How to Recover Deleted Contacts from Android Devices

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:

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:

#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.

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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.

#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.

#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.

#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.

#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.

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.