iPhone Contacts Missing or Disappeared After iOS 15 Update? Here’s the Fix!

Oct. 11, 2021

Right from day one,iOS 15has proven to be incredibly buggy. Issues like rapid battery drain, ill-functioning personal hotspot, and the disappearance of iPhone contacts have replaced excitement with a nightmare. The good thing is that there are several viable workarounds to fix the iPhone contacts missing or disappeared issue after the iOS 15 update. So, if you have found yourself on the wrong end of this terrible issue, there is no need to panic. Check out the seven best tips and tricks to recover your lost iPhone contacts.

To get started, let’s first delve into why your iPhone contacts could have gone missing. If you are familiar with this, jump straight into the possible solutions to recover disappeared contacts on your iPhone.

Frankly speaking, there is nothing new about the disappearance of contacts on the iPhone. The issue has existed for years on almost all the iterations of iOS. As it’s acommon iOS problem, many of us have come across it at some point or the other.

Talking about the reasons why the Contacts app looks blank – missing the saved contacts, well, it’s mostlydue to iCloud syncing issues. Besides, a sluggish internet connection also plays a spoilsport by preventing the contacts from syncing faster.

As someone who has been on this messy road a few times, I would recommend leaving your device in complete peace after the software update. This way, all of your data, including your photos, videos, music, and contacts, will sync faster. Also, do ensure that your device is connected to a stable internet connection, which will go a long way in speeding up the syncing process.

The time iCloud takes to sync your essential data entirely depends on the amount of data and your internet speed. Generally, iOS 15 (just like any other software) will take a while to settle in. That’s why issues likerapid battery drainand evenoverheatingtend to crop up right after the software update.

As for the solutions, force-killing the Contacts app and resetting iCloud Contacts have proven effective for iPhone users on several occasions. Besides, there are other equally viable tricks that help recover missing contacts on iPhone.

While this solution may sound basic to some, this has worked for me quite a few times. That’s the reason why I suggest you try this tip and bring back all your disappeared iPhone contacts. Since it hardly takes a few seconds and doesn’t affect your data, there is no harm in giving this hack a try.

Next, wait for some time (around 5-10 minutes) and open the Contacts app once again. All of your missing contacts should be back now. If you can see them now, you are good to go!

At times, all you need to do to fix a common issue like the disappearance of contacts on an iPhone is tohard reset (also known as force restart)the device. Don’t worry, as it won’t delete any personal media or data and has the knack of fixing miscellaneous software glitches. So, it is worth a shot.

Once you have hard reset your iPhone, go back to the Contacts app to check if you have been able to fix the missing iPhone contacts issue.

Another pretty reliable solution that you should try to recover missing iPhone contacts is to turn off/on iCloud contacts. As it has helped me on many occasions, I can vouch for its efficiency to fix the iPhone contacts missing issue. Follow the steps below to learn how it works:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and navigate toyour profile->iCloud.

2. Turn off the toggle located next toContacts. Now, you will get a pop-up saying,“What would you like to do with the previously synced iCloud contacts on your iPhone?”The pop-up offers two options:

3.SelectKeep on My iPhoneand restart your device. After your iOS device has restarted, return to the iCloud settings and turn on the Contacts toggle.

Now, be patient and give enough time to the iCloud contacts to sync. Then, go to the Contacts app to check if your missing iPhone contacts have been restored. If they have, it’s time to rejoice.

If your lost contacts haven’t returned as of yet, make sure you have selected iCloud as the default account for contacts sync on your iPhone. If not, follow the steps below:

To get that done, head over toSettings -> Contacts -> Default Account. Finally, chooseiCloudas your default account. Now, restart your iPhone. After your iOS device has rebooted, head to the Contacts app to see if you have managed to solve the issue.

I can’t remember how many times a simple factory reset has helped me in fixing unexpected and common issues like this missing contacts one on my iPhone. For those unfamiliar, it erases all of the existing settings, including location data, Wi-Fi, andVPN, among other things. However, it doesn’t harm any media or data on your device. ToReset All Settings on your iPhonerunning iOS 15, follow the steps below:

No luck yet? Well, don’t worry, as we still have another reliable solution to restore your lost iPhone contacts. Now, we are going to sign out of Apple ID and then sign back in.

Again, we suggest you wait for some time to let all the essential data sync in the background. After that, open your Contacts app to find out whether or not your contacts are still missing or not.

Based on my personal experience, I can assert that you may not have to go as far as using third-party software in most cases. However, we have all encountered scenarios where even the most trusted things tend to behave unexpectedly. So, if none of the above-mentioned tricks have worked in retrieving your disappeared iPhone contacts in iOS 15, try out these third-party data recovery tools.

For this purpose, I would recommend checking out the following third-party tools. They include the option to recover your contacts from iCloud, so use the software that suits your needs and fits your pocket.

Recover Missing or Disappeared iPhone Contacts

So that concludes our guide on how to recover missing contacts on your iPhone running iOS 15 (or iOs 14, as most of the solutions work on older versions of iOS as well). In most cases, solutions like resettings iCloud contacts and signing out of Apple, and signing back in usually fix the issue. And if nothing works, in some rare cases, third-party data recovery tools are always there to help you out. That said, which one of these solutions worked for you? Make sure to let us know in the comments below. Besides, if there is any reliable solution that helped in retrieving your lost contacts on iOS, be sure to tip us about it as well.

An old school bibliophile who turned a tech nerd out of obsession. When he is not digging into hacks and tracking down stories that are breaking the internet, you may find him reciting poems.