
Oh no! You deleted some pictures off your iPhone? That’s the worst feeling! Don’t freak out, okay? It’s often possible to get them back. Like, for real!
I made a simple plan. With some tips, you know. We’ll look at easy ways to get your pics back. Even if it’s past 30 days. Let’s do it!
Where Did Your Pics Go?
So, you delete a pic. Where does it go? Let me explain!
The “Trash”: When you delete a pic, it goes to a folder. It’s called “Recently Deleted.” You’ll find it in the Photos app. In the albums area. It’s like a trash can.
30 Days: The pic stays there for 30 days. You can get it back. But after 30 days, it’s gone. You can’t get it back easy!
The Easiest Way (If you have a Mac)
Okay, this is key. You need a Mac computer for this.
If the pics are gone from the “Trash” area. You need a special program. It’s for your Mac. I like Disk Drill. It finds lost stuff. Like it found mine, one time. I did not have a back up. Disk Drill saved me!
Here’s how to use it:
Get Disk Drill: Put Disk Drill on your Mac. Just download and set it up.
Find it: Look on the left for “Data Recovery”. And pick “iPhones and iPads.”
Plug in your iPhone: Use a cable to plug your phone into the Mac.
Pick your phone: Find your iPhone on the list. And let it look for your pics.
Choose Photos: On the left, click “Photos”. Now you can see the pics you can get back.
Get them back! Check the boxes next to the pics you want. Then click “Recover.” You got it!
Disk Drill is cool. It works for other stuff too. Not just iPhones. Android phones. USB drives. Stuff from cameras. I’ve helped a lot of friends with this. They are always happy. They hug me! It’s nice.
How to Get Them from the “Trash”
If the pics are recent, its easy. Like, in the last 30 days.
The “Recently Deleted” folder is your friend. It’s in the Photos app. It’s like a real trash can. You can put stuff back. To get your pics, go there. Pick the pics. Then click “Recover” up top.
Pics on iCloud?
What if you use iCloud? Let’s look at that.
Two things to know about iCloud:
One big pile: When you delete pics on your iPhone. They go away from iCloud too. It’s like a link.
Back ups: To get pics back. You need a full iCloud backup. To back up, go to Settings. Then click your name. Pick iCloud. Then choose “iCloud Backup.”
To use an iCloud back up to get your pics:
You have to delete everything on your phone. And start fresh. It’s like putting your phone back to factory mode. Which means it will look new. Then you can use the back up.
Here’s how:
Turn on your iPhone: You should see a “Hello” screen.
Follow steps: Follow the on-screen prompts. Until you see “Apps & Data”. Pick “Restore from iCloud Backup.”
Log in: Type in your iCloud password.
Pick the back up: Choose the right back up. Let it start.
Stay on Wi-Fi: You have to stay on Wi-Fi. Or it will not work.
Cloud Drives (Dropbox, OneDrive)
What about cloud drives? Like Dropbox and OneDrive? You can use them for backup too!
To send iPhone pics to Dropbox or OneDrive, you need to turn it on. Go to settings. Look for “Camera Uploads.” Then your pics go to the cloud too.
If you do this:
OneDrive: You can delete the pics on your phone. You will still have a copy on OneDrive.
Dropbox: You need to turn on “photo backup” too. To make it work right.
Pics from your Mac back ups
You can back up your phone to your Mac. This is a great way to get pics back if needed.
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Newer Macs: For newer Macs, use “Finder.” To back up or get pics back, do this:
Open Finder: Click the Finder icon on the dock.
Plug in your phone: Use a cable. To connect your phone to the Mac.
Click on the phone: It should show up in the sidebar.
Pick Restore: Pick “Restore Backup”
Pick one: Pick the correct backup. And let it go.
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Old Macs: If your Mac is older, use iTunes.
Plug it in: Use a USB wire to connect your phone and the Mac.
Open iTunes: Open the app on the Mac
Pick Summary: Click Summary. Then pick “Restore Backup.”
Wait: Let it do its thing. And you can see the pics on your phone after.
But there are some problems with this way.
No preview: You can’t see what’s in the back up. So, maybe your pics are not there.
All or nothing: You can’t just get pics back. It will put everything from that day back.
Last tips!
So, can you get pics back if they are gone for good? It can be hard. But there are things to try. Using a Mac backup. Or using Disk Drill. Those are the best ways.
Remember that iCloud is not a backup by its self. It just syncs stuff. So your pics go away on iCloud if you delete them on your phone. You need a full iCloud back up. Or a Dropbox photo backup.
You can also try a thing called CloudMounter. It’s like one place to see all your cloud stuff. It can make things easy. And if you want to backup your phone fast to your computer? Try ChronoSync Express.
And hey, try these things out! Setapp has a free trial. It has Disk Drill and other programs! You can see how they work!
FAQ
Pics not on iCloud? Can I still get them back? Yes! If you have a back up somewhere! On your Mac, or a hard drive. Or another cloud.
Pics gone for good? Maybe. Sometimes it’s just too late. But Disk Drill helps a lot of the time. Get Disk Drill on your Mac. Plug in your iPhone and try a scan!
iPhone Pics Gone
It’s scary to lose photos, right? It can happen for many reasons. You delete it by accident. Or the phone has an issue. No matter what happened, it’s still bad.
But, there are ways to get your pics back. Try the trash folder. Or back ups on iCloud. Or use Disk Drill. It’s good to back up your photos a lot. Then you won’t have to worry!
My story!
I deleted pics once. They were important pics! I knew about the “Trash” folder. But they were gone there too. So I tried all the things. iCloud, back ups, the apps. Nothing worked. I was upset! Because the pics meant a lot to me. They just went away. So I hope you don’t have this issue.
I tried it on iPhone 7, iPhone 8 and iPhone 14.
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