Recovering photos from an iPhone backup is possible for most users. The photos are contained within the backup files, so accessing them is just a matter of finding the right backup and extracting the photos.
What are iPhone backups?
An iPhone backup is a copy of the data and settings from your iPhone that is stored on your computer or iCloud account. Backups allow you to restore your iPhone data if anything happens to your device or its data. There are two main types of iPhone backups:
- iTunes backups – Store data locally on your computer when you connect the iPhone and back it up using iTunes.
- iCloud backups – Store data in your iCloud account and happen automatically when your iPhone is charging, connected to WiFi, and iCloud Backup is enabled in settings.
Backups contain different types of data from your iPhone, including your photos and videos. So if you have an old backup that contains photos you deleted from your iPhone, you may be able to recover them from there.
Getting photos from an iTunes backup
If you have an iTunes backup stored on your computer, here’s how to extract photos from it:
- Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes.
- Right-click on your device in iTunes and select “Restore Backup.”
- Choose the backup you want to restore from. This will extract the backup file.
- Browse to the backup files location on your computer. It is typically in a folder called Backup under iTunes.
- Locate the Photos folder inside the backup files. This contains your photos.
- Copy the photos to another location on your computer or external storage.
Now you have recovered the photos from the old iPhone backup on your computer. You can add them back to your iPhone or upload to a cloud storage service if you need them again.
Recovering photos from an iCloud backup
If your photos were backed up to iCloud, the process is a bit different but still possible in most cases. Here are the steps to get photos out of an iCloud backup:
- On your iPhone, go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud.
- Tap Manage Storage > Backups.
- Select the backup you want to restore and tap Restore.
- After the restore completes, your photos will be back on your iPhone.
- Use the Photos app to select all photos and export or transfer them to another device or service.
This will restore the full iCloud backup first to get access to the photos. After exporting the photos you want to keep, you can erase the iPhone and do a fresh setup if you don’t want all the old data.
Using iPhone data recovery software
As an alternative to restoring full backups, you can use iOS data recovery software to extract just your photos from an iTunes or iCloud backup.
Programs like iMyFone D-Back and EaseUS MobiSaver can scan your iPhone backups and selectively recover certain data types like photos and videos. This avoids restoring unwanted data from really old backups.
The photo recovery process involves:
- Download and install the recovery program on your computer.
- Select the backup source (iTunes or iCloud).
- Scan the backup which finds lost and deleted photos.
- Preview found photos and select those you want to recover.
- Export the photos to your computer or external device.
Recovery software provides more flexibility for getting back specific data from backups. The advantage over full restores is you only get the photos without outdated messages, settings etc.
Tips for successful iPhone photo recovery
To ensure you can retrieve photos from an iPhone backup in the future, keep these tips in mind:
- Back up your iPhone regularly to both iCloud and iTunes.
- Don’t delete old backups until you’ve confirmed you still have those photos stored elsewhere.
- Check your photo recovery options right away if you lose photos on your iPhone.
- Use photo management and storage apps to have redundant copies of all important photos.
- Research iOS recovery apps and services in case you ever need them.
Can I get back deleted photos without a backup?
If you don’t have an iPhone backup containing the lost photos, recovery becomes much more difficult. However, there some some ways you may be able to try getting back deleted photos from an iPhone without a backup:
- Use iPhone data recovery software to scan for photo remnants still on your device.
- Retrieve photos from the Recently Deleted folder before they are permanently deleted.
- Contact Apple Support to see if they can advise any other options.
- Consult a data recovery service – they use special techniques to extract data from storage.
But without an existing backup to restore, your chances of complete photo recovery are very slim. This demonstrates the importance of regularly backing up your iPhone photos and storing multiple copies in different places.
Conclusion
Recovering photos from an iPhone backup is very possible. You can restore full iTunes or iCloud backups that contain your photos. Or use iOS recovery software to selectively extract just photos and videos from a backup.
Just remember – regular backups are key. Don’t delete old backups before external storage of important photos. And explore the backup and restore options ahead of time so you can act quickly if needed. With proper backups in place, you should always be able to retrieve lost iPhone photos.