How to Get Contacts from a Broken iPhone With or Without Backup?

If your iPhone accidentally encounters an accident, such as falling and causing the screen to crack, or experiencing a technical glitch and not working properly, it will undoubtedly bring you a lot of inconvenience, especially when you urgently need to contact friends and colleagues, but find that you can't access the contact information in the iPhone. However, don't worry, this guide will provide you with effective solutions to help you safely recover your contacts from your damaged iPhone.

As we all know, on the one hand, the most direct way is to use existing backups to retrieve contacts. Whether it's iCloud or iTunes backup, it's a valuable resource for you. But if you don't have a backup available, don't be discouraged. Professional iPhone data recovery tools can just as easily recover contact information from a corrupted iPhone.

PART 1 How to Get Contacts in A Damaged iPhone Through Backup

When your iPhone's screen is damaged and unable to function properly, it would be a wise choice to restore contacts with the help of iCloud or iTunes backup. Note, however, that since you won't be able to directly manipulate a damaged iPhone, you'll need another iOS device or iPad to complete the recovery process.

Option 1 Restore Contacts in A Corrupted iPhone via iTunes Backup

If you've already made a backup of your damaged iPhone on your computer via iTunes, you can follow these steps to restore your contacts.

Step 1 Connect another iOS device or iPad (as a temporary recovery device) to your computer using a USB cable.

Step 2 Open iTunes (for macOS Catalina and later, use Finder).

In iTunes or Finder, click the "Device" icon in the left sidebar (for Finder, you may need to click the device name under "Location" first).

Step 3 On the page, select Restore Backup. In the backup list that pops up, locate and select the backup file that contains the contact you need.

This will make it easy to recover contact information from a corrupted iPhone backup.

Tip: Restoring a backup through iTunes erases all data on the current device, so make sure you have backed up your data or selected the correct recovery device. Therefore, it is important to exercise caution.

Option 2 Recover Contacts in A Damaged iPhone via iCloud Backup

If you have iCloud's Contacts Sync feature enabled, your iPhone's contacts are automatically backed up in the cloud. When you need to recover or access old contact data, you can do so easily through iCloud.com. Here are detailed steps to recover contacts from a damaged iPhone using iCloud backup.

Step 1 Visit iCloud.com: Open iCloud.com in a browser such as Google Chrome, Safari, or Microsoft Edge, and sign in to your Apple ID account.

Step 2 Access the Data Recovery screen: On the iCloud home screen, click the "point icon" in the toolbar (usually referring to the sidebar or navigation icon at the top) and select "Data Recovery" or a similar option (the exact name may vary depending on the iCloud version).

Step 3 Select Recover Contacts: On the Data recovery screen, locate and click Recover Contacts. At this point, you will see a list of all available contact backup archives.

Step 4 Select Backup and Restore: From the list, carefully select the correct backup version that contains your desired contacts, and then click the "Restore" button. Make sure the correct backup is selected to avoid overwriting unnecessary data.

In addition to the above recovery methods, if your iPhone screen is cracked but your iCloud account is still available, you can also access and export your contact information directly through the iCloud website.

Step 1 Log in to iCloud.com: Open iCloud.com in your browser and log in using the iCloud account that syncs with your broken iPhone.

Step 2 Access Contacts: On the iCloud home screen, select the Contacts option.

Step 3 Export contacts: Click the gear menu in the lower left corner (Settings icon) and select "Export Electronic Business card..." Or similar option. This will allow you to export all your contacts as vCard files, making them easily accessible in any VCard-enabled device or software.

Tip: Before performing any restore or export operations, make sure your iCloud account has contacts syncing enabled and has enough storage space to save backup data.

PART 2 Using Third-party Software to Recover Contacts from A Damaged iPhone

If you wish to try other methods or need more detailed scan results, consider using a professional iPhone data recovery software such as Geeker iOS data recovery Edition. Here are the basic steps to recover contacts from a damaged iPhone using iOS data recovery Edition.

Step 1 Connect iPhone: Connect your iPhone to your computer via USB cable and open the installed data recovery software.

Step 2 Select Recovery mode: In the software interface, locate and select the "Recover from iOS Device" option, and then click "Start Scan" to start the analysis process.

Step 3 Scan and view the result. Wait until the software completes scanning the memory of your device. When the scan is complete, go to the "Messages and Contacts" > "Contacts" section in the results window and you will be able to view all recoverable contact information.

Step 4 Restore contacts: Select the contact you want and click the Restore button in the lower right corner. Next, select an appropriate location (such as a folder on your computer) to save the recovered contact list.

Summary

These are the effective ways to recover contacts from your damaged iPhone. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages, and you can choose according to your own situation.