How to recover an accidentally deleted contact. How to recover deleted contacts on an Android phone

Deleting contacts is a situation equated to catastrophic. It doesn’t matter for what reason this happened - accidentally or intentionally, the main thing that matters at such a moment is whether the information can be recovered and how quickly. We will describe several ways to recover numbers from your phone contact list.

On an Android device, the easiest way to get back deleted contacts is if you actively use your Google account. Then you just need to go to Gmail (via your computer) and on the page that opens, click on the mail icon itself, which is located at the top left. In the tab that drops down, find and click the virtual “Advanced” button (above the contact list) and then “Restore”.


In the window that opens, you will be asked to select the time that suits you best for backup: from 10 minutes to a week. We make a choice and continue the action by clicking “Restore”. Here it is better to remember the time selected for recovery in case you decide to cancel the entire recovery process.

Surely every PC user has experienced data loss at least once in their life. And this does not always happen through the fault of the user - sometimes there are failures in the system, and there are often erroneous cases of deleting necessary information or a random device. The reasons for losing contacts from the phone book on Android include a factory reset (hard reset), a virus attack, the loss of a phone, or simply carelessness in choosing advanced functions. One way or another, such situations occur quite often, and users need to know how to restore contacts on Android if necessary.

It is important to remember that in some cases it is impossible to return contacts

For most smartphones running the Android operating system, recovering deleted data does not seem to be a global problem. If synchronization with a Google account is configured, you can simply restore contacts by downloading a saved copy from the Google server. This method helps not only if you need to return deleted contacts. It can be used when moving, importing or merging contacts is unsuccessful, and when working in Google mail from a computer.

Important advice! When you start restoring data using synchronization with your Google account, try to save information about the time in which you started the recovery. This information may be required in the future to cancel the restoration.

The recently released (March 22, 2016) update to the contacts recovery function has further simplified this procedure: you can now return any version of your contact list for the last 30 days.

The procedure for restoring contacts via Google is almost the same on any Android smartphone. First, you will need to log into your Google mail account, then go to the Contacts menu. Select “Additional actions” or “More”, and then “Restore contacts”. It is necessary to specify the time to which the data will be restored. We confirm the restoration by clicking on the appropriate button and wait - the process may take several minutes. Once the data is restored, a notification will appear on the screen.

It also happens that the data on the smartphone disappears after a hard reset. In this case, after turning on the phone, you will not be authorized in your Google account, which means that you will not even have to restore your contacts - you will just need to import them from your own account. They will not disappear from there, because after resetting the settings you did not log into your Google account and synchronization did not occur. Go to Contacts on your phone and select Import/Export. Then confirm the Google mail account from which the copy will be made and indicate the location where you want to save this data.

Other Data Recovery Methods

The method described above for recovering data using a Google account is the most reliable and simplest, but it has one huge drawback - it is absolutely useless if you have not set up synchronization with Google mail.

Backup copy

You can restore deleted data using a data backup - however, again, this is only relevant if you saved such a copy on your computer or in cloud storage (Google Drive, Yandex.Disk).

Special software for data recovery

There are many paid and free utilities for recovering data from an Android phone. Some are installed as applications on a smartphone, some as full-fledged programs on a computer. But, as a rule, most of them are created for specific smartphone models and under a certain firmware version, thus, they are not universal. Others, while working, will try to store potentially malicious or unwanted programs on a computer or smartphone, often without even “asking” the user’s consent. If there is neither a saved copy of your contacts nor synchronization with the Google service, you can resort to this method, but no one can guarantee that this will help.

Service center

If the methods described above do not help, you can always contact a service center. The newer your firmware and smartphone, the more likely it is that specialists with the necessary software and hardware will be able to read and save the necessary data from the depths of your device’s memory. But remember that this will require both time and money.

Call details using a mobile operator

You can use another method - ask your mobile operator for details of calls and SMS for the last few months. The operator will provide you only with phone numbers, without linking them to names in the phone book. It will take time to identify them and re-enter them into the book, but the most important contacts will not be lost.

A non-standard way to recover data using Viber

Some mobile communication applications (for example, Viber) link to contacts on the computer and numbers in the phone book. And if you have such applications, you can use this. You just need to do this quickly, before the next scheduled synchronization of contacts begins - usually it happens once every few hours.

