How to do it: Restore deleted contacts from Google

We keep both our data and contacts in Google because we trust the company. Even if something goes wrong with our phones, at least our contacts are safe in the Google cloud. Unfortunately, sometimes Google also breaks our hearts by deleting data. Has this happened to you, too? Are your contacts missing from your phone? Learn how to recover contacts deleted from Google on Android and iPhone.

Sometimes we accidentally delete contacts from our phones. Other times we forget that deleting contacts from one device removes them from all connected devices. In many cases, contacts are also deleted because of poor synchronization.

If you’ve already deleted contact in Gmail and didn’t realize the big mistake until later, you can relax if you’ve made changes within the last 30 days. No matter how many contacts you add or delete, Gmail keeps a 30-day history of each contact in your address book. So if you accidentally delete one or more contacts, it only takes a few clicks to restore them.

The process is a bit brutal. You can’t retrieve specific contacts, but you can recover any deleted contact up to a certain date. However, if you don’t want to go for deletion, it shouldn’t be very difficult to find the contact(s) you’re looking for.

 

What causes contacts to be deleted from Google

You’ve just downloaded the latest and greatest contact management app to your smartphone, linked it to your G Suite account to sync with your Gmail contacts, and now you’re waiting for your mobile address book to be populated with everyone you’ve ever met.

This happens more often than you think, and mostly because too many apps make it easy to set up an empty smartphone address book to overwrite your current Google contact list, not the other way around.

Luckily, Google Contacts has a built-in version control feature that allows you to reset your Gmail contacts to their previous state in seconds to restore lost contacts.

 

How to recover contacts deleted from Google

Steps to retrieve contacts from Gmail

1.) Open contacts.google.com in your browser and sign in to the Google account associated with the smartphone whose contact was accidentally deleted.

2.) Tap the gear icon in the upper-right corner and click Undo Changes to begin the restore process.

You’ll be prompted to select a time period to undo changes you’ve made to Google Contacts. You can choose a period that includes the time you deleted the contact, which can range from 10 minutes to a maximum of 30 days.

Any changes you make to Google Contacts within the selected time period will be deleted. Any contacts you accidentally delete during this period will be restored.

Keep in mind, however, that if you add a new contact during this period, it will be deleted, as any changes made during the selected period will be deleted. So be careful and back up all existing contacts before trying to restore deleted contacts.

3.) Select the correct time period, which includes the time period in which the contact was deleted, and click “Confirm”.

Deleted contacts will be restored in a few minutes.

Steps to recover deleted Google contacts on your phone

To retrieve a deleted contact from Gmail, you must have the Google Contacts app installed on your smartphone.

1. Open the Google Contacts app and tap the menu icon in the top left corner.
2. In the menu, select “Settings.
3. On the “Settings” page, scroll down and tap the “Undo Changes” button. If you have more than one Google account installed on your phone, select the account for which you want to restore contacts.
4. Now select when you want to undo the changes and tap “Confirm”.

After a few minutes, you will see that all your deleted contacts have been restored.

Note: Before attempting to restore deleted contacts, you should make a backup copy of all your contacts, as new contacts added to Google Contacts may be lost during the time period you select.

Steps to restore Google Contacts that have been deleted from your Google Account

1. You can also restore contacts directly from your Google Account backup. To do this, open your smartphone settings and go to Google.
2. Scroll down and tap the “Setup -> Restore” button.
3. On the “Setup and Restore” page, click “Restore Contacts.”
4. You can even specify which contacts to restore from your Google account, if necessary, and all contacts will be restored within minutes.

However, these methods will only work if you’ve synced your contacts with your Google account. You need a Google account to use most smartphone features, and Google automatically backs up your contacts. The contact sync feature always stays on unless you manually turn it off. If you haven’t synced your contacts with your Google Account, do so as soon as possible, as this will help you get your contacts out of Gmail quickly and easily.

However, you can only recover contacts deleted from Gmail within 30 days of deletion. If contacts were deleted before that date, they cannot be recovered. It is highly recommended that you back up your contacts to Google, as this will allow you to recover them even if you lose your device or have trouble accessing them.

 

Frequently Asked Questions