2021
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How To Recover Photos From Old iPhone Written by: Brandon Harris, Smooth Photo Scanning Services
Smartphone technology is constantly evolving. And a brand new phone that seemed incredibly powerful just a few years ago is now, if not obsolete, then at least not as capable anymore. Many people enjoy upgrading their iPhones to a new version just because they’re a fan of the company and want to keep up with the latest features.
However, that can sometimes create a problem – the photos that you have on your old iPhone can get lost, deleted, and become inaccessible. And the images can often contain precious memories that you want to preserve and store outside of your phone.
So, in this article, let’s explore how to recover photos from an old iPhone or what to do if you accidentally delete photos and want to get them back.
Recover Photos from the Photo App
In most iPhones used today, pictures taken with the phone are stored on Apple’s Photo App. That’s where you manage your collections and where you might accidentally delete photos you might want to get back later.
If that’s the case, you may still be able to quickly recover the photos for as much as 40 days after you delete them, which can prevent you from having to go through more complicated steps that we’ll cover later.
Simply find the Photo App in your iPhone, and find the “Recently Deleted” option in the menu. Then, press that option, and it should show you all items that have been deleted over the past 40 days. Simply select the images you want to recover, press “Recover Photos,” and they should reappear in your gallery with the rest.
iCloud Recovery Option
If you can’t find the deleted photos in the Photo App, there might be another relatively simple method for recovering them. Instead of going to the app, go to the iCloud website and log in to your account.
But how to get old photos from iCloud once you log in?
Well, once there, you should be able to find your image gallery since Apple can back up your photos, even deleted ones, outside of your smartphone.
When you find your photo albums, go to the “Recently Deleted” section and try to find the photos there. Even after they’ve been deleted from your phone, they might still be available there.
If that’s the case, you can simply select the photos you want to recover, press the “Recover Photos” icon, and your images should reappear on your phone without you having to take any extra steps.
Recover Photos from iPhone with Software
At this point, things start to get a bit tricky. You’ll need to put in more effort if you want to figure out how to recover photos from an old iPhone after they’ve been purged from your trash folder in the Phone App and iCloud.
Even when the image has been permanently deleted, you can still try to recover it using image recovery software. Because of how iPhone storage works, the photos usually remain on the drive until they are overwritten by something else. And in some instances, that can take quite a bit of time.
So, if you’re lucky, you might be able to access the image again and recover it manually. Here’s the process you will need to take:
- First, you’ll need to choose the right image recovery software. One of the most popular options is the Disk Drill iPhone Recovery tool, which is designed to recover pictures and will help make the process simpler.
- Once you install the app on your computer, plug in your phone and run the Disk Drill app.
- Then, the app will prompt you to select the device you want to work with. Select your phone and click the “Recover” icon.
- At this point, you may be required to enter your iPhone’s password because you will be accessing encrypted information on the drive. Type in the password and allow the app to continue.
- At this point, the app should start combing through the phone’s memory, looking for image files that have been deleted but are still present on the drive. The process is complicated and can take time, so be patient and do not use the phone while the software is doing its job. Try not to disrupt the process and wait for it to be finished.
- Once the scanning is done, the software will display all of the files it could recover, sorting them by type. Select the Photos icon and look through the found photos, selecting the ones you want to recover.
- Then simply move the files to your computer and save them where you will find them in the future.
Bottom Line
Losing photos on an old iPhone can be very frustrating. But the good news is that there are a few simple ways for you to recover the photos. Even if you can’t find them on the Photo App or the iCloud, you can still usually recover the images using image recovery software.
My father has been in the document scanning industry for as long as I can remember. I worked for his company Smooth Solutions, Inc. during summer breaks growing up and for a couple years after college. Wanting to venture off on my own, I gained experience in several careers including wholesale seafood sales as well as owning and operating a bakery for several years. When my father approached me with the opportunity to expand upon his already successful business by providing high quality, professional scanning services to the general public, I jumped on board. From personal experience, I recognize how important it is for most people to have their family memorabilia preserved for future generations and I want to be a part of helping others do that.