Lost contacts, failed backup

[puma1552]

I had my phone (iPhone 5 on 7.0.4) backed up to my computer. I do NOT use iCloud.

I've had a problem with the battery so I went to Apple tonight. Apparently the phone was acting like the screen was on all the time when it wasn't, draining the battery.

They needed to restore the phone as a new phone - NOT from a backup since it would mirror the glitch causing the battery drain.

They asked me if I had the phone backed up and I said yes, but that I just want the contacts to be pulled back on the phone, mainly because I was concerned as I could not recall ever seeing a list of contacts on my computer and could only recall an option to restore the phone from a backup (as in the entire phone, not just the contacts).

So the girl set up an iCloud account for me which I didn't really want and associated my phone with that iCloud account instead of my usual apple ID, which is a gmail address. She backed up the contacts to iCloud, then did the restore, and then said my contacts would flood back into my phone after 5-10 minutes from iCloud.

They never did.

So, since that didn't work and wanting to get my phone back associated with the original gmail Apple ID instead of the new iCloud ID, I came home and just did another restore and set the phone back up with the original gmail Apple ID.

I don't see any way to get my contacts; I suppose I could restore again, set it up with the iCloud email, try again to get the contacts to download, and then be stuck with the iCloud Apple ID I don't want? Otherwise I don't see anywhere in iTunes where my contacts are stored; I see the contacts section and it's blank.

I should be able to restore JUST the contacts WITHOUT messing with iCloud - they *should* be backed up automatically on my computer every time I plug my phone into iTunes and it backs up, no? So how can I set the phone up as a new phone and restore JUST the contacts without iCloud?

Ugh, frustrating.

 

[dtsm888]

If u backed up then should be in address book right?

 

[puma1552]

If u backed up then should be in address book right?

Do you mean the contacts app? I don't seem to see any Address Book program on my mac when searching in spotlight.

My contacts app is empty though; I assumed every time I plugged my iPhone into my computer and it did the automatic backup it was also backing up the contacts?

 

[swordfish5736]

Do you mean the contacts app? I don't seem to see any Address Book program on my mac when searching in spotlight.

My contacts app is empty though; I assumed every time I plugged my iPhone into my computer and it did the automatic backup it was also backing up the contacts?

Go to icloud.com on your computer. Login with the account she created, open up contacts and see if they are there.

 

[puma1552]

Go to icloud.com on your computer. Login with the account she created, open up contacts and see if they are there.

They are indeed there. So, it looks like worst case I could just look at them on the computer and type them in manually (again remember I want to have my gmail apple ID associated with the phone, not the iCloud ID), but is there anyway I can pull them onto my computer and then to the phone through iTunes?

 

[swordfish5736]

They are indeed there. So, it looks like worst case I could just look at them on the computer and type them in manually (again remember I want to have my gmail apple ID associated with the phone, not the iCloud ID), but is there anyway I can pull them onto my computer and then to the phone through iTunes?

You can login with the icloud account while keeping your gmail for the App Store and everything else.

 

[puma1552]

You can login with the icloud account while keeping your gmail for the App Store and everything else.

Sorry, login where?

 

[869639]

I had my phone (iPhone 5 on 7.0.4) backed up to my computer. I do NOT use iCloud.

I've had a problem with the battery so I went to Apple tonight. Apparently the phone was acting like the screen was on all the time when it wasn't, draining the battery.

They needed to restore the phone as a new phone - NOT from a backup since it would mirror the glitch causing the battery drain.

They asked me if I had the phone backed up and I said yes, but that I just want the contacts to be pulled back on the phone, mainly because I was concerned as I could not recall ever seeing a list of contacts on my computer and could only recall an option to restore the phone from a backup (as in the entire phone, not just the contacts).

So the girl set up an iCloud account for me which I didn't really want and associated my phone with that iCloud account instead of my usual apple ID, which is a gmail address. She backed up the contacts to iCloud, then did the restore, and then said my contacts would flood back into my phone after 5-10 minutes from iCloud.

They never did.

