How to Get Lost Contacts Back: A Comprehensive Guide for iOS Devices

Every time you want to contact someone in your contact list, a simple search should show their number. However, there are instances when some or all of your contact names don’t show up on your iPhone.

If contacts aren’t showing up on your iPhone, you can use this guide as a fix. But before we dive into the different options, remember that various problems can make your iPhone contacts disappear.

And therefore, there are various solutions that you can use to fix it. So, try each of these methods and see which one helps to restore contacts on your iPhone.

1. Restart Your iPhone

One of the first steps you should try is restarting your iPhone. Sometimes when mobile devices run for a while, they may run into issues. Restarting your iPhone will help give it a fresh start and thus may help fix minor issues you’re facing, including contacts not showing up, sluggish performance, app crashes, and so on.

Restarting can fix most smartphone problems , and that’s why the first question a tech support agent asks is, “Have you tried turning it off and on again?”

There are different ways to restart your iPhone, depending on the model. Read our dedicated guide on how to restart any iPhone for step-by-step instructions. Once your iPhone is back up and running, confirm if your contacts have been restored. If not, move on to step number two.

2. Resync Your Contacts With iCloud

You could also fix this issue by resyncing your Contacts app with iCloud. We’ll do this by disabling iCloud access to Contacts and then re-enabling it again. Here’s how:

1. OpenSettings and tap on your name.
2. Next, selectiCloud > Show All .
3. Under the Apps using iCloud page, toggle offContacts .
4. SelectKeep on My iPhone to save copies of synced contacts to your iPhone. You can also selectDelete from My iPhone if you want. Don’t worry; this option doesn’t make your contacts disappear.
5. Re-enableContacts again. And if your iPhone asks to merge existing contacts, selectMerge .

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After that, give your device a few minutes, then check to see if your contacts have been restored. If you’re still facing problems, read on for more solutions.

3. Show All Contacts in Your Phone App

Your iPhone contacts might not show up because you have hidden some of them. You may not know this, but your iPhone usually places your contacts in groups based on your connected accounts. To see all your contacts, no matter their group, you need to ensure all groups are visible.

So, follow these steps to show hidden contact groups:

1. Open thePhone app and tap theContacts tab.
2. TapLists in the top left.
3. On theLists page, tapAll Contacts at the top to view all your saved contacts.

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If some contacts from a particular account weren’t showing up on your iPhone, this should fix the issue. However, read on if you still don’t see all your contacts.

4. Add All Your Accounts to Your iPhone

If you have several accounts that you use, chances are contacts might be saved across them. To fix this, you need to add all your accounts to your iPhone to ensure you have access to all your contacts. So, follow these steps to add an account to your iPhone:

1. OpenSettings , then scroll down and selectContacts .
2. Now, tapAccounts . You’ll see all accounts that are currently added to your iPhone.
3. TapAdd Account , select the type of account, and log in using your credentials.
4. After successful login, the account will appear underSettings > Contacts > Accounts .

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If you don’t see any contacts from the newly added account, follow the steps in the next tip to ensure contact visibility.

5. Modify Your Contact Account Settings

YourAccounts settings also affect the visibility of your contacts. You need to ensure that all your connected accounts have Contacts sync enabled. To do this, follow these steps:

1. LaunchSettings > Contacts .
2. Under Contacts, selectAccounts . You will see all your connected accounts listed here.
3. Tap each account and ensureContacts is toggled on.

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If contacts from one of your connected accounts weren’t showing up on your iPhone, this should help fix the issue.

Additionally, you can try disabling and enabling Short Name on your iPhone. While this feature is handy to ensure more names fit on the screen, it can sometimes be problematic. To do this, go toSettings > Contacts > Short Name . DisableShort Name , then wait for some time and turn it on.

6. Rebuild Your iPhone Contacts

Another way to troubleshoot iPhone contacts not showing up is by force rebuilding them. To do this, you’ll have to edit one of your contacts first, then restart your iPhone. Here’s how:

1. First, select any visible contact from thePhone app and selectEdit in the top right.
2. Add some new details—they don’t have to be accurate. You can add a fake email, address, note, or anything.
3. Once done, tapDone in the top right and then restart your iPhone.

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When your iPhone powers on, it will have to rebuild all the contact names and details. Once your iPhone restores all the contacts, you can delete the fake information you added to the contact above. Check if your contacts have been restored after a few minutes. If this doesn’t solve your issue, try data recovery tools.

7. Recover Lost Data Using iCloud or Data Recovery Tools

Before you try third-party data recovery tools, we advise using iCloud first. You can do this by going to the iCloud website . Click the card with your account name, then select theData Recovery option at the top of the page.

If you’re accessing the website on mobile, tap the hamburger menu in the top-left first, then chooseData Recovery from the context menu. Next, selectRestore Contacts . You’ll then have to select an archive to restore.

You need to have an archive of your contacts that you can restore. If you’ve never archived your contacts in the past, there won’t be any to restore.

If that doesn’t work, you can try using third-party data recovery tools to restore your contacts. There are a variety of affordable tools on the market for the job. A good example is PhoneRescue by iMobie , which is highly reputable and works with many iOS versions, including iOS 16. However, you’ll have to spend some cash to get it.

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8. Seek the Help of Apple Support

If all else fails or you don’t want to spend money on third-party data recovery tools, you can get tech support with the Apple Support app for more assistance.

Alternatively, you can reach out to them via Apple’s support website . Either way, a certified expert should help sort out the issue in more ways than we could.

Restore Your Missing iPhone Contacts

Contacts not showing up on an iPhone isn’t something new. It can happen to you, but when it does, don’t panic. There are a variety of ways to fix the problem. In summary, you could restart your iPhone, resync with iCloud, show all contacts in your Phone app, add all accounts to your iPhone, modify account settings, or force rebuild your contacts.

If none of these solutions work for you, you can try restoring lost contacts from your iCloud backups. If that fails, make sure to contact Apple’s support team. Using third-party data recovery tools should be your last resort, as you will certainly have to pay for it. Hopefully, one of the free methods works for you.