How it works
Five minutes, one pass through your address book, and nothing changes until you have seen exactly what will change.
Give UpdateContacts access to your contacts
There is no way to check your numbers without reading them. UpdateContacts explains why before the system prompt appears, and the answer is always yours to change later in your phone settings.
Scan
Every number is read and sorted on your phone. Nothing is uploaded. A large address book takes a few seconds.
Review the results
You get counts: how many numbers need the new format, how many are already done, and how many UpdateContacts could not place. You can include or exclude any contact.
Preview every change
Old number and new number, side by side, contact by contact. This is the screen worth spending a minute on. Nothing has been saved yet.
Back up, then update
An encrypted backup of your address book is written to your phone first. If it cannot be written, no contact is touched. Then every selected number is updated.
Undo if you want to
Undo puts every number back exactly as it was. It stays available for as long as the backup exists on your phone.
What UpdateContacts never touches
- · Gamtel landline numbers (42x–49x)
- · Short codes and emergency numbers
- · USSD strings like *123#
- · Numbers from other countries
- · Numbers already in the 9-digit format
- · Anything else on a contact: photos, notes, groups, e-mail
Each edit targets one phone entry, so the rest of the contact record is left exactly as it was.
When UpdateContacts asks for help
Because numbers can be ported between networks, a prefix is a strong hint rather than a guarantee. If a number does not match any known range, UpdateContacts flags it instead of guessing, and you choose the operator. Left alone, it stays unchanged.
What it costs
Scanning, previewing, the number converter, the QR share card and all migration information are free, permanently. A single one-time payment unlocks bulk updating, encrypted backups, restore and undo. There is no subscription.
The conversion rule
From 4 September 2026, a two-digit operator prefix goes in front of the seven digits you already know. The last seven digits never change.
| Operator | Old 7-digit numbers | New prefix | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africell | 2xx xxxx · 7xx xxxx · 40x xxxx · 41x xxxx | 87 | 2012345872012345 |
| QCell | 3xx xxxx · 5xx xxxx | 83 | 3012345833012345 |
| Comium | 6xx xxxx · 8xx xxxx | 86 | 6012345866012345 |
| Gamcel | 9xx xxxx | No change | Not part of the switchover |
| Gamtel | 42x–49x xxxx | No change | Landlines are not migrating |
Get UpdateContacts
Launching before the 4 September 2026 switchover. The number converter works right here in the meantime.