iPhone is widely preferred by users for its streamlined interface, robust security, sync capabilities, superior camera, and more. In fact, nearly 92% iPhone users showed an intent to buy only iPhones in future, unshakable in their resolve.
Unlike Android, iOS is completely controlled by Apple, which means any customization is off-limits for end-users. While this makes the iOS devices practically un-breachable, it does pose a challenge when you need to recover your permanently lost files.
For example, if you accidentally delete your photos, videos, or audio files from your iPhone and missed an iCloud sync, retrieving those files from an iOS secure environment is an uphill battle.
To make things simple, we have created this one-stop troubleshooting guide to iPhone data recovery. If you’re looking to recover lost iPhone files, you must bookmark this bible and learn – how data is lost on an iPhone, how to recover it, and some prevention tips & tricks. Let’s begin.
How Data is Lost on iPhone?
Did you know only 59% of smartphone owners back up their data? So what happens to rest who don’t make a big deal about backups? You’ll be surprised to know how frequently people lose their iPhone files due to different reasons, like:
- Accidental Deletion – More than often, you may accidentally delete iPhone photos, videos, or other data while clearing storage or transferring files. While, you can recover these recently deleted files from the Trash/Bin within 30 days of deletion, files deleted permanently won’t reach the bin and become unrecoverable.
- Update Failures – An incomplete iPhone update, OS glitch, hardware malfunction, etc. can lead to various issues, including data loss on iPhone.
- Physical Damage – A broken iPhone screen will bar access to your iPhone and its data, and any other physical damage may to lead to logical data loss on the device.
- Factory Reset – When a device gets locked due to a forgotten passcode, the only choice left is to reset an iPhone. But the problem with Factory Reset is that it erases all data on the device, including your personal files, photos, and app data.
- Stolen or Lost Device – If you lose your iPhone or it gets stolen, the data in it is also lost unless you have a backup. You can recover data from a lost or stolen iPhone using cloud recovery and other backups.
- Transfer Errors – Sometimes, iPhone files can also go missing during transfer due to software glitches, low device storage space, or issues with iCloud or iTunes backups.
- Jailbreak – An iPhone OS Jailbreak means removing the restrictions imposed by Apple and providing administrative rights to the user, similar to rooting the iPhone. It involves bypassing Apple’s built-in security features and exposing the iOS data to hackers and malware.
Keeping cloud sync enabled at the right time or backing up data to an external storage drive can protect you from most data loss incidents. However, unexpected errors can still occur, often leaving you in need of expert assistance. Here’s what to do in those scenarios.
How to Recover Lost Data from iPhone?
Have you lost valuable data on your iPhone? Relax; there are several ways to retrieve it. If you’ve deleted files on your iPhone accidentally, your iPhone is damaged, or you’ve lost data while upgrading to a new iPhone, below are some iPhone recovery methods you must try.
Recover from iCloud
Apple’s iCloud is a multi-faceted backup & restore feature that lets you sync & store your essential documents, images, messages, emails, bookmarks, etc. across iPhones, iPads & Macs. Here’s how iCloud helps you secure and recover your iPhone data.
1. Backup and Restore:
Once enabled, iCloud automatically backs up your photos, videos, messages, WhatsApp chats contacts, calendar events, notes, apps data, and everything else in your device.
If you ever lose data from your iPhone, purchase a new iPhone, or want to restore your iCloud photos, videos, or any other data, you can simply sign in to iCloud and restore your data.
2. Sync Data Across Devices:
iCloud not only stores your data in cloud servers, but also syncs the data across all your Apple devices. For instance, if you add a new contact to your iPhone, it will also show up on your iPad and Mac. Thus, all your information remains up-to-date across devices and accessible wherever needed.
3. Storage and File Sharing:
iCloud allows you to store your files, documents, and other data in a safe and secure cloud environment. You can restore these files on any of your Apple devices and share them with friends or family.
Data Recovery When iCloud Fails
iCloud backup offers easy backup and restoration following a device failure, data deletion/loss, or device upgrade. You can easily sign in to iCloud on a new device and recover lost or deleted iPhone data, such as photos, videos & more from iCloud using your last backup.
However, if you face errors while restoring iCloud data, you can use the iCloud restore feature offered by Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone. This DIY iPhone data recovery software can help restore all iPhone files from iCloud backup.
