Recover deleted contacts in Skype

Contacts are a very useful tool to quickly communicate with other users in the Skype software. They are not stored on your computer, like chat messages, but on the Skype server. A) Yes, the user will have access to their contacts even when they connect to their account from another PC. Unfortunately, there are situations in which, for one reason or another, disappear. Let's find out what to do if the user has accidentally deleted the contacts or they have been lost for any other reason. Let's see the main alternatives for recovery.

Recovery of contacts in Skype 8 and higher

It should be noted immediately, contacts may disappear for the reason that they were simply hidden or completely deleted. Then, we will see the procedure for these two cases. Let's start studying the procedure using Skype 8 as an example.

Method 1: restore hidden contacts

Often there are situations where the contacts have not disappeared, they have simply been hidden through special settings and filters. As an example, in this way you can hide the contacts of those users who are not connected at this time, or they simply have not provided their contact information. To show them on Skype 8 a simple manipulation is enough.

1. Just click the right mouse button (PCM) in the search field on the left side of the program window.
2. This will open a list of all your contacts, including hidden ones, sorted by categories.
3. If we still cannot find the post we are looking for, in this circumstance we click on the name of the desired category:
   • people;
   • publications;
   • Groups
4. Only the objects of the selected category will be shown and it will now be easier to find hidden objects.
5. If we can't find anything again, but you remember the name of the contact you are looking for, enter it in the search field, or at least enter the initial letters. Thereafter, only the item that starts with the specified characters will remain in the contact list, even if it's hidden.
6. To transfer found item from hidden contact group to normal, just click on it. PCM.
7. This contact will no longer be hidden and will return to the general list of conversations.

Another alternative to displaying hidden contact information involves the following algorithm.

1. Pass from “Chats”. to section “Contacts:”..
2. A list of all contacts opens, including hidden ones, sorted alphabetically. To return a hidden contact to the chat list, touch it PCM.
3. This item will return to the chat list.

Method 2: restore deleted contacts

Even if the contacts have not only been hidden, but have been completely removed, it is feasible to restore them. But, decidedly, no one can give a 100% guarantee of success in this circumstance. to restore, you need to reset the settings of the desktop version of Skype, so that the data about the contacts is “extract” from the server again. For this case, for skype 8, it is necessary to follow the algorithm of actions described in detail below.

1. First, if Skype is running today, must go out. To do this, press the left mouse button (LKM) on the Skype icon in the notification area. From the list that appears, select an option “Leave skype”..
2. After checkout is complete, type on the keyboard Win + R. In the window that opens “To run”. enter this address:

   %appdata%Microsoft

   Once you have entered it, click on “OKEY”.

3. The directory will open “Microsoft” v “The conductor of the orchestra”.. Look there for the folder “Skype for desktop”. Click on the LKM and select the item from the list “Rename”..
4. Thereafter, rename the folder to whatever is convenient, as an example “Skype for old desktop”.
5. Settings will now be reset. Start Skype again. A new profile will be automatically generated in the “Skype for desktop”.. And if the desktop version of the program did not have time to sync with the server sooner after deleting the contacts, in this circumstance, when forming a profile, In addition, the information of the contacts that you want to restore will be loaded. If the items you want to restore are displayed regularly, check if the rest of the important information is present. If something is missing, you can drag the corresponding objects from the profile folder above “Skype for old desktop” to the new “Skype for desktop”.

   And, Conversely, deleted contacts are not displayed after switching on Skype, there's nothing i can do about it. They were irretrievably erased. After, log out of Skype again and delete the new folder “Skype for desktop” and rename the old profile directory to its original name. Thus, we will not recover data from deleted contacts, but we will restore the previous configuration.

Recovery of contacts in Skype 7 and lower versions

In Skype 7, there is the option not only to show the hidden contacts or to recover the deleted ones, but in addition to making a previous backup. We will discuss all of these situations in more detail below..

Method 1: restore hidden contact details

As in the latest versions of the software, contacts can be easily hidden in Skype 7.

1. To rule this out, open the menu “Contacts:”.and go to “Liza”.. If the parameter is not configured “All”but any other, later we configure the parameter “Everything”.to display a full list of contacts.
2. At the same time, in this same section of the menu, go to subsection “Hide from those who”. If any item is marked, uncheck it.
3. If after these manipulations the required contacts do not appear, then they have truly been eliminated, and not only hidden.

Method 2: move skype folder

If you make sure your contacts are still missing, we will try to get them back. For this, we will rename the Skype data folder or move it to another location on the hard drive. The point is that after moving this folder, the program will start asking the server for data and will probably get your contacts if they are still stored on the server. But you need to move or rename the folder, do not delete it, since it contains your correspondence and other valuable information.

1. First, absolutely close the program. To find the Skype folder, we open the window Window “Run”.pressing keyboard keys Win + R. Enter the query “% Application data%”. Press the button “AGREE”..
2. Open the directory where the data of many applications is stored. We are looking for a folder “Skype”.. Rename or move it to another location on your hard drive.
3. Start Skype. If contacts appear, we move the important data from the renamed Skype directory (moved) to the newly created directory. If there are no changes, we simply delete the new Skype directory and move the renamed folder / moved to its original name, or we move it to its original location.

If this method doesn't work, you can contact Skype support. It is possible that they can retrieve their contacts from their databases.

Method 3: backup

Decidedly, most users start looking for an answer about how to recover deleted contacts when they are already gone, and have to fix the problem through the above methods. But there is an opportunity to insure against the risk of losing contacts by backing up. For this case, even if the contacts disappear, you can restore them from backup without hassle.

1. To back up your contacts, open the Skype call menu option “Contacts:”.. Then go to the subsection “Additional characteristics”.where we select the element “Backup your contact list …”.
2. Then, a window opens in which you need to determine where on your computer's hard drive the backup copy of your contacts in vcf format will be stored. By default, it's called your profile name. After choosing the location, Click the button “Keep”..
3. Therefore, your contacts are backed up. Now, even if your contacts have been removed from Skype for some reason, you can always restore them. To do this, go back to menu “Contacts:”.and in the subsection “Additional characteristics”.. But this time, select item “Restore contact list from backup file …”.
4. A window opens in which you must specify the backup file previously saved in vcf format. Once the file is highlighted, Click the button “Opened”..
5. After this action, backup contacts are added to your Skype account.
   

   The only important thing to remember is that if you want your contacts backup to be always up to date, you must update it after each new contact you add to your Skype profile.

As you see, it is much easier to calm down and make a backup of your contacts than to look for all kinds of alternatives to recover them later, in case they disappear from your account. At the same time, no method other than recovery from backup can offer a full guarantee that lost data will be recovered. Even contacting Skype support cannot guarantee this.

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