Have your iPhone contacts magically disappeared? This can be really exhausting for users as contacts play an important role in connecting with other users by voice call, text, etc. Losing contacts on iPhone is a thing that is not very unusual for Apple users. We have all faced this issue one time or the other.
- Apple How To Recover Contacts
- How To Recover Deleted Contacts On Iphone
- How To Restore Gmail Contacts On Iphone
- Add Gmail Contacts To Iphone
Restore Contacts from iTunes Backup. This method is hassle-free but has some limitations.
- You can restore your contacts and contact groups from an earlier version that was automatically archived in iCloud. On iCloud.com, go to Account Settings, then click Restore Contacts in the Advanced section. Available versions are listed by the date and time they were archived. To the right of the version you want to restore, click Restore.
- Restart your iPhone. Shutting down your iPhone device is not necessary for everyday use.
- Updated Video: to restore deleted contacts on iPhone? This video shows you an EASY way to recover deleted contacts on iPhone.
Though the experience might be slightly different from one user to another user. Some iPhone users have reported losing all iPhone contacts at one time. While some have reported that they lost a good number of contacts but not all at once. There are different reasons that lead to the deleting of iPhone contacts automatically.
And there are different solutions focusing on each of them. In this article, we have listed all the solutions on how to recover deleted contacts from iPhone.
It might be that your iPhone needs to restart and doing so you will receive all your lost contacts back. Or you may have to recover your contacts through iTunes. Therefore there are many solutions and any one of them can get your contacts back.
That is the reason we have listed all the solutions starting from the very simple ones to little time-consuming ones too. Sometimes only a simple thing can get your job done quickly. So it is better to give it a try first. We suggest you go through each of the solutions to help you recover deleted contacts from iPhone.
Before moving forward we suggest you go through our tips on how you can maximize and improve your iPhone battery life. Some good habits can go a long way to improve your iPhone battery life. This way you will not have to go for your charger or power bank after every few hours. Moving forward let’s take a detailed look at the best solutions available to restore deleted contacts from iPhone.
Methods to Recover Deleted Contacts from iPhone
If you want to get back your contacts quickly without going through each method you can skip the methods and go to the last section and use a third-party app to get your job done.
1. Restart your iPhone
Shutting down your iPhone device is not necessary for everyday use. The latest technology used in mobile devices these days does not require to turn them off without a reason. We only recommend shutting down your iPhone and turning it on when there is an issue with the software. And another reason is that if you want to conserve the battery for emergency use. In the case of losing your contacts from the iPhone, it is a good idea to restart your iPhone. Restarting your iPhone will first close all the apps, even those not working properly like contacts app. Then it will give your iPhone a fresh start and will remove any glitches in the system. This can cause your contacts to reappear again. Follow the steps below to restart your iPhone.
Unlock your iPhone
Unlock your iPhone using your Face ID/Password or Thumbprint. This depends on the version of the iPhone you are using.
Turn Off your iPhone
- If you are using iPhone X or 11, you will have to press one of the volume buttons on the left and side button located on the right side. Hold it for a few seconds till you see the slider to turn off your iPhone. Slide it and your iPhone will turn off.
- If you are using iPhone 8,7 or 6, press the button located on the right side of your phone. The slider will appear. Slider it and your iPhone will turn off.
- If you using iPhone SE, 5 or earlier, press the power button located on the top. The slider will appear. Swipe it and your iPhone will turn off.
Turn On your iPhone
- If you are using iPhone X, 11, 8, 7 or 6, you will have to press the button on the right side for a few seconds. Release the button when you see an Apple logo on your screen. Your device will be turned on.
- If you are using iPhone SE, 5 or earlier, press the button at the top. Release it when you see the Apple logo on the screen. Your device will be turned on.
Now go to your contacts app and check your contacts. This simple method can retrieve your contacts quickly. If it didn’t work for you, don’t worry we have your back. Check out our next method below.
2. Enable “Show All Contacts” on iPhone
If all your contacts have disappeared at once, this method can help you retrieve your lost contacts at once. Sometimes, we mistakenly click or disable functions that can cause our data to hide and not be visible. This step is useful if you have unknowingly disabled the show contacts feature on your iPhone. Disabling show contacts will hide them from the contact list. And only your own number will be visible there. To enable it again or check if it is disabled, follow the steps below.
Click on the “Phone Icon”
Click on the Phone icon on your iPhone. It is usually located on the bottom-left side of your iPhone screen. This action will open your phone list.
Choose “Contacts”
On the bottom of your screen, you will find “Contacts”. It is located in the middle of the “Recents” and “Keypad” feature. Click on “Contacts”.
Click on “Groups”
On the top-left side of your contacts page, you will find the “Groups” feature. Click on it.
