Duplicate contacts
Symptom: The same person appears twice in your contact list. How it happens:- Two imports ran with the same CSV.
- A contact messaged you before they were imported, creating an auto-contact.
- Two agents added the same person manually.
Finding duplicates
1
Go to Contacts → All Contacts
2
Click 'Find duplicates'
Xobito groups contacts that share the same phone number or email.
3
Review each group
Decide which contact has the most complete information.
Merging duplicates
1
Select the duplicates
Tick the two or more contacts you want to merge.
2
Click 'Merge'
3
Pick the 'primary' contact
All messages, notes, and history from the others are moved onto this one.
4
Confirm
The other contacts are deleted. The merge cannot be undone.
Import errors
Symptom: Your CSV import shows “0 imported” or partial counts with errors.The error file
After every import, Xobito gives you two files:success.csv— contacts that imported cleanly.errors.csv— rows that failed, with a reason column.
errors.csv and look at the Reason column to see what’s wrong.
Common import error reasons
Invalid phone number
Invalid phone number
Phone numbers must start with
+ and include a country code with no spaces or dashes.- Wrong:
(415) 555-1234 - Right:
+14155551234
Duplicate phone number within the file
Duplicate phone number within the file
Two rows in your CSV share the same phone. Keep one, remove the other.
Missing required field
Missing required field
Phone number is always required. If you have a custom field marked required, every row must include it.
Field too long
Field too long
Names limited to 100 characters, emails to 254. Long free-form fields are truncated.
Wrong encoding
Wrong encoding
Save as CSV UTF-8 in Excel, not plain CSV. Otherwise accented characters like
é import as é.Unknown column
Unknown column
The column header in your CSV doesn’t match any field in Xobito. Either rename the header or map it manually on the import screen.
Re-importing after fixing
1
Download the errors.csv
2
Fix the issues in Excel or a text editor
Update bad phone numbers, fill missing fields, remove duplicates.
3
Re-upload the fixed file
Only the corrected rows need to be re-uploaded — successful rows from the first run are already imported.
Missing fields in imported contacts
Symptom: Contacts imported fine but some fields are empty. Likely causes:- CSV column not mapped to a Xobito field.
- Field name mismatch (e.g. CSV has “Phone Number”, Xobito expects “phone”).
- Custom field doesn’t exist in Xobito yet.
Fix
1
Check the mapping on import
On the import screen, make sure every relevant CSV column has a matching Xobito field in the dropdown.
2
Create custom fields first
Go to Contacts → Custom Fields and create any missing fields before importing.
3
Re-import with correct mapping
You can re-import the same CSV — Xobito will update existing contacts if the phone number matches.
Bulk delete
Deleting a few contacts
1
Select the contacts
Tick the boxes next to their names in the contact list.
2
Click 'Delete'
Top action bar. Confirm.
Deleting many contacts (e.g. 1,000+)
1
Filter to the contacts you want to delete
Use filters like group, status, or source.
2
Click 'Select all matching'
This selects every contact that matches — even those on other pages.
3
Click 'Bulk delete'
Xobito shows the total count. Confirm. The delete runs in the background; you’ll get an in-app notification when it’s done.
Deleting all contacts
There’s no single “delete everything” button on purpose — it’s a destructive action. To delete all, select all, then bulk delete in batches.Exporting contacts
Export all contacts
1
Go to Contacts → All Contacts
2
Click 'Export'
Pick CSV or Excel.
3
Choose fields
By default all fields are included; uncheck any you don’t need.
4
Click 'Download'
For large exports (>10,000 contacts), Xobito emails you a link when it’s ready.
Export a filtered selection
First apply filters to narrow the list, then click Export. Only the filtered contacts are included.What’s in the export
- All standard fields: name, phone, email, groups, status, source, created date, last message date.
- All custom fields.
- Opt-in and opt-out status.
Exports are accurate at the time you click Export. If contacts change after, download again.
Re-syncing after external changes
If you also keep contact data in another system (CRM, spreadsheet), you may need to reconcile changes.Update by re-importing
1
Export from your external system
Download a CSV from your CRM.
2
Keep the 'phone' column
Xobito uses phone as the unique key. All other columns update the matching contact.
3
Re-import
Contacts → Import → upload the CSV. Map columns as needed. Existing contacts with matching phone numbers are updated; new rows create new contacts.
Use the API for automatic sync
If you need ongoing sync, use Xobito’s API. See API Reference.Missing contacts
Symptom: A contact you remember adding is not in the list. Likely causes:- You’re filtering by a group that doesn’t include them.
- The contact was deleted.
- You’re in the wrong view (e.g. “My contacts” vs. “All contacts”).
Fix
1
Clear all filters
Click Clear filters at the top of the contact list.
2
Search by phone number
Search is the fastest way to find any specific contact.
3
Check the audit log
Team → Activity Log shows when a contact was deleted and by whom.
Opt-out workflows
Xobito does not currently auto-detect opt-out keywords or exclude flagged contacts from campaigns. To stop messaging a contact, edit their record and disable it, or delete it. Automatic opt-out is on the roadmap.Contact in wrong group
Move a contact between groups:1
Open the contact
2
Edit the 'Groups' field
Add or remove groups from the chip list.
3
Save
Related
Import contacts
Step-by-step CSV import guide.
Message delivery
Failed deliveries and bad numbers.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.