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How do I get my contacts back?

How do I get my contacts back?

Posted on May 12, 2022 5:50 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 12, 2022 5:59 PM

That depends on how you lost them. Contacts are not stored on your iPhone, they sync to one or more email accounts. If you delete an email account that is hosting your contacts they will disappear from your phone. Go to Settings/Contacts/Accounts to see which accounts contain the master copy of your contacts.


  • If it is iCloud, then see this→iCloud: Restore contacts, calendars, and more in iCloud Settings
  • If it is any other type of email account (e.g, AOL, Yahoo, gmail, hotmail, Outlook) then you need to use whatever tools your email provider offers for recovering contacts
  • You may also just not be viewing the contact “groups” in the Contacts app - open the app and tap Groups in the upper left corner and make sure all groups are checked.
1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 12, 2022 5:59 PM in response to Home2885

That depends on how you lost them. Contacts are not stored on your iPhone, they sync to one or more email accounts. If you delete an email account that is hosting your contacts they will disappear from your phone. Go to Settings/Contacts/Accounts to see which accounts contain the master copy of your contacts.


  • If it is iCloud, then see this→iCloud: Restore contacts, calendars, and more in iCloud Settings
  • If it is any other type of email account (e.g, AOL, Yahoo, gmail, hotmail, Outlook) then you need to use whatever tools your email provider offers for recovering contacts
  • You may also just not be viewing the contact “groups” in the Contacts app - open the app and tap Groups in the upper left corner and make sure all groups are checked.

How do I get my contacts back?

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