Enable “Show All Contacts”
Click on “Show All Contacts” to enable this option. Blue ticks will appear right next to “All iCloud” and “All Gmail”. If you have any other account synced then that account will also appear under this section. If this feature is already enabled then you can skip this method and move to the next method.
Click on “Done”
To save all your changes click on “Done” located on the top-right side of the screen.
Did this method work for you? Let me know in the comment section below. Even if you already have this feature enabled, you know the next time if your contacts disappear because of it. “Knowledge is never wasted”.
3. Check your “Sort Order” and “Display Order” on iPhone
This method is a solution for those users who cannot find contacts by name on there iPhone. This method is not applicable if your contact list is empty. Sort Order and Display Order refers to how the contacts on your contact list are displayed and found. There are two different ways you can sort and display your contact list.
The first one is by using the first name and then the last name to find contact. For example, John Smith. The second one is by using the last name and then the first name. For example, Smith John. So if you have settings on your iPhone to display the last name first and you are trying to find a contact by its first name, then your contacts are not hidden or lost. They are simply not visible because of the filter settings. Follow the steps below to correct this issue.
Go to “Settings”
Open the “Settings” on your iPhone by tapping on the gear icon on your home screen.
Choose “Contacts”
Scroll down on the settings page and click on the arrow right next to “Contacts”.
Edit “Sort Order”
Click on the arrow right next to “Sort Order”. Click on “First, Last”. A blue tick will appear to the option you choose. Click on the “Contacts” with a back arrow on the top to get back to the previous page.
Edit “Display Order”
Click on the arrow right next to the “Display Order”. Click on “First, Last”. A blue tick will appear right next to it.
Apple How To Recover Contacts
Now go back to the home page and search for your contacts with the first name. If you have found the contact, that’s good news. If you are looking for a method to recover all deleted contacts from iPhone, then check out the next method.
We suggest you follow the below methods in sequence from 4-6. All these methods we have listed are related to one another. So if you skip either one, it may lead to the non-recovery of your lost contacts.
4. Update to the latest version of iOS on your device
Do you ignore the iPhone update alerts you receive on your phone? If it is so that maybe one of the reasons your contacts have disappeared. Let’s make it simple for you to understand. Why are iOS updates important? Every update comes with new improvements, added security checks, bug fixes, etc. So if you ignore the update and keep using your iPhone, it may result in your phone being corrupted by malware, unattended glitches, and so much more.
Therefore, the foremost thing to do is to check for an available update on your iPhone. It will not only make it easy to recover your contacts but will also make your iPhone function to its best capacity. Before updating your iPhone make sure you have backed up your data on iCloud. Follow the steps below to update your iPhone.
Connect to a charger
Plug your iPhone to a power source.
Connect to Wifi
The next thing to do is to connect your device to a good Wi-fi connection.
Open “Settings”
Click on the gear icon on the home page on your iPhone and open “Settings”.
Choose “General”
Scroll down and click on “General”. This will open the “About” section and “Software Update” below it. If you see a red icon right next to “Software Update” it means that there is a pending update. But if you do not see it, it refers that your device is updated and running on the latest version available.
Open “Software Update” and “Download and Install”
Click on the “Software Update” to open it. It will display the latest version available. Go to the bottom and click on “Download and Install”. After downloading it will ask for your permission to “Install now”. Click on it or schedule it to when you will be free.
There are other options available for updating your device but this is the easiest and quick one. Follow the next method after you have updated your device
5. Turn iCloud “Off” and “On” to recover deleted contacts
Another method to recover deleted contacts from iPhone is to turn iCloud Off and back On. When we enable iCloud for our contacts, it takes all the data and stores it to iCloud.com. Moreover, if we are using multiple devices and all of them share the same iCloud Id, all the data gets automatically synced between them. This means that changes made on one of those devices will reflect on all the devices sharing the same id.
Now you must be wondering hows that related to your lost contacts? It is simple. If due to some issue some of your contacts are deleted they can be restored by iCloud memory. By just disabling iCloud contacts and turning them back on. Let’s see how to do this.
Go to “Settings” and click on your “Name”
Unlock your iPhone and click on the gear icon for “Settings”. Under “Settings” on the top of the screen you will find your “Name”. Now click on the arrow right next to your “Name”. It will also display “Apple ID, iCloud, iTunes and App Store” under it.
Choose “iCloud” and turn off “Contacts”
Click on the arrow right next to “iCloud”. This will open a page displaying iCloud storage and Apps using iCloud. Under “Apps Using iCloud” you will find “Contacts”. Click on the Toggle next to it to turn it off. When it is on, it will be green.
Choose “Keep on My iPhone”
After turning off the iCloud contacts you will be asked to either keep your available contacts on iPhone or delete them. Choose “Keep on My iPhone”.
