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How to recover deleted call history on iPhone with or without backup

Updated By Cameron On Feb 20, 2025, 10:25 pm

The Call history in the iPhone's Phone app is a useful addition to our daily communications, not only recording the details of all incoming, outgoing and missed calls, including the person's name, phone number, time and duration of the call, but also providing us with a convenient way to review and manage. But what if we lose some of our precious call records because of the occasional mistake? Don't worry, this article will give you detailed answers on how to retrieve those deleted call records on your iPhone.

PART 1 Why Do iPhone Call Records Disappear?

The disappearance of iPhone call records can be caused by a number of reasons. For example, you might accidentally delete an important number from your list that is not saved in your address book. Or, during an iOS update, some data was not synchronized correctly, resulting in the loss of recent call records. In the face of these situations, there is no need to panic, and we will introduce several effective recovery strategies.

In general, there are several ways to recover deleted call history from your iPhone:

- Restore with iCloud Backup: If your iPhone has iCloud backup turned on and the backup contains call log data, you can retrieve call logs by restoring the entire iCloud backup. Note, however, that this will overwrite all data generated after the backup, so make sure you have backed up your data accordingly.

- iTunes/Finder Backup Recovery: Similar to iCloud backup, if you previously backed up your iPhone using iTunes or Finder and that backup contains call history, you can recover the call history by restoring that backup. But again, this will also wipe out all new data generated after the backup.

- Use Third-party iOS Data Recovery Software: To more accurately recover deleted call logs without affecting other data, you may also consider using professional third-party data recovery software. Such software typically supports previewing deleted data and allows users to selectively restore it, avoiding the hassle and risk of restoring an entire backup.

Contact your carrier: Contact your cell phone carrier and ask if you can retrieve deleted call records from their system. Some carriers may provide call history query services for a limited period of time, but the specifics may vary from carrier to carrier.

PART 2 Easily Retrieve Deleted iPhone Call History without Backup and No Data Loss

When we talk about how to recover those accidentally deleted call records on the iPhone, many people first think of restoring the device through iTunes or iCloud backup, but this often carries the risk of data overwriting and creating new data loss. Don't worry, even without a backup, you still have a chance to retrieve those precious call records.

With professional iPhone data recovery software - iOS Data Recovery Software, you can easily retrieve deleted call logs without worrying about data loss. These apps are powerful and easy to use, and can deeply scan your iPhone to retrieve data that seems to have disappeared.

iPhone Data Recovery Software highlights:

- Lossless recovery: It can retrieve lost or deleted call records without losing any of your current data.

Deep Scan: The built-in deep scan engine can reach deep inside the iPhone to analyze and retrieve deleted but not overwritten call records.

- Selective recovery: You can selectively recover one or some call records as required, and even export them as CSV or HTML files for subsequent viewing and management.

- Backup Preview: Even if you have a previous iTunes or iCloud backup but don't want to restore the entire device, these software will let you preview the call logs in the backup and restore them individually.

- User friendly: The simple and clear interface makes it easy for even first-time Apple users to get started.

You can refer to the following for information on how to retrieve deleted iPhone call logs using iPhone Data Recovery software.

Step 1 Download and install the iPhone Data Recovery software on your PC or Mac. And use the lightning cable to connect your iPhone to your computer.

Step 2 After starting the software, choose Recover from iOS Device from the left pane. Tap the "Start Scan" button and the software will automatically scan your iPhone for deleted calls.

Step 3 After the scan is complete, you can view the deleted call history details on the software page. Select the record you want to recover and click the "Recover" button.

Through the above steps, your call records will be successfully recovered! And, none of this will affect the other data in your phone, safe and assured.

PART 3 Restoring iPhone Deleted Call History Using iTunes/Finder Backup

Want to retrieve those accidentally deleted phone calls from your iPhone? Don't worry, there are two ways to help you out here, either using iTunes or Finder (if your Mac is running MacOS 15.2 or later), or with the help of a professional iPhone data recovery tool.

