My Pages docs are gone after updating to iOS9. I backup to my computer. How can I get them back? (iPad 2)

Hi emargerum,

When you updated to iOS 9 on your iPad, did you enable iCloud Drive? Your current Pages documents should populate in a Pages folder on iCloud Drive. When you go to www.icloud.com, do you see your Pages documents?

Get help using iCloud Drive - Apple Support
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203052

Any documents that you already stored in iCloud are automatically moved to iCloud Drive when you upgrade. iCloud.com will display these files in the iCloud Drive app and the iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) that you're used to seeing.

If you don’t see your files in the iWork apps or in iCloud Drive, then make sure that you set up iCloud Drive on all of your devices.

Set up iCloud Drive on all of your devices - Apple Support
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204025​

Set up iCloud Drive

Use the steps below to set up iCloud Drive on each of your devices.

iOS 8 or later

1. Tap Settings > iCloud.
2. Sign in with your Apple ID, if you need to.
3. Tap iCloud Drive.
4. Tap Upgrade to iCloud Drive.

Hope that helps ...

Hi emargerum,

If you did an iTunes backup prior to updating your iOS, you can restore your iPad from that backup. But first, I would suggest having one of our technical support advisors delve into this a little further for you. Contact Apple Support - Apple Support

Restore your device from an iCloud or iTunes backup - Apple Support
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204184​

Take care,

Hi, I too had this problem just recently & I managed to get my Pages files back after some panic. This is how I got them back onto my iPad Mini .....:

To add to this particular post about iCloud Drive, I myself don't have it turned on as my laptop & computer don't have the compatible OS installed, so in order to be able to read my files on the older versions I did not turn it on in my iPad Mini Settings. My method is for just regular iCloud so I don't know if this will work on those who do use iCloud drive, but it is worth a try.

How to get your Pages files back after an update deleted them: (for iPad/iPad Mini anyway although I assume it will be the same for iPhone too, but not sure) This seems to be the simplest way to do it, but you do need to have an existing backup of them in order for this to work. If you don't happen to have a backup then I'm not sure if it will work although you could try the same method just in case there is any sort of copy of it somewhere. (This is also why it is a good idea to always do some kind of regular backup, especially if you make changes to your files just in case of any kind of glitch)

As long as you have an iCloud or other backup through your laptop/computer you can do a search in Finder as “Pages” files. that will bring up any files you may have that were done in Pages, just sort them as “Kind/Type” & it will show you all files that were a Pages file.

In order to get them back onto your iPad, first make a new folder on your desktop & name it whatever you want to identify it (I made mine as “iPad pages files”). Then you go back to the finder window with your files you want to transfer & you highlight the files you want & then either right click & select ‘Copy” & paste over to your new folder or by the keyboard just use “Command Copy” then “Command Paste”, as you can’t just click on them & drag them over as that will “move” them & you don’t want to do that or you will lose your backup. After this process you will now have two of the same files as one will be still the “Cloud” version & then the added ones in your new desktop folder.

Then in order to get them back into Pages on your iPad you email the files to yourself & open “Mail” on your iPad, open the new message & then click the attached files one by one & choose to “Save to Pages” option in the popup. Voila! your files should all be back in your Pages when you open it back up.

This method worked for me, so I hope this helps all of you that have also lost their files after an update too.

Good luck to all!

I considered your suggestions but in the end I was under a time crunch.

"you do need to have an existing backup of them in order for this to work... (This is also why it is a good idea to always do some kind of regular backup, especially if you make changes to your files just in case of any kind of glitch)

...do a search in Finder as "Pages files. that will bring up any files you may have that were done in Pages, ..."

My problem was that my time was limited and I needed to use Pages. My Pages docs disappeared on my iPhone/iPad. My iTunes backups for my iPhone 6 / iPad 3 were on a Windows machine. And with Windows there is no way to find individual pages files in the backup. I was in a hurry after spending the previous day backing up/updating my wife's iPhone, iPad and my iPad and iPhone to iOS 9.

Should I have backed up my iPhone/iPad again to another computer? (It would be to my iMac which has an older OS X because it has old the music software). Again, the problem was time.

"Then in order to get them back into Pages on your iPad you email the files to yourself & open “Mail” on your iPad, open the new message & then click the attached files one by one & choose to “Save to Pages” option in the popup. Voila! your files should all be back in your Pages when you open it back up."

Backing up and syncing my two iOS devices again to a new computer takes hours to get all the playlists organized. In addition finding about 600 Pages documents, sending them through email and copying all that to my iPhone and iPad = lots more time.

* But now, with my current troubles with Pages, if I could travel back, I would have done all your suggestions.

* Still at the time I didn't fully understand the consequences, I needed to use Pages and I updated to iCloud Drive.

That quickly brought my Pages docs back on my iPhone / iPad.

But iCloud Drive cannot be changed back to the old iCloud.

And because I have a pre Yosemite iMac with the same Apple ID linked to my iPhone / iPad, my Pages docs no longer sync. (I didn't realize this would happen.) My iMac has music software not compatible with Yosemite / El Capitan and new software would cost hundreds of dollars.

Pages is now a continual burden since it means continually emailing docs back and forth between iPad / iPhone.

- I called Apple Support about this, and they could not fix the syncing problem.

- All of this hassle because I updated to iOS 9. Frustrating.