User level: Level 1 (4 points)Hello. Today, I accidentally removed my device from the "Find My" app, which triggered an automatic factory reset. I’m very upset because I didn’t have a backup. Is there any way to recover the photos from my gallery? Out of 3,000 photos, only about 200 have been restored.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: Backup
Posted on Oct 21, 2026 5:11 AM
User level: Level 6 (8,142 points)Oct 21, 2026 5:19 AM in response to stanislava225
If the photos were synched with iCloud then they should still be there. If some are coming back then it would imply that some of your pics were synched. The easiest way to check is to log in to iCloud on a browser and check there. Make sure to also check the Recently Deleted folder.
However, if there were pics on your phone which you had not synched with iCloud and you haven't backed them up then they are lost for ever. The only ones you might get back are any you've shared with others via email, messaging, etc.
User level: Level 7 (25,466 points)Oct 21, 2026 7:23 AM in response to stanislava225
You would really, really need to talk to a real human if you want to somehow convince them to do extraordinary work for you. Crying may help. But email, text, or talking to a robot will get you no more than,"You should rely on the backups that you made to an external drive or to a computer." You may get the same response from talking to a human, but there's no hope at all otherwise.
To back up your pictures you can just plug in an external drive, select the pictures, and use Share>Save to Files. Alternatively, you can backup to a computer:
Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC
If you haven't done one of those backups, then your remaining pictures continue to be in peril.
User level: Level 6 (8,142 points)Oct 21, 2026 6:51 AM in response to stanislava225
I don't believe that Apple provides email support. You might be able to contact your local Apple Store Genius bar by phone but I think they will tell you that there's nothing they can do.
User level: Level 6 (8,142 points)Oct 21, 2026 5:55 AM in response to stanislava225
You can try. A few others have asked this in the couple of years I've been on these boards but I've never seen reports of it being successful. Here are the contact links.
Contact - Official Apple Support
Best of luck!
User level: Level 1 (4 points)Oct 21, 2026 5:36 AM in response to Zurarczurx
Is there really no way to contact Apple’s moderators? I received an email from Find My from the location service saying that the data is being deleted. But I only saw it when I was able to log back into my account. Is it really impossible to get in touch with the IT department so they can try to restore the last copy of the gallery before the deletion? The deleted photos were even saved. So why can’t we access those that weren’t moved to the “Delete” folder?
User level: Level 10 (201,695 points)Oct 21, 2026 6:48 AM in response to stanislava225
stanislava225 wrote:
Could you please send the user support email address? Because the links only show a call, and I don’t have the opportunity to make a call. Is it possible to contact support via email?
Apple doesn't provide support by email.
User level: Level 1 (4 points)Oct 21, 2026 6:39 AM in response to Zurarczurx
Could you please send the user support email address? Because the links only show a call, and I don’t have the opportunity to make a call. Is it possible to contact support via email?
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256380204