Turn On iCloud Contacts and choose “Merge”
Now again click on the Toggle next to contacts on iCloud to Turn it back on. This time you will be asked to “Merge” contacts. Merging contacts of your iPhone and those on iCloud can do the trick of restoring your lost contacts. Click on “Merge”. And you are done.
After this, you can check for your lost contacts by searching them by name. Although this method works for some and not for all. But it is worth giving a try.
6. Restore Contacts from iCloud.com
This is related to the method we have discussed above. This case is applicable if you have already enabled contacts on iCloud. In that scenario, all your contacts have been uploaded on iCloud.com. And on iCloud.com an archive of contacts is available according to date and time. Now, for example, you lost your contacts on Jan 01. You can restore the contacts of Dec 31 on iCloud.com to get all the contacts back. This is the best method and the most reliable one to help you recover deleted contacts from iPhone. Follow the steps below to restore all lost contacts.
Open iCloud.com
Open your web browser on either your iPhone or computer and visit https://www.icloud.com/. The iCloud Sign in Page will open up.
Sign in to iCloud.com
Enter your “Apple ID” on the screen. You will be prompted to enter your password. Enter your Apple ID “Password”. Now click on the arrow right next to it.
Enter Verification Code
If you are Signing in from a new device, you will be prompted to enter verification code send you by either text, email, etc. Enter the verification code. Skip this step if your signing in with your registered device.
Choose “Account Settings”
Click on “Account Settings” under your account name. Your iCloud Settings page will open. It will display all the information starting from “iCloud Storage”, “Your Devices” and “Advanced Settings”.
Go to “Restore Contacts”
Under the “Advanced” section on the bottom of the window, you will find “Restore Contacts”. Click on it.
Select Date and Restore Contacts
In this window, you will find all the archives of contacts available and listed according to date with the most recent on the top. Download stegcomputer driver. Choose one according to Date and click on “Restore” next to it.
Note: After restoring one of the selected archives your current contacts will also appear in this archive section. If by any chance you change your mind and want to get your current contacts back that you archived you can get back to this section and choose the date and restore the contacts from here.
Confirm Changes
Wheelmouse mice & touchpads driver download for windows. You will be asked to confirm your action by a pop-up window. Click on “Restore” to confirm your changes.
In this way, you can retrieve deleted contacts on your iPhone.
7. Restore Contacts from iTunes Backup
This method on how to recover deleted contacts from iPhone is fro users who do not use iCloud service nor have enabled the service. If you occasionally back up your iPhone’s data through iTunes Backup, you can get back all your lost contacts by accessing those backup files. Follow the steps below to retrieve deleted contacts easily through iTunes.
Open your computer and launch iTunes
Connect your iPhone to your computer with a USB cable. Open iTunes from the Apps located at the bottom or use Spotlight search to open it.
Open “iPhone” from the iTunes window
On the iTunes window, you will find iPhone on the top-left corner. Click on it. All the information related to your iPhone will be displayed on the screen. The information will include the iPhone version and iOS version working on it. Moreover, it will also display the backups available.
Choose “Restore Backups”
Under the Backups section, you will find “Manually Back Up and Restore”. Under this section “Restore Backup” option is available. Click on it.
How To Recover Deleted Contacts On Iphone
Choose “Backup”
Click on the Backup listed according to date and time that you think will have your contacts. We suggest you choose the latest one as it will have your updated information. The old entries might be missing some information.
Click on “Restore”
Choose “Restore” to confirm your changes. This will get all your contacts backs immediately. If you do not use iCloud to back up your files, iTunes is a great solution to your problem then. Check it out and let us know how useful did you find it to be.
8. Retrieve iPhone Contacts using dr.fone
Wondershare dr.fone is an amazing software to recover your iPhone’s lost contacts. It is paid but definitely worth if you have important contacts to recover if none of the above steps is working.
dr.fone recovers photos, videos, contacts, messages, notes, call logs and much more.
Conclusion
We hope you found this article useful on how to recover deleted contacts from iPhone. If you have any queries related to the topic you can let us know in the comment section below. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on the latest posts.
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Q: I recently bought a brand new iPhone X device and now I want to import all contacts that are stored on my old Android device. Is it possible? If yes, please give me the solution.
Just switched from Android to the iOS device and want to sync contacts from Gmail to iPhone? Well, it is possible to sync Gmail contacts to iPhone device; you just have to follow some simple steps. Transferring contacts from Gmail to iPhone device is the great way to transfer contacts from Android to iPhone device. You can follow this useful article to know how to how to sync contacts from Gmail to iPhone device. Here, we will provide you 2 methods to easily transfer contacts from Gmail account to the iPhone device.
