Head to icloud.com/iclouddrive, open Recently Deleted, pick your files and select Recover. If they aren't there, go to icloud.com/recovery and click Restore Files. On an iPhone or iPad, open the Files app, tap Browse and tap Recently Deleted. Move quickly, because files leave Recently Deleted after 30 days.
| Option | Where to look | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Recently Deleted | The sidebar at icloud.com/iclouddrive | Shows deleted files you can still recover |
| Recover All | Inside Recently Deleted | Brings everything back in one go |
| Restore Files | icloud.com/recovery | Your next stop if files aren't in Recently Deleted |
| Recently Deleted on iPhone or iPad | Files app, Browse, under Locations | Recovers files without a computer |
| Put Back | The Trash on a Mac | Returns a file to its original location |
Everything on this page comes down to which of those five doors you need, and Apple's help page on recovering iCloud Drive files covers each of them. Begin with Recently Deleted and move on only if your files aren't there.
Getting files back through icloud.com
- Go to icloud.com/iclouddrive.
- Select Recently Deleted from the sidebar.
- Select the files you want to recover.
- Select Recover, or select Recover All if you want the lot.
It's worth taking a moment over step three. If you've deleted a batch of things on purpose and only regret one of them, pick that one and leave the rest where they are.
What to do when the files have left Recently Deleted
An empty Recently Deleted isn't the end of the road. There's a separate Data Recovery area to try.
- Go to icloud.com/recovery.
- Click Restore Files.
- Click Select All, or select the files you want to restore.
- Click Restore.
Select All is tempting when you're panicking. If you know which files you're after, choose only those, as it leaves you less to sort through afterwards.
Once you've clicked Restore, leave your iCloud Drive alone until it's finished, for the reason explained further down.
Recovering files on an iPhone, iPad or Mac
You don't need to be at a browser. On an iPhone or iPad, this is the route:
- Open the Files app.
- Tap Browse.
- Tap Recently Deleted under Locations.
- Tap Select.
- Choose the files you want.
- Tap Recover.
Anything you find in there is on the same 30 day clock, so don't assume you've got longer because you're on a phone.
On a Mac, look in the Trash. Use Put Back on a file and it returns to its original location, which saves you working out where it used to live and moving it there yourself.
Not sure the file was in iCloud at all? It may have been saved somewhere else, so it's worth checking how to get files back from Google Drive or restore what you lost in Dropbox too.
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The 30 day clock and the recovery trap
Two limits decide whether this goes smoothly. The first is time: files are removed from Recently Deleted after 30 days. So treat a deletion you regret as something to deal with today and not at the end of the month.
The second is less obvious. Changing iCloud Drive during data recovery can interrupt the process. A change doesn't have to come from the screen you're looking at, so if other devices use the same account, leave those alone too. Stop editing, moving or saving anything to iCloud Drive until your restore has finished.
Mistakes that lose you the file
- Assuming Recently Deleted is the only place to look. It's the first place, and Data Recovery comes after it.
- Leaving it for another month. Past 30 days, the file's gone from Recently Deleted.
- Tidying up your iCloud Drive while a recovery runs, which can interrupt it.
- Hunting through icloud.com for a file you deleted on a Mac, when the Trash on that Mac is the first thing to open.
- Reaching for Recover All when you only want one file back, then having to clear out everything else again.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get back a file I deleted more than a month ago?
That window has closed for Recently Deleted, though the recovery site's still worth a look. There's no promise your file will be listed.
What's the difference between Recover and Restore?
Recover belongs to Recently Deleted. Restore belongs to Data Recovery.
Why can't I find Recently Deleted on my iPhone?
It's inside the Files app. Open the Browse tab and look under Locations.
Do I need a computer to recover iCloud files?
No. An iPhone or iPad can do it through the Files app.
Does Put Back work on files deleted from another device?
Put Back is for whatever's sitting in that Mac's Trash. Anything that isn't in there, look in Recently Deleted or Data Recovery instead.
What if Recently Deleted is empty on my phone?
Try a browser next, because Data Recovery sits at icloud.com/recovery. Restore Files is what you click once you're there.
