help finding Notes in my back-up

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Level 1

10 points

help finding Notes in my back-up

So, I backed-up my iPhone to my MacBook. I then backed-up my MacBook to an external hard drive. Success!

Subsequently, my 15 month old son, while playin with my iPhone, erased some of the notes I had saved in the iPhone Notes app. I figured "No problem. They are backed-up to the external hard drive."

Well, I can't find them, or any notes in a Notes file on the external hard drive.

What gives? Where could they be? Not in Library. Not in iTunes. Not in Mobile Apps. Not in Downloads.

MacBook (13-inch Late 2009), Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Dec 9, 2013 8:04 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 9, 2013 8:08 AM in response to Atlas

They are bundled with your iOS device backup, not as separate files. The only way to restore notes is to restore the iOS device from your backup - backups in iOS is an all or none deal - see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946

You can also sync Notes via iCloud (not backup per se, but sync between devices) - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4191?viewlocale=en_US

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Answer 2

Atlas Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 9, 2013 8:15 AM in response to Michael Black

So, when I back-up my MacBook to an external hard drive, my iPhone files, which are backed-up to my MacBook, do not get transfered/ backed-up to the external hard drive?

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Answer 3

Dec 9, 2013 8:17 AM in response to Atlas

THE backup file does get backed up. When you backup in iTunes or iCloud, a single, bundled backup file is created at the folder location indicated in that first link I posted. That one single backup file will be backed up to your external drive but you cannot browse it - you can restore it to the iOS device to get back the backup contents.

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Answer 4

Atlas Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 9, 2013 8:18 AM in response to Michael Black

Also, when I back-up/ sync my iPhone to the Cloud, it is constantly updated with all the changes - deletions and additions. Hence, any Notes erased by my son would be deleted in the Cloud also.

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Answer 5

Dec 9, 2013 8:24 AM in response to Atlas

If your son erased the notes, then backed up, overwritting the existing backup, then yes, they are gone. But if you have backups of your computer, you should be able to go back in there, recover an older backup file at the location in that first link I posted already, and use that to restore the iOS device.

You may loose current things though, like new photo's in the camera roll, or new notes, as the backup will overwrite what is already on the phone - an iOS backup is an all or none affair - it restores the whole backup to the device, not parts or sections of the backup.

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