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How to recover deleted contacts on iPhone with or without iCloud

Missing or accidentally deleting iPhone contact is a scary experience. This article is here to tell how to retrieve contacts from iPhone using iCloud and possible ways.

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Elena Spencer Updated on Mar 19, 2024 5:52 PM

Your phone numbers and other important information stay quietly within Contacts app which you take for granted until when entire contact list get lost from iPhone someday.

It's not a good feeling when you realize your iPhone contacts missing or deleted, especially you're not able to retrieve the contacts from somewhere like Recently Deleted folder. Fortunately, there are a couple of ways you can try to recover deleted contacts on iPhone.

The recovery solutions could be something as simple as needing to restore contacts to an iPhone from iCloud, iTunes/ Finder backup, or Gmail account you synced your contacts with, or could be something needing a 3rd-party tool like iPhone Data Recovery that promises to recover old deleted contacts from iPhone memory without backup.

Whether you have iPhone backup or not, there's still chance of getting lost contacts retrieved to iPhone Contacts app.

Let's dive in each way of how to recover deleted iPhone contacts effectively.

Restore contacts on iPhone from iCloud.com

As "iPhone contacts disappeared or deleted" is frequently the case, Apple has introduced a pretty simple route of using iCloud to restore the contacts. This works for when you've set up iCloud Contacts on iPhone, which is most enabled by default in Settings > [your name] > iCloud.

iCloud makes automatic backups for iPhone and enforces contacts to archive in iCloud backup. So there's a good chance that your iCloud contains the deleted contacts you need to recover. Here's how to retrieve deleted contacts from icloud.com to the iPhone.

  • Go to icloud.com on a web browser.
  • Access your iCloud account using your Apple ID and password.
  • Click Options menu icon at the top right corner of iCloud website
  • Choose Data Recovery. You can also find the Data Recovery option at the bottom of the window.
  • Click on Restore Contacts tab. You're able to see the date and time of iCloud contacts backup was archived.
  • Select the archive of contacts that was made before the moment you deleted contacts, and click Restore next to it.
  • When asked if you're sure you want to restore the contacts from iCloud to iPhone, click Restore again to confirm.

Wait until iCloud finishes restoring contacts, and your accidentally deleted contacts should get back to iPhone's Contacts app. You will receive an email from iCloud notifying the successful contact recovery.

Note:

  • Restoring lost or deleted contacts from iCloud will erase all existing contacts on the iPhone, and thus you will lose some new contacts if they were added to your Address Book right after the backup archive.
  • iCloud will automatically archive your current contacts while you're restoring an earlier version of recently deleted contacts, so you'll be able to retrieve them if you change your mind.
  • Be sure that you have enough iCloud storage to back up iPhone data. If it's full, your contacts might not be archived.
  • Be sure that you remember your Apple ID and password to log into icloud.com for accessing your deleted contacts.

Restore iPhone contacts from iCloud on iPhone (without computer)

iCloud, in addition, offers another feasible method to recover iPhone contacts when accidentally deleted or gone. By turning off Contacts in iCloud and back on for syncing should you restore contact information to iPhone without much effort.

Likewise, for this method to work, contacts should be synced with iCloud prior to deletion. Use these steps to retrieve lost contacts from iCloud, even without a computer.

Step 1. In iPhone's Settings app, tap [your name] > iCloud.

Step 2. Tap Show All in the section of APPS USING ICLOUD.

Step 3. Locate Contacts, and move the slider to OFF.

Step 4. Select Keep on My iPhone when prompted.

Step 5. Turn Contacts back on again.

Step 6. Choose Merge to add the missing contacts to your address book.

Wait for a while to let iCloud sync disappeared contacts to iPhone. After that, you should see the restored contacts display in the normal contact list. The process will not replace contacts currently on your device, so you don't need to worry about losing your new contacts.

restore contacts from iCloud on iPhone

Can't restore contacts from iCloud either through icloud.com or on your iPhone? Your iPhone is not syncing to iCloud? Or you don't want your most recent contacts lost while restoring your iPhone from iCloud, right? Try the next solution to retrieve contacts without any backup.

Recover iPhone deleted contacts without iCloud & iTunes backup

Take it easy, iPhone Data Recovery eliminates your trouble. Even you don't use iCloud to sync and archive your contacts, or don't use your computer to back up your iPhone, you stand a great chance of recovering deleted contacts from iPhone.

Download Now!

for Windows | for MacOS

The dedicated software helps you find deleted contacts that were still available in the internal storage, and recover them to your iPhone quickly - making them visible in Contacts app. You can recover contacts you need, individually or in batch. Best of all, the process just retrieves the missing contact information you specify, not touching any iPhone data.

Plus, iPhone Data Recovery is comprehensive that you're able to recover photos, messages, notes, call logs, calendar, reminder, bookmarks WhatsApp, documents and more.

