User profile for user: thiago_roska
thiago_roska Author
User level: Level 1
53 points

Recover app data using a software

Hello everyone, I have an iPhone 6s 128 GB and other day I had a problem and some apps were uninstalled by mistake, between them two games: Minecraft Pocked Edition and Fifa Mobile.


First of all, I tried reinstalling the games again, but all the progress made had been gone. A few days later, I tried to restore the iPhone using a iCloud backup, but there were only two backups available at the time, and the backup that could contain the data of the deleted apps had already been overwritten.


This is a summary of what happened. If anyone wants, you can check these other threads where I better explain what happened:


How to recover deleted app data?

I need help with iCloud backup


Then, as a last attempt to recover the lost data, I though about using a data recovery software to try to recover the lost data. I know there's a lot of softwares with this purpose, but can you also recover apps data with them? Has anyone ever used one of these softwares to recover deleted data from apps or games? And, could someone tell me one of those softwares that would be good for this?


I really appreciate everyone who can help me to try to solve my problem.


And, sorry for any mistakes, but English is not my first language.


Thank you

iPhone 6s, iOS 12.0.1

Posted on Oct 27, 2018 8:45 AM

Reply

Similar questions

15 replies
User profile for user: Lawrence Finch
Lawrence Finch
Community+ 2026
User level: Level 10
232,696 points

Nov 3, 2018 8:20 AM in response to thiago_roska

I understand correctly. And there is lots of software on the Internet that claims to be able to recover deleted content, but none of it actually works unless the content is saved somewhere already.


There are multiple places that your game content can be saved, but all of them are controlled by the game developer. I have several games that save content in the game's database server; if I remove and reinstall the game it's state will be restored from the app server's site. As an added bonus if I have another iOS device (and sometimes also a computer) I can play the game on any other device and it will remember my progress. Apparently your games don't do this, which is unfortunate and quite surprising as many apps do that today. Apps can also save content in your iCloud; to check this open the Settings app, tap on your name, then iCloud. If an app uses this feature it will be listed with a switch to enabled saving content to iCloud. This has nothing to do with iCloud backups.

Reply
User profile for user: Lawrence Finch
Lawrence Finch
Community+ 2026
User level: Level 10
232,696 points

Nov 2, 2018 5:41 PM in response to thiago_roska

It's generally a bad idea to post more than one thread regarding the same issue; it makes it difficult to follow, and the responses will be scattered.


If the missing data is not in a backup, and you did not sync it to iCloud, then there is no way to recover it. None. There is no software that can recover it, at least none that you can afford. The FBI paid $1 million to recover data from a terrorist's phone a few years ago, and even that method will no longer work.

Reply
User profile for user: Lawrence Finch
Lawrence Finch
Community+ 2026
User level: Level 10
232,696 points

Nov 9, 2018 1:02 PM in response to thiago_roska

I've already told you the available options. And apparently no one else has any other ideas.


BTW, one of those companies you mention charged the FBI $1 million to get data off one phone. Can you afford that?


But the bigger problem isn't getting data off the phone; it is making it available to an app you have installed. That can't be done, as it would require adding data to an app on a phone. Apple's "sandbox" security model prevents that.

Reply
User profile for user: thiago_roska
thiago_roska Author
User level: Level 1
53 points

Nov 2, 2018 10:03 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

KiltedTim wrote:



Who said you could recover deleted content that was once on your device that was not backed up?

You can't.

I think you don't understand correctly: all my content was backed up on iCloud, but when the apps were uninstalled, I still took two or three days at most to erase the iPhone and try to restore it using iCloud. I had never restored my device before, so I spent these days researching on the internet and asking in forums, since I didn't understand how this worked and didn't want to make any more mistake.


So, when I finally erased my iPhone and tried to restore it using iCloud, the iPhone showed only two backups available, and even I choosing the oldest one, this didn't help, because it was from a later date than I needed.


And, as I said before, there's a lot of softwares on the internet that can recover deleted content, either from a computer or from a mobile phone, among others devices. You can use one of these softwares to recover a deleted photo or video that was once on your device, even if you have not backed it up. So, I thought you can also use one of these softwares to recover deleted data from apps.

Reply
User profile for user: thiago_roska
thiago_roska Author
User level: Level 1
53 points

Nov 5, 2018 10:55 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

There are not only softwares, but also professionals and companies that are dedicated exclusively in recovering lost data. And, what's the point of trying to recover lost content if it's saved somewhere else?


The games that were uninstalled and whose data was lost, are Minecraft Pocket Edition and Fifa Mobile. As I said, I tried to reinstall the game, but all the content had gone, and I don't want to have to start all over again. I also thought the games saved the data in the cloud or in the game's server, so I was also surprised when I realized that everything had been lost.


About iCloud, when I click on Settings > [my name] > iCloud > iCloud backup, all my apps and games, including Minecraft and Fifa Mobile, appear listed and enabled to save their data on iCloud. Or better, they appeared, because when I restored the iPhone, these games no longer appear listed in this list. And, if this has nothing to do with iCloud backups, why didn't the data come back reinstalling the games? And if the data from these games is still in iCloud, how can I download or retrieve it?

Reply
User profile for user: thiago_roska
thiago_roska Author
User level: Level 1
53 points

Nov 15, 2018 2:33 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence Finch wrote:


BTW, one of those companies you mention charged the FBI $1 million to get data off one phone. Can you afford that?

That's not the point: you said there's no way to recover a deleted content, and I showed you that you were wrong.


Lawrence Finch wrote:


But the bigger problem isn't getting data off the phone; it is making it available to an app you have installed. That can't be done, as it would require adding data to an app on a phone. Apple's "sandbox" security model prevents that.

About that, I don't know how this "sandbox" system works, but if you can use one of those softwares to recover and add data to some apps, like notes and calendar, does not that mean you can add data to apps on iPhone?


Btw, sorry for the delay in replying, but I was kind of busy these days.

Reply
User profile for user: Lawrence Finch
Lawrence Finch
Community+ 2026
User level: Level 10
232,696 points

Nov 15, 2018 2:57 PM in response to thiago_roska

No, that IS the point. There is no way that mere mortals like you and me can get data off a phone.


And note:


  • That phone was locked, and the data was still on the phone. The data is not on your phone.
  • The method used by the FBI's contractor provided a way for unlimited guesses of the phone's passcode until the correct passcode was found.
  • The method they used would not have worked on a later model phone.
  • The method they used would not have worked if the phone had been updated to a later version of iOS.

The way the sandbox security model works is that each app is given it's own "sandbox" to store its data. A different app cannot store or access data in another apps sandbox without your permission.


You add data to notes and calendar by having the notes or calendar app import it. The external app does not add the data; it makes it available to import. And when you import it iOS asks you if you really want to do it. In your case if the apps you deleted had a way to import data then you could restore data to the apps, but the apps would have to be programmed to have that import capability.

Reply

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Recover app data using a software

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.
Learn more Sign up