Photos inside notes disappeared

Question

Juampi23 Author

Level 1

5 points

Photos inside notes disappeared

Hi everyone

The short version of the story is that I'm not seeing the pictures I had in a locked note.

To give you more information:

If I enter the note on my iPhone I don’t even see like the area where the photos are supposed to be nor a "Loading" text. Only some space between text, but not like a rectangle.
If I enter the note on the Mac at least I do see the Loading label.

And finally if I go direct to icloud.com I see an icon with the format of the picture but not the actual picture.

The long version of the story started some month ago when all my locked notes got duplicated but the new one is empty (actually the note of the pictures problem is also duplicated). I was going to ask for support but since the content is still there I didn't care much. And just in case I didn’t delete any one of them, I kept both, the original one, let's say, and the duplicated empty one. I really want to delete them though because is annoying to see every locked note duplicated, but I wanted to ask before doing anything.

I think the duplicated thing is related to an update where you can choose between a custom password just for notes and using your iPhone pass code as a note password. But that's an assumption I'm making, I don’t really know.

So at the end this is like two questions in one.

-How do I recover the pictures on that note I'm not able to see them?

-Can I safely remove the duplicated notes? (As I mentioned, they are empty, no content at all)

Thank you in advanced!

iPhone 14 Pro Max

Posted on Dec 8, 2022 1:59 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Mike_P1

Community Specialist

Dec 15, 2022 8:48 AM in response to Juampi23

Juampi23,

You just need to tap on the "Start now" option at the bottom and the prompts should walk you through it. You can always use this link to reach out to Apple Support too: Contact Apple for support and service

Take care.

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Answer 2

iOS_alex

Level 1

8 points

Jan 2, 2023 4:49 AM in response to Juampi23

Hi,

did you ever find a solution? Or did you really lose the images?

I absolutely have the same issue, I'm missing the screenshots of some of my 2FA Recovery Keys inside my Apple Notes. The note itself was locked, other notes with which are not locked but include images, are not affected of this issue.

I would really appreciate a solution for that.

UPDATE: One additional question - did you use the iOS 16 Beta?

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Answer 3

Juampi23 Author

Level 1

5 points

Dec 15, 2022 5:52 AM in response to 1ssmith

Could you please show me where to go? Because I can’t find an option to start a new case.

As soon as I click on the link you provided I click Choose a product under View your products.

Then I select More Devices and Services since I understand that my problem is not related to a specific device (either the iPhone or the Mac), and go to iCloud.

Once inside iCloud section I have only one option:

Click there and get a list of options, but none of them suite my case, I think. So I scroll down to the bottom of the page and enter into Get Support...

...that took me to the previous page, so I ended up in a loop :D

Thanks in advanced!

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Answer 4

Drew_7

Community Specialist

Dec 11, 2022 4:01 PM in response to Juampi23

Hello Juampi23,

We'd like to share some steps that may help. If you unlock and re-lock your note does this affect your images?

How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

In addition, do you recall any changes to your iPhone or your Notes on any device around the time they were duplicated? This information may help facilitate additional Community responses.

Regards.

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Answer 5

Juampi23 Author

Level 1

5 points

Dec 14, 2022 5:39 AM in response to srbwanderer

Hello srbwanderer,

First of all, thanks for your answer.

Yes, the pictures disappeared only in that one note. The others have been duplicated but the content is complete.
The pictures were photos taken with the phone camera and immediately deleted because most of them where 2FA recovery codes and that kind of stuff. The process was like, take a photo, attach it to a locked note and delete it from the photos library for security reasons.
So, no, the originals aren’t there anymore.
Nope, if I click on the images on iCloud they don’t appear.
Done, all the duplicated ones were just deleted.

Other comments, I just updated iOS on the iPhone (now it's 16.2) and in the note with the problem I got back like the area where the photos are supposed to be. Not the picture itself sadly, but at least I know that Apple know that there should be an image there :D

Have a good day too.

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Answer 6

Juampi23 Author

Level 1

5 points

Dec 16, 2022 10:13 AM in response to Mike_P1

Hi Mike_P1, thanks for your answer.

I do that, but then I am redirected to here...

...and after that is the loop I mentioned in the previous message.

Regarding the link you gave me, thanks! I think that's useful, but my country isn’t on the list :/

Have a nice day.

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Answer 7

Juampi23 Author

Level 1

5 points

Dec 12, 2022 9:16 AM in response to Drew_7

Hi Drew_7, thanks for your answer.

No, unlocking and re-locking the note doesn’t affect the images, they still don’t appear. But just to mention, when I removed the lock from the duplicated empty one, it disappeared. Now I only have the one that have content, without displaying the images, but with some text.

Regarding your second question, not really, the only change I remember was the one I mentioned in the original message related to the type of password used in the Notes. I mean, that option of either use your pass code also in Notes, or keep using a different one just for Notes.

Regards.

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Answer 8

Dec 12, 2022 6:38 PM in response to Juampi23

Hello Juampi23,

Is this only happening with the one note?

Do you know where the images for those notes originated? Are the originals still there?

If you click on the icon in iCloud, does the image appear?

This information can help isolate the image to help find a solution.

As for the duplicates, we would test by deleting one of the duplicates, and confirming that the copy continues to contain all the information it should.

Have a good day.

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Answer 9

1ssmith

Community Specialist

Dec 14, 2022 1:35 PM in response to Juampi23

Hi Juampi23,

Based on the troubleshooting that has been completed up to this point, your best bet will be to Get Support directly from Apple from here on out. You can use the link here to get started.

Take care.

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Answer 10

Dec 16, 2022 3:31 PM in response to Juampi23

Thank your getting back to us, Juampi23!

If your country isn't available, we recommend reaching out to the closest available support option to your country or region by phone for additional help.

Best wishes!

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