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Recovering photos from a stolen iPhone 13

My phone was recently stolen right from under my nose. Now, while that isn't the end of the world thanks to insurance, I am upset that I will be losing hundreds of photos of recent trips, activities, family etc. That will teach me for not backing it up more often.

Im wondering if there is anyway I can use my MacBook to make my phone upload all the photos I have to iCloud. Given Apple's constant flow of clever ideas, an emergency iCloud back up, total or partial, seems like something one should be able to do... but I cannot seem to find a way.

Am I missing something? Can someone help?


Thanks in advance,

Eliot.

iPhone 13

Posted on Aug 25, 2022 1:53 PM

Reply
Question marked as Apple recommended

If the device was not backing up beforehand, or not using iCloud photo then you cannot enable either remotely now. To enable either of those features, you must do so on the device itself.


So without an existing backup in place, sorry, but you’ve lost that data now. Not to mention that the thief is likely to have erased your device anyway (anyone can erase a device by restoring it with a MacOS or MS Windows computer).

Posted on Aug 25, 2022 4:21 PM

2 replies

Aug 25, 2022 4:21 PM in response to EliotJHughes

EliotJHughes wrote:

My phone was recently stolen right from under my nose. Now, while that isn't the end of the world thanks to insurance, I am upset that I will be losing hundreds of photos of recent trips, activities, family etc. That will teach me for not backing it up more often.
Im wondering if there is anyway I can use my MacBook to make my phone upload all the photos I have to iCloud. Given Apple's constant flow of clever ideas, an emergency iCloud back up, total or partial, seems like something one should be able to do... but I cannot seem to find a way.
Am I missing something? Can someone help?

Thanks in advance,
Eliot.

No.

Question marked as Apple recommended

Aug 25, 2022 4:21 PM in response to EliotJHughes

If the device was not backing up beforehand, or not using iCloud photo then you cannot enable either remotely now. To enable either of those features, you must do so on the device itself.


So without an existing backup in place, sorry, but you’ve lost that data now. Not to mention that the thief is likely to have erased your device anyway (anyone can erase a device by restoring it with a MacOS or MS Windows computer).

Recovering photos from a stolen iPhone 13

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