Method #1. How to sync contacts from Gmail to iPhone directly on iPhone
Syncing Gmail contacts to the iPhone have never been an easier task. But, there is a direct way that will help you to sync Gmail contacts to iPhone. In this method, you just have to add the Google account on your iPhone device to sync Gmail contacts to iPhone device. Still can’t understand? Follow the below step by step guide.
Step 1: Firstly, open the 'Settings' app on your iPhone that is placed on the springboard.
Step 2: One has to tap on the 'Contacts' and go to 'Accounts'.
Step 3: Now, you have to tap on the 'Add Account' and choose Google from the given options.
Step 4: After that, you will direct to the Gmail account login page. Enter the Google account login credential such as Email ID and password. Download srl driver.
Step 5: Once the login process completed, you have to enable the contacts toggle by tapping on it.
Step 6: The syncing process with take couple seconds depending on the internet connection speed.
Method #2. How to download Gmail to iPhone via iCloud
If you are not able to fetch the Gmail contacts to your iPhone device by performing the above method then, you can try this method. This is the reliable and one of the best ways to export Gmail contacts to iPhone device. But, this method is quite lengthy and bit complex as compared to the previous method. So, without any further delay let’s get started.
How To Restore Gmail Contacts On Iphone
Part 1 How to download contacts from Gmail to iPhone via iCloud
Step 1: Initially, open a web browser and go to the https://gmail.com/ and enter sign in details including valid Email ID and password.
Step 2: Gmail home interface will appear, click on the 'Gmail' at the top left corner of the screen.
Add Gmail Contacts To Iphone
Step 3: Choose 'Contacts' from the drop-down options.
Step 4: After that, one has to click on the “More” and hit on 'Export' button from the given options.
Step 5: Under the Export contacts, choose “All contacts” and 'vCard format' and hit on the 'Export' button.
Step 6: The .VCF file will automatically download to your computer.
Step 7: Open another tab on the web browser and open https://icloud.com/. Enter the iCloud login details to sign in.
Step 8: On the iCloud homepage, choose contacts from the given menus.
Step 9: You will see all the contacts that are saved on iCloud. Click on the 'Settings' icon at the bottom left corner of the screen and choose 'Import vCard'.
Step 10: Select the VCard file that you have downloaded from Gmail to sync Gmail contacts with iCloud.
After that, you can sync the contacts with the iPhone device by following the below steps.
Part 2 How to sync iCloud contacts with iPhone?
Step 1: Open the 'Settings' on your iPhone device and tap on the 'iCloud'.
Step 2: Now, enter the iCloud account details if it is not already logged in. Enable the toggle of contacts by tapping on it.
Step 3: You will be asked to whether to merge the contacts on your iPhone device. Tap on 'Merge' to finish the contacts synchronization process.
How to export contacts from iPhone without backup
The habit of regular backup is necessary to protect your data from harmful threats. What to do when you lost important data without having a backup? At that time, you can rely on the tools like iBeesoft iPhone Data Recovery. The reliable iPhone data recovery tool is the perfect solution if you are lost contacts on your iPhone device. This amazing tool will help you to easily recover and export contacts from iPhone in few simple steps. It is simple yet powerful iPhone data recovery for Mac or Windows tool packed with a plenty of features. This tool is used by millions of iOS users in order to recover lost data including photos, videos, messages, contacts, call logs and many others. Another outstanding function of this tool is that one can easily preview the file before recovery.
Features of iBeesoft iPhone Data Recovery
- 1: Fast data recovery: iBeesoft iPhone Data Recovery have the ability to recover the data with a faster speed as compared to any other data recovery tool. Thanks to its highly optimized algorithm that makes efficient and faster data recovery possible.
- 2: Recovery modes: In this data recovery tool, you will find three types of data recovery modes including directly recover from the iPhone device, use iTunes backup to recover the file, and recover from iCloud files.
- 3: Supported file types: iBeesoft iPhone Data Recovery supports more than 20 types of data recovery including zip files, photos, contacts, videos, messages, call history, WhatsApp messages, and many others.
- 4: Simple and easy to use: iBeesoft iPhone Data Recovery user-interface is very clean and simple that makes it easier to use.
- 5: Affordable price: You can experience powerful amazing features of iBeesoft iPhone Data Recovery at affordable prices, unlike its counterparts.
Whenever you lost important contacts on your iPhone, the iBeesoft iPhone Data Recovery is the tool that will help you in retrieving the lost messages from your iPhone device.
Note: If unluckily, cannot undelete text messages on iPhone due to you continued using iPhone after your messages had been accidentally deleted. Don't worry, you still have a chance to undelete iPhone messages. To do this, click on the 'Recover from iTunes' and 'Recover from iCloud' option on the top homepage menu. if you had previously enabled the iCloud backup feature on your iPhone or backed up your iPhone to iTunes.