Hi everyone! I'm in a bit of a panic here. I recently transferred my data from an old phone to a new one and noticed that a whole year's worth of photos is missing. I thought I had backed everything up, but I just checked iCloud and they're not there either. This is especially upsetting because I went to a bunch of concerts and traveled abroad during that time! If anyone has any advice or tips on how to recover these lost photos, I would really appreciate it. Thanks a ton!
2 Answers
That’s such a frustrating situation! First off, make sure to check a few things:
- Log into iCloud.com on a computer instead of just your phone and check the Photos section there.
- Look for a "Recently Deleted" folder in your Photos app; pictures sometimes end up there before they disappear completely.
- Confirm you’re logged into the same Apple ID on both devices.
- Dive into Settings → Photos and see if iCloud Photos was on before you did the transfer. If a whole year’s gone, it’s possible iCloud Photos didn't sync properly and you only got a partial backup.
Also, did you use any storage cleaner apps on your old phone? Those can occasionally delete things you thought were safely backed up. I’ve been using one called Freeup, which helps me manage duplicates and clearly shows what’s in iCloud versus local storage.
And if you still have your old phone, check it! If it hasn’t been wiped, you might still retrieve those missing pictures from it.
I totally feel for you—it’s the absolute worst feeling! I recommend doing a few checks as well:
- Make sure to log into iCloud.com and see what’s visible. Also, double-check the "Recently Deleted" section in the Photos app to see if your pics are hanging out there.
- Verify that iCloud Photos was turned on in your settings before the data transfer.
- Did you ever run a storage cleaner app? Those things can be sneaky and accidentally delete photos thinking they’re duplicates.
- If your old phone is still around and has not been reset, there might be a shot at recovering lost data!
Yes, I had a similar issue once! Found my old photos hanging out in Recently Deleted. Make sure to explore all options!
Good point about storage cleaner apps! I used one on my old phone and it messed with my backups too! Just gotta be careful when clearing things up.