[New!] How to Retrieve Deleted Contacts on iPhone without Computer

by Sophie Green   Updated on 2023-03-22 / Update for  iPhone Recovery

Sometimes you can be in deep trouble if you get all the contacts deleted from your iPhone. The smartphones also don’t have a recycle bin feature to restore deleted items. Fortunately, there are still ways you can retrieve deleted contacts on your iPhone. In this ultimate guide, let’s have a look at some of the ultimate on how to retrieve deleted contacts on iPhone without a computer.

Part 1: Can I Retrieve Deleted Contacts on iPhone without Computer

When recovering deleted items on the iPhone, one of the most used methods is via the recovery computer programs, which lets you recover them by deep scanning the device. To recover the deleted data on your iPhone, you need to connect it to the computer and let the program detect it. Then, you can start the scanning process to recover the deleted items.

However, if you don’t have access to the computer for some unknown reason, you can still retrieve the deleted files on your iPhone without the computer. The iPhone has iCloud cloud storage, which has 5 GB of free standard storage on which the data gets saved online.

You can retrieve the contacts from your iCloud account. Besides this, you can also recover the deleted contacts from your Gmail if you have logged on to your iPhone.

Part 2: How to Retrieve Deleted Contacts on iPhone without Computer

Now that you know it is possible to retrieve deleted contacts on your iPhone without a computer, let’s have a look at how exactly you can do it.

Way 1: How to Retrieve Deleted Contacts on iPhone from iCloud Backup

The first way to retrieve deleted contacts on your iPhone is by restoring them from an iCloud backup. You can use the iCloud app to restore your contacts on the device. Follow these steps to restore the contacts:

  • Open up the Settings app on your iPhone and navigate to tap on the Apple ID located on the top. Tap on iCloud from the list.
  • Find the contacts option in the list, and turn off its toggle.

    disable icloud contacts
  • A pop-up will appear on the screen asking if you want to delete or keep it on your iPhone. Tap on the keep on my iPhone option.
  • Now tap on the contacts toggle again to turn it on and select the merge all the contacts option to retrieve the deleted ones on your iPhone.

    keep on iphone contacts

Way 2: Ask for Apple Service

If you don't have any backup of your contacts saved on the iCloud account, and can’t access the computer to try another recovery method, then your last resort is to ask Apple. It has a vast knowledge base and professionals who can help you recover the deleted contacts from the iCloud servers if you had stored them on your iCloud.

Contact Apple support, inform them about your condition, and request the data recovery that you have lost. In most cases, Apple recovers the data deleted from the previous 30 days. So if your contacts were deleted in the last 30 days, Apple could help you to recover the deleted contacts. Otherwise, you can refer to the recovery methods that require a computer.

Part 3: How to Retrieve Deleted Contacts on iPhone with Computer

iCloud could help you retrieve the deleted contacts only if you had synced the contacts to your account. However, otherwise, there are good chances that computer methods can help you recover the deleted contacts on your iPhone. There are two main computer methods. Let's have a look at them:

Way 1: One-Click Retrieve Deleted Contacts on iPhone

Using Tenorshare UltData is an effective and reliable way to retrieve deleted contacts on iPhone. It is a one-click recovery software that can recover all the deleted content from your iPhone, including contacts, messages, photos, and more. All you have to do is follow these simple steps:

  • Install it on your computer and launch it. Connect your iPhone to the computer using the lightning cable. If you’re connecting it to the computer for the first time, tap “Trust this Computer” on your iPhone’s screen when prompted.

    launch ios recovery
  • When the program detects your device, the following window will appear. Tick the items you wish to recover from your iPhone and click the Scan button in the screen's bottom right corner.

    start scan
  • Once the scanning process is complete, it’ll show all the recovered files. To save up time, you can select “Show only deleted”. You can double-click on the file to preview it before restoring it to the local storage.

    preview data
  • Select the files you wish to retrieve to your local storage, and click on the button “Recover to PC” on the bottom right corner of the screen.

    recover to device

Way 2: How to Retrieve Deleted Contacts on iPhone from iTunes Backup

You can restore the contacts if you have created a backup of your iPhone on iTunes. iTunes allows you to restore your iPhone to when you created the backup. Remember that this method will revert your entire iPhone to the backup of that time.

This also means all your iPhone's data, such as settings, apps, and other preferences will be replaced with the backup you’ll restore. Use this method only if you’re happy to revert your iPhone’s data back to the time you created the backup.

Here’s how to retrieve deleted contacts on iPhone from iTunes backup:

  • Launch iTunes on your computer and connect your iPhone to the computer using the cable.
  • On the iTunes interface, click on the device icon.
  • In the Summary section, click on “Restore to Backup”.
  • Select the backup file you wish to restore iPhone to retrieve your deleted/lost contacts.

    restore backup itunes

To restore the backup on your iPhone, you also need to turn off the Find My iPhone feature. You can easily turn it off by navigating to the settings app >> select iCloud and turn off the toggle for Find My iPhone.

Conclusion

These were the ways that you could use to retrieve deleted contacts on your iPhone. iCloud offers an effective and reliable way to back up your data, and it also provides a good recovery option with its 30-day recovery period. However, computers can be more helpful when recovering lost/deleted contacts from iPhones.

There are several reliable and effective computer software programs available that can help you recover deleted contacts on your iPhone. Tenorshare UltData is one of them. It is a one-click recovery program that can help you easily regain lost data, including contacts, messages, photos, videos, etc. This guide was all about how to retrieve deleted contacts on iPhone without computer.

Your Reliable iPhone 15 Data Recovery Software
  • Recover data directly from iOS devices, iTunes & iCloud backup;
  • Support the scanning and reading of encrypted iTunes backup files;
  • Support 35+ file types (WhatsApp, SMS, contacts, photos, etc.);
  • Support WhatsApp, LINE, Kik, Viber, Wechat Backup & Restore(Mac Only);
  • Compatible with latest iOS 17 and iPhone 15/Plus/Pro/Pro Max;