Unfortunately, programs like Viber are not designed to roll back data. But information about phone numbers is still there. To extract it, you will have to manually copy them first into a text editor and then write them into the phone book. A labor-intensive method, but effective, especially if there is no other way out.

Conclusion

The surest way not to lose your personal data is to synchronize them with the Google service. No matter what happens to your phone, you can always get your deleted contact list back (even using a computer) and restore it to any version from the last 30 days. The remaining methods are much more complex and time-consuming, and you are unlikely to want to resort to them, especially since the loss of personal data in the vast majority of cases is an unforeseen circumstance.

Without a doubt, one of the most useful features that Google provides to owners of Android smartphones, tablets and other devices running the operating system of this operating system is the ability to store a list of their contacts in cloud storage.

This means that with a Google account, you can easily and simply transfer contacts to a new smartphone or tablet, restore them after resetting your mobile device to factory settings, and also have access to them on any device that has access to the Internet. But what to do if all contacts or part of them were lost for some reason?

This happens, for example, when you accidentally deleted the desired contact, the phone fell into the hands of a child, who erased all or part of the contacts on it or even made changes to them, and in other similar cases.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, don’t worry, restoring contacts from your Google account is quite easy and you can do this within 30 days after losing them.

So let's get started:

How to Recover Contacts in Google Account on Android Device

Attention! This only applies to contacts stored in your Google account: contacts stored on the SIM card cannot be restored using this method.

1. Launch a web browser on your PC, laptop, tablet or any other device that has access to the Internet.

2. Log into your Gmail account at gmail.com

3. Click on “Mail” and select “Contacts” in the menu that opens

4. In the menu of the window for working with contacts, click on “More” and select “Restore contacts”

5. In the window that opens, select a point in time (10 minutes ago, an hour ago, yesterday, a week ago, or a specific date and time accurate to the minute):

6. Click on "Restore"

7. On a smartphone, tablet or other Android device on which you need to restore Google contacts, go to the system settings menu.

8. Select "Accounts"

9. Select "Google"

10. If you have more than one Google account registered on your device, select the account from which you want to restore contacts

11. Click on the menu button in the form of a vertical ellipsis in the upper right corner of the screen

12. Select “Synchronize” and wait until the “Synchronization...” sign disappears in the “Contacts” item (and the corresponding synchronization icon opposite).

That's it, you can open the Contacts application or any other application with access to Google contacts, where you will see that your contacts have been restored.


No one can imagine a smartphone without a phone book with contacts. But there are cases when contacts on Android are simply not displayed. However, the owner of the device did not delete them himself. Contacts disappear both on the SIM card and on the phone itself. Why is this happening? Let's look at several reasons (we'll also look at how to restore contacts on Android):

  1. Error in Android itself.
  2. They were accidentally hidden by you. In such cases, you need to check your phone settings and enable the display of contacts on your phone.
  3. Contacts were deleted after resetting the settings.

To ensure that your contacts do not disappear in the future, we advise you to disable synchronization, including Viber with WhatsApp. When contacts are deleted on Android, we will look at how to restore them below.

How to recover deleted contacts on Android

If the contacts were not deleted by you or someone else, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the "Contacts" section.
  2. Select Menu.
  3. Click on Contact Filter.
  4. Select All Contacts. You will see a list of absolutely all contacts (from SIM card, phone, Skype). This way you will get all your contacts back on your mobile phone.

How to Recover Contacts on Android from File System after Factory Reset

If you're lucky enough to lose your phone book after a factory reset, don't despair. There are 3 methods that will definitely help you recover all phone numbers. Follow the following recommendations and contacts from your phone book will be easily restored:

Recovering from Google Account

Method No. 1: Renewal using a Google account (if you connected your account to Google)

  1. Log in to your Gmail account and go to your phone book.
  2. click on “Import/export contacts” and “Continue”;
  3. send all phone numbers to the appropriate section. You should receive a message stating that the data was successfully saved. After this procedure, the missing phone book will be completely restored.

Using third party programs

Method No. 2: Recovering phone numbers using the Dr. program. Fone (this method is suitable for those who do not have a Google account).

