How to Restore Deleted Contacts on Android

Whether you can get a contact back depends on where it was saved. The steps below follow Google Contacts Help for Google’s Contacts app on Android. Phones that use the phone maker’s own Contacts app, such as Samsung’s, may name these menus differently.

First, check where your contacts were saved

• Google Account: Google says contacts saved to your Google Account sync with Google Contacts and all your Android devices, and show up on a phone after you sign in. If you have more than one Google Account, use the account picker at the top right of the Contacts app to see each account’s contacts.
• Phone, Device or Local: contacts labeled like this in the Contacts app are saved only on that phone. Google says they don’t sync to other devices and may be lost if the phone is lost or damaged.
• Other accounts: Google says that to restore contacts from apps like Outlook or WhatsApp, you reinstall those apps.

Recover deleted contacts from Trash

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   Step 1: Open Trash

   Open the Contacts app, select the Google Account at the top right, then tap Organize › Trash at the bottom.

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   Step 2: Select contacts

   Tap a single contact, or touch and hold one and tap the others. To pick everything, tap More › Select all.

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   Step 3: Recover

   Tap Recover (for several contacts, More › Recover).

Undo changes to go back to an earlier time

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   Step 1: Open Contacts settings

   In the Contacts app, tap your Profile picture at the top right, then Contacts settings.

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   Step 2: Undo changes

   Under “Edit contacts,” tap Undo changes. If asked, choose the Google Account.

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   Step 3: Pick a time

   Choose a time to go back to, then tap Confirm.

This undoes every change from the past 30 days at once, not just the deletion: Google notes that contacts added after the time you choose won’t show up, so export your current contacts first if you want to add them back afterwards. On a computer, the same option is in Google Contacts › Settings › Undo changes. Contacts deleted permanently from Trash can’t be recovered this way.

Restore contacts on a new or reset phone

Contacts saved to your Google Account appear automatically after you sign in, so there’s nothing to restore. Google says the rest of your phone’s backup can be restored when you set up a new phone for the first time or after a factory reset, by following the on-screen steps. The new phone needs the same or a later Android version than the old one. To copy contacts from an old phone’s backup or SIM onto a phone that’s already set up:

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   Step 1: Open Restore contacts

   Open Settings, tap Google › Set up & restore › Restore contacts.

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   Step 2: Choose the source

   If you have several Google Accounts, tap From account to choose one, then tap the phone with the contacts to copy. Turn off SIM card or Device storage if you don’t want those contacts.

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   Step 3: Restore

   Tap Restore and wait for “Contacts restored.” Google says only contacts the phone doesn’t already have are restored, to avoid duplicates.

Back up contacts on Android

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   Step 1: Open Google Contacts sync

   In Settings, tap your profile photo at the top, then All services (or Settings › Google › All services). Under “Backup & restore,” tap Google Contacts sync.

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   Step 2: Pick an account

   Select the Google Account to save your device and SIM contacts to, then tap View settings.

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   Step 3: Turn on backup

   Under “Sync options,” turn on Backup device-only & SIM contacts automatically.

Your existing and future device and SIM contacts are then saved as Google contacts. Google says this depends on your phone’s make and model, and doesn’t work with a child’s account or a work or school account. Contacts are also part of your phone’s backup to your Google Account; to run it now, open Settings › Google › All services, then under “Backup and restore” tap Backup › Back up now.

Export a .vcf file and import it later

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   Step 1: Export

   In the Contacts app, tap Fix & manage › Export to file, choose one or more accounts, then tap Export to .VCF file.

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   Step 2: Keep the file somewhere else

   Save or send the file off the phone, so you still have it if the phone is lost or reset.

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   Step 3: Import it later

   In the Contacts app, tap Organize › Import from file, pick the account to save the contacts to, then select the .vcf file.

A .vcf file doesn’t change when your contacts do, so it’s a copy you can go back to after the 30-day limit. On iPhone? See how to restore deleted contacts on iPhone.

If you still can’t find them

• Check every account: switch accounts at the top right of the Contacts app; a contact may have been saved to a different Google Account.
• Look for older copies: a .vcf file you exported, an old phone or a SIM card you still have.
• Other contacts: on a computer, Google says contacts deleted from “Other contacts” don’t show in Trash, but come back if you undo all changes within the past 30 days.

Avoid losing contacts next time

• Save new contacts to your Google Account, or turn on automatic backup of device and SIM contacts.
• Export a .vcf before big changes, such as merging duplicates; see how to merge duplicate contacts on Android.
• Moving from iPhone? See how to transfer contacts from iPhone to Android.