Notes app deleted due to system bug

Daniele_B wrote:

Thanks for the reply, but this isn't my first iPhone. I know how to change the size of a widget. I had inserted it on a blank page, but I didn't need it anymore. I pressed and held it down and selected "Remove Widget." Once I returned to the home screen, the Notes app was completely white and wouldn't open. So I opened the App Store and it told me to reinstall it.

There are literally no reports of any system bug which when you remove a widget, deletes the app and it's content. Clearly something else happened here, but since we weren't there to see what you actually did, we couldn't possibly guess. I'm more inclined to think Mac Jim ID's hypothesis is more likely what happened. If you remove a widget, the icon for the app will return to its original size on the home screen, allowing you to continue using the application normally. Perhaps you thought you hadn't removed the widget, then deleted the app. Regardless, your notes are now gone and if you were syncing notes with iCloud, they would not be included in a backup, so there is nowhere to restore them from.

I am not aware of any System Bug that deletes the Notes app and it also has never been reported here that I have seen. What I suspect is that you changed the App Icon size where you can make it look larger and provide more information. To change back to the normal App Icon size, you would select the item to the left in the screenshot below, but it sounds like instead you chose "Remove App" and then you are given the option to remove it from your Home Screen or Delete App. Deleting the app removes all data and it is not recoverable with that data stored on your device. Removing from the Home Screen keeps all data on your device where the app only resides in the App Library.

Chris CA wrote:

Go to iCloud.com and your notes should be there.

Unfortunately the OP had advised that they were not using iCloud for syncing the notes and instead were using local storage which would appear as On My iPhone in the Notes app, and the data would also be deleted along with the app. They also confirmed that they had checked iCloud.com and it showed 0 notes.

Adding/removing a widget only removes the widget. The actual Notes app is still on your phone. It says “Removing this Widget will not remove the app or data.” The widget is not the app and nor would the App Store tell you to reinstall it. Try going to your settings to the Notes app and try signing into the email you use on your phone. You should be able to toggle on the notes. If your default setting is “on my iPhone” then that is where the notes will save to on your device unless you change it to iCloud, Gmail, etc. You can also opt to have access to your notes on your lock screen so the widget “issues” won’t be one. Always a good idea to back up your notes/phone to iCloud or in a daily device back-up, for a fail safe. Also make sure you are signed into your email an apple accounts, sometimes after an update signing back into certain apps or settings is needed. Hope this helps. Some Apple users do reset (hard reset not an iPhone reset that changes the data) their phone after an update this might cause idiosyncrasies to pop up in ways like this. Sorry about your notes, I’ve had that happen before but it was due to on not enough on device storage.

“I had installed the notes widget on my screen, but seeing that it wasn't giving me what I wanted, I deleted it. However, when I deleted the widget, the system crashed and deleted the app directly without asking me for confirmation. Now I've lost all my notes”

???

You only just added it. (FYI: It comes installed by default)

Go to iCloud.com and your notes should be there.