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Recover data from lost phone

My iPhone 11 was lost/stolen. I’ve activated the number into an iPhone 7 which I was previously using. How do I recover contacts, messages, apps, etc into this one?

Posted on Jun 23, 2022 7:43 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Jun 23, 2022 7:56 AM

That depends on several factors:

  • If you backed up your phone to iCloud or your computer you can restore that backup to your iPhone 7
  • If you synced content to iCloud (which is completely separate from iCloud backup, and does not overlap) you can log in to the same Apple ID you had on the lost phone, go to Settings/your name/iCloud and turn on the sync switches
  • If your contacts and calendar were synced to an email account (most are; it would be unusual not to) when you add that email account back the contacts and calendar events will appear as if by magic
  • Any apps you had on the lost phone can be reinstalled on the new phone from the app store; if you restore a backup this will happen automatically after the restore completes


Ideally, all 4 of these together will restore everything.


Next, beware of a common phishing scam: You may get a text or email from “Apple” or “Apple Security” (or sometimes “Police”) saying your phone has been found and to click on a link to see its location. This is NEVER from Apple or from law enforcement; it is from the thief or fence to steal your Apple ID and identity. Delete any such message without responding to it. Apple never gets involved in lost or stolen devices.


And here is Apple’s recommendations for lost/stolen devices→If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is lost or stolen - Apple Support

3 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Jun 23, 2022 7:56 AM in response to gematc

That depends on several factors:

  • If you backed up your phone to iCloud or your computer you can restore that backup to your iPhone 7
  • If you synced content to iCloud (which is completely separate from iCloud backup, and does not overlap) you can log in to the same Apple ID you had on the lost phone, go to Settings/your name/iCloud and turn on the sync switches
  • If your contacts and calendar were synced to an email account (most are; it would be unusual not to) when you add that email account back the contacts and calendar events will appear as if by magic
  • Any apps you had on the lost phone can be reinstalled on the new phone from the app store; if you restore a backup this will happen automatically after the restore completes


Ideally, all 4 of these together will restore everything.


Next, beware of a common phishing scam: You may get a text or email from “Apple” or “Apple Security” (or sometimes “Police”) saying your phone has been found and to click on a link to see its location. This is NEVER from Apple or from law enforcement; it is from the thief or fence to steal your Apple ID and identity. Delete any such message without responding to it. Apple never gets involved in lost or stolen devices.


And here is Apple’s recommendations for lost/stolen devices→If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is lost or stolen - Apple Support

Jun 23, 2022 7:49 AM in response to gematc

If you used iCloud on your old iPhone then you can use the Apple ID you used there to log in to your new iPhone. Contacts, calendar, photos, etc. will then be automatically downloaded to your device.

Recover data from lost phone

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