diff --git a/src/device-sync/__tests__/contacts/groups.test.ts b/src/device-sync/__tests__/contacts/groups.test.ts
index d9ac7869..786271b9 100644
--- a/src/device-sync/__tests__/contacts/groups.test.ts
+++ b/src/device-sync/__tests__/contacts/groups.test.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
 import { Data, Groups, MimeType } from '../../android-columns';
 import type { ContactCardWire, OpGroup, UploadPlan } from '../../planner';
 import { appleCard, googleCard } from './fixtures';
-import { Harness, JMAP } from './harness';
+import { ACCOUNT, Harness, JMAP } from './harness';
 
 function actionsOf(plan: UploadPlan<ContactCardWire>) {
   if (plan.kind !== 'upload') throw new Error(`expected an upload, got ${plan.kind}`);
@@ -130,6 +130,28 @@ describe('contacts groups: membership edits', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it('keeps the groups of a contact created on the device and adds it to their cards', async () => {
+    const h = new Harness();
+    const gid = h.addCard({ uid: 'urn:uuid:g7', kind: 'group', name: { full: 'Team' }, members: { 'urn:uuid:someone': true } });
+    await h.download(gid);
+    const g = await localGroup(h, gid);
+    const rawId = h.device.user.insertContact(ACCOUNT, [
+      { [Data.MIMETYPE]: MimeType.STRUCTURED_NAME, data1: 'New Person', data2: 'New', data3: 'Person' },
+      { [Data.MIMETYPE]: MimeType.GROUP_MEMBERSHIP, [Data.DATA1]: g.groupId },
+    ]);
+    await h.upload(rawId);
+    expect(h.membershipGroups(rawId)).toEqual([`${JMAP}/${gid}`]);
+    expect(h.dirty(rawId)).toBe(true);
+    const uid = (await h.contact(rawId)).shadow!.uid as string;
+    const actions = h.planner.planMembershipUploads([await h.contact(rawId)], await h.groups(), h.ctx);
+    expect(actions).toEqual([{ kind: 'update', id: gid, patch: { [`members/${uid}`]: true } }]);
+    h.send(actions);
+    await h.applyOk(h.planner.planGroupAccepted(g, h.card(gid), h.ctx).ops);
+    await h.upload(rawId);
+    expect(h.dirty(rawId)).toBe(false);
+    expect(h.membershipGroups(rawId)).toEqual([`${JMAP}/${gid}`]);
+  });
+
   it('sends the whole map for the first member of an empty group', async () => {
     const h = new Harness();
     const empty = h.addCard({ uid: 'urn:uuid:g3', kind: 'group', name: { full: 'Empty' } });
diff --git a/src/device-sync/__tests__/contacts/real-engine.test.ts b/src/device-sync/__tests__/contacts/real-engine.test.ts
index df779301..2edfebe5 100644
--- a/src/device-sync/__tests__/contacts/real-engine.test.ts
+++ b/src/device-sync/__tests__/contacts/real-engine.test.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
 import { Data, Groups, MimeType } from '../../android-columns';
 import { calendarPlanner } from '../../calendar/planner';
 import { contactsPlanner } from '../../contacts/planner';
-import { addServerCards, CONTACTS_AUTHORITY, createHarness, rowWrites, type Harness } from '../engine/harness';
+import { addServerCards, ANDROID_ACCOUNT, CONTACTS_AUTHORITY, createHarness, rowWrites, type Harness } from '../engine/harness';
 import type { SetTarget } from '../fakes/fake-jmap-server';
 import { JPEG } from './fixtures';
 import { thumbnailOnlyPort } from './harness';
@@ -80,6 +80,21 @@ describe('contacts through the engine', () => {
     expect(await h.teardown(CONTACTS_AUTHORITY)).toEqual({ pending: 0 });
   });
 
+  it('puts a contact created on the device into the group it was added to', async () => {
+    const h = real();
+    const group = h.server.addCard('a', { uid: 'g1', kind: 'group', name: { full: 'Friends' }, members: { other: true }, addressBookIds: { [h.book]: true } });
+    expect((await h.run()).outcome).toBe('ok');
+    const id = h.device.user.insertContact(ANDROID_ACCOUNT, [
+      { [Data.MIMETYPE]: MimeType.STRUCTURED_NAME, [Data.DATA1]: 'New Person' },
+      { [Data.MIMETYPE]: MimeType.GROUP_MEMBERSHIP, [Data.DATA1]: Number(h.device.rows('groups')[0]._id) },
+    ]);
+
+    expect(await h.run()).toMatchObject({ outcome: 'ok', itemErrors: [], stats: { uploaded: { created: 1, updated: 1 } } });
+    const uid = h.server.all('ContactCard', 'a').find((c) => c.kind !== 'group')!.uid as string;
+    expect(h.server.get('ContactCard', 'a', group)?.members).toEqual({ other: true, [uid]: true });
+    expect(memberships(h, id)).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
   it('keeps one row for a small photo the provider stores as its thumbnail, and never deletes it on the server', async () => {
     const h = real();
     const base = h.deps.provider;
diff --git a/src/device-sync/contacts/download.ts b/src/device-sync/contacts/download.ts
index 0d8e41b3..1e1575e7 100644
--- a/src/device-sync/contacts/download.ts
+++ b/src/device-sync/contacts/download.ts
@@ -239,6 +239,8 @@ export interface CleanWriteOptions {
   raw?: WriteRow;
   /** The rows' changes were just uploaded (planAccepted): a changed photo is the server's now. */
   accepted?: boolean;
+  /** The memberships the rows held at the last write, when there is no shadow to say: a new contact's are none. */
+  memberBase?: string[];
 }
 
 /** The JMAP account a local contact belongs to. */
@@ -260,7 +262,7 @@ export function cleanWrite(local: LocalContact, card: ContactCardWire, ctx: Ctx,
   const rows = cleanRows(local, remote, keyMap, base, options.accepted ?? false);
   const members = planMemberships({
     rows: local.rows,
-    base: shadowMemberOf(local.shadow),
+    base: shadowMemberOf(local.shadow) ?? options.memberBase ?? null,
     remote: remoteMemberships(server, ctx),
     evidence: rows.evidence,
     restore: true,
diff --git a/src/device-sync/contacts/upload.ts b/src/device-sync/contacts/upload.ts
index 67542358..3c1e7c1c 100644
--- a/src/device-sync/contacts/upload.ts
+++ b/src/device-sync/contacts/upload.ts
@@ -280,7 +280,9 @@ export function planContactAccepted(local: LocalContact, server: ContactCardWire
   }
   const identity = objectRef(accountOf(local, ctx), server.id);
   const raw = { [RawContacts.SOURCE_ID]: identity, [RawContacts.SYNC3]: null, [RawContacts.SYNC4]: null };
-  const write = cleanWrite(local, server, ctx, { assertDirty: null, clearDirty: true, accepted: true, raw });
+  // Just created: the groups it was put in on the device are all still to upload.
+  const memberBase = local.shadow ? undefined : [];
+  const write = cleanWrite(local, server, ctx, { assertDirty: null, clearDirty: true, accepted: true, raw, memberBase });
   const ops = group(local, write.ops.length ? write.ops : [assertContact(local, null)]);
   ops.ref = identity;