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Any way to put contacts back on iPhone without loading a back up?

I had to exchange my original iPhone 3GS because of battery issues and was told to set it up as a new phone and not use a back up. I did this but no longer have my contacts on my phone. Is there any way to add them back? I do not have them written down or I would just do it manually.


Sorry if this has already been posted- I tried a search and came up with nothing.

iPhone 3GS, iPhone OS 3.0

Posted on Jul 30, 2009 6:52 AM

Reply
9 replies

Jul 30, 2009 7:13 AM in response to Jemismyname

Why did they tell you to now restore your backup? I don't know why they told you to set it up as a new iPhone, unless they though the backup was the cause of the battery problem, but it seems like the only way to get your contact information back is to restore your backup. Right click on the iPhone icon on the left pane in iTunes and select Restore from Backup. Then select the correct backup of your old iPhone and you should have your information again.

Also, do you have a Mac or a PC? I ask this because if you have a Mac the contacts should have synced with the Address Book, and if you have a PC the contacts should have synced with Outlook. You can check these settings by going into the Info tab in the iPhone section of iTunes and looking at what it is set to.

Jul 30, 2009 7:34 AM in response to Jemismyname

Your iPhone is designed to be synced with a supported application on your computer for contact info, and the same for calendar events.

With a Mac, this can be with the Address Book and iCal, and with Windows this can be with Outlook 2003 or 2007 for contacts and calendar events, or with the address book used by Outlook Express with XP, or with the address book used by Windows Mail with Vista, which is Windows Contacts for syncing contacts only.

Other than that, contacts on your iPhone are included with your iPhone's backup, but it isn't a good idea to depend on your iPhone's backup alone for this data.

Jul 30, 2009 8:02 AM in response to Jemismyname

This is why I highly recommend that people at least try out mobileme. I've been using it now for about 6 months and absolutely love it. I never have to worry about my contacts, calendar and safari bookmarks. It also allows me to store my data on their server and access it from iPhone no matter where I am. You can try it out for free for 2 months and see if you like it.

Jul 30, 2009 8:29 AM in response to Ingo2711

Ingo2711 -
nope, I dont use outlook or anything for my contacts

Envision99-
I am assuning because they are dumb, I have had so many issues with this particular store. I figured the only way to do this is to restore a backup. Thank you

Thanks for the rest of the replies. I think I am going to look into mobileme or something similar

Message was edited by: Jemismyname

Jul 30, 2009 1:13 PM in response to Jemismyname

Then if you don't restore your iPhone from your iPhone's backup, your iPhone's contacts will be lost.

And if you don't sync contacts with a supported application on your computer as the iPhone is designed and intended, and you need or want to restore your iPhone with iTunes from your iPhone's backup, it there is a problem with your iPhone's backup then you risk losing your iPhone's contacts having to manually re-enter all contacts on your iPhone again.

Any way to put contacts back on iPhone without loading a back up?

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