This program was created not only for the purpose of resuming contacts from the phone book, but also other information: photos, videos, and so on). Dr. Fone is a paid program, but the developers also made a free version that you can use for exactly a month. So, your actions:

  1. download the program from the official website;
  2. install it on your laptop or computer;
  3. If you have Android version 2.3 or older, go to the “Developer” menu and enable USB debugging. If your version is 3.0 - 4.1 - simply enable debugging in the "Developer" menu. If the version is 4.2 and higher, go to “Information” about your smartphone and click “Build Number” on the menu until you see that you are a developer and select “USB Debugging”;
  4. After connecting your device via USB, wait for the program to find your smartphone and wait for the drivers to load. At the same time, do not forget to confirm the installation on both your computer and your smartphone. Now your contacts from the phone book will be restored.

Of course, by installing this program, you will lose more time than using a Google account, but it copes with its tasks perfectly. Even if someone accidentally deleted your contacts, they can be easily restored.

Method #3: Phone book is restored using 7-Data Android Recovery (fast, free method if data disappears)

  1. download the program from the official website and install it on your laptop or computer;
  2. connect it via USB to your phone;
  3. indicate the required memory card and proceed further;
  4. run automatic recovery of all data. If you wish, you can check the boxes next to the files and contacts that you want to transfer.

If you manage to lose your contacts on your mobile device, don't panic. Our tips and the listed methods for recovering deleted data will help you resolve the situation. If for some reason you are unable to complete the above steps, contact the service center, where managers will be able to help you. Their experience allows us to quickly and efficiently fix errors that arise on any device.


The phone book is an integral part of any phone., be it a push-button device or a touch phone. Modern devices can store an unlimited number of numbers, but no one guarantees their complete safety. Quite often it happens that you lose contact with the necessary subscribers, and then an important question arises: how to restore deleted contacts on Android quickly and efficiently.

Is it possible to recover deleted contacts?

The answer is definitely yes. There are a huge number of methods that help to return not only lost contacts, but also lost ones, for example, or videos.

Below we will discuss the most common and convenient methods.

But please note in advance: successful recovery is only possible if the numbers disappeared no later than a few weeks ago.

But you can only restore a long-deleted contact using paid and hard-to-find programs.

How to restore contacts after a full factory reset on Android 7, 8, 9

Have you updated or moved to a later version of the software? Or did they wipe because the device was not working correctly? In any of these situations, most often all information is erased, including a phone book. What to do then? Don't despair, there is a way out.

Via Google account

This is the most common and effective option. When synchronization is enabled data is automatically saved in email, and if you use the application Google Contact, then there won't be any problems at all.

We launch this program on the phone, go through authorization if the system requires it. Further Move to the right to bring up the side menu, where we click "Settings".

We go down to the point "Contact Management" and press "Restore".

If you have several accounts, then select one specific one and you will be taken to a new window. Pay attention to the column called "Device backup." And if backups of contacts were created, then they will be presented below.

Click on a specific backup, after which a new page appears. It shows the details of the backup, including the creation date. There is a big gray button at the bottom "Restore". Click. Recovery takes place in the background, after which the numbers can already be used. Ready.

Via Viber

This messenger can create backup copies without any problems, so it would seem that the recovery process should go without problems. But pay attention to an important detail: backup is made only from text messages, but does not affect the phone book in any way.

Contacts have completely disappeared on your Android device? In this case, Viber will not help. You can only restore correspondence, and there the subscriber numbers are indicated. This is the only way out. For this:

  1. Open the messenger, call up the side panel, in which we click "Settings". In the item that appears, select "Account".
  2. We are taken to a new page where the following sub-items are located “Backup”, “Computers and tablets”, “Change phone number”, “Deactivate account”. The first option suits us. Next, select "Restore""Restore Now".

Copies will be saved to Google Drive by default, from where you can download them without any problems.

Using EaseUS MobiSaver

There are a huge number of paid utilities that offer to recover lost information in a matter of minutes. Of course, they do their job perfectly well, but if you don't want to spend money– take a closer look at the Chinese application called EaseUS MobiSaver.

This software recovers not only telephone contacts, but also videos, photos, text messages and even call logs. After installing the application, you can specify the specific type of information you want to find, and then use either a quick scan or an in-depth scan.

Quick recognizes materials that were deleted mostly about a week ago, and does not always accurately find the required file. Expanded search succeeds many times over, but requires availability . Anyway, this is a great free solution.

