How to restore contacts on your iPhone: Niche solutions included

Most of us don’t remember phone numbers anymore. We count on our iPhones to store them for us. So if your contacts suddenly go missing, it’s normal to panic. The good news is you still have options. You can bring back deleted contacts using iCloud backups, Mac or iOS backups, your Google Account, and even data recovery software — if you don't have a backup copy.

Try these quick solutions. I've provided more detailed instructions below:

Recover iPhone contacts and other data with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac 

Let me start with the assumption that you don’t have an iPhone backup — otherwise, you probably would’ve restored your important contacts already. (That said, I’ll cover backup restoration methods below as well.)

But even if you don’t have another copy of your contacts saved elsewhere, you shouldn't treat them as gone forever right away. With the right data recovery software, you may be able to retrieve lost data, including contacts.

One option for Mac is iBoysoft Data Recovery. It can recover basically all types of deleted files — including contacts — from the Mac itself and from devices connected to it. So if you connect your iPhone to a Mac with iBoySoft Data Recovery installed, the app can scan your iPhone and attempt to recover your lost contacts.

Here's how to recover lost contacts with iBoysoft Data Recovery:

1. Install and open iBoysoft Data Recovery.
2. Connect your iPhone to your Mac.
3. Choose your iPhone in the left pane and click Search for Lost Data.
4. When the scanning is over, search your contact files (typically, .vcf), preview them, and restore the ones you need. 

Recover contacts using iCloud on your iPhone

There are a couple of ways to restore contacts from iCloud. Let’s take a look at the two options below.

Recover contacts from iCloud on iPhone

iCloud has become a useful tool for iPhone users because it lets you store more files than your phone’s limited storage can handle. So if some of your contacts go missing, you can sign in to iCloud and restore them. Just a heads up: this works only if your iPhone is set to sync with iCloud.

Here's how to use your iPhone to sync contacts from iCloud to iPhone: 

1. Go to the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap your name, then go to iCloud > See All under Saved to iCloud.
3. Find Contacts in the list and turn it off.
4. Choose Keep on My iPhone when prompted.
5. Turn Contacts back on.
6. Tap Merge to combine your iCloud contacts with the ones on your iPhone.

Restoring iPhone contacts from iOS backup is the most reliable way to protect yourself from data loss. However, it doesn't allow you to preview your backup to ensure it actually contains your lost contacts. 

That's why I use AnyTrans for iOS — an app for moving files between macOS and iOS devices that gives me more flexibility. With it, I can preview the contents of the backup to make sure my lost data is included, and then restore only what I want. 

To restore iPhone contacts with AnyTrans for iOS:

1. Install and open AnyTrans for iOS on your Mac.
2. Connect your phone to your Mac with a USB cable. By default, the app will automatically detect your iPhone. You can also connect it via Wi-Fi.
3. Click Backup Manager in the left sidebar once the device is connected.
4. Choose the Restore Backup option. The app will automatically load all backups created via iCloud or AnyTrans for iOS. 
5. Choose the target device and the backup you want to restore.
6. Click Next to start the restore process. Keep your iPhone connected while it restarts and wait for the process to finish.

Check out this guide if you want to learn how to back up your iPhone to a Mac.

Recover deleted iPhone numbers from iCloud.com

To see what is stored on your iCloud account, you can also visit iCloud.com. You’ll access information synced from your iPhone, such as Contacts, Photos, Calendars, Notes, and more.

Here’s how to restore contacts on iPhone via iCloud.com:

1. Go to iCloud.com.
2. Sign in using your Apple Account (former Apple ID) and password.
3. Click the menu in the upper-right corner (the one with the dots) and click Data Recovery.
4. Click on the Restore Contacts tab. 
5. Click Restore next to the version just before your contacts went missing, then confirm Restore when prompted.
6. Wait for iCloud to sync.

Recover contacts from Google or Yahoo accounts

Contacts may also be stored in your Google (Gmail) or Yahoo accounts. To sync them to your iPhone, follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down to Apps, then Mail. 
3. Choose the email account with the saved Google contacts you want to add to your iPhone.
4. Turn the Contacts toggle on to sync your Gmail or Yahoo contacts with your iPhone.

And that's it! Now, when you open your Contacts app, you’ll see your saved Gmail/Yahoo contacts in the list.

Tip: We’ve got more guides on recovering files after accidental deletion or a software crash: How to recover deleted photos from iPhone, how to restore an Apple Music library, and how to recover an unsaved Word document on Mac.

Can’t find contacts anywhere. Any ideas?

Contacts still missing? Maybe they weren't deleted, just tucked away where you haven’t found them yet. Try these tips:

• Add any other accounts or Apple Accounts you may have used: Try to remember if you used other accounts that could have synced with your contacts. If so, add them to your iPhone and sync the contacts from those accounts to your phone. You can do this in Settings > Apps > Contacts > Accounts > Add Account. You can add iCloud, Microsoft Exchange, Google, Outlook.com, and more.
• Check your iMessage and texts: Maybe someone shared the phone number you need via text? Search "vCard" in your messages.
• Try your SIM card: The contact might be stored on your SIM. Go to Settings > Apps > Contacts > Import SIM Contacts. If the number is on an old SIM that doesn't fit your new iPhone (micro SIM cards haven't been used since the iPhone 4, nano-SIMs were used until the iPhone 15, and the iPhone 16 is only compatible with eSIM), or if the card is damaged, try a SIM card reader. They're about $10 on Amazon.
• Search for the number online: If it's a professional contact, check LinkedIn or Facebook. Some people post their phone numbers for business.
• Export contacts from WhatsApp: WhatsApp doesn’t offer a built-in way to export your full contact list, but you can export individual chats. Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Export chat and select the chat you need. Then open it on your Mac. The archive's name will contain the person's phone number, and the .txt file inside includes their WhatsApp nickname.

Final thoughts on how to restore missing contacts on your iPhone

Losing your iPhone contacts can be frustrating, but luckily, there are some methods you can use to recover them. You can resync contacts from iCloud, restore them through iCloud.com, pull them from a Gmail or Yahoo account, or even import them from a SIM card. 

For extra help, a few apps make the process quicker and more reliable. AnyTrans for iOS gives you flexibility with backups, while iBoysoft Data Recovery can scan your Mac for older backups and bring back lost contacts. And if your backup keeps failing due to Wi-Fi issues, tools like NetSpot and WiFi Explorer can help stabilize your network connection.

The good news is that these apps are available on Setapp, along with over 250 other Mac, iPhone, and iPad apps to handle just about any task. You can try them all for free for seven days. If you want peace of mind and a full toolkit for recovery and beyond, Setapp is worth checking out.

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