How to retrieve iPhone 6s Plus contacts that disappeared after installing iOS 11 update? [Troubleshooting Guide]

Wondering where your contacts go after updating your iPhone 6s Plus to iOS 11? If so, then we’ll help you find them and make them show up in your phonebook or contacts list again. All you have to do is read on and try the given solutions below.

It’s expected for new iOS updates to bring in new features and bugs as well. But only a few people have likely thought of losing contacts after installing an update. Sadly, this is what has occurred to some iPhone 6s Plus owners after updating their respective devices to iOS 11. How did this happen? That I couldn’t give a definite answer (for now). But it’s more likely that the update automatically overrides the current settings and wipes out some of your iPhone data particularly your contacts information.

Basically it has something to do with the update file structure or how the update file was programmed to work on your device. Indeed it’s a bummer but that’s part of the post-update outcomes, probably a bug that needs some debugging, and it’s inevitable. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that you’ll just leave it that way and do nothing. While your contacts aren’t showing in your phonebook anymore, it doesn’t mean that they’re totally gone. That being said, why not attempt to retrieve your contacts in any possible way? If you don’t have any idea on what to do or how to get started, then feel free to refer to the provided solutions and try each of them whenever you’re all set.

But before anything else, if you have a different issue with your device, visit the troubleshooting page we’ve setup for the iPhone 6s Plus. We list down every problem we address each week in that page so try to see if we’ve already addressed your concern before. If we did, try to use the solutions we suggested and if they won’t work, then you may contact us by filling up this form.

Potential solutions that can help retrieve contacts information on your iPhone 6s Plus

I have mapped out some possible solutions that comprised both user-defined fixes and generic solutions for you to try on. Given the fact that we haven’t really had a definite knowledge of what exactly had transpired after installing the new iOS update or how it had erased your contacts details, all you can do is to try every possible solution there is for you to perform and then see what happens. You may need to spend some time though but it may be worth it. So go ahead and get started.

One thing that you should check on first is the iCloud Contacts service status shown on the Apple Support System Page. To do so, you need to visit the System Status page on Apple Support website and make sure that it’s active or in green status. A yellow circle before iCloud Contacts indicates an ongoing issue with the service thus making it currently unavailable. This could be the main reason why your contacts failed to sync. If the service status is active and yet your contacts are still not showing on your iPhone, then start troubleshooting.

First solution: Quit and restart Contacts app on your iPhone 6s Plus.

It could take more time for certain apps to blend well with the new changes or platform. This means that the Contacts app is likely having some trouble adapting to the new changes brought forth by the new system. In this case, restarting the app and your iPhone can offer some remedies and help make things right with the iOS 11 contacts application.

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Second solution: Verify Contacts settings on your iPhone.

One of the possible causes that’s mentioned earlier is on the new iOS update overriding the current settings on your iPhone. In that case, it’s possible that your Contacts settings have been reverted to its original configuration thus it is possible that the options to show contacts are disabled or not selected. To make sure that this isn’t the root cause of the problem, try to verify and make changes if necessary. Here’s how it’s done:

Open the Contacts app.
Navigate to the left side of the screen under Group section.
To show all contacts in your phonebook, tap Show All Contacts. Doing so will allow you to configure your iPhone to show all your contacts in Gmail and iCloud. You should see a checkmark next to Gmail contacts, and iCloud contacts. If there’s none, tap to Hide All Contacts, then tap to Show All Contacts again.

That’s an indication that your contacts details are set to show up on the right app as intended.

Third solution: Turn iCloud Contacts feature off and on again.

Turning iCloud features on or off like Contacts app in particular, can also help in pushing and fetching contacts information on your iCloud account. Here’s how it’s done:

Go to Settings-> [Your Name].
Tap iCloud.
Scroll to and tap Contacts to turn it off.
Restart your iPhone.
Then go back to Settings-> [Your Name]->iCloud.
Scroll to and tap Contacts to turn it on again.

Restart your iPhone one more time then check your phonebook or contacts list to see if it’s already populated with all your contacts information.

Fourth solution: Sign out from iCloud then sign in again.

It’s also possible that the problem is on your iPhone contacts not syncing with iCloud. To make sure this isn’t the cause, try to sign out from your iCloud account, restart your iPhone then sign in to iCloud again.

Once you have successfully signed in to your iCloud account, refresh your contacts.

To refresh your contacts on your iPhone 6s Plus, just open the Contacts app and then swipe down on the list. to refresh your contact groups, open the Contacts app, tap Groups in the upper-left corner then swipe down on the list to refresh your groups.

Check your contacts list and see if it already shows all your contacts information. If it’s still shows nothing, then proceed to the next solution.

Fifth solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone 6s Plus.

Performing a network settings reset might also be the key to fixing the problem especially if it has something to do with network errors. It’s possible that your device is unable to access the Apple servers particularly iCloud.com because it’s not getting a stable or strong connection to your wireless network in the first place. Should this be the case, performing a network settings reset can help. However, doing so will likewise erase your network information including Wi-Fi passwords and server settings as they will be restored to their original configurations. If you wish to proceed, be sure to take note of your Wi-Fi password as you’ll need it to reconnect to Wi-Fi afterwards.

To reset network settings on your iPhone 6s Plus, go to Settings-> General-> Reset-> then select Reset Network Settings.
If prompted, enter your device passcode to continue then tap the option to confirm reset.

After the reset, your iPhone will reboot. Wait until your device boots up completely then enable Wi-Fi again on your iPhone and reconnect to your wireless network. Then see if that fixes the problem.

Other Suggestions

If none of the standard solutions is able to fix the problem and that your Contacts are still not showing on your iPhone 6s Plus, your next option would be a system restore. You can use iTunes on your computer to carry out iOS restore and select a previous iOS backup file to run and use on your iPhone instead. A step-by-step guide on how to restore iOS on iPhone using iTunes can be found in our dedicated Tutorials section so feel free to visit that page, if necessary.
You may also consider resorting to a factory reset or master reset if nothing else is working and that you already ran out of options to try on. A full system reset might be necessary to fix any system error that might be too complex and tough enough to withstand the prior solutions. The only downside from a factory reset is the fact that you will lose all your personal information and critical data stored on your device. This therefore denotes the need for backup creation beforehand. On the positive note, this reset will likewise give your device a clean fresh start. After the reset, be sure to set up your iPhone 6s Plus correctly, particularly your iCloud account details, so as to prevent having new issues to deal with.
Or you can also try using any iPhone data recovery tools available online. There are a lot of software (third-party apps with functions similar to iTunes) rolled out and designed for such purpose. All you need to do pick the most credible (based on prior reviews), then download and install it on your computer. Once it’s ready, connect your iPhone to your computer, run the software then follow the rest of the onscreen instructions to recover your iPhone data in a few clicks on your mouse.

Escalate the problem

Considering that the problem on your iPhone contacts that disappeared has instigated after implementing a new iOS update like iOS 11 on your iPhone 6s Plus and that none of the extra suggestions worked for you, then at this point you should contact Apple Support or your carrier’s customer care for further assistance and other recommendations.

Connect with us

We are always willing to help fix your problems with your Apple device. Browse through our existing troubleshooting posts or you may contact us directly by completing this form and hitting the Submit button. Make sure you provide all the necessary information about your phone and the problem so that it would be easier for us to help you.

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