How to recover contacts after deleting an old email address on iPhone?

I agree with lobsterghost1. The thing I I don't understand is that when removing an account from Contacts Settings, you get the option to delete or retain the contacts on your phone. I can only assume you declined to keep them. They don't disappear without you consenting.

Your best plan is to get access to your old contacts account again. Have you tried logging in online?

InQuest2 wrote:

When I recently deleted an old, unsupported email address from my iPhone, most of my contacts disappeared. Since they couldn't have been housed in that email server, they have to still reside in my phone somewhere, don't they?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Retrieving contact list

Contacts are tied to email accounts. When you deleted the account, the contacts tied to that account were removed. If you can restore the email account, you may get your contacts back. If you can't, they are gone as far as I'm aware. Trust me, I did the same thing once. And I lost a lot of contacts and I was actually aware that contacts are tied to email accounts. I had to rebuild the contacts again.

LD150 wrote:

I agree with lobsterghost1. The thing I I don't understand is that when removing an account from Contacts Settings, you get the option to delete or retain the contacts on your phone. I can only assume you declined to keep them. They don't disappear without you consenting.

I believe the exception to that rule is Exchange accounts.

That data is "owned" by Exchange. It can't be exported in the way data tied to standard IMAP accounts can be.

Your best plan is to get access to your old contacts account again. Have you tried logging in online?

lobsterghost1 wrote:

KiltedTim wrote:

I believe the exception to that rule is Exchange accounts.

That data is "owned" by Exchange. It can't be exported in the way data tied to standard IMAP accounts can be.

Yep. It was an exchange account and I was not offered the option to keep the contacts and so they were removed and that was that.

Yup. that's intentional. The company owns the data, not the user.

I've been in the unfortunate position of having to wipe a users personal device because they separated from the organization under less than idea circumstances and refused to hand their device over to us to ensure all company owned data had been removed.

Of course they complained regardless of the fact that they signed the policy document stating that would be the result if they failed to comply...

KiltedTim wrote:

I believe the exception to that rule is Exchange accounts.

That data is "owned" by Exchange. It can't be exported in the way data tied to standard IMAP accounts can be.

Yep. It was an exchange account and I was not offered the option to keep the contacts and so they were removed and that was that.

Exchange? There madness lies!