How to Recover Deleted Photos from iPhone

If you’re an iPhone user, you have likely captured some of your most precious memories on your iPhone. Sometimes, however, it seems like it is easier to delete iPhone photos than it is to take them! It can, therefore, be devastating when you lose photos on your device, especially if they captured an invaluable moment. Whether you’ve accidentally deleted photos, or a failed device OS upgrade or sync with iCloud has caused your photos to disappear, there are a couple of methods that you can use to get them back.

There are three ways you can recover deleted photos from an iPhone:

With these tutorials, you can recover deleted iPhone images from:

• iPhone SE
• iPhone 11 / Pro / Max
• iPhone XS / XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone X
• iPhone 8 / 8 Plus
• iPhone 7 / 7 Plus
• iPhone 6s / 6s Plus
• iPhone 6 / 6 Plus
• iPhone 5/5c/5s
• iPhone 4/4s

Method 1: How to Find Deleted Photos on iPhone

When a photo is first deleted from your iPhone, it automatically goes into the ‘Recently Deleted’ folder on your device. If you do not manually remove the photo, it will be removed after 30 days, so this is usually the best and quickest way to find your accidentally deleted data.

To recover photos from the ‘Recently Deleted’ folder, without an iPhone backup:

Step 1

Open the Photos app on your iPhone.

Step 2

Tap ‘Albums’ and then ‘Recently Deleted’. You should see all the photos that you deleted within the last 30 days (unless you have manually deleted them). Preview the photos and videos included in the album to check if the photos you need are there.

Step 3

To choose the photo(s) that you need to recover, tap ‘Select’ > Select the photos that you need to recover by tapping on them.

Step 4

With the photo(s) selected, tap ‘Recover’ or ‘Recover All’, depending on how many photos you are recovering.

Step 5

Check the main photo album on your device – your previously deleted photos should now be restored.

If this method did not work for you and the photos have been manually removed or deleted more than 30 days ago, it can be more difficult to recover your deleted photos, but it is still possible. Keep reading to find out how to recover photos that are no longer in the Recently Deleted folder, using an iTunes or iCloud backup file.

Method 2: How to Restore iPhone Photos from iCloud Backup File

If you have checked your Recently Deleted folder, but have not been able to recover your lost photos, you can use an iCloud backup file instead to recover your data. To do this, you will need to overwrite all the data on your device and set it up as if it were brand new. Whilst not ideal, if you have been automatically backing up your device to iCloud every time it is connected to power and Wi-Fi, then you will likely have a very recent back up that you can use for the restore process.

To restore your device from iCloud, first ensure that your device is updated to the latest iOS version. Then, make sure that you have an iCloud backup file available to restore from (visit Settings> [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup). You should see a date and timestamp for the ‘Last successful backup’ of your device.

Once you are satisfied that the last available backup would include the deleted photos that you are trying to recover, go to the Settings on your device, and erase your device. Once this is complete, the start-up process to set up your device will begin. When prompted, tap ‘Restore from iCloud Backup’, choosing the file you want to restore to your device.

Method 3: How to Extract Deleted iPhone photos from iTunes

If you have tried the other 2 methods and have not had any luck, then hopefully our final method of recovery – using an iTunes backup file (or a Finder backup on Mac 10.15 or later) – will work for you. Just like an iCloud backup, you can carry out a full restore of your device, which will wipe the existing data on it, and restore your device using an iTunes (Finder) backup file, which includes the photos that you need to recover. However, if you do not want to lose all of the data that you have added to the phone since your last backup, including any newer photos, then you can use Enigma Recovery to find your deleted photos in the backup file.

Step 1 – Download Enigma Recovery Free Trial

Download Enigma Recovery to your computer – a free trial is available and compatible with Mac and Windows.

Step 2 – Recover from my iTunes

Open the software and on the start screen, select ‘Recover from my iTunes’ on the side panel.

Step 3 – Select a backup file to scan

On the software dashboard, you will see a list of all the backup files stored on your laptop or computer. Select the backup file you need to recover from – if the file is encrypted, the software will prompt you to enter the password before continuing the scan.

Step 4 – Scan for Photos

To scan your backup file for photos, screenshots, message attachments and other images, please select ‘Photos’ from the list of data types and click ‘Start scan’

Step 5 – View Photos

After the scan, if you are still using the free trial of the software, you can review the retrieved thumbnail images in the ‘Photos’ tab. If you would like to export and save these images, please unlock the full version of Enigma Recovery if you have not already done so.

Step 6 – Save Images

To save the extracted images, click ‘Export & Restore’ > ‘Export to desktop’ > Select a location to save > ‘Export’.