The last thing you want to do when editing the photos on your iPhone is accidentally deleted one. But sometimes, we’re all guilty of pressing the wrong button at the wrong time, and before you know it, that photo you just took of your friend or a family member has been emptied from your camera roll. Unfortunately, as most of us know, this deletes the photo from our iPhones as well—but don’t worry! There are some simple ways to recover deleted photos on your iPhone if you act fast enough. Let’s take a look at six solutions that could help you get those precious photos back!
iCloud backup
When the camera and photo library on your phone is full, iCloud automatically begins backing up your photos to free up space. This is a convenient feature for those who don’t back up their data frequently or who don’t have enough free storage space on their phone. The downside of this feature is that you won’t be able to recover deleted photos from iCloud backup if you’ve already set it up.
The best option for recovering deleted photos is by creating an offline backup manually with iTunes or iCloud Drive. You can also try restoring from an old device or making use of an application called FonePaw (purchased from the App Store). For those interested in recovering videos, applications, and other types of media, consult the how-to manual below
iTunes backup
#6 If you backup your phone to iTunes, you can plug your phone into your computer and open iTunes. In the upper-right corner of the screen, select Preferences and then select Devices. You’ll see a list of the iPhones and iPads you’ve ever connected to iTunes, including the current one listed at the top. Select that device’s name and click Backup Now. This will prompt you for credentials if it’s been protected with a passcode or Touch ID, so enter those details for access. Once done, you’ll see an option called Restore Backup. Click that button and once again enter your account username and password (if it’s protected) in order to get back deleted photos from an iTunes backup file (.itl).
First Aid
If you want your photos back and they’re gone, don’t panic. They may not be lost forever. If you haven’t synced your phone with iTunes recently, a recent backup is the most likely solution because syncing will back up any new photos you’ve taken since the last sync.
If that doesn’t work, I recommend opening a free app like Dr. Fone in either iOS or Android (it’s actually both). You can download it through the App Store or Google Play Store. This will usually recover at least some of your deleted photos if there was an issue with file deletion.
3rd party software
You might be panicking, but don’t fear, your iPhone is backed up by iCloud. This means you have a copy of the most recent backup file in iCloud so even if you delete all the photos from your phone, you will still have them. Simply log into your iCloud account, and download the backup that’s made for your device. If you need help doing this, take a look at Apple’s tutorials here.
If anything has been lost in transit from one phone to another and you’ve got another device with the same iCloud account logged in and synced with your other device through icloud control panel, these lost photos can be restored automatically by simply opening the new iOS devices icloud control panel.
Other devices
What are your other options if you don’t have an iPhone? Well, first of all, don’t panic. Most devices, regardless of the make or operating system, allow you to recover deleted files if they haven’t been overwritten by new files. One option is plugging your device into a computer and using data recovery software; another option is using an online service that specializes in this type of task.
The problem with these options is that they require physical access to your device, and in some cases, specialized equipment. What if you don’t have physical access? This is where we introduce you to an app called iMyFone D-Back iOS Data Recovery , which makes it easy for anyone—even people who aren’t tech savvy—to retrieve lost data from their iOS devices. It’s fully compatible with all models of iPhone and iPad, running on any version of iOS, even if it’s been jailbroken or if you’ve installed a non-official firmware. You can easily find your deleted photos with it in just three steps: 1) download and install D-Back; 2) run a scan; 3) recover deleted photos when prompted.