6 Easy Ways to Recover Deleted Contacts on iPhone or iPad

Contacts are important part of your iPhone, helping you stay connected with family, friends, colleagues, and clients. So it can be a real nightmare when they suddenly disappear. There are several common reasons why iPhone contacts might go missing:

• You or someone else has accidentally deleted contacts from iPhone.
• Lost contacts and other data on iPhone after updated to iOS 18.
• Restore your iPhone to factory setting and all contacts disappeared.
• Contacts were missing after jailbreaking your iPhone or iPad.
• Contacts were lost when iPhone stuck in recovery mode.
• iPhone was water damaged, smashed, crashed, etc.

Can I Get Back Geleted Contacts on My iPhone?

Although iPhones don’t have a recycle bin or a “Recently Deleted” folder for contacts, there are still several effective methods you can use to recover them. In this guide, we’ll walk you through six easy ways to restore contacts that were accidentally deleted from your iPhone.

Way 1. Restore Contacts on iPhone via iCloud

If your iPhone is synced with iCloud, you can restore your deleted contacts from a previous iCloud backup. iCloud typically backs up your data daily, so there’s a good chance your missing contacts are saved in one of those backups.

To restore, you’ll need to log into your iCloud account through a web browser – either on your iPhone or any other device with internet access. Here’s how to restore contacts from iCloud using a web browser:

1. Open a browser on your iPhone or any other device and go to icloud.com. Sign in with your Apple ID and password.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the iCloud homepage and select “Data Recovery.”
3. Choose “Restore Contacts.” You’ll see a list of archived contact versions.
4. Find one dated just before you lost your contacts, then click or tap “Restore” next to it. Confirm by selecting “Restore” again.

Once the restoration is complete, iCloud will send you a notification confirming your contacts have been successfully restored.

Way 2. Retrieve Contacts from iPhone via Email Account

If your deleted contacts were synced with an email account like Gmail, you can easily restore them to your iPhone by enabling contact syncing. No computer needed – just use the Settings app. Here’s how:

1. Open the “Settings” app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap “Mail” (or “Contacts”, depending on your iOS version).
3. Select “Accounts” and tap the email account (e.g., Gmail) linked to your contacts.
4. Toggle on “Contacts” to sync them back to your iPhone.

After that, when you open the Phone or Contacts app, your Gmail contacts should appear in the list automatically.

Way 3. Recover iPhone Deleted Contacts via iCloud Sync

If your contacts were previously synced with iCloud, you can easily get them back by enabling contact sync again. This method doesn’t require a full restore – just a quick toggle in your settings. Here’s what to do:

1. On your iPhone, go to “Settings > [your name] > iCloud” and toggle off “Contacts.” When prompted, select “Keep on My iPhone.”
2. Next, turn “Contacts” back on and tap “Merge.” Wait for a while, your deleted contacts should reappear on your iPhone.

Way 4. Restore iPhone Contacts from iCloud Backup

If you’ve enabled iCloud sync for your contacts, you can also easily recover any lost contacts on your iPhone. First, make sure you have an iCloud backup of your contacts. Once you’ve confirmed this, follow these steps to restore your contacts from iCloud：

1. Go to “Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone” and tap “Erase All Content and Settings.”
2. Confirm your choice by entering your device’s passcode. Once your iPhone restarts, begin the initial setup process.
3. During setup, select “Restore from iCloud Backup” and sign in with your Apple ID and password.
4. Choose the appropriate backup from the list and wait for your device to restore the contacts and other data from the selected backup.

Note: This method will restore not just contacts but all other types of data as well. There is no option to preview the data, and all contacts will be restored at once. Since this process requires resetting your device, it is generally not recommended.

Way 5. Recover Contacts by Restoring iPhone from iTunes/Finder

If you’ve backed up your iPhone using iTunes or Finder (on macOS Catalina and later), and the backup includes the contacts you’ve deleted, you can restore your iPhone from this backup to recover them.

1. Connect your iPhone to the computer and open iTunes or Finder.
2. Select your iPhone and lick on “Restore Backup…” in the Summary/General tab.
3. Select the appropriate backup (usually the most recent one) and click “Restore.”

Note: This method will erase all data on your iPhone before restoring it from a recent backup. While it will recover your deleted contacts, you may lose any new data added after the backup was made.

Way 6. Recover Deleted Contacts on iPhone without Backup

If you’re hesitant to restore from iCloud or iTunes due to potential data loss, or if you don’t have a backup, there’s still hope! Tools like Fucosoft iPhone Data Recovery can help you retrieve your lost contacts and other data directly from iPhone/iPad without needing a backup. This solution is particularly useful when you want to recover your data without overwriting what’s currently on your device.

Key Features of Fucosoft iPhone Data Recovery

• In addition to contacts, it can recover a wide range of data types such as messages, photos, videos, notes, WhatsApp, and more.
• Allows you to select specific files for recovery, making the process quicker and more focused.
• Lets you preview recoverable data before restoring, ensuring you recover only what you need.
• Fully compatible with all iOS versions and devices, including the latest iPhone 16 and iOS 18.

Here’s the steps to recover iPhone contacts without backup:

Step 1: Download and install the iPhone Contacts Recovery on your computer. Run the program, choose Recover from iOS Device” and click “Start”.

Step 2: Connect your iPhone to computer using a USB cable and wait for the iPhone Recovery program to detect it. Once the device is detected, click “Next”.

Step 3: In the next screen, choose “Contacts” or any other files you want to restore, then click on “Scan” to begin scanning and analyzing the device to find lost contacts.

Step 4: After scanning, you can easily find and preview the found contacts. Then choose those you want and click “Recover” to save them on your computer in XLSX/HTML/CSV file.

Note: As soon as you notice that your contacts are lost, stop using your iPhone. Any activity on the device can create new data, which might overwrite your deleted contacts, making them impossible to recover.

Tips to Keep Your Contacts Safe on Your iPhone

While knowing how to recover deleted contacts is helpful, it’s always better to prevent contact loss in the first place. Here are some tips to help keep your iPhone contacts safe:

• Sync with iCloud: The easiest way to protect your contacts is by syncing them with iCloud. This ensures your data is securely stored and easily recoverable, even if you lose your device.
• Create Regular Backups on Your Computer: In addition to iCloud, back up your iPhone to your computer regularly. This provides an extra layer of security for your contacts and other important data.
• Sync Gmail Contacts: By syncing your Gmail contacts with your iPhone, you’ll have your contacts saved in multiple locations, offering an added layer of protection.

Conclusion

We hope this guide on how to restore contacts on iPhone has made it easy for you to recover your deleted contacts. As you’ve seen, there are several methods to retrieve lost contacts on your iPhone. If you want to restore selectively without losing your existing data, we recommend trying Fucosoft iPhone Data Recovery. And, don’t forget to back up your contacts regularly to avoid any future hassle.