So, since that didn't work and wanting to get my phone back associated with the original gmail Apple ID instead of the new iCloud ID, I came home and just did another restore and set the phone back up with the original gmail Apple ID.

I don't see any way to get my contacts; I suppose I could restore again, set it up with the iCloud email, try again to get the contacts to download, and then be stuck with the iCloud Apple ID I don't want? Otherwise I don't see anywhere in iTunes where my contacts are stored; I see the contacts section and it's blank.

I should be able to restore JUST the contacts WITHOUT messing with iCloud - they *should* be backed up automatically on my computer every time I plug my phone into iTunes and it backs up, no? So how can I set the phone up as a new phone and restore JUST the contacts without iCloud?

Ugh, frustrating.

iCloud is there for your convenience, were in 2014...its time you start using tools that are available to you to make you life simpler.

iCloud keeps your Contacts, Notes, emails, calendar events, reminders, safari browser tabs + history + favorites in sync with devices.

You can turn off anything you don't want and keep what you want/need. I've never had such issues because I've been using iCloud since its launch and its been nothing but convenient.

 

[puma1552]

iCloud is there for your convenience, were in 2014...its time you start using tools that are available to you to make you life simpler.

iCloud keeps your Contacts, Notes, emails, calendar events, reminders, safari browser tabs + history + favorites in sync with devices.

You can turn off anything you don't want and keep what you want/need. I've never had such issues because I've been using iCloud since its launch and its been nothing but convenient.

I don't want this to turn into a discussion about using iCloud, which I figured it was only a matter of time before it did. Adding complexity for the sake of convenience cancels out the convenience. I have no lack of local storage anywhere whatsoever between my phone, my laptop, and my Time Capsule; therefore there is nothing that I should need iCloud for.

Good engineering is simple engineering, meaning that the simpler my setup is, the easier. No need for yet another login ID and having a cloud that is not needed when I have more than ample local storage everywhere.

Now, if you can tell me how to restore just my contacts from the iTunes backup, that would be great.

 

[mofunk]

On you Mac you can login into iCloud by going to System Preferences - iCloud

You can also access iCloud in the web browser.

You can open iTunes and restore from Backup.




btw there is no reason why you shouldn't use iCloud. I use both (back up to computer and iCloud). You can also back up to an external drive and DVDr.

 

[puma1552]

I can see the contacts in iCloud when I login, but how can I get them onto my phone which is under a different ID? I do NOT want my phone to be setup with my iCloud ID.

Really guys, I shouldn't/don't need iCloud to do this. My computer backs up the iPhone contents every time I plug it in, so why can't anyone answer how to restore ONLY the contacts from the computer? People have been doing this long before iCloud ever existed.

If you can answer the question on how to do this without the use of iCloud, great. If not, need not reply. Thanks.

 

[haruhiko]

OP, you just need to login to icloud on your phone using the new account, then wait for the contacts to load into your phone. After some time, you can delete the icloud account WHILE keeping the contacts on your phone. Then you can login to your new iCloud account or completely turn off iCloud or whatever you want. It's that simple. If you refuse to do step one, I can't help you.

 

[puma1552]

OP, you just need to login to icloud on your phone using the new account, then wait for the contacts to load into your phone. After some time, you can delete the icloud account WHILE keeping the contacts on your phone. Then you can login to your new iCloud account or completely turn off iCloud or whatever you want. It's that simple. If you refuse to do step one, I can't help you.

Thank you for a clear and complete explanation.

In any regard, I said to hell with it and typed the contacts in manually, so this thread can die now.

 

[mofunk]

lol wow really. You really could have just restored from backup from your computer. Making sure that the right buttons are selected inside iTunes.


http://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-recover-deleted-iphone-contacts/

 

[869639]

I don't want this to turn into a discussion about using iCloud, which I figured it was only a matter of time before it did. Adding complexity for the sake of convenience cancels out the convenience. I have no lack of local storage anywhere whatsoever between my phone, my laptop, and my Time Capsule; therefore there is nothing that I should need iCloud for.

