change the system’s assumed number format (regardless of you changing settings)
-Cause contact names to disappear in Messages
-Only fully fixable by removing the eSIM and resetting all settings and restarting the device.
Hope this helps someone avoid the same confusion.
