Restoring my iCloud Photos and Videos

Dear Apple Support,

 

I am writing to formally complain about the sudden loss of all my data stored in iCloud and on my Apple devices last week from 01/01/2024 - 04/01/2024. This loss includes 15 years’ worth of photos and videos, totaling more than 125,000 memories. I am a long-time Apple user and have invested significantly in Apple products, including 9-10 devices, 2 Macs, 3 iPhones, 2 Watchs, 2 TVs, etc.

 

Despite having 2 TB of storage in iCloud, my data disappeared from my devices without warning. I have tried numerous methods to recover the lost data, including using the Disk Drill app, attempting iCloud restores, and requesting an official data download from Apple. Unfortunately, these efforts have only resulted in the recovery of a very small fraction of my photos and videos.

 

Losing these memories has been devastating for me, as they represent precious moments with family, work, and friends. I am kindly requesting that Apple take immediate action to restore my lost data from iCloud.

 

I sincerely hope that Apple will assist me in resolving this issue and recovering the memories that are so important to me.

 

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

 

Sincerely,

 

Fathy ***


[Edited by Moderator]

 


iPhone 13 Pro Max

Posted on Jan 9, 2024 2:09 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 19, 2024 7:46 PM

That's not possible. Any photos available to you are on your device or at iCloud.com. You'll need to restore from your backups. Remember good data practices for your most important data follow the 3-2-1 rule.


3 copies of your data, made 2 different ways, with 1 copy saved offsite.


If your photos were all synced and on your Mac, your Time Machine (or similar) backup should contain the full library. Restore items backed up with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support


Similar questions

7 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 19, 2024 7:46 PM in response to fathy48

That's not possible. Any photos available to you are on your device or at iCloud.com. You'll need to restore from your backups. Remember good data practices for your most important data follow the 3-2-1 rule.


3 copies of your data, made 2 different ways, with 1 copy saved offsite.


If your photos were all synced and on your Mac, your Time Machine (or similar) backup should contain the full library. Restore items backed up with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support


Jan 16, 2024 8:33 AM in response to muguy

Hello,

I just activated the optimization feature on my Mac and shortly after, all my photos were deleted! Then, a few days later, all photos and videos also disappeared from my iPhone, I can swear I never erased any of them, why and how did I do so? I found the iPhone needed an update, so I did an update and an iCloud restoration, but unfortunately, it did not bring back all my photos. Can you please help me in restoring the last backups or syncing that occurred before December 25, 2024 from my 2TB on the Cloud?

I'm not sure what changed on my device that caused this issue. I only activated the optimization feature on my Mac, but I didn't expect it to delete all my photos. As for my iPhone, I haven't made any changes or deletions to my photos and videos. 

I understand that any available photos should be on my device or at iCloud.com, but unfortunately, that is not the case for me. I will need to restore from my backups to get my photos back. Can you please assist me with this process?

Looking forward to your prompt assistance.

Thank you.

Regards,
Fathy M. Radwan 


Jan 19, 2024 2:48 AM in response to muguy

I have seen it all and it’s not helpful, pls see my issue as I explain earlier in above mentioned messages, Apple should help me to restore my Photos you have that all on the alternative and backups on your servers, then why I’m paying Apple monthly fees for the 2TB storage?!!! I have raised my complaint more than three weeks now with no support from your end!!

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Restoring my iCloud Photos and Videos

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