Good engineering is simple engineering, meaning that the simpler my setup is, the easier. No need for yet another login ID and having a cloud that is not needed when I have more than ample local storage everywhere.

Now, if you can tell me how to restore just my contacts from the iTunes backup, that would be great.

If your so good at making things convenient, how come your having such trouble?

[For future reference] The iCloud account that shows your contacts on iCloud.com, simply go to your iPhones Settings - iCloud - Log in with that email address and password. Wait 1-5minutes for the contacts to show up [Make sure you have an active Cellular or WiFi Signal]. Done.

After this you may, or may not keep the iCloud account signed in, remember you don't need to sign in and out all the time and this account is different than your iTunes account [used for purchases] mainly because you are using gmail.com, had you been using iCloud.com or me.com account since day one, you could have used one account for all your purchases and iCloud, however if you share your iTunes log in with family members, its best to have a separate iCloud ID that stores your contacts, notes etc etc mainly because you wouldn't want someone else to accidentally delete or invade your privacy.

As for real convenience.....think about it...they engineered it correctly however you jus failed to understand [even now you are failing to understand] because iCloud gives the simplicity at its best, having your contacts, notes, reminds etc etc in the cloud available to you at ALL TIMES and on any/all devices you wish to simply log in with your iCloud account on without ever having to make any backups to your "ample of storage" on daily, weekly or monthly basis [Only reason you need to be making backups in 2014 to your computer is if you have a large amount of app data, photos/videos or other large files stored on your app that cannot be stored within your given 5GB of free storage on iCloud [Contacts, Notes, Photo stream, reminders etc DO NOT USE any of the FREE 5GB Storage]

So with that said, I think its time you welcome your self into the world of convenience.

 

[puma1552]

If your so good at making things convenient, how come your having such trouble?

[For future reference] The iCloud account that shows your contacts on iCloud.com, simply go to your iPhones Settings - iCloud - Log in with that email address and password. Wait 1-5minutes for the contacts to show up [Make sure you have an active Cellular or WiFi Signal]. Done.

After this you may, or may not keep the iCloud account signed in, remember you don't need to sign in and out all the time and this account is different than your iTunes account [used for purchases] mainly because you are using gmail.com, had you been using iCloud.com or me.com account since day one, you could have used one account for all your purchases and iCloud, however if you share your iTunes log in with family members, its best to have a separate iCloud ID that stores your contacts, notes etc etc mainly because you wouldn't want someone else to accidentally delete or invade your privacy.

As for real convenience.....think about it...they engineered it correctly however you jus failed to understand [even now you are failing to understand] because iCloud gives the simplicity at its best, having your contacts, notes, reminds etc etc in the cloud available to you at ALL TIMES and on any/all devices you wish to simply log in with your iCloud account on without ever having to make any backups to your "ample of storage" on daily, weekly or monthly basis [Only reason you need to be making backups in 2014 to your computer is if you have a large amount of app data, photos/videos or other large files stored on your app that cannot be stored within your given 5GB of free storage on iCloud [Contacts, Notes, Photo stream, reminders etc DO NOT USE any of the FREE 5GB Storage]

So with that said, I think its time you welcome your self into the world of convenience.

See, now a complete and thorough explanation from the start would've helped, rather than just telling me "log in on your computer and see if the contacts are there." It shouldn't have been rocket science to read between the lines that I didn't know how to use iCloud, so a GOOD explanation like above from the beginning would've went a long way. No need to talk down to me about it just because I may not understand something and become frustrated when nobody answers the question I actually asked (which still nobody did - how to restore contacts only from the computer without doing a full restore from backup from iTunes).

Also I don't use an iCloud email for purchases because my iTunes usage predates iCloud by 5+ years. If I were starting new today, then maybe I would use an iCloud ID for everything.

 

[869639]

See, now a complete and thorough explanation from the start would've helped, rather than just telling me "log in on your computer and see if the contacts are there." It shouldn't have been rocket science to read between the lines that I didn't know how to use iCloud, so a GOOD explanation like above from the beginning would've went a long way. No need to talk down to me about it just because I may not understand something and become frustrated when nobody answers the question I actually asked (which still nobody did - how to restore contacts only from the computer without doing a full restore from backup from iTunes).