Recover from iTunes
When iTunes was discontinued in 2019 with the macOS Catalina release, Apple divided its functionality into three apps: Music, Podcasts, and TV. iTunes is now only used by Windows users to backup & restore iPhone data. For iPhone and iPad users, there’s the Finder app on Mac.
To recover data from an iTunes backup on a Windows computer:
- Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes.
- If there’s a previously created iPhone backup, it will be listed under the Devices section.
- Look for the backup with a date before you deleted the iPhone files or data.
- Right-click on the backup and select Restore.
- The restoration process will start, and the restoration time will vary with the size of the backup.
Remember:
- While restoring an iTunes backup, the existing data on the device gets erased.
- iTunes does not back up several data types like calendars, ringtones, audio purchases, and other app data, like fitness, health, etc.
- To safeguard your data more effectively, always back up your iPhone using both iCloud and iTunes.
Here’s a detailed guide to recover data from iTunes.
Recover with Finder (Only for Mac Users)
The Finder on Mac lets you manage your device backups directly from your Mac.
Since Mac devices no longer support iTunes for backup and restoration management, you must know how to use Finder for restoring data on your iPhone or iPad.
Major Features of Finder for iPhone/iPad Users:
- Backup and Restore: Finder allows you to back up your iPhone or iPad, which you can restore later, if needed. This includes your app data, settings, and other customized content.
- Sync Data: You can sync music, photos, videos, etc. across your Mac and other devices using Finder.
- Drag and Drop: Finder offers a super convenient drag-and-drop feature for the files.
Steps to restore your iPhone or iPad using Finder:
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac using the USB cable.
- Launch Finder and select your device from the menu bar.
- In the summary page, click on Restore Backup.
- Choose the most recent backup from the list, using the date and time.
- Click Restore and wait for it to finish.
Download an iPhone Data Recovery Tool
iCloud and iTunes are effective in recovering your last synced iPhone data. But things can go awry if you lose data despite a backup. Yes, that can happen for many reasons, such as sync failure, data loss during file transfer, abrupt system crashes, and even server errors. Thankfully, iPhone comes with an internal storage that can be accessed by third-party data recovery tools, such as Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone.
The iPhone data recovery software can scan your iPhone’s storage and recover lost or deleted photos, messages, contacts, notes, Safari bookmarks, and so on, when they are not available to recover from iCloud or iTunes backups.
Recovering Deleted Apps Data, Notes, Reminders, and More on iPhone
Recovering photos & videos from iPhone internal storage and cloud is relatively straightforward. You simply go to iCloud and restore them, or recover them from iPhone’s internal storage when cloud storage fails. However, there are other options available to retain certain data, such as data stored in a downloaded app, messages, notes & reminders, etc. Let’s take a look.
Restore Deleted Apps Data on iPhone
When you delete an app, its data is also deleted from your phone. Here’s how you can restore app data on iPhone when you unintentionally delete an important app:
Recover from the App Store:
If you accidentally deleted an app, simply open the App Store, search for the app, and download it again. You will find your app data intact if it was saved to iCloud or a linked account.
Recover from iCloud:
If you have backed up your iPhone to iCloud regularly, you can restore the app and its data from your recent backup. Go to the Settings, tap on your name, then iCloud. Make sure the app data is included in your backups.
Restore from iTunes/Finder Backup:
Windows users can access their recent iTunes backup to get back the deleted app data. Connect your iPhone to your computer, open iTunes, select your phone, and then select to restore from the last backup.
Meanwhile, Mac users can utilize Finder to access their iPhone Apps data.
Recover lost Messages & Chats on iPhone
Sometimes, we delete important text messages during a phone clean-up exercise. This is how you can recover iPhone messages step by step:
Using iCloud:
If you have iCloud backup enabled, you can recover deleted messages by restoring them from backup.
Using iTunes/Finder:
- Windows Users – Plug your iPhone into your computer and open iTunes. Choose your device and select Restore Backup. Note that this will overwrite the existing data on your device with the backup data.
- Mac Users – Open Finder and locate your iPhone in the sidebar under Locations. Now, click Restore.
Third-Party Recovery Solutions:
If these efforts fail, third-party iPhone message recovery software can also help you recover erased messages on iPhone.
Retrieve Deleted Notes & Reminders on iPhone
It’s common to lose a note or reminder kept safely on your iPhone. Here’s how to retrieve them on iPhone:
Look for the Recently Deleted Folder:
Open the Notes app, search for the Recently Deleted folder where deleted notes remain until they are erased permanently.
