I contacted Apple Support about a persistent Dock problem on my 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro. After several troubleshooting steps failed, support instructed me to erase the Mac, reinstall macOS Tahoe, and then restore everything from Time Machine. My personal files were stored in Desktop and Documents and synced with iCloud Drive.
Before erasing the Mac, I made a current Time Machine backup. I then attempted several restorations using Migration Assistant. The restorations produced duplicated folders with numbered names, such as Personal, Personal 2, Personal 3, and Personal 4. These folders had different and incomplete contents, and many applications were also unusable.
I told support that my data already appeared abnormal and incomplete. I was nevertheless instructed to create another Time Machine backup, with the assurance that it was incremental and would not cause problems. After another erase and reinstall, the older Time Machine backups were no longer available. The only remaining backup reflected the already incomplete state.
The same disorganized and missing data appeared in iCloud Drive on iCloud.com. Support also identified several iPad backups, including one around 12 GB and a newer one around 5 GB. I was asked to create another backup, reset my iPad, and restore the older backup, but this did not recover the missing files. The case was supposedly escalated to engineering, but I was later told that no usable backup could be found. I was never given a way to verify the available backups myself.
About ten support representatives have been involved, but the case notes apparently contain very little detail. Around 80% of my personal files may be inaccessible, including medical, legal, administrative, professional, insurance, correspondence, invoice, and photo files. The Dock problem was never fixed either.
Is there still a realistic way to recover the missing iCloud Drive data or obtain a proper engineering escalation? I have not erased or reformatted the Time Machine drive myself, and I want to avoid overwriting anything that might still be recoverable.
2 Answers
Ask specifically for an iCloud Drive data-recovery escalation to Apple’s engineering team and request that one senior advisor take ownership of the case. Engineering may not be able to restore everything to one exact point in time, but they could potentially locate server-side snapshots or remnants that frontline support cannot see. Given the number of transfers and the incomplete case notes, make sure the timeline and the exact dates of every backup and restore are added to the case.
This could possibly involve permissions or ACL problems during the backup and migration process, although that is only a theory. Regardless, repeatedly using a backup created after the files were already missing may have preserved the damaged state rather than the original data. Stop making new backups or changing the affected devices if possible, and consider contacting a professional data-recovery company. They may be able to inspect the Mac or backup drive, but reputable recovery work can be very expensive and there is no guarantee of success.
I do have an administrator account, but I appreciate the suggestion. At this point the missing data is the main concern, so I may need to investigate professional recovery options.
A support representative did locate an iPad backup of about 15 GB and asked me to restore it, but it did not recover anything. I was told engineering could not find a usable backup, and I was never shown how to check the available backups myself. I am still trying to get a clear escalation and a single person to own the case.