When Matt opened his iPhone 14 Notes after iOS 16.4 upgrade, he found many of his old Notes had disappeared. He was repenting about the upgrade and now looking for ways to get back his Notes on his iPhone.
Notes are important for those who make optimum use of this app. However, if you have also lost them for some reason, this post shares how to restore the lost Notes on your iPhone.
Often underrated, iPhone Notes app lets you do much more than you can think of — scribbling thoughts, ideas, checklists, sketching, adding photos, and videos, attaching location links from Maps, etc.
However, Notes may disappear after an iOS update, jailbreak, factory reset, accidental deletion, etc.
How to Recover Deleted Notes on iPhone without Backup
Usually, Notes can be recovered from iCloud, iTunes, or your recently deleted Notes App folder.
But, if in a situation when you have deleted Notes and also don’t have a backup in iCloud, an iPhone recovery software is the way to go.
Method 1. Recover iPhone Notes using iPhone Data Recovery Software
There is a plethora of iPhone recovery software. Carefully pick that supports Notes and attachments recovery. Most importantly, the iPhone recovery software should be 100% secure to download and free from viruses.
Advanced tools such as Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone can recover even permanently deleted Notes and their attachments. It is fast, easy to use, and supports the latest iOS and iPhone versions.
Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone restores in situations like,
- In the absence of iCloud backup
- Factory Reset of iPhone
- Unable to retrieve Notes from iCloud/ iTunes
- iPhone is damaged or stolen
- and others
The software lets you recover deleted Notes from iPhone, iPad, iCloud, and iTunes. It thoroughly scans the iOS device and backup to restore every bit of lost data. If you don’t find the required Notes after running the initial quick scan, it offers a second-level Deep Scan for a more comprehensive search.
Unlike Apple backups — iCloud and iTunes, you can select only those Notes and their attachments that you need. Thus, the software protects you from unnecessary data recovery.
You can view the lost and deleted Notes of iPhone in the demo version of the software.
Step-by-step: Recover deleted/ lost Notes and Attachments on iPhone
- Download Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone on your Mac/PC
- Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch the software
- Choose “Recover from iPhone”, select “Notes & Reminders” and click “Next”
- Select your device and click “Scan.”
- After scanning, select Notes on your left pane to preview in the right pane before saving.
- Click on Save and browse the desired location to save the recovered notes.
How to Recover Deleted Notes on iPhone from Apple Backups
iCloud and iTunes backup storage protect against data loss. If your Notes are backed up in any of the two, recover the files from there.
Just log in through your Apple ID and restore Notes from backup.
However, one of the major drawbacks of this method is that it will remove and replace all your existing iPhone data, including Camera Roll, apps, messages, music, etc.
Method 1 – How to recover iPhone Notes from iCloud backup
- Go to Settings > General > Reset> Erase all Contents and Settings
- On Apps & Data screen, tap Restore from iCloud Backup
- Sign in to your iCloud account
- Choose the last backup and Restore
Method 2 – How to restore Notes from iTunes
- Connect iPhone to PC/Mac
- Launch iTunes
- Select your iPhone under the Device list and choose the recent backup entry date
- Click Restore Backup
Method 3 – Recover iPhone Notes from ‘Recently Deleted.’
Once you delete Notes, they remain in the recently deleted folder on your iPhone for 30 days. After that, Notes are permanently deleted from the device.
Steps to restore from ‘Recently Deleted.’
- In the Notes app, tap Recently Deleted.
- Select the notes you want to restore
- Click Recover in the toolbar. The note moves to the Notes folder
Method 4 – Restore Notes from an e-mail account on iPhone
When you delete a Note from your iPhone, it remains in your e-mail account of your iPhone. So, for example, suppose you use Gmail on your iPhone, and all your Notes are saved to the e-mail address.
Steps to restore Notes from e-mail on iPhone
- Go to Setting > Accounts & Passwords
- Click on each email account (Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, etc.) one by one
- Turn on Notes for each account
- Open the Notes app to see if they are back
Byte: Do you know the email accounts on your iPhone can store Contacts, Calendars, and Notes, apart from sending e-mails.
Wrapping Up
Notes are your best companion; you don’t want to part with them. Recover all or specific Notes with the help of iPhone notes recovery software.
However, you can also try to restore deleted Notes from an iCloud, e-mail accounts,s or recently deleted folders on your iPhone. However, Stellar iPhone Recovery software is the best solution for permanently deleted Notes in case of the absence of backup.
