How to Recover Contacts from a Broken Phone

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By Jenefey Aaron

2026-08-13 / iOS Data Recovery

When a phone breaks, losing access to important contacts and personal data can be frustrating. Whether the screen is cracked or completely black, the phone won't turn on, the touchscreen is unresponsive, or you can't unlock the device, your contacts and other files may still be recoverable.

The recovery method depends on where your contacts were stored. They may be available through Google Account or iCloud sync, stored directly on the phone, or saved in a backup file. This guide covers several common ways to recover contacts from a broken phone, including official solutions and recovery tools that can help you retrieve your data efficiently. Let's get started!

How to Recover Contacts from a Broken Phone

How to Recover Contacts from a Broken Android Phone

Method 1: Restore Contacts from Google Account (Official Method)

If you previously enabled Google Contacts sync, your contacts may already be stored in your Google Account. All you need is a new Android phone and to sign in with the Google account and synchronize the new device.

Steps:

Here is the step-by-step guide to get back contacts from the Google account.

  • Open Google Contacts on a computer or another device.
  • Sign in with the same Google Account.
  • If the contacts are available, sign in to the same Google Account on your new Android phone.
  • Restore Contacts from Google Account
  • Enable contact synchronization in the account settings. The new device will get all the contacts from the Google account.

Limitations:

  • Only works for contacts that were synced.
  • Contacts stored only on the broken phone cannot be recovered this way.

Method 2: Recover Contacts from a Broken Android Phone with UltData Android Data Recovery

Tenorshare UltData Android Data Recovery Tool is used to recover the contacts and other data when it is not backed up. It offers data recovery for both Android and iOS devices.

Use this method when:

  • Your Android phone is damaged but still detectable.
  • You don't have a Google backup.
  • Contacts were saved in the phone storage.

Here is the step-by-step guide to recover the lost data with the UltData recovery tool.

  • Install UltData Android Data Recovery on your computer and open it.
  • recover lost data interface
  • Select the data type you want to recover, such as contacts. Wait for the system to scan the mobile device and find the selected data type.
  • choose file types
  • Once the data is shown on the screen, click Recover to get all the files you need.
  • preview android files

Key benefits:

  • UltData can be useful when no Google backup is available.
  • It may help recover locally stored contacts from an accessible device.

How to Recover Contacts from a Broken iPhone

Method 1: Restore Contacts from iCloud Contacts Sync (Official Method)

If iCloud Contacts was enabled before your iPhone broke, your contacts may be stored in iCloud. Here is the step-by-step guide for you to follow to make the recovery process even smoother.

  • Sign in to your Apple Account on another Apple device or through iCloud.
  • Sign in to Your Apple Account
  • Open your contacts and check whether the missing contacts are available. Open the iCloud settings. Enable Contacts synchronization.
  • Ios Settings and Icloud Menu Interface
  • Wait for the contacts to download to the new iPhone.

Limitations:

  • This method only recovers contacts that were synchronized with iCloud.
  • Contacts stored locally on the broken iPhone may not be available in iCloud.

Method 2: Restore Contacts from iCloud Backup (Official Method)

If your contacts were included in an iCloud Backup, you can restore them by restoring the entire backup. Before that, you need to delete or erase all the data from the device for iCloud to work perfectly fine.

Let's check out how to restore contacts from a broken phone with iCloud.

  • Turn on the replacement or reset iPhone. Choose Restore from iCloud Backup.
  • Choose Restore from Icloud Backup
  • Sign in with your Apple Account. Select an appropriate backup from before the phone was damaged. Check your Contacts app after the restoration.

Limitations:

  • Restoring an iCloud backup may replace existing data on the target iPhone.
  • The contacts must have been included in the backup.

Method 3: Recover Contacts from Broken iPhone Using UltData

Option 1: Recover Contacts Directly from a Broken iPhone

If the iPhone is damaged but still accessible to a computer, UltData may provide another way to look for recoverable contacts.

Best for:

  • iPhone still turns on.
  • Device can connect to a computer.
  • Screen damage prevents normal access.
  • Install UltData on your computer. Connect your broken iPhone using a USB cable.
  • launch-ios-recovery
  • Select the appropriate recovery option. Choose Contacts or other relevant data types and click Scan.
  • start scan
  • Preview the contacts found by the software. Select the contacts you want to recover. Export the selected contacts to your computer.
  • preview-photos-ios

Advantages:

  • No backup required.
  • No need to erase the iPhone.
  • Recover only the contacts you need.

Option 2: Recover Contacts from iCloud Backup Without Resetting iPhone

The general process is to install the recovery software like UltData recovery tool, sign in or provide the required iCloud backup information, select the relevant backup, and scan for contacts. You can then preview available data and export the contacts you need.

  • Return to the UltData main interface, then click Recover Data from iCloud to continue.
  • launch icloud recovery
  • Click iCloud Backup Data Recovery to get things started.
  • choose icloud backup data recovery path
  • Sign in with the account credentials to log into your iCloud account.
  • apple id login for icloud backup recovery
  • Select Backup File
  • Browse the list of available backups, choose the specific file you wish to download and scan, then click "Next".

    select icloud backup to scan
  • Choose File Type.
  • Select the specific categories of data you need to recover (such as Photos, Videos, Contacts, etc.) and click "Download".

    select file types to recover
  • Select, Preview, and Recover Data
  • After choosing the required file types, click "Download" to scan the selected iCloud backup data. Once the scan is complete, preview the available files, select the items you want to recover, and click "Recover to PC" to export them to your computer.

    preview and recover data

Conclusion

Recovering contacts from a broken phone is often possible, but the best method depends on how the contacts were stored and how severely the phone is damaged. Cloud synchronization should always be your first option because it is usually the safest and easiest approach.

For Android devices, check your Google Account for synchronized contacts. For iPhones, check iCloud Contacts and available iCloud backups. If your contacts were stored only on the device, recovery software such as UltData may be worth trying when the broken phone can still be detected or accessed.

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