Restoring contacts without a backup

Agree, almost every user has had such an unpleasant situation, when backup was not performed on time and important information was erased from the device. The most relevant option then using utilities that can penetrate archived files and restore them. But are there other methods? Let's find out below.

Via Google Contact (for 30 days only)

This option will only help if if you synced your contacts anyway. More often synchronization with servicesGoogle passes automatically, and you may not even know about it.

You can use the app (link above) for the procedure, but we recommend the web version as it is easier to use. Begin:

  1. Follow the link https://contacts.google.com. On the main page we see a list of our numbers. If there was no synchronization - You will see just a white screen;

Google Contact Home Page
  1. If synchronization occurred, but you deleted subscribers manually - you can fix everything. To do this, call up the left side menu and click "More";

Opening the item for expanded settings “More”
  1. Now we press "Cancel changes";

Cancel changes
  1. Next, a small menu appears, in which the system asks you to indicate the period of time during which you want to cancel the changes that are taking place, that is, return the information back. Choose from: “10 minutes ago”, “1 hour ago”, “Yesterday”, “1 week ago” or “Custom option”.

Select and confirm. After some time, the contacts will be restored, of which you will be notified.

Via Tenorshare Data Recovery (paid version only)

A very popular program which easily restores most types of information regardless of the elapsed time. Unfortunately, it is not free, but it will be at your disposal very useful and effective tool. Let's see what he can do:

  • Recovering deleted contacts on your phone through the address book;
  • Recovering erased SMS, images, videos, archives and documents;
  • Deep search for materials that 99% of the time it ends successfully.

Among the advantages:

  • Relatively low price compared to competing programs that have poorer functionality;
  • Support almost all phones, including Samsung, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Sony, Huawei, etc.;
  • Intuitive and easy interface, lack of unnecessary options. Also Superuser mode is not required.

The recovery procedure is as simple as possible:

  1. Enable USB debugging on your mobile device(this is possible with active);
  2. Install the program itself on the computer, launch it;
  3. Connecting the phone to PC, select or fast or deep mode scanning;
  4. The search begins, followed by can be observed in real time. Thumbnails of the found materials are then displayed. All you have to do is restore what you need. Contacts can be easily returned back to the phone book located on the smartphone.

Despite the wide range of Samsung smartphones, they don't have any special features and, even more so, other software. Therefore, restoring contacts on these devices happens according to the standard scheme. You can use the options above, or explore the ones below.

Via Samsung Cloud

If you synchronize with such cloud storage and regularly make backups - It won't be difficult to get your lost numbers back. Samsung provides “cloud” to its owners 15 GB free space. You can upload there in one click videos, photos, important notes, archives, documents, music and many more different files.

Moreover, you get access to your data at any time and from any gadget. Therefore, we recommend never neglecting the use of cloud services and always synchronizing information.

Via computer

And now let's consider The standard option is to use a personal computer. To do this, you can use a very popular application called Dr Fone.

Yes, the program is not cheap, considering that for the full version you will have to pay about 50 dollars. But you will have at your disposal reliable and very effective tool, which has already become the “best friend” for many users who do not want to lose valuable information forever.

If there is no way to restore your device, but there are important contacts on it, don’t despair. There are several ways to solve this problem. First situation: numbers are stored on the SIM card. Just take it out and insert the SIM card into any other smartphone. Second situation: the phone book is located on external media. This is a fairly rare case, but possible. Then we also take out the flash drive or memory card and put it in a working device. Third situation: contacts are entered inGoogle account. Everything here is as simple as possible, you just need to open the storage either on another smartphone or on a computer, thereby gaining access to your contacts.

How to restore contacts after Android update?

If you made a backup before reinstalling, then on the new version all data will be returned automatically. You only need to indicate this the first time you start the device after the update.

How to restore contacts from a sql database?

This is not an easy procedure and we recommend that only experienced users perform it. You will definitely need root rights, access to a computer and a file manager (a good option would be ES Explorer, in which we wrote in the article). More detailed information may be provided in a separate article.

As we see, Recovering accidentally deleted contacts on Android devices is quite possible, a huge number of different methods have been developed for this, and we described in the article the most convenient and effective ones. Any questions? Be sure to write to us and always have the necessary information at hand! Good luck!

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