How to recover a deleted contact on iPhone without iCloud

  • Launch this iPhone contacts recovery software on your PC or Mac
  • Select Recover from iOS Device mode on the interface.
  • Connect your iPhone to the machine with a USB cable.
  • Once connected, click Start Scan button to search for lost or deleted contacts from iPhone internal memory.
  • When the scan is done, click Contacts category on the left column to preview the recoverable iPhone contacts, including contact name, phone number, company and email.
  • Next, select a deleted contact you want to retrieve to iPhone.
  • Click the Recover to Device button to recover your phone numbers and other contact info.
  • Alternatively, you can also hit the Recover button to recover contacts on your computer. The program will start retrieving deleted iPhone contacts from the device memory and save them in a HTML, CSV, or VCF file. When you need to transfer the contacts to your iPhone's address book, you could use Import vCard function in icloud.com., or use Sync Contacts via iTunes.

A video tutorial for recovering deleted contacts on iPhone without a backup:

Bonus- What if your iPhone is locked and how do you get your contacts back?

Retrieve contacts on an iPhone via Gmail (or Yahoo, Exchange or Outlook)

Chances are the contacts you deleted were saved in Gmail or other account like Yahoo, Exchange or Outlook. For purpose of getting back contacts, all you need is to sync your contacts in Settings app.

Here's how you can retrieve the deleted contacts from Gmail Contacts. This also works if you lost your contacts after deleting email account.

1. On iPhone, tap Settings > Mail > Accounts.

2. Tap on Gmail (or other mail account) you used to sync your contacts with.

3. Switch on the slider next to Contacts to begin syncing Gmail contacts with your iPhone.

Tip- If it's Contacts is already enabled, turn it off and on.

When done, go back to Contacts app and you should see the lost contacts are restored.

Restore contacts from iTunes/ Finder backup

If you're used to employ iTunes & Finder to backup iPhone data whenever it's connected to your PC or Mac computer, this method to restore lost iPhone contacts from backup should take no time at all - though you will lose all of data that is recently added to iPhone but is not backed up.

If you're sure to restore iPhone from an iTunes backup or Mac backup to retrieve deleted contacts, and replace all current content with that in the backup, do the following.

Restore contacts from Mac backup via Finder

1. Open Finder in Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15 or above.

2. Plug your iPhone to the machine with a USB cable.

3. Click [your iPhone] under Locations on the left side bar.

4. Under General tab, choose Restore Backup.

5. Select a backup and click Restore.

Your iPhone will be reverted to the stage when the backup was created, and all backup data including the contacts should be back.

Retrieve contacts from iTunes backup

How do I retrieve contacts without iPhone

1. Connect the iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes.

2. Click the device icon when it appears at the top left corner.

3. Click Summary.

3. Click Restore Backup.

4. Select the latest backup containing the deleted contacts.

5. Hit Restore to restore the backup to recover contacts to your iPhone.

Related article: Get iPhone Unavailable? Here's how to unlock iPhone

Tip: In case you don't want to restore the whole iTunes backup and lose all data files on iPhone, try using AppGeeker iPhone Data Recovery program. It grants you to access your iTunes backup and view your deleted contacts, and then recover the contact you wish.

The Bottom Line

So hopefully now you have a clue about the issue and finally get your iPhone contacts recovered. The article outlines how to recover deleted iPhone contacts with or without backup. The simplest method is to restore contacts from iCloud to iPhone, so long as you have your iPhone data synced to iCloud server.

For future reference of avoiding losing or permanently deleting contacts on iPhone, I really would suggest syncing your device to iCloud, backing up your important files to a computer for a local copy, or use an email account such as Gmail to sync contacts. You'll be thankful you have it if anything goes wrong.

Useful Tips for contacts restore on iPhone

How to find deleted contacts on iPhone?

You can easily find your recently deleted contacts using iCloud on the iPhone, as long as you've set iCloud to sync your contacts.

  • Open your iPhone's Settings app, then tap [your name] > iCloud.
  • In the APPS USING ICLOUD section, tap Show All.
  • Switch the slider of Contact to OFF.
  • Choose Keep On My iPhone when prompted.
  • Turn Contacts On again.
  • Select Merge.

iCloud should restore your deleted contacts to your iPhone, staying peacefully with the existing contacts in the Contacts app.

How to restore contacts that were deleted from iCloud?

You could restore missing contacts from an earlier version using icloud.com. A word of warning: This will replace the new contacts on your iPhone, but you're allowed to undo the recovery at any time if this cannot restore your contact information. To get back contacts from iCloud:

  • Sign into icloud.com.
  • Tap the Menu icon at the upper right of the website.
  • Choose Data Recovery.
  • Select Restore Contacts tab.
  • Pick an archive of contacts before the date your contacts are disappeared.
  • Hit Restore next to the archive of your choice.
  • Click Restore again to confirm.

How to recover accidentally deleted phone numbers on iPhone without backup?

If you do not own iTunes backup or iCloud backup of contacts before deletion, consider trying AppGeeker iPhone Data Recovery software. It finds and recovers the deleted contacts from iPhone's database without using backup. Any iPhone data won't be affected during recovery.

Contacts icon missing from the iPhone home screen?

Here's how to get back Contacts when missing from iPhone:

  • Try a Spotlight search to see if Contacts app is still on your iPhone.
  • If Contacts is in Utilities folder, then drag it back to Home screen.
  • Reset Home Screen Layout via Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset.
  • Contacts app should be deleted from iPhone by mistake. You can restore it by downloading it from App Store.
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