Most of my contacts have been disappeared from my contact list

Question

Level 1

4 points

Most of my contacts have been disappeared from my contact list

I noticed that most of the contacts have been disappeared from my contact list which affected the contacts of my university friends, ex work colleagues and friends which I never meet again and more precious. These numbers have been saved in the iCloud by default. Unfortunately, these are not available in the iCloud store anymore. I called the Apple support, and they checked my device remotely and no errors found. They did not have any solution for this. The contacts were purely disappeared from the iCloud and the Apple support person didn't show any responsible for this data loss. He said we should backup the data periodically. Does this mean can't we rely on the iCloud? Storing the data in the iCloud require a manual backup from our end?

I found this has happened to several people before me. Refer below.

How do I recover missing contacts on iPho… - Apple Community

How do I restore contacts that randomly d… - Apple Community

Did anyone face the similar issue? How this can be resolved?

iPhone 15 Pro Max, iOS 18

Posted on Jul 31, 2025 04:36 AM

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Answer 1

TheLittles

Level 10

201,503 points

Jul 31, 2025 10:42 PM in response to farhath_f

"Most of my contacts have been disappeared from my contact list"

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Q1. "Storing the data in the iCloud require a manual backup from our end?"

A1. You can download iCloud Drive to an external hard drive --but that would not backup Contacts (unless you have an exported backup of these Contacts stored somewhere on iCloud Drive, itself). See here: Getting a Quick and Direct "iCloud Drive-to-External Hard Drive" Download - User Tip

Q2. "I found this has happened to several people before me. Refer below."

A2. So, what happened when you tried what was provided on this links you provided?

Troubleshooting Lost Contacts:

Some things to try...

A. Enable Contacts in iCloud Settings:

See If “Contacts” is somehow disabled.

If it is disabled, then enable it.
If it is enabled, then disable it and then re-enable it.

B. Retrieve Contacts from Other Devices:

Have a Mac?: Enable Contacts in iCloud on both your iPhone and Mac, and then search through using either device. Using a computer may be more user-friendly when searching through Contacts.

C. Also, Try the Following:

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Answer 2

farhath_f Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 1, 2025 12:43 AM in response to TheLittles

These steps won’t help. Was on call with the Apple support team for approx. two hours to find the fault. But no faults in the settings or iCloud. But the contacts disappeared.

And for your question in A2, no solutions were given by the Apple support to the victims. We can’t find the root cause for data disappearing from the iCloud. Apple must identify the problem and make a solution for this. If not, they will lose customers

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Answer 3

TheLittles

Level 10

201,503 points

Aug 1, 2025 01:26 AM in response to farhath_f

“And for your question in A2, no solutions were given by the Apple support to the victims. We can’t find the root cause for data disappearing from the iCloud. Apple must identify the problem and make a solution for this. If not, they will lose customer”

———-

Report this to Apple:

Do your Part: Provide Apple with feedback on this, letting them know about this issue. Apple may not get back to you directly, but the more feedback they receive on this, the more they will know what bugs are occurring, and what bug fixes to include in updates to come. Apple will know nothing of you occurrences, if you don't report it to them.

Go Here: Feedback - iCloud - Apple
Select: "Bug Report" for the "Feedback Type"
Comment: on when you came across this issue, and how you’ve troubleshot it, this far. Include the URL of this thread.
Proceed from there as necessary.

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Answer 4

farhath_f Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 1, 2025 01:43 AM in response to TheLittles

Already reported. Thank you for the suggestion

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