Also I don't use an iCloud email for purchases because my iTunes usage predates iCloud by 5+ years. If I were starting new today, then maybe I would use an iCloud ID for everything.

I understand and I'm sure like many of us, you are part of a family where you share your iTunes account for purchases and that is why you would want to have a separate iCloud ID.

Now as for your real question, honestly I've never been in that situation as I have been using things the most convenient way, before the launch of iCloud.com I always used one of the "backup contacts" app from the app store and emailed my self my contact list in a .csv format so that I had a backup no matter what.

There are programs out there you may search for which allow you to extract your contacts from a backup [Mind you it may be lengthy process]

The simplest way you can do this is to restore your iPhones via iTunes, see your contacts are in the contacts app or the phone app, then download a app called "Backup contacts" from app store [Most are free and they all work], email yourself the contacts backup via one of the apps and then factory reset your iPhone....restore your contacts via the email .csv file that you created from the app <----if all you want is contacts since you did not utilize iCloud, then this would be the fastest method to go via.

I just think ahead of time and at times used to make double backups [Backup on iTunes + send my self the contacts] before such warranty related repairs or replacements had to take place = basically I was always prepared for the worst case scenario, now I can't even recommend you to start doing this because apple has made life so simple with everything available where you need it and when you need it via icloud.

 

[puma1552]

I understand and I'm sure like many of us, you are part of a family where you share your iTunes account for purchases and that is why you would want to have a separate iCloud ID.

Now as for your real question, honestly I've never been in that situation as I have been using things the most convenient way, before the launch of iCloud.com I always used one of the "backup contacts" app from the app store and emailed my self my contact list in a .csv format so that I had a backup no matter what.

There are programs out there you may search for which allow you to extract your contacts from a backup [Mind you it may be lengthy process]

The simplest way you can do this is to restore your iPhones via iTunes, see your contacts are in the contacts app or the phone app, then download a app called "Backup contacts" from app store [Most are free and they all work], email yourself the contacts backup via one of the apps and then factory reset your iPhone....restore your contacts via the email .csv file that you created from the app <----if all you want is contacts since you did not utilize iCloud, then this would be the fastest method to go via.

I just think ahead of time and at times used to make double backups [Backup on iTunes + send my self the contacts] before such warranty related repairs or replacements had to take place = basically I was always prepared for the worst case scenario, now I can't even recommend you to start doing this because apple has made life so simple with everything available where you need it and when you need it via icloud.

Thank you. I was under the impression that I could restore things piecemeal from an iTunes backup without third party apps, now I know this is not the case; it appears if I want to restore any part of what's on my phone from an iTunes backup, it's all or nothing - I can't pick and choose to restore only certain things, which in this case was what I needed to do since restoring the entire phone from backup would've only mirrored the problem I was trying to eliminate (according to the genius). Now I know for next time that I can just sign into iCloud and get the contacts back quickly, then delete the iCloud account (if I want).

Thanks again, things are clear now.

 

[MacManTexas56]

See, now a complete and thorough explanation from the start would've helped, rather than just telling me "log in on your computer and see if the contacts are there." It shouldn't have been rocket science to read between the lines that I didn't know how to use iCloud, so a GOOD explanation like above from the beginning would've went a long way. No need to talk down to me about it just because I may not understand something and become frustrated when nobody answers the question I actually asked (which still nobody did - how to restore contacts only from the computer without doing a full restore from backup from iTunes).

Also I don't use an iCloud email for purchases because my iTunes usage predates iCloud by 5+ years. If I were starting new today, then maybe I would use an iCloud ID for everything.

you're talking down to him and everyone else so what is the difference?

read up about iCloud. you don't need to start fresh as you can use your old ID for purchases and a new ID for iCloud only. not sure why in 2014 people are not using the advance technologies to prevent from losing contacts.