Can i find deleted contacts on iphone

If you have accidentally deleted Contacts from iPhone or lost Contacts due to other reasons, you can find below different methods to Recover Deleted Contacts on iPhone.

Recover Deleted Contacts On iPhone or iPad

Accidentally deleting single or multiple Contacts from iPhone is a common occurrence that many iPhone users have reported.

In addition to accidental deletion, users have also reported about Contacts missing on iPhone after installing an update and due to various other reasons.

Irrespective of the reason, it possible to Recover Deleted Contacts on iPhone by Re-syncing iCloud Contacts, by restoring iPhone from an iCloud Backup and also by restoring iPhone from a backup stored on the computer.

1. Merge iCloud Contacts to iPhone

If the Contacts were recently deleted from iPhone, it is likely that the deleted Contacts are still available on iCloud and can be recovered.

Go to Settings > Apple ID Name > iCloud > move the toggle next to Contacts to OFF position.

On the pop-up, select Keep on My iPhone option.

After this, enable iCloud Contacts back on your device by moving Contacts toggle to ON position. On the Pop-up, select the Merge option.

Hopefully, this should bring back all the Deleted Contacts back on your device.

2. Recover Deleted Contacts from iCloud Backup

If your iPhone is set to automatically backup its data to iCloud, you should be able to Recover Deleted Contacts from the Backup of your iPhone as available on iCloud.

Go to Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > iCloud Backup > check the date of Last Successful iCloud Backup.

Note: Go ahead with the next steps, only if the date of iCloud Backup is prior to the date when the Contacts were deleted.

If a proper backup is available, go to Settings > General > Reset > tap on Erase All Content and Settings option.

On the confirmation pop-up, tap on Erase iPhone to confirm.

After all the data is erased, you will see iPhone starting up with “Hello” screen. Slide to right to start the process of setting up your iPhone.

Follow the next set of onscreen instructions, until you reach the “Apps & Data” screen. On this screen, select Restore from iCloud Backup option.

When prompted, Sign-in to your iCloud Account by entering Apple ID, password and tap on Next. On the next screen, select the iCloud Backup that you want to Restore your iPhone from.

Once the restore process is completed, you should find all the Deleted Contacts back on your device.

3. Recover Deleted Messages Using Finder on Mac

If you had previously downloaded a backup of iPhone to Mac, you should be able to Recover Deleted Contacts by Restoring iPhone from the Backup File as available on your MacBook.

Note: You need to Turn off Find my iPhone in order to use this method.

Connect iPhone to Mac > click on the Finder Icon and select your iPhone in the left-pane. In the right-pane, scroll down to ‘Backups’ section and click on Restore Backup button.

On the pop-up, select the iPhone Backup as available on your Mac and click on the Restore button.

Once the Restore Process is completed, you should find deleted Contacts back on your device.

3. Recover Deleted Messages Using iTunes on Windows computer

Similarly, if you had downloaded a backup of iPhone to Windows computer, you should be able to recover Deleted Contacts by Restoring iPhone from the Backup File as available on your computer.

Note: You need to Disable Find My iPhone, in order to restore iPhone using iTunes.

Connect iPhone to Computer > open iTunes (if it did not automatically start) and click on the Phone icon as it appears on the screen of your computer.

Next, click on the Summary tab in the left-pane. In the right-pane, click on Restore iPhone button located under “Manually Backup and Restore” section.

On the pop-up, select the Backup of iPhone that you want to use for the Restore process and click on the Restore button.

Wait for the Backup process to be completed, after which you should find Deleted Contacts back on your device.

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If you have missing iPhone contacts, or have accidentally deleted them, hope is not lost! Apple has become loads better at helping keep your data secure, so your missing contacts may well be safe and sound in a backup of your iPhone on your computer or in iCloud.

This article will guide you through 5 different methods to recover deleted contacts from iPhone.

There are couple of ways to recover contacts using iCloud. Let's dive into the two options below...

Option 1 - Restore Contacts from iCloud (iPhone)

If your iPhone is set to sync Contacts with iCloud, this option is available to you! iCloud has become a really handy tool for iPhone users, in that loads of files which you may not ordinarily be able to fit on your limited iPhone storage space can live in iCloud instead. It also means that you can easily sync your data between your Apple devices (e.g. accessing your contacts on both your iPhone and your MacBook)!

This also means that if some of your iPhone contacts have disappeared, you can just reach into the cloud and get them back. Below is how to use your iPhone to merge contacts from iCloud with iPhone. Check out method 4 if you would prefer to use iCloud in a browser to export your contacts to computer.

1. Grab your iPhone and open the Settings app.
2. If you are running iOS 10.3 or higher, tap your name, then iCloud. If you are running iOS 10.2 or earlier, you just need to tap iCloud.
3. Find "Contacts" in the list, and toggle it OFF.
4. Tap "Keep on My iPhone".
5. Then, toggle Contacts ON again.
6. Finally, tap "Merge".

