Lost contacts, iPhone 4

I had this happen to me this morning on my iPhone 4s.

I fixed it by going to the Settings > iCloud and turning ON 'Contacts'. Went back to my contacts list and they started populating with names instead of numbers, took about 30 secs for all contacts to restore.

Hope this helps.

Hi to all "companions in misery",

My iPhone 4S (5.1.1) and I just got back from seeing a total wiz & pro who runs a business fixing mobile devices, specialising on Apple products (usually he only does B2B).

He checked my phone (have the same problem as everyone here & have already posted in this forum about it some days ago) – he CONFIRMED it's a VIRUS that affects the OS (probably imported by apps, but installed itself directly in the OS).

Upgrading the device to the latest OS will fix it, but for all of us, who have quasi-lost their contacts and don't have a backup on computer or iCloud, those contacts can only be retrieved by a wiz/pro/geek.

On my phone too ALL names still appear in the "left-swipe" search – apparently, they're stored in the cache.

The guy said he would be able to retrieve them and that this also wouldn't affect my existing data (messages, photos, etc).

The only reason I didn't leave my phone with him right away is that I need to find a replacement phone for the couple of days it will be in repair...

Fingers crossed!

Also, I personally strongly ADVISE AGAINST buying so-called "data recovery software" online, even though it might be recommended in seemingly(!) trustworthy blogs etc - it won't work and you'll probably never see your money again. Trust me on this one, I learned the hard way...

PS: For decades, Apple has taken pride in not being vulnerable to viruses, trojans etc – so I'm guessing it won't be likely for them to admit that they are; they'll just keep "quietly" releasing OS updates resolving current / new issues.

Had they not effed up the whole Google / Apple maps, I would have probably updated my system, but in that case was reluctant to...

Not so certain that this is the only problem. I did a IOS update from 6.01 to 6.1 plus factory restore of my 4S without any applications, mail or music.... just left it on for a couple of days... it still crashed ... on the clock.

Not an Iphone expert, but the crashes are random, and not linked to any application, the factory restore should have removed any embedded viruses (unless it writes itself into hard code)... symptoms point to flaws in the IOs itself and how the operating system handles calls from the Apple embedded applications.

my Iphone is now an expensive Ipod ... I've gone back to simply a phone

I am running on 5.1.1 on my iPhone 4s and this happened to me last night after my apps started to crash, and I rebooted. I didn't upgrade, I didn't even update an app.

I called Apple support today and told me I have to pay $19.95 to get 30 days of support.

I am planning to bring this into the Apple store. They told me I can get 10-15 mins of free service before I have to start paying. If they can't fix it, I am going to get the Samsung Galaxy.

I am very disappointed with Apple customer Service. Apple wasn't like this 4 years ago when I needed assistance with an iTunes issue.

This happened to both myself and my sister yesterday!! Why arent Apple responding to this.....

Add me to the list. Email kept kicking me out of a message last night. Turned the phone on and off (hard reset). Realized this morning I have no contacts. Checked everything - they are not backed up to the cloud. Tried to restore from an old sync, no luck. Iphone 4 using 5.1.1. I was about to buy a new iphone in 2 weeks, but I am seriously rethinking. This is unbelievable. Samsung, here I come.

Yep, i was about to upgrade to an iPhone 5, but Samsung will get my dollars now.....

My entire contacts just got wiped out. Iphone 4 with 5.1.1. I didn't want to upgrade to 6 because many people I talked to regret it. And I am in no interest in upgrading to Apple Map. Now I am put up with this as a punishment or what?

I actually just had this happen, but i had restarted it a few times. texted someone back, closed out the messages and went back and all my contacts were back

guy , my finding is ....it only happened to the people who havent upgraded to the lastest os which is me ...

my other house hold member upgraded to 6 long time ago ..never happen to her .

this actually happen two me twice .....already within a week ...but i figured out that it were icloud problem ...you just needs to manually sign back in ( retype your password ) to the icloud and it should get it back . hope this help cheers.

Solution for Windows 7 users:

I managed to get my contacts back. Problem was when I went to find previous backups in itunes they werent there. However Windows 7 has a nifty feature where you can right click on a folder and restore it to a previous version. Just need to locate the itunes backup folder. This link explains how to do it. I hope this helps some of you:

http://support.reincubate.com/kb/general-support/is-it-possible-to-recover-lost- itunes-backups-from-my-operating-system-restore

My iPhone 4S on iOS 5.1.1 did the same thing to me. Now Contacts gone.....😠

Appleuser1004 wrote:

I am planning to bring this into the Apple store. They told me I can get 10-15 mins of free service before I have to start paying. If they can't fix it, I am going to get the Samsung Galaxy.

Another troll post - Apple Stores don't even have the *ability* to charge you for service at the genius bar (other than out-of-warranty hardware repair, which is if things are physically faulty)

Do some people really have nothing better to do than make this seem worse than it is?

Losing your contacts is a massive pain, but its *not* a virus, and Apple Stores *will* help you, for free.

If you use a Mac, check your Address Book / Contacts application, you might find that the contacts happen to have synced to there and you'll be able to restore them. You can also sync contacts from other places like Facebook which in some cases bring the phone numbers with them

It is amazing how some people here do not offer real solution but get in just to protect Apple's reputation. You wonder how much they get paid. I guess all Apple employees are out there not fix real issues but to "cool off" legitimately upset customers.

Updating to IOS doesn't fix the issue, i tried it and it happened even on 6.1.2

Thank God my contract was up so i got Galaxy Note II.

Samsung loves US dollar.

It seems like an on going issue, you should always create a backup at least once or twice a month either through iCloud or iTunes. It's your own fault for not creating a backup of your contacts of your iPhone. If you have problems Apple has a feedback website you can submit feedback to www.apple.com/feedback.

Genrally regarding phone, these are smartphones people, they are like computer. It's technology and anything can happen. It's not Apples fault at all, you blame the company when technology itself is faulty. This is why there are updates that come out to help improve product bugs.

It's the same for Windows operating systems and computer systems. Android phones have issues as well, so don't be quick to jump the gun on getting another phone, because you could experience the issue again.

Like I said before it's not your fault for losing contacts but it is your fault for not creating a backup of your informaiton, because that's what any intelligent person would do.