How can I find my lost pdfs in ibooks (ios7 and mavericks) after updating both?

Apple are not here, these are user-to-user forums.

Had you copied them over to your computer's iTunes library via the File > Devices > Transfer Purchases menu option (that should have copied PDFs and/or epubs that were in the iBooks app, not just actual ibooks) prior to resetting your iPad back to factory defaults ? If you had then they should be in the Books part of your computer's iTunes library - or if using a Mac with OS X Mavericks on it open iBooks on it and do File > Move Books From iTunes to copy them over to it. They should then show on the iPad's Books tab for selecting and syncing back to it.

If you hadn't copied them over, and didn't already have a copy on your computer, then you will need to redownload them form where you originally got them from - they will not be included in a device's backup (neither to iCloud nor to iTunes)

Hi!

i tried to restore my Ipad2 that was updated to ios8 with all of my pdf/epub (not purchased) disappeared in ibooks. when the ipad reopens after the restore process and i open ibooks, i can see all of my books for 1-2 sec and then they disappear again.

I am using a PC and i don't have maverick. i can't see them in the Itunes media folder as suggested on other posts.

please help????

thanks

That implies that you didn't copy them from your iPad over to your computer's iTunes library (File > Devices > Transfer Purchases) prior to starting the update - if that is the case then you won't have copies of them in your iTunes, and the restore won't be able to copy them back, you will need to redownload them from wherever you got them from

what a pain....... !!!!!!!!!!! but why can i see them briefly? are they somewhere in the ipad memory itself or it's just an "image" that shows up?

They were probably on your iPad when you backed up, but as they aren't in your iTunes library the restore wasn't able to copy them back - effectively it's just an 'image', they are not on your iPad

Dear all,

Same problem,

Have just upgraded to Yosemite ... all of my PDF textbooks, manuals, meeting minutes, work documents that had been placed and organized in iBooks are now gone. Did a search, realize this could have been "prevented" with a manual push to iTunes, but now that it has occurred, is there ANY way to get all those PDFs back ?

I had documents in there spanning 3 years of being the Director of a hospital unit, countless textbooks, and architectural drawings for our brand new emergency room in an academic tertiary care centre after 6 years of working on the thing ... yes I can scour my emails for the past 6 years, sure I can download a bunch of textbooks again after going through our university medical library ... what a pain though !!! Wasn't the point of iBooks to have a clean interface where one could create "collections" of book-like documents and view them ?!? Bloody irritated.

IF anyone from apple is listening, this is a truly dumb thing you've done; give us a great tool like iBooks to save and organize PDF textbooks/files but delete everything siting within the app when upgrading the OS on the same bloody computer simply because it was not purchased on your iBook store.

Ridiculous to lose all iBooks like all the others here! Got my iPhone 6 plus thinking it would have mini-iPad functionality. I always set to auto-Sync, yet now I've lost all those 'favourite' PDFs saved over several years!! Apple should be ashamed: Steve Jobs would turn in his grave!

It's been helpful to see I'm not alone! I didn't upgrade or do anything else. Tonight I went to open a PDF in one if my iBook categories and there were only about 1/3 of the files I usually have, all purchased. i thought the others would load but then the 6 remaining disappeared before my eyes. PDFs in other categories are missing, too, but not all if them. I'll try some of the fixes suggested. What I don't understand is why this happened in the first place. Any ideas?

I too was coasting along...using iBooks in my iPad2 (which I carry on hospital rounds) for the past 2-3 years and was happily shedding my old paper files of reference articles in favor of electronic files of PDFs (which I created from literature searches at my work computer .... filed as WINDOWS-based files on my work computer)

From what everyone is describing it is the loss of all these precious hours of searches and the loss of easy retrievability!

I do think that I will be able to retrieve the files of LITERATURE SEARCHES from my computer at work and E-MAIL these back to me and hopefully retrieve those 3 years of searches.

I am starting to collect a lot of PAPER and notes from meetings as a medical director.

I have purchased a new MacBook Pro to replace my old one. Bought a new iPhone6plus and still carry my iPAD...but have learned a lesson to use a cloud or iTunes function to save my personal literature PDFs.

FOR CLOUD--I have purchased DropBox for 9.99 per month as a means of porting my iPad around and to retrieve (my now nonexistant files) from any location

FOR SAVING PAPER--I have purchased "Notability" for iPad and wonder if from anyone has experience with this electronic note taking function and a BEST way to save meeting notes from this APP???

File>Devices>Transfer Purchases

How does this help if one did not PURCHASE the PDF in the first place...but rather did FREE literature search at the hospital/work and emailed the FREE articles from my file at work?

WHEN I DID THE UPGRADE--I do believe that there were even Qs about files (purchases) going be lost in iTunes if not purchased with this iPAD --when I did the upgrade (followed all the Apple instructions)--

So how does that above function reassure me that NONPURCHASED PDFs will be saved???

Most of what was lost in my experience was precious hours of work-- filing these articles in my files at work and then emailing back to my personal email then at home, opening up my email to download the attachment to iBOOKS while on my iPAD for FUTURE easy reading.

What I have also lost---is some trust in APPLE research and development team.

What about storing on cloud utility such as DropBox and using Notability???

As I said in an earlier post on this thread, File > Devices > Transfer Purchases should copy PDFs and/or epubs that are in the iBooks app, not just ibooks bought from the iBookstore.

Did you do that prior to starting the update ? If you did then they should be in the Books part of your computer's iTunes library (or if using a Mac with Mavericks or Yosemite on it then do File > Move Books From iTunes in its iBooks app and they should show in iBooks on it) - have you checked to see if they are ? If they are then you can sync them back to your iPad.

I don't use DropBox or Notability.

I had the same problem on my mini ipad2... i tried everything.... finally i just clicked on the PDF option in the options list and it brought all my books up....go figure.

Thank you.

I was upgrading my ipad. Did a backup on old ipad. Restore to new ipad. Everything was on the new ipad EXCEPT my PDF's. These were mostly scanned knitting patterns and were there briefly on my new ipad but then disappeared. Fortunately I still had my old ipad and your help. There did not seem to be a way to get the PDF's from the ipad into ITunes as they were not purchased but put there myself until I tried the File -> Devices -> Transfer Purchases with my old ipad plugged into my computer and it transferred all of the PDF to Itunes. Then plugged in my new ipad did a sync and the books were all transferred.

I spent two hours trying to figure out how to get my iPhone pdfs onto my computer. This article fixed my problem...and looks like it could solve others' as well?

https://miapple.me/fixing-ibooks-not-syncing-pdf-files-epub-books-mac-ipad-iphon e/

I lost all mine too. Here is where I found them:

In finder click go button at top of screen and make sure you leave mouse cursor over the go button or drop down menu will automatically close on you. Now Press option key and Library will appear in the drop down menu, slide cursor down and click this. New window will open and you can navigate through the following folders:

Containers / com.apple.iBooksX / Data / Music / ITunes / ITunes Media / Books (I found all my missing pdfs here)

Press "select all" under the edit tab on the top of the screen, when they are highlighted right click any of them and select open with Ibooks.

They will be copied to the Ibooks app on your IMac.

Just sync your iPad or iPhone now, making sure you select your pdfs under the Books tab in the iTunes app on your IMac.

Good Luck.