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iOSiPhone Contact Recovery

How to Recover Deleted Contacts on iPhone

By Jennifer | Last Updated

“Is it possible to restore the deleted contacts on my iPhone? I am extremely a tech savvy and I need my previous contacts. Could anyone show me the directions?”

It is really frustrating when you lost important contacts on your iPhone. Whether it’s due to accidental deletion, software updates, or system errors, there are always the right methods to recover the contacts. In this article, you can learn 4 reliable ways to recover delete contacts on your iPhone with or without a computer.

iPhone contact restore

Way 1: Restore Deleted Contacts of iPhone from iCloud

If you’ve enabled iCloud to sync contacts, you can recover them easily through iCloud. After restoring, your current contacts will be replaced with the selected backup.

Step 1: Go to icloud.com/contacts on any browser of your computer.

Step 2: Sign in your iCloud account. After that, click the menu icon on the top right corner. Then choose Data Recovery option from the drop-down menu.

click Data Recovery

Step 3: On Data Recovery interface, click the Restore Contacts option to continue.

Step 4: Select a version you want to restore and hit the Restore button. Minutes later, the chosen contacts will be synced to all your iOS devices which have Contacts enabled on the iCloud settings.

choose Contacts to restore

Way 2: Recover Contacts using iTunes Backup

If you regularly back up your iPhone via iTunes, you can recover lost contacts by restoring the backup. But this method will overwrite all your current Phone data with the selected backup.

Step 1: Make your iPhone connected to the computer and run iTunes.

Step 2: Find your iPhone icon and then choose it. After that, click the Summary option on the left panel (or Genneral tab on mac).

Step 3: Click Restore Backup and then choose your backup to Restore.

restore iPhone backup in iTunes

Way 3: Recover Only iPhone Lost Contacts from iTunes Backup

Do not want to restore all data from iTunes backup to your computer? You can extract the iTunes backup and recover only the contacts data from iTunes backup with iSunshare iOS Data Genius. This iOS data recovery tool allows you to retrieve lost contacts directly from your iPhone. You can preview and selectively recover contacts. iSunshare iOS Data Genius is designed with user-friendly interface and high recovery success rate.

Step 1: Install and run iOS Data Genius on your computer.

It is required to install and run iOS Data Genius on computer where iTunes backups store.

Step 2: Choose "Recover from iTunes Backup File" and select a backup to scan.

This software will automatically detect the iPhone backups on your computer. You can choose the second recovery mode—Recover from iTunes Backup File. Then select a backup for your iPhone, according to the backup date and serial number. Afterwards, click the Start scan button to scan the iTunes backup file.

Step 3: Preview, recover and save contacts in iTunes backup.

3-1 Click Contacts folder to see whether they are the contacts you want to recover.

3-2 Select the contacts after preview, and click Recover button. If contacts you want to recover are not in this iTunes backup file, turn to Home and select another iTunes backup file to scan and preview contacts.

3-3 Select or create a new folder to save recovered iPhone contacts in new dialog. When you see "Recover successfully", please pay attention that iPhone contacts recovery is completed.

recover lost contacts from iPhone iTunes backup with ios data recovery tool

After that, the lost contacts are saved on your iPhone. You can make use of iTunes to sync contacts from PC to your iPhone.

Way 4: Recover Deleted Contacts from Email Accounts

Many users sync contacts with their email accounts (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook). If your contacts were synced, you can restore them via the respective email service.

Step 1: Go to Settings > Contacts > Accounts.

Step 2: Select the email account where your contacts were synced.

select the email account you want to sync

Step 3: Toggle on the Contacts option to re-sync them.

Step 4: Open the Contacts app to check if the missing contacts are restored.

FAQs on iPhone Contacts Recovery

Q1: Can I recover contacts if they were deleted months ago?

If the contacts have not been overwritten, tools like iSunshare iOS Data Genius may still recover them.

Q2: Will restoring from a backup delete my current data?

Yes, both iCloud and iTunes restore methods overwrite your current data with the backup. Consider third-party tools for selective recovery.

Q3: How do I check if my contacts are synced with iCloud?

Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud and ensure the Contacts toggle is turned on.

Conclusions:

Whether you use iCloud, iTunes, email sync, or a professional recovery tool like iSunshare iOS Data Genius, you can retrieve your lost contacts quickly and efficiently. For the most reliable and hassle-free solution, try iSunshare iOS Data Genius to recover your contacts without a backup. Download it today to safeguard your important connections!

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