How do I download old pictures from a old phone I don’t have anymore
I sold my iPhone and thought I had all my pictures but turns out I don’t have any. How do I get those back?
iPhone 12, iOS 16
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The Apple Support Community will permanently close on November 20, 2026. Starting today, the site will no longer accept new posts and is available in a read-only state.
You can continue to find trusted guidance and support on the official Apple Support site.
We want to thank the community members who have contributed their time and expertise to help others with their Apple products.
I sold my iPhone and thought I had all my pictures but turns out I don’t have any. How do I get those back?
iPhone 12, iOS 16
Were you using iCloud Photos on that iPhone? If you were – even if you didn't have your computer set up to use iCloud Photos – your photos might be available in iCloud. (All of the devices connected to a given iCloud Photos account try to store new photos on Apple's iCloud servers as soon as possible. Even if you had no other iPhones, iPads, or Macs, an iPhone connected to iCloud Photos would try to do that.)
To check, log into the iCloud Web interface: https://www.icloud.com/ . Then click on the Photos icon.
There may be nothing there. If there isn't, perhaps you weren't using iCloud Photos – or deleted photos from the phone while it was still connected to iCloud Photos. (That would have been interpreted as a request to delete the photos everywhere.)
If there are photos there, you can download them from the Web interface (among other ways of retrieving them).
Were you using iCloud Photos on that iPhone? If you were – even if you didn't have your computer set up to use iCloud Photos – your photos might be available in iCloud. (All of the devices connected to a given iCloud Photos account try to store new photos on Apple's iCloud servers as soon as possible. Even if you had no other iPhones, iPads, or Macs, an iPhone connected to iCloud Photos would try to do that.)
To check, log into the iCloud Web interface: https://www.icloud.com/ . Then click on the Photos icon.
There may be nothing there. If there isn't, perhaps you weren't using iCloud Photos – or deleted photos from the phone while it was still connected to iCloud Photos. (That would have been interpreted as a request to delete the photos everywhere.)
If there are photos there, you can download them from the Web interface (among other ways of retrieving them).
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How do I download old pictures from a old phone I don’t have anymore