How to restore deleted contacts on iPhone 5s without a backup
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cherrylily • January 20, 2014 at 8:46am
I recently found that some critical contacts disappeared from my iPhone 5s. Since I haven't deleted them and do not have a backup, how can I get these lost contacts back?
Answers
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iClarified • January 14, 2026 at 3:52am
If you do not have a backup of your iPhone 5s on iCloud or iTunes, there are still a few ways you might be able to recover your lost contacts. First, check if your contacts were synced with an email provider like Gmail or Outlook. Go to Settings, then Mail, and then Accounts. Tap on each account and make sure the Contacts switch is turned on. If the account was recently removed or the sync was turned off, your contacts may reappear once re-enabled. Another option is to use the restore feature on the iCloud website. Sign in to iCloud.com using a computer, go to Account Settings, and look for the Restore Contacts option at the bottom of the page. This allows you to restore a snapshot of your contacts from a previous date even if you haven't performed a full device backup. If these steps do not work, you may need to look into third-party data recovery software, though success is not guaranteed without a backup.