How to Recover Deleted Notes on iPhone

How to recover deleted notes on iPhone? This guide collects 4 methods to retrieve deleted iPhone notes with or without backup. Read on to get notes back in minutes!

Author Avatar Joy Taylor Last Updated: Jul. 25, 2024

Nowadays more and more iPhone users tend to use the Notes app to record scattered but important information like a daily schedule, shopping list, account & password list, or a memorandum. However, you may accidentally delete notes on iPhone, or lose those notes due to various types of reasons, such as a failed jailbreak, iOS upgrade, iCloud syncing & restoring errors, etc.

No matter what reason makes your iPhone notes deleted or disappeared, it would drive you crazy. If you are stuck on this problem now, here in this post, you can get several proven ways to recover notes on iPhone, even there are no backup files. Keep reading and undo notes on your iPhone now!

How to Recover Deleted Notes on iPhone without Backup

If there is no recently deleted notes folder on iPhone, how do I retrieve deleted Notes from my iPhone without backing up? You can first try PhoneRescue for iOS, which allows you to recover deleted notes on your iPhone without a backup. It is software that helps iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch users to get deleted files back with the highest success rate.

PhoneRescue for iOS – How to Undo iPhone Notes

You can connect your iPhone and retrieve deleted notes without backup. Also, you can preview iCloud or iTunes backup files to restore deleted notes that you need. Besides, you can repair any iOS system issues with PhoneRescue for iOS-the best iPhone data recovery tool.

Free Download100% Clean & Safe

Free Download100% Clean & Safe

Free Download* 100% Clean & Safe

The steps to recover deleted notes on iPhone without backing up:

Step 1. Get the latest version of PhoneRescue for iOS on a computer. Launch it and click Recover from iOS Device.

Recover from iOS Device without Backup

Recover from iOS Device without Backup

Step 2. Only Check Notes and continue.

Select Data You Want Recover from iPad

Check Notes Category

Step 3. It will scan your iPhone notes to enable you to preview. Select the notes that you want to recover. Click To iDevice or To PC/Mac.

Choose Specific Notes to Recover

Choose Specific Notes to Recover

Can you recover deleted Notes on iPhone without backup?

Here are some facts about iPhone data recovery (software) without backup you may want to know:

  • When you delete notes from iPhone (even also delete from the Recently Deleted folder), they are first technically marked with deletion and invisible to us. To recover them, we just need to find them and remove the deletion mark.
  • Normally, if we are not IT engineers, we can’t find the hidden deleted files on iPhone, let alone recover them. The iPhone data recovery software is the tool that helps us scan our iPhone and look for the files with the deletion mark, and then get them back. And almost all the iPhone data recovery software is paid software, you have to pay for it.
  • Data recovery is based on an important premise – the deleted files are not overwritten, or no way or tool that can help you get them back. And any newly received or installed items, even an unexpected incoming message, may cause overwritten. So during recovery, ensure your iPhone is in Airplane Mode.
  • Almost iPhone data recovery software is desktop software, you need to install and use it on Windows or Mac computer. Because any newly installed app may make your deleted notes overwritten and unrecoverable. So if you are visiting this page on the mobile phone, please turn on your computer, and then follow us to recover deleted notes on iPhone without backup.

Recover Deleted Notes on iPhone with Recently Deleted

Just like photos, the Notes on iPhone iPad also has the Recently Deleted feature. This means if you delete some notes by mistake, the deleted notes are still on your iPhone and keep them in the folder of Recently Deleted for 30 days. Within 30 days, you can get them back at any time once you realized you deleted important notes.

Therefore, when it comes to how to recover deleted notes on iPhone, the first thing is to check the Recently Deleted folder on your iPhone. But before retrieving deleted notes on iPhone via the Recently Deleted feature, there are some things you need to know, like:

Recently Deleted only keep deleted notes for 30 days, it may up to 40 days, once it exceeds the deadline, they will be deleted permanently from Recently Deleted.

Normally, this feature only works when you delete a single note or several notes by mistake, if you find all your iPhone notes disappeared after restoring or iOS update, this is not included.

How to Restore Deleted Notes on iPhone in Recently Deleted Notes Folder:

  1. Run Notes App on your iPhone and then tap the back arrow (“<“) in the upper left corner to view the notes folders.
  2. Choose the Recently Deleted folder.
  3. Click the Edit button and select the notes you want to recover.
  4. Click Move to… in the bottom left corner.
  5. Select the folder you want to move the deleted notes back to, like iCloud, On My iPhone, etc.
  6. Go back to the Folder view and open the folder you choose to see the recovered notes.
How to Recover Deleted Notes on iPhone via Recently Deleted

How to Recover Deleted Notes on iPhone via Recently Deleted

How to Retrieve Notes from iCloud

Once you enable iCloud Notes from Settings, iCloud will make a backup any time anywhere when the Wi-Fi network is connected. And, you can log in to your iCloud account to find your notes whenever you need them. And, the iCloud web will store recently deleted notes for 30 days. Therefore, go to iCloud.com > Notes > Recently Deleted > Recover this note.

