As you see, there are still rare problems that pop up that can cause iCloud content like contacts to be erased, either through user error or through bugs in the operating system. If you've mistakenly deleted some contacts from iCloud, don't worry. In this page, we will list some possible ways to help you restore contacts mistakenly deleted from iCloud effectively.
Apple quietly introduced tools to recover deleted files from iCloud, and more recently, added a way to recover Contacts, Calendars, and Reminders, giving users a way to restore any lost content. This is a little known feature, but it's good to know about if you run into an issue that wipes out content on your iOS device.
1. The first step is to log into iCloud on the web. These recovery tools are only available through iCloud.com.
2. Click on the "Settings" app in the main iCloud menu to access the recovery settings.
3. Restoring a list of contacts from the archive.
Limits: Apple regularly archives a list of Contacts, which can be restored to an iOS device at any time. Restoring a list of contacts from the archive will replace the contacts on all iOS devices connected to your iCloud account. Contacts can't be restored one by one -- this is an all or nothing batch operation.
Most users probably won't need to restore contacts with a full backup. In this case, you'd get some help from 3rd-party software like iRefone for Mac to get the data back fast and selectively. With it, you can recover deleted contacts on iPhone, iPad directly without any iTunes or iCloud backup by scanning your device. It allows you to preview the deleted contacts before recovering them. Contacts can be restored one by one as you want. Moreover, iRefone for Mac also supports selectively extracting contacts and other iOS contents like messages, notes, calendars, reminders from iTunes and iCloud backup. For Windows user, iRefone is your best alternative.
How to recover mistakenly deleted contacts from iPhone
Step 1. Launch iRefone
Choose Recover from iOS Device mode. Remember to connect your iPhone to the computer with USB cable. Once connected successfully, this iPhone data recovery software will detect your iDevice. If it is the first time to connect your iPhone to your computer, you need to choose Trust the computer on your iPhone screen. Click Start button to begin.
Step 2. Scan contacts from iPhone
Now just click on Contacts item to start analysis process. Larger data needs more time. Please be patient.
Step 3. Preview and select lost contacts to recover
Now you have the chance to view those scanned contacts and then, select them, click Recover to Device button to transfer all found contacts back to your iPhone directly. Or choose Recover to Mac to get deleted contacts back onto your Mac.
Besides restoring mistakenly deleted contacts from iCloud, all-in-one iRefone for Mac can help recover everything from your iDevice. No matter how you lost iPhone data and what you've lost, you can get them back by 3 iPhone Recovery modes: "recover from iPhone directly", "Recover from iTunes backup", and "recover from iCloud backup". In short, it is your great helper to restore iOS data.