leah1223

Q: Can I access iCloud photos from a stolen device?

Long story short, my iPad mini was stolen.

It was backed up to iCloud, although I have no idea what the operating system level was.

i have a new iPad mini, with the same account as the stolen one.

i was wondering if I can access/download the photos on the stolen device?

And if so, how would I go about doing that?

 

Thank you

iPad Mini, iOS 9.3

Posted on Mar 27, 2016 10:47 PM

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Q: Can I access iCloud photos from a stolen device?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by mende1,Helpful

    mende1 mende1 Mar 28, 2016 1:18 AM in response to leah1223
    Level 10 (93,324 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 28, 2016 1:18 AM in response to leah1223

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities

     

    Unless you had your photos in iCloud Photo Library, you cannot access to your photos in your old iPad mini. However, if you used iCloud Photo Library, you should be able to access to them from the Photos app.

  • by Dnlyong,Helpful

    Dnlyong Dnlyong Mar 28, 2016 1:27 AM in response to leah1223
    Level 2 (239 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 28, 2016 1:27 AM in response to leah1223

    You can only access the photos on that device, only if you restore from a backup of that iPad, or you had iCloud Photo Library turned on.

     

    If you had backed up your photos to iCloud backup, to restore the photos, restore the iPad from that backup.

    If you had iCloud Photo Library turned on, simply turn it on on your new iPad.

     

    PS: I hope you have find my ipad and lost mode turned on on that iPad, if not, your data is not safe.

  • by leah1223,

    leah1223 leah1223 Mar 28, 2016 1:27 AM in response to Dnlyong
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iCloud
    Mar 28, 2016 1:27 AM in response to Dnlyong

    Thank you!

    How would I restore the original iPad?

    WIll that delete anything from my current iPad?

     

    i had purchased and had the original stolen while overseas a while ago, I'm not sure it had either of those options on it.

    it was a first gen. Mini...

  • by Dnlyong,Solvedanswer

    Dnlyong Dnlyong Mar 28, 2016 1:58 AM in response to leah1223
    Level 2 (239 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 28, 2016 1:58 AM in response to leah1223

    First, check if you still have the backup in your iCloud account. Head to icloud.com and under Settings, your backup should still be there.

    If you didn't remove the device from your iCloud account, head to the Find my device app and see if you can turn lost mode on.

     

    Unfortunately, restoring from an iCloud backup will basically restore your device to whatever state the device was in, so whatever you have on your current iPad will be lost.

    However, if you just want the pictures, and you do not need the iPad for urgent use, you can backup your current device, restore the old backup, get your photos out of there, then restore back into the current device backup.

     

    Here are some articles by Apple that might help you:

    How to back up your devices using iCloud or iTunes - Apple Support

    Restore your device from an iCloud or iTunes backup - Apple Support

    If you need help restoring your device from an iCloud backup - Apple Support

    iCloud: iCloud storage and backup overview

     

    Please note that if the last backup from your original iPad is more than 180 days old, Apple can remove them from your account.

     

    To restore from an existing backup, make sure you have backed up your existing data on your current iPad to iCloud or iTunes. (I recommend iTunes, and encrypting the backup, to ensure everything is transferred and backed up)

    The only way to restore from an iCloud backup is through the setup assistant. To get to the setup assistant on a device you already set up, you'll need to erase all the content on your device and set it up again:

    1. Tap Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. (Back up existing data!)
    2. Then follow the steps in the setup assistant to set up your device using an iCloud backup.

     

    I hope this is helpful to you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

     

    Cheers!

  • by leah1223,

    leah1223 leah1223 Mar 28, 2016 4:11 AM in response to Dnlyong
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iCloud
    Mar 28, 2016 4:11 AM in response to Dnlyong

    Thank you! I will give all that a go

     

    unfortunately it was more than 180 days ago