For more information, see Apple's guide to iCloud Contacts.

Option 2 - Restore Contacts from iCloud (icloud.com)

You can see what is saved to your iCloud by visiting iCloud.com. You'll be able to see information synced from your iPhone such as Contacts, Photos, Calendars, Notes and more.

1. Open your internet browser (e.g. Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari...).
2. Go to iCloud.com
3. Sign in with your Apple ID and Password.
4. Select "Contacts" to view your contacts.
5. Select the contacts you wish to copy. You can select multiple contacts by using shift-click or ctrl-click.
6. Click the gear icon in the bottom left corner and click "Export vCard..."

Once your contacts have been copied to your computer as vCard, you can import them to your contacts app such as Outlook. This keeps your contacts safe and accessible. You can then even sync your contacts to your iPhone using iTunes!

Method 2: Recover Contacts by restoring your iPhone from iTunes backup

If you have backed up your iPhone to iTunes before, your contacts may be stored in your backup (If you don't remember creating a backup of your iPhone with iTunes, you may still have a backup! iTunes will create a backup of your iPhone any time you sync it with iTunes).

iTunes enables you to restore such a backup to your device. This means that your iPhone will essentially revert to the time when the backup was made. Unfortunately, this means that you will lose any data which has been added / edited / removed since the time of the backup. Only use this method if you are happy to revert your iPhone to the time when your backup was made.

To restore an iPhone from an iTunes backup:

1. Launch iTunes on your computer and connect your iPhone.
2. Click your device icon.
3. In the "Summary" section, click "Restore backup"
4. Select the backup you wish to restore from.

You may need to disable "Find My Phone" on your iPhone before you can restore the device with iTunes. To do this, go to your iCloud settings on your iPhone, tap "Find my iPhone", then toggle the setting off.

Restoring your iPhone from a backup will replace its current content with that of the backup. If this is not what you want to do, I recommend using iBackup Extractor, or iCloud instead.

If you are unsure about restoring backups to your iPhone and potentially overwriting your files, this option is great for you. Using professional software like iBackup Extractor, you can simply extract the data you need from a backup of your iPhone, rather than restoring the whole thing.

If you don't remember creating a backup of your iPhone with iTunes, you may still have a backup! iTunes will create a backup of your iPhone any time you sync it with iTunes.

In the case of missing iPhone contacts, you can extract the contacts you need from a backup of your iPhone and save them to your computer. You can then simply transfer the contacts to your iPhone using iTunes. Here’s how:

1. Download and install iBackup Extractor on your PC or Mac.
2. Select an iPhone backup from the list to view its contents.
3. Click the "Contacts" tab to see the contacts saved in the backup.
4. Select the contacts you need, and hit "Copy to Outlook / Contacts / Address Book".
5. Open iTunes and connect your iPhone.
6. Click the device icon > Info > tick "Sync Contacts with".
7. Select Outlook or Windows Contacts or Address Book.
8. Click "Apply" to transfer!

The free trial of iBackup Extractor allows you to extract 20 items FREE.

Receive an email with a link so you can download the free trial on your computer:

Note: We respect your privacy. We won't share your Email address with anyone else, or send you spam.

You may have an old phone laying around which has all of your important contacts still stored on it.

Whether you have an old Android or iPhone, you can transfer contacts from it to your new iPhone using Contact Transfer.

Contact Transfer allows you to connect your devices to your PC and easily move your contacts between them. This is great because these transfers are done locally on your PC, so you don't have to worry about using online services like iCloud.

This method is available for Windows 10 systems only.

Here's how to transfer contacts from device to device using Contact Transfer:

1. Download and Install Contact Transfer on your PC.
2. Launch Contact Transfer and choose your Source and Destination devices. The Source device is the one which has your desired contacts stored on it. Then click Continue.
3. Connect your devices. Check out the guide on how to connect an Android or iPhone with Contact Transfer.
4. Once your devices are connected, click Continue.
5. Select the Contacts you wish to transfer from your Source device.
6. Click Transfer to initiate the copy process!

The free trial of Contact Transfer allows you to transfer 5 contacts FREE.

Receive an email with a link so you can download the free trial on your computer:

Note: We respect your privacy. We won't share your Email address with anyone else, or send you spam.

Method 5: Ask your friends

The last method is the simplest one, but also the least robust. If you are only missing one or 2 crucial contacts from your iPhone, it may be easiest for you to obtain the missing information from friends.

For example, if you are missing a friend's contact information, why not contact a mutual friend (who you do have contact information for) and ask them to send you the missing details.

On your iPhone, open the "Contacts" app. Select a contact you wish to share with a friend. Now scroll down and tap "Share Contact". Here, you'll have the option to share the contact via Message, Mail, WhatsApp and more!

Obviously, this will take ages if you need to get more than a handful of contacts from friends, so we recommend using one of the above methods if you need a more robust solution.

Read Next: How to Recover Deleted Photos on iPhone >