iCloud sync deleted ALL my iPhone notes

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Level 1

10 points

iCloud sync deleted ALL my iPhone notes

I had notes stored locally in the Notes app on my iPhone.

Today, I thought it would be a good idea to back them up.

I went to Settings and into iCloud, and then toggled to sync Notes to iCloud.

When I returned to the Notes app, ALL of my recent notes had simply been completely replaced by old notes of mine from years ago (which were backed up to the cloud then).

My recent notes are nowhere to be found. There’s no ‘Recently deleted’ folder, they’re not on the iCloud website.

They're gone. Forever, it would seem.

These were extremely important notes.

I would appreciate it if Apple could help me recover them.

Thanks.

iPhone XS

Posted on Feb 6, 2021 10:37 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

CarwynR Author

Level 1

10 points

Feb 8, 2021 7:43 PM in response to CarwynR

Hi,

I previously looked at all those solutions before posting, and they didn’t work.

There is no Recently Deleted folder. They’re just gone.

Since posting the above, I’ve worked out how they were deleted:

When I switched on ‘Notes’ in iCloud settings, the phone - for some insane reason - automatically switched off ‘On my iPhone’ in Settings > Notes settings.
As a result of ‘On my iPhone’ being switched off, all my previous notes stored on the phone were automatically deleted. Again, for some insane reason.

After switching ‘On my iPhone’ back on, the notes are still nowhere to be found. They’re gone.

The response above doesn’t explain how to get your notes back after they’re deleted when you switch on Notes in iCloud, and for some reason the phone switched off ‘On my iPhone’ in Notes settings, deleting all your notes.

Please could you let me know how to recover the notes in these circumstances.

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Answer 2

PML818

Level 1

4 points

Feb 8, 2021 9:27 PM in response to cp from OH

Hi,

I have the same problem too! Originally there were 3 main folders in my Notes:

1) iCloud

2) Gmail

3) On my iPhone

My Notes were all on my Gmail and thus, I have decided to shift them to iCloud folder as only this then I would be able to lock my note. After shifting to the iCloud, I was prompted to key in iCloud password to lock my note.

Not sure what iCloud password it was referring to as I tried to enter my Apple password but it did not work. I did the same thing as per waht CarwynR had done, under Setting --> Apple ID --> iCloud, I turned on the "Note" under Apps using iCloud. Upon doing so, those notes which I had shifted to iCloud folder were all GONE.

I tried going to the same setting and turn off the "Note" under Apps using iCloud but still do not see my notes back to my note folder and this time round, the iCloud main folder under Note is totally missing.

Please advise why is this so? How do I recover my notes? Those are really important notes.

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Answer 3

judysings

Community Specialist

Feb 9, 2021 12:16 PM in response to CarwynR

CarwynR,

Thanks for those additional steps and keeping us updated.

The only way to restore those notes from the "On My iPhone" account would be by restoring from a backup on your computer. To find one, check out this page: Locate backups of your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Once you've located a backup, use these steps: Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup

As a reminder, restoring from a backup would result in the loss of any new data from the time of that backup.

Take care.

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Answer 4

cp from OH

Community Specialist

Feb 8, 2021 6:42 PM in response to CarwynR

Hi there CarwynR,

We understand you're missing your locally stored notes after enabling iCloud, and we'd like to see if we can assist.

First, head to Settings > Notes and check that "On My iPhone" account is enabled.

This page may also help: If you're missing notes on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

If the issue persists, and you back up regularly to a computer, restoring from a backup may also restore those locally stored notes: Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup

Keep in mind that restoring from the backup would result in the loss of any data created since the time of the backup.

Regards.

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iCloud sync deleted ALL my iPhone notes

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