Delete Notes on my iPhone from iCloud

Retrieve Notes from iCloud

Besides, PhoneRescue for iOS can help you to download notes from iCloud backup. And, unlike restore from iCloud backup when setting an iPhone, you do not need to erase the existing data on your iPhone and you can first preview what notes are included in your iCloud backup.

Therefore, PhoneRescue for iOS is a tool that you can scan your iCloud backup and see if it contains the deleted notes you want to retrieve firstly, without restoring the iDevice. Next, follow us to scan your iCloud backup and see if it has the deleted notes you want to retrieve.

Step 1. Download PhoneRescue for iOS on your computer > Install and run it > Connect your iPhone to the computer with its USB cable.

Free Download

Free Download

* 100% Clean & Safe

Free Download * 100% Clean & Safe

Step 2. On the Homepage of PhoneRescue for iOS, select Recover from iCloud > Click the Right arrow button to go next page.

Step 3. Log in to iCloud with your Apple ID and password > Select iCloud Backup.

Recover Data from iCloud Via PhoneRescue

Recover Data from iCloud Via PhoneRescue

Step 4. Sign in iCloud Account > Select the iCloud backup may contain the notes you want to retrieve > Click Download button > Select the type of data you want to download from data > Click OK button.

Enter Apple ID and Password to Sign in

Enter Apple ID and Password to Sign in

Step 5. Preview the notes in iCloud backup > Select the notes or note attachments you want to retrieve > Click To Computer or To iPhone button to recover deleted iPhone notes back to PC/Mac computer or iPhone’s Notes App.

You can Recover Notes to Device or Computer

You can Recover Notes to Device or Computer

If you fail to find the deleted or lost iPhone notes after scanning one iCloud backup, this means your iCloud backup doesn’t contain the notes you want to restore, at this moment, you can read on to recover deleted notes on iPhone without iCloud backup in the next Part.

How to Recover Permanently Deleted Notes on iPhone without iCloud

Also, if you synced your iPhone to iTunes, you can restore your iPhone with the backup you made before, and then the deleted notes will be back. However, if you have taken some new photos, received new messages, created new notes, etc. after you made that backup, which is not included in the previous backup, they will be erased when restoring.

To help you locate the right iTunes backup easily and ensure this backup contains the deleted notes you want to retrieve, you can also use PhoneRescue for iOS, which works as an iTunes alternative to recover deleted files back to iPhone or computer. Here’s how to do:

Step 1. Download and install PhoneRescue for iOS on your computer > Run it > Connect your iPhone to the computer with a USB cable.

Step 2. Connect your iPhone to the computer with its USB cable > Select Recover from Backup on Homepage of PhoneResuce > Click Right Arrow to enter the next page.

Choose Recover from Backup

Choose Recover from Backup

Step 3. Select the iTunes backup that contains the notes you want to retrieve > Select Only Scan Backup or Compare (select if you want to compare the contents in iTunes backup and the existing contents on iPhone) > Select Notes > Click OK button to start scanning your iTunes backup > Then PhoneRescue for iOS will scan your iTunes backup to list all the notes in iTunes backup (including the existing notes and deleted notes).

Check Notes and Click OK to Continue

Check Notes and Click OK to Continue

Step 4. Preview the existing and deleted notes/note attachment > Select the Notes or Note Attachment you want to retrieve > Click To Device or To Computer button to recover deleted notes back to iPhone’s Notes App or computer directly.

If your iTunes backup is encrypted, and you are unlucky to forget the password, you can read this guide – Top 5 iTunes Backup Unlockers to select one to unlock your encrypted iTunes backup.

The Bottom Line

That’s all for how can you retrieve recently or permanently deleted notes on iPhone. Hope those can help you undo notes at your needs. And, the nice iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch data recovery tool – PhoneRescue for iOS enables you to get deleted notes back without backup. You can also restore notes from iTunes or iCloud backup. Tap download to get it to try now!

Free Download

Free Download

* 100% Clean & Safe

Free Download * 100% Clean & Safe

Author Avatar
Joy Taylor Twitter Share Facebook Share

Senior writer of the iMobie team as well as an Apple fan, love to help more users solve various types of iOS & Android-related issues.

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