We’ve all been there – you accidentally delete an important contact from your phone and then panic trying to figure out how to get it back. Deleting contacts can happen so easily, often without realizing until it’s too late. The good news is that in many cases, it is possible to recover recently deleted contacts from your phone.
Check Recently Deleted Contacts
The first place to check when looking for a deleted contact is your phone’s “recently deleted” contacts folder. Most smartphones keep deleted contacts for a certain period of time before permanently erasing them. For example, iPhones store deleted contacts for 30 days in the Recently Deleted album in the Contacts app. Android phones have a similar feature and store deleted contacts in the Contacts > Deleted Contacts menu.
To recover a recently deleted contact:
- Open your phone’s Contacts app
- Go to the deleted contacts folder
- Find the contact you want to retrieve and tap to restore it
As long as you act quickly enough, this should recover the deleted contact.
Check iCloud or Google Contacts Backup
If the contact is no longer in your phone’s recent deletes folder, the next place to check is your cloud backup. Services like iCloud and Google Contacts can provide a backup of your contacts online.
For iCloud
If you have iCloud backup enabled for your iPhone, your contacts may still be stored in iCloud.
- Go to icloud.com and login
- Click Contacts to view your online contacts
- See if the deleted contact is still listed here. If so, click to open it
- At the bottom of the page click Move to iPhone to restore the contact back to your device
For Google Contacts
If you use Android and backup contacts to your Google account, check your Google Contacts online.
- Go to contacts.google.com and login
- Check if the deleted contact is listed here. If so, open it
- Click More > Restore to Phone to send the contact back to your Android device
This will only work if the contact was synced to the cloud before it was deleted.
Try Your Email History
If your deleted contact emailed you in the past, you may be able to recover their contact details from your email history.
Go through your email inbox and look for any messages from the deleted contact. Their name, email address, and maybe phone number should be visible in the message header.
You can then recreate the contact by adding these details to your phone’s Contacts app.
Check Your Call History
Similarly, if you’ve received calls from the deleted contact’s number in the past, you can find their phone number in your call history or call logs.
On an iPhone, go to Phone > Recents to see your call history. On Android, go to Phone > Call History. Look for any calls from the number of your deleted contact.
You can recreate the contact by adding the phone number to your Contacts app.
Use a Contacts Recovery App
As another option, there are apps available that can help recover deleted contacts from your phone.
For iPhone, an app like iMyFone Fixppo can scan your device and find deleted contacts to restore. For Android, Try FonePaw Android Data Recovery which can retrieve lost contacts.
These apps work even if the contacts are no longer in your Recently Deleted folder or cloud backups. They dig into your phone’s internal storage to find contact data that may still be recoverable.
Contact Your Phone Carrier
For cell phone contacts, your mobile carrier may have the person’s phone number and details on file from when you first added them to your address book.
Contact your phone carrier’s customer support and ask them to look up the deleted contact. Provide them with any details like the person’s name and your past calls or messages with them.
If they have enough information, your carrier may be able to recover the phone number so you can add it back to your contacts.
Ask People You Know for the Contact Info
If all else fails, you may need to ask around to get the contact information again for the deleted contact.
Reach out to people you think may have the person’s phone number or email address like mutual friends or family members. Explain that you lost the contact and want to reconnect.
You can also try posting on social media and seeing if anyone who is still connected with that person can share their details so you can reach them again.
Prevent Deleted Contacts in the Future
While recovering deleted contacts is possible in many cases, it’s much easier to avoid this situation altogether. Here are some tips to prevent losing contacts again:
- Back up your contacts regularly to iCloud or Google Contacts
- Export your contacts to store a copy externally on your computer
- Be careful when deleting contacts and confirm selections
- Consider an app like TouchCopy that automatically backs up new contacts added
Conclusion
Losing an important contact can be stressful, but in many cases it is possible to get it back. First, check your phone’s deleted contacts folder and cloud backups right away. You can also try your email history, call logs, contact recovery apps, and calling your carrier. As a last resort ask around to get the contact info again from someone else who knows them. Following backup best practices can also help avoid deleted contacts in the future.