All Photos from 2013–2020 disappeared after iOS update — iCloud storage still shows data

Question

Level 1

4 points

All Photos from 2013–2020 disappeared after iOS update — iCloud storage still shows data

I have been using iPhone since 2013 and currently use an iPhone 13.

Around 2 months ago, after a software update, all my photos from 2013–2020 disappeared from my phone. These are years of family memories and photos of my children growing up.

At the same time, many of my contact names also disappeared, and several contacts now appear blank.

I have been dealing with Apple Support for the last 2 months. Multiple diagnostics and data collections have been taken from my phone, but there has been no solution or meaningful update.

The strange part is:

my iCloud storage still shows the data exists
photo storage space is still occupied
but the photos themselves cannot be seen or retrieved

Apple Support has still not been able to recover the data.

Has anyone experienced something similar after an iOS update?

Was the data eventually recovered?

Any advice or escalation suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Posted on May 24, 2026 10:32 PM

Answer 1

May 25, 2026 6:48 AM in response to hetal213

Were these pictures taken on your phone, or were they transferred to the phone from other sources? Some pictures that were transferred from a computer can be viewed in Photos but they can't be modified by Photos, so there may be some operations that produce a warning about those being at risk. So if you’re missing pictures that were transferred from a computer, then you should look on the computer for the originals.

Many operations use the iPhone's free space to move files around. If you run out of space, then those operations may not be able to be completed, and we sometimes lose data.. If you have less than, say, 15 GB available, then things can get lost forever. I wonder if this is what has happened with your phone. The same thing applies to iCloud.

If you have Mac, then hunting around your phone with the app Image Capture from the Applications folder may turn something up. Unfortunately, if you don't keep your own backups to an external drive, then there really isn't any place else to look. To back up your pictures you can just plug in an external drive, select the pictures, and use Share>Save to Files. Alternatively, you can backup to a computer:

Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC

If you haven't done one of those backups, then your remaining pictures continue to be in peril.

Answer 2

Nov 10, 2026 6:15 AM in response to Scout4309

You don't give any information to help. You should see earlier posts here.

Sometimes this is a problem caused by low storage on a device, so file manipulation becomes disrupted.

You should check the backups that you've made of your pictures. As I said earlier, unfortunately, if you don't keep your own backups to an external drive, then there really isn't any place else to look. To back up your pictures you can just plug in an external drive, select the pictures, and use Share>Save to Files. Alternatively, you can backup to a computer:

Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC

If you haven't done one of those backups, then your remaining pictures continue to be in peril.

Answer 3

hetal213 Author

Level 1

4 points

May 26, 2026 4:58 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

The pictures were all taken directly on my iPhone, not transferred from another computer or source. Everything was there until around 2 months ago, when I did a software update. After that, suddenly all my photos and data were gone.

I had also purchased additional 100GB iCloud storage and trusted that all my memories were safely backed up on iCloud. These were years of memories, including my children growing up.

I have been working with Apple Support for the past 2 months. Multiple agents kept taking diagnostics and data from my laptop and devices, and after all this time, today they informed me that the images cannot be recovered.

Honestly, I feel extremely cheated and heartbroken. One of the main reasons people trust Apple is because of the reliability and security they promise. I have been a loyal Apple customer since 2013, and losing irreplaceable memories like this is devastating.

Such a shame to lose trust in a brand you relied on for so many years.

Answer 4

May 26, 2026 6:32 AM in response to hetal213

hetal213 wrote:… Honestly, I feel extremely cheated and heartbroken. One of the main reasons people trust Apple is because of the reliability and security they promise. I

Yeah, I get it. For me, it's hard drives that crash. I rely on them to hold my data, and then bang! I've learned to keep backups on at least two different devices. One of the greatest advantages of the digital world is that it's so easy to make copies and keep backups.

Answer 5

Nov 9, 2026 11:04 PM in response to hetal213

I just discovered the same problem. I am missing all of my photos from 2013-2020. Did you have a solution to retrieve these photos? Thanks!