on my iPhone, I switched from my primary Apple ID to my secondary, and when I switched back, all my notes from the past several months were gone. I have no backups on my phone, but is there any way to recover these notes? They seem to still be in the app somewhere as the storage shows quite a large chunk of data being taken up by the app, but I can’t access them.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone SE, iOS 16
Where were the Notes? See the pic below. You will get your answer
The various options that you are referring ("the second text menue") to will exist only if your Notes are on iCloud or the "On My Phone" Folder.
The 2 pics below are self-explanatory.
If you're missing notes on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
Notes are always synced through Google, iCloud, AOL, Exchange, Outlook, Yahoo or any Other email Account
Any data on your device that isn't synced regularly will be stored in your iCloud Backup. With Backup turned on, iCloud takes periodic snapshots of this data to make sure it's easy to restore any time you get a new device. Between syncing and backing up, all of your data is kept safe in the cloud.
What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support (IN)
Notes missing after switching Apple ID in iPhone
