How to Recover Deleted Contacts from Android Devices

"I just lost my contact list. Please send me your phone number here."

Have you ever sent this message on Facebook or email? If you have, you probably understand the hassle involved when you are trying to build a new contact list.

The situation becomes worse if you do not have the person on your Facebook friends list or remember the person's email address.

It does not matter how you lost them---accidental deletion, corrupted software or interrupted rooting---because there is still a slight possibility for you to recover them. Restore contacts on Android is actually easier than it sounds and the steps below will show you how easy it actually is.

Part 1: Can deleted contacts be retrieved on Android device?

You can restore contacts on Android device by using one of these four ways:

#1 Beat Android at its hide-and-seek game

They may be hidden---sometimes, the settings on your Android device can be a little cheeky. There are instances where users reported that they could not find their contacts. Relax---they are probably not lost and Android decided to play a game of hide-and-seek. Finding your contact list only needs a quick four-step process:

Open the 'Contacts' application.

Locate the vertical three dots and tap on it.

Tap 'Contacts to display'.

Tap on 'All contacts'.

This should solve your problem immediately. However, if you find that 'All contacts' is active, you will need to try the next method.

#2 Get acquainted with Google

Most Android users are probably avid Google application users. If you have your Gmail to setup to backup your contacts, it will be easy for you to recover deleted contacts. It will only require you to resync your device with your Google account---this will get you most of your contacts back depending on your most recent backup.

ATTENTION: If your contacts are available in Gmail but not on your Android device, try resyncing your Google accounts.

Here is how to recover deleted contacts from Android devices using your Gmail account:

Go to your Gmail inbox on your computer.

Select 'Contacts' from the dropdown menu on the left-hand side.

You should be able to see your contacts. Click on 'More' and click 'Restore contacts...'.

Choose the backup file/period and click 'Restore'.

Resync your Google account on your Android device.

#3 Use a Nandroid backup

If you had previously rooted your Android device and made a Nandroid backup, follow these steps to restore contacts on Android.

#4 Check your Android database

To see if you can recover your contacts using your Android device's contacts database, go to /data/data/android.providers.contacts/databases.

You will need to search for the providers.contacts/databases folder. If it is empty, your contacts are completely gone.

Part 2: How to recover deleted contacts from Android

Instead of doing all of the steps above, it is safer and easier to restore contacts on Android using dr.fone - Android Data Recovery.

When your contacts are deleted, accidentally or not, they are marked as 'to be overwritten with new data'. It can be hard scavenging for fragments of data yourself so using a third-party application will be easy. dr.fone - Android Data Recovery can also recover other data e.g. pictures, messages and videos from your Android devices.

dr.fone - Android Data Recovery

World's 1st Android smartphone and tablet recovery software.

Recover Android data by scanning your Android phone & tablet directly.
Preview and selectively recover what you want from your Android phone & tablet.
Supports various file types, including WhatsApp,Messages & Contacts & Photos & Videos & Audio & Document.
Supports 6000+ Android Device Models & Various Android OS.

Available on: Windows Mac

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Are you wondering how to recover deleted contacts from Android devices using this application? Just follow these easy steps:

Launch the application and connect your devices. After starting dr.fone - Android Recovery, take your USB cable and connect your Android device to your computer.

recover contacts from android

ATTENTION: a pop-up message will appear on your device if you have never enabled USB debugging on your device before---ignore this if you have done this before.

recover contacts from android

Pick the file type(s) to scan and want to recover --- in this case, it is 'Contacts'. Click the 'Next' button for the next step.

recover contacts from android

Scan Android device for lost data by clicking on 'Start'. Choose between "Standard Mode" and "Advanced Mode"---to choose the best one for you, read their descriptions carefully. It is recommended to use "Standard Mode" first as it will give you results faster. If it cannot find the contacts that you want, run the program on "Advanced Mode".

recover contacts from android

The software will take some time to do its job, so be patient---there is no use to watch over a boiling pot.

recover contacts from android

ATTENTION: during the scan, you may encounter the Superuser authorisation notification. Click on 'Allow' if you get this message.

Preview recoverable files and choose the ones you want to recover. You can see the content of the recoverable file by clicking on them. Check the boxes beside the file name and click 'Recover' to save them on your computer.

recover contacts from android

ATTENTION: the application will show you both deleted and existing data on your Android device. To see which ones that are not available on your Android device, check the "Display deleted files only" option.

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Part 3: Top 5 useful contacts backup apps for Android

#1 Backup Your Mobile

This app will help you backup your device without unnecessary frills. It is able to backup an array of things: apps, system settings, messages, call logs, pictures, documents and the lot. It is also super simple to use and will not cause you to spend a long time configuring your backup settings. You can use the app to transfer data from one device to another---just take note that for some Android devices, there are some bugs that need to be fixed.

recover contacts from android

#2 Super Backup: SMS & Contacts

This app is really easy to use---you will need to be a complete fool to not be able to backup your contacts using this app. You will be able to backup apps, contacts, SMS, calendars, bookmarks etc. individually or in bulk. We like that it has an automatic scheduled backup ability that will backup Android devices at the predetermined time to your chosen cloud storage.

recover contacts from android

#3 Helium - App Sync and Backup

This ClockworkMod creation allows Android users to backup contacts, apps, data, call logs, messages and the like. Unlike most backup apps, it does not require you to root your devices. All you need to do is install its desktop app in order for the mobile app version to work. Premium users will have cloud storage space to store backup files, automatic scheduled backup and free from advertisements.

recover contacts from android

#4 Ultimate Backup

This is a very versatile Android backup file. Not only does it stores backup files locally but also on a cloud storage of your choice (Google Drive, Dropbox, Box etc.). It has a built-in uninstaller, task killer and cache clearing capabilities. More impressively, it can backup WiFi details... we know how important that is for many people.

ultimate backup

#5 Easy Backup & Restore

If you are looking for a balance between feature and complexity, look no further than this app. It offers backup options for both rooted and unrooted Android devices. It has all the basic features of a backup app and everything can be kept and restored from your SD card or a range of cloud storage options. You can also set a schedule for the app to backup your Android devices. Root users will have the added advantage of backing up app data and setting and restore apps in batches.

recover contacts from android

It is really easy to recover deleted contacts from your Android device. However, it is highly recommended that you backup not only your contacts but everything on your Android devices.