Recover from iCloud:
Go to iCloud.com, log in with your Apple ID, and search for your Notes there. If found, you can simply copy them back.
Recover Lost Voice Memos on iPhone
Voice memos may be useful when recording key information, details, or concepts. If you happen to delete them by mistake, follow these steps to recover your deleted iPhone voice memo:
Check the Recently Deleted Folder in Voice Memos:
In Voice Memos, look for the Recently Deleted folder. If your memo is there, select it and tap Recover.
Recover from iCloud:
Like other apps, if you have synced your voice memos with iCloud, look there to reclaim lost recordings.
Using iTunes/Finder Backup:
If you have an iTunes/Finder backup of the voice memos, connect your device, launch iTunes/Finder, and restore from a recent backup.
Recover Deleted Contacts & Call Logs on iPhone
It is frustrating to lose contacts accumulated over the years or recent call logs that you wanted to save on your device. But most of the time, you can restore your contacts easily from an iPhone.
Check iCloud:
Log in to iCloud.com and navigate to Contacts to check if your lost contacts are stored there. If they are, you can download them back to your device.
Apple Support:
You can check this detailed article on how to recover lost iPhone contacts effectively, helping users go through recovery easily.
For call logs, you may reach out to your network provider or get a call logs retriever for iPhone.
Recover Deleted Bookmarks on iPhone
Losing your saved bookmarks can make it cumbersome to navigate the web, but there are means to recover them:
Recovering Safari Bookmarks:
If you accidentally deleted Safari bookmarks on iPhone, see if they are still available in the iCloud bookmarks section of your iCloud account. You can find them listed to be restored from there.
Recovering Google Chrome Bookmarks:
For those using Chrome, you may restore bookmarks by accessing your Google account. Simply navigate to Chrome settings and search under bookmarks to find them.
Recover Deleted Calendar on iPhone
Losing calendar events to an iPhone data loss incident can jeopardize your entire month’s or even year’s plan. You can recover saved calendar items on iPhone by going to the Calendar section of your iTunes back or with the help of an iPhone data recovery program.
Learning all the recovery options, now you can confidently recover your iPhone or iPad data in scenarios of accidental deletions, corruption, and loss due to unforeseen events.
How to Back up Your iPhone?
A backup is just a copy of the data stored on your iPhone, and you can utilize it to restore your device when data loss, device failure, or any other unexpected event occurs. Creating a backup of your iPhone means that you’re making a replica of your iPhone contents until a specific time.
While backups are necessary, there are some factors to keep in mind before you create one:
- Network and Connectivity: iCloud and iTunes/Finder backups both need a good internet or USB connection to be completed successfully. Poor or slow connections can result in failed or partial backups.
- Storage Limitations: The free 5GB iCloud storage might be inadequate for those with large amounts of data, resulting in failed backups due to insufficient space available.
- Backup Corruption: Backup files can occasionally get corrupted, making them unusable. This can occur due to power failures, hardware malfunctions, or software bugs.
- Backup Restore Problems: Even if a backup successfully completes, there can occasionally be issues while restoring it.
Although the iOS ecosystem is known for its robust, proprietary security features, data loss on an iPhone can still happen unexpectedly. That’s where advanced iPhone data recovery tools come in handy.
Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone is designed specifically for the iOS platform to recover your contacts, messages, photos, videos, notes, audio, and even deleted safari bookmarks. The software offers an intuitive user interface and deep scans an iPhone to extract all lost or deleted files.
Key Features of Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone:
- Works with all iPhones models and the latest iOS version
- Recovers all files at once or specific file types, such as photos or messages
- Allows preview of files before recovering them
- Compatible for both Windows and Mac
- Comes with a free trial version
Recovering Lost Data From Apple’s Secure Ecosystem
Users experience iPhone data loss due to failed updates, hardware malfunctions, or accidental erasure, and only a few of them completely rely on current backup practices. While built-in backup solutions like iCloud and iTunes are available, recent data loss trends show they are not 100% reliable. To address iPhone data loss holistically, Stellar created its proprietary tool, Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone. The software has helped millions retrieve their iPhone data from challenging scenarios, such as iPhone files lost due to restore errors, sync failure, transfer error, physical damage, etc.
Trusted by many industry experts, the software is helping bridge the gap between iPhone’s stringent security protocols and the need for effective data recovery. The software initiates authorized access to an iPhone’s internal environment and restores data from deep within the device.
