Lost all my NOTES after update to IOS 9.3.2.

No, it didn't happened to me.

Did you made a backup locally on iTunes before you do an update?

If you did you can restore from the backup, otherwise you're out of luck.

Dina_Zv wrote:

no, I did not... nothing has ever disappeared before 😟

Well there's alway the first time. Sorry, there's nothing can be done since you don't use iCloud or iTunes to backups.

Note: In this digital world, you should always do backups (using iCloud or locally on iTunes or on both).

Dina_Zv wrote:

I don't like the concept of iCloud and I try to keep my privacy on maximum. Also, it should not be normal, that things disappear after updates.

iCloud is very secure and your privacy is preserved.

No it's not normal to lose stuff and it's also not normal to skip backups.

Between 0 & 1 sometimes things can go wrong, you are responsible for your own data.

Remember, always do a backup.

Dina_Zv wrote:

I don't like the concept of iCloud and I try to keep my privacy on maximum. Also, it should not be normal, that things disappear after updates.

You've been using cloud-based services for as long as you've owned an email address. If you do not create regular backups of your electronics, I highly recommend that you begin to do so. How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

Also for all of your notes and just your notes to disappear is highly irregular unless there was a service which was in fact managing those without your knowledge. This is no discredit to you, of course. It is simply a default of any email service you setup on your iPhone that happens to also manage notes as an option. Gmail, AOL, Hotmail, iCloud, etc all have notes management. Once logged in, the iPhone would default to syncing notes with one of these services unless toggled off. Check your email accounts through their respective websites for your notes. If you find them, troubleshoot that account on your iPhone. This is as easy as removing and re-adding the account back to your iPhone.

There is also the possibility that an exchange server may have managed the notes. Have you had a work email on your iPhone at any point in time to which you no longer have access?

As you explained that you enjoy keeping your privacy, I would also point you in the direction of setting up Two-Factor Authentication on your Apple ID. It is the most advanced form of security that Apple has to offer for your account.

Two-factor authentication for Apple ID - Apple Support

If your notes are not found in any of the respective locations that I have listed, it isn't impossible for something to have gone missing as backups have always been industry recommended prior to any update.

Dina_Zv wrote:

I am not so sure about it, Internet is full of info about pictures leaked from iCloud. And there are many articles about it.

There are also many articles about alien abductions as well.

But seriously, iCloud is very secure, it's the passwords that people used that were weak and were easily guessed.

Most of successful attempts were obtained by using social engineering, phishing (or simply made easy by the user because they used same password for many other online websites).

For that there is no cure no matter how secure iCloud is.

Read here to get up to speed on Apple security:

iCloud security and privacy overview - Apple Support

Dina_Zv wrote:

of course, you suggest me to read up on iCloud security on APPLE site 😀

Anyway, we can close this discussion, I got my reply from other sources and no, iCloud is not secure and it is not always the passwords. Did you read my link? probably not 😉

Good luck to all!

You never shared with the room how you managed to recover your lost notes. Where did you find them?

The same thing happened to me. All my "on my phone" notes disappeared after the IOS update. Quite a long time and a great deal of frustration later I figured out how to get them back.

I started by renaming my phone and creating a backup of it's present state. This way I would have a recognizable backup to get back to this moment in time. After that, I restored my phone to factory settings to clear everything off, and then restored an older backup (before the IOS update).

When the restore was complete, I did NOT do any of the setups in the start screen. Nothing - no code, no iCloud, and as soon as I could, I put the phone into airplane mode to keep it from reaching out. Then I went into the Notes app and all my missing notes were there! One by one I sent them via email to my Evernote account (you can send them to yourself if you don't use Evernote). Once I had finished, I took airplane mode off and and within seconds the notes disappeared from the Notes app again, right before my eyes. But they were sitting in my email outbox, already starting to make their way to Evernote, so everything was ok.

In Evernote, I made sure everything was intact and then returned to iTunes to revert back to the most recent (with the new name) backup. My phone is back to it's current state, but all those missing notes are now sitting in my Evernote.

I will not be using the Notes app anymore. The entire chocolate bar I ate to calm my nerves was delicious, but I really don't need existential note anxiety in my life...

Hi,

Same happened to me after iOS 9.3.5 update.

I backed up my phone on my PC, but even though I have 2.33 GB free, it still claims there's not enough memory to restore. this is quite ridiculous really, I just want my notes back...

Thank you Athena for your easy-to-understand solution to this problem. I spent way too much time looking for help on this topic and when I found your post it SAVED THE DAY! (though I did opt for Egg Nog instead of Chocolate - 'tis the season) THANK YOU SO MUCH!! 🙂

Hi, This happened to me and by chance I have found them. They are in gmail in the "notes" folder. Open gmail then go to the dropdown index ( three vertical lines in the top left hand corner).