If you’re missing information after you’ve restored your iPhone or iPad with iCloud Backup
If you notice missing information after you’ve restored your iPhone or iPad with iCloud Backup, find out what you can do, and what information is and isn’t included in iCloud Backup.
What information iCloud Backup includes
What you can do
Check that you’ve correctly followed the steps to restore your device from iCloud Backup.
If an app asks for your Apple Account password during the restore process, enter it. Some apps and services, like the App Store, need your password before they can restore purchased content.
If you used multiple Apple Accounts to purchase content, enter the password for each Apple Account when prompted.
Open the Settings app and tap [your name], tap iCloud, then tap iCloud Backup. If the restore is still in progress, you’ll see “This [device] is currently being restored and will automatically back up when it is done”. Find out what to do if you see an alert or your restore takes a long time to finish.
Make sure the kind of information you’re missing is included in iCloud Backup. If you restore an iPad from an iPhone backup or vice versa, some data won’t be restored.
If the information is still missing, check if you have any backups on your computer that may contain the data.
What information iCloud Backup includes
Find out more about the types of information that are and aren’t included in your iCloud Backup.
Apps, music, films and TV shows
iCloud Backup includes information about your purchase history from the Apple Music app, Apple TV app, Apple Books app, Apple Podcasts app and the App Store. After you restore from iCloud Backup, your purchased media automatically downloads again from Apple services. Availability of redownloads varies by country or region. Previous purchases may be unavailable when they've been refunded or aren't available in the store anymore. Some previously purchased films may not be available for redownload from the Apple TV Store.
For some third-party apps, you may need to download data from the app provider again.
If you used iTunes Match to download previously matched or uploaded songs, albums or playlists to your device, sync your device on a computer that has your content to recover media that wasn’t purchased from the iTunes Store or isn’t available through iTunes Match.
To recover content purchased with a different Apple Account, sign in with the Apple Account associated with that purchase.
Photos
When you use iCloud Photos, your photos and videos will be automatically uploaded to iCloud. They aren’t included in your nightly backup. After you restore your device from iCloud Backup, stay connected to Wi-Fi so that your photos and videos can begin to download. Find out how to check the status of your Library in Photos.
If you haven’t turned on iCloud Photos, iCloud Backup may include photos and videos in your Photos or Camera Roll. Not sure if iCloud Photos was turned on when you made the backup? After you’ve restored your device, open the Settings app and tap [your name], tap iCloud, then tap Photos. If Sync this iPhone is turned on, the photos will be stored in iCloud Photos.
If the photos and videos were included in the backup, they will be downloaded to your iOS or iPadOS device in the background when you restore. Stay connected to Wi-Fi until the process finishes. The time it takes to restore depends on the size of your backup and the speed of your Wi-Fi network.
Find out more about what’s included in iCloud Backup and how to sync photos from a computer.
About iCloud Drive
If you use iCloud Drive, your local files in the Files app won’t be included in iCloud Backup. They’ll remain updated and available across your devices because they sync to iCloud. If you want to save your iWork files manually, you can save them to your Mac or PC.
If you can’t find your iWork documents after you’ve restored your device, go to iCloud.com and check in the iCloud Drive app.
Calendar and Contacts data
When Calendar and Contacts information is restored from iCloud Backup, your settings and old data will be restored first. Then, iCloud pushes your updated Calendar and Contact data to your device, overwriting the old data. This update happens automatically and usually occurs before you notice the old data.
Mail data
Since your Mail already lives in iCloud, it isn't included in iCloud Backup. iCloud Backup does include the settings for your iCloud email account and any other email accounts on your device. After you've restored from iCloud Backup, iCloud and your other email providers will replace your available email messages so you can pick up where you left off.
Notes data
If you set up your device to store Notes in iCloud, iCloud sends those notes to your device after the restore process finishes. Notes you have saved locally on your device will also be included in your iCloud backup.
Notes data stored by a third-party service (like Microsoft Exchange) isn't backed up to iCloud. Contact the provider of that service for information about how to retrieve your data.
Messages and Voice Memos data
With Messages in iCloud and Voice Memos in iCloud*, your text messages and voice recordings will be automatically uploaded to iCloud. They aren’t included in your backup. After you've restored your device from iCloud Backup, stay connected to Wi-Fi so that your text messages and voice recordings can download.
If you turn off Messages in iCloud, your texts and attachments will not be uploaded automatically. They’ll save in your next iCloud Backup and download in the background when you restore. Stay connected to Wi-Fi until the process finishes. The time it takes to restore depends on the size of your backup and the speed of your Wi-Fi.
Sometimes, if you restore a device from a backup of another kind of device, your Messages and Voice Memos won’t be restored. For example, if you use an iPad backup to restore an iPhone, your Messages and Voice Memos may not appear on the iPhone.
If your information is still missing after you’ve restored, you can try to restore from a different backup in iCloud or on your computer. Always back up your current data on your computer before you try to restore from iCloud Backup.
*In iOS 11 or earlier, or macOS High Sierra or earlier, Voice Memos are included in iCloud Backup, not iCloud.
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