Method 1 Complete recovery using iTunes/Finder

This method may overwrite existing data and cause new data loss. Use caution.

Step 1 Connect your iPhone to your computer.

Step 2 Open iTunes or Finder. In iTunes, click the small device icon in the top left corner and select "Summary" from the left menu. In Finder, click under "[Your iPhone]" in the left column, then select the "General" TAB in the right pane.

Step 3 Click Restore Backup. The system will list all available iPhone backups and choose the one that best meets your needs.

However, the iTunes backup is not previewable, so we can't directly confirm whether it contains the call logs you want to recover.

Step 4 After clicking "Recover", iTunes/Finder will start the recovery process. When the restore is complete, your iPhone will reboot and all the data in the selected backup will overwrite the existing data on your device.

If you don't want to risk overwriting new data on your device, consider Method 2.

Method 2 Use the iPhone Data Recovery tool

This is a convenient way to view and recover deleted call logs without having to restore the entire iPhone.

Step 1 Open your iPhone data recovery software and select "Recover from iTunes Backup File" mode.

Step 2 Preview the contents of the iTunes backup and easily find those deleted call logs.

Step 3 Click Recovery and select a storage location as prompted.

This method allows users to choose to restore certain call logs individually, rather than the entire backup, thus avoiding overwriting other data on your device.

PART 4 Restore Deleted Call History on iPhone without Computer

If you want to retrieve mistakenly deleted call logs from your iPhone without a computer, one possible solution is to restore them from an iCloud backup. As long as your call logs were wirelessly backed up to iCloud before they were deleted, you can follow these steps to have those "disappeared" call logs reappear on your phone. Note, however, that this step will erase all existing data on your iPhone, so make sure you have a backup of your important information.

Steps to recover iPhone call history from iCloud backup:

Step 1 Open the Settings application, slide to the bottom of the application, and choose General.

Step 2 In the General Settings, locate and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone, and then select Erase all content and Settings.

Step 3 Confirm the operation and click Continue. Wait for your iPhone to restart and complete the initial setup process. Make sure your phone is connected to a stable Wi-Fi network.

Step 4 When you see the "Transfer Your Apps and Data" screen, select "Recover from iCloud Backup." Enter your Apple ID and password to log into your iCloud account.

Step 5 The system will list the available iCloud backups, select the one that contains the call history you want, and click Restore.

Once the recovery is complete, your iPhone will re-download and sync all backup data, including call logs. This way, even without a computer, you can easily recover calls that have been deleted by mistake on your iPhone.

PART 5 Contacting Your Carrier to Retrieve iPhone Deleted Call History

To keep track of calls that may have been accidentally deleted on your iPhone, you can also go directly to your carrier's website or dedicated APP (if available). There, you can usually check your call history for the past 60 to 90 days and even retrieve calls that have been deleted by mistake. In addition, contacting the carrier's customer service should be able to retrieve the iPhone's deleted call history.

FAQs about How to recover iPhone call records

Q1 After installing iOS 17, the recent call history is lost. How can I restore it?

A: If an iOS update causes the Recent Calls list to clear, it is recommended to try restoring data from a previous backup through Finder or iTunes. Connect your iPhone to the computer that contains the desired backup, select the device and start the Restore Backup process, from which you can select the backup that contains the call history to restore. However, please note that if you change your phone number before updating, the call history of the old number may not be retrieved.

Q2 Can I view deleted calls directly on my iPhone?

A: Usually, once the call logs are deleted on your iPhone, they can't be viewed directly unless you choose to wipe the device and restore it from iCloud or iTunes/Finder backups. Another approach is to use professional iPhone data recovery software, which allows you to preview and restore deleted call logs from your device's memory or iTunes backup without overwriting existing data.

Summary

Don't fret too much when you discover that your call history on your iPhone is missing. With any of the above methods, you may be able to successfully retrieve those important call records. Of course, in order to avoid the recurrence of similar situations, it is recommended that you regularly back up mobile phone data and exercise caution to avoid deleting important information by mistake.