iPhone Deleting Contacts Randomly After iOS 18 Update? How to Fix

User Concern

“I've had about 7 or 8 of my contacts disappear. In the message history, their names are replaced by phone numbers. How did this happen? I know I did not delete them from my contact list. How can I fix it?”

iPhone deleting contacts randomly by itself is a common problem that many users face, especially after updating iOS. If you're facing this problem, you're not alone, and there's no need to panic.

In this post, we'll provide steps to resolve the issue and recover your deleted contacts. First, let's explore the possible reasons why your iPhone might be deleting contacts on its own.

Why Did My iPhone Randomly Delete Contacts?

There are a few reasons that can lead to an iPhone deleting contacts randomly. These reasons include:

• Changed Email Password: If your contacts are synced with an email account and you change the password for that account, your iPhone may delete your contacts as a result.
• Inactive iCloud Sync: If your contacts are saved on iCloud and you accidentally turn off the “iCloud Contact Sync” option, your contacts might disappear from your iPhone.
• Deleted Email Account: If you remove or delete the email account synced with your contacts, your iPhone is likely to lose those contacts.
• Updating iOS Version: While iOS updates often fix bugs, they can sometimes introduce new ones. This might cause your iPhone to delete contacts randomly.
• Unknown Reasons: Occasionally, the cause of such issues may be unclear or due to an unknown bug on your iPhone.

You now know the reasons behind your iPhone deleting contacts, so here are some of the solutions that can help you out.

How to Fix iPhone Deleting Contacts Randomly

Enable the iCloud Contact Sync

One common reason for this issue is you've disabled the iCloud Contact Sync. Turning it back on can resolve the problem and help recover your deleted contacts. Follow these steps to enable the iCloud Contact Sync on your iPhone.

• For iPhones with iOS 11 or later, go to Settings, tap on your name, and then select iCloud. For earlier iOS versions, go to Settings, then tap on iCloud.
• In the Apps Using iCloud section, check if Contacts is enabled (the toggle should be green). If it’s not (the toggle is grey), tap the toggle to turn it on.

Change Group Settings for Contacts

Changing the group settings for your contacts is yet another easier way that help recover your missing contacts. Follow these steps to do so.

• Launch the Phone app from your iPhone’s home page. Tap the Contacts tab.
• Next, tap the Groups option (at the top-left corner).
• Tap the All Contacts option to deselect it, then tap Done to finish.

Once you do this, all the contacts saved on your iPhone will appear. So, select those that are missing and then add them to your address book.

Make Sure “On My iPhone” is Enabled

The other way you can recover all your missing contacts is to have all your contacts stored on your iPhone by default, i.e., your iPhone becomes the default storage account for the contacts. You can do this by:

• Heading to Settings on your iPhone.
• Choose Contacts and then tap Default Account.
• Make sure the On My iPhone option is enabled/checked.

Check Your Email Accounts

If you’ve disabled syncing with your email account, the contacts that were saved before will still be there, and you can recover them by following these steps.

• If you use iOS 10 or older version, open Settings and go to Mail. Locate Accounts and tap it. Next, tap your account. Go to Contacts and tap the toggle to turn it on.
• If you use iOS 11 or newer version, open Settings and tap the Accounts & Passwords option. Under the Accounts section, tap your mail account and then turn Contacts on.

Sign Out of Apple ID and Sign In Again

The last solution you can try is to sign out of your Apple ID and then sign back in once more. By doing that, you can refresh the sync between your device and iCloud.

• Launch Settings and tap on your name at the top of the screen.
• Scroll to the bottom and tap Sign Out. Enter your Apple ID and password to confirm.
• Once signed out, sign back in with your Apple ID and password.

How to Recover Contacts Randomly Deleted from iPhone

Recover iPhone Contacts with iTunes

If you’ve tried the above solutions and none has worked, the issue might be due to an iOS system error. In this case, the best solution is to restore your iPhone from a previous backup containing your contacts. You can do that using iTunes/Finder on your computer. Follow these steps:

1. Connect your iPhone to the computer (the one you synch it with) using a lighting cable.
2. Launch iTunes (for PC and macOS Mojave or earlier) or Finder (for macOS Catalina or later).
3. Select your iPhone when it appears in iTunes or Finder. Click the Restore Backup option.
4. Select the latest backup and wait for the process to finish (ensure the device is connected throughout the process).

You’ll see all your present and deleted contacts in your iPhone’s Contact app.

Recover Deleted Contacts from iCloud

Similar to the iTunes restore method, if you have backed up your iPhone to iCloud, you can first reset the device and then restore it from the iCloud backup.

1. On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone, tap Erase All Content and Settings.
2. Set up your iPhone as a new device and in the App & Data screen, select Restore from iCloud Backup.
3. Sign in with your Apple ID and choose the most recent backup from the list of available backups.
4. The restoration process will begin. Ensure your iPhone remains connected to Wi-Fi and power during this time.

Using FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery

FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery is the ultimate solution if you’ve made no progress and the reason leading to the deletion of contacts on your iPhone is unknown. It’s an effective and reliable tool that can recover any lost data, including contacts and messages. Moreover, it’s compatible with the latest iPhone 16 and iOS 18. Follow these steps to recover your deleted contacts.

• Launch the FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery program once you download and install it onto your PC/Mac.
• Select the Recover Data from iOS Device” mode and connect your iPhone to the computer using a USB cable.

• Once your device is detected, select Contacts and click Scan. The program will begin scanning for the deleted contacts on your iPhone.

• When done, the program will generate two categories of contacts: deleted and undeleted. Click Show Deleted to view the deleted contacts. Select the ones you want and then click Recover to PC. The program will then save them onto your computer.

Conclusion

If your iPhone keeps deleting contacts, then the practical solutions we’ve highlighted above can help you recover them and even fix the cause of the problem. If all fails, including recovering with iTunes and iCloud, we recommend you use FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery. It will certainly recover the deleted contacts from your iOS device, iTunes, or iCloud. Plus, it’s simple to use and 100% safe.