About missing information after you restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iCloud Backup (2024)

• Make sure that youcorrectlyrestored your iOS device fromiCloudBackup. When you sign in to iCloud, it's not the same as when you restore from iCloudBackup.Learn how to restore from iCloud Backup.
  
• Make sure that iCloud Backup includes the kind of information that you’re missing.If you restore an iPad from an iPhone backup or vice versa, some data won’t restore.
• If an app asks for your Apple ID password during the restore process, make sure that you enter it.Some apps and services, like the App Store, need your password before they can restore purchased content. If you purchased content on multiple Apple IDs, enter the password for each Apple ID when prompted.
• If the restore process takes a long time to finish, or if you receive an error message, learn what to do.
• You can also check to see if you have anybackups on your computer that may contain the data that’s missing.
• Sometimes the restore process may look complete, but your device is still downloading information in the background. To check this, tap Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup. If your device is still being restored, you see “This [device] is currently being restored and will automatically back up when it is done.”

  

Want to learn more? Keep reading to discover what’s included in iCloud Backup.

iCloud Backup includesinformation about your purchase history from the Apple Music app, Apple TV app, Apple Books app, Apple Podcasts app, and the App Store.Afteryou restore from iCloud Backup, yourpurchased mediaautomatically downloads againfrom Apple services.Availability ofredownloads varies bycountry or region. Previous purchases may be unavailable when they've been refunded oraren'tavailable in the store anymore. Some previously purchased movies may not be available for redownload from Apple TV.

For some third-party apps, you may need to download data from the app provider again.

If you usediTunes Matchto download previously matched or uploaded songs, albums, or playlists to your device,sync your deviceon a computer that has your contentto recover media that wasn't purchased from the iTunes Store or isn't available through iTunes Match.

To recover content purchasedwith a different Apple ID, sign in with the Apple ID associated with that purchase.

When you useiCloud Photos, your photos and videosautomatically upload to iCloud. They aren’t included in your nightly backup. After you restore your devicefromiCloud Backup, stay connected to Wi-Fiso thatyour photos and videos canbegin to download.

If you haven’t turned on iCloud Photos, iCloudBackup may include photos and videos in your Photosor Camera Roll. Not sure if iCloud Photoswas turned on when you made the backup? After you restore your device, check Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos. If iCloud Photosis turned on, then the photos were stored in iCloud Photos.

If the photos and videos were included in the backup, they’ll download to your iOS device in the background when you restore. Stay connected to Wi-Fi until the process finishes.The time it takes to restore depends on the size of your backup and the speed of your Wi-Fi network.

Learn more about what's included in iCloud Backupand how to sync photos from a computer.

If you use iCloud Drive, yourdocuments aren't included iniCloud Backup. They remain updated and available across your devices because theylive in iCloud. If you want to saveyour iWork files manually, you cansave them to your Mac or PC.

If you can't find your iWork documents after you restore your device, go toiCloud.comand check in the iCloud Drive app.

Since your Mail already lives in iCloud, it isn't included in iCloud Backup.iCloud Backupdoes include the settings for your iCloud email account and any other email accountsonyour device. After you restore fromiCloudBackup, iCloud and your other email providers replace your available email messages so you can pick up where you left off.

If you set up your device to store Notes in iCloud, iCloud sends those notes to your device after the restore process finishes. To find storage options for Notes in iOS 10.3 or later, tap Settings >[your name] >iCloud.

Notes data stored by a third-party service (like Microsoft Exchange) isn't backed up to iCloud. Contact the provider of that service for information about how to retrieve your data.

With Messages in iCloud andVoice Memos in iCloud*, your text messages and voice recordings automatically upload to iCloud. They aren’t included in your backup.After you restore your devicefromiCloud Backup, stay connected to Wi-Fiso thatyour text messages and voice recordings can download.

If you turn off Messages in iCloud, your text messages and attachmentsno longer upload automatically, but they save in your next iCloud Backup anddownload in the background when you restore. Stay connected to Wi-Fi until the process finishes.The time it takes to restore depends on the size of your backup and the speed of your Wi-Fi.

Sometimes, if you restore a device from a backup of another kind of device,your Messages and Voice Memos won’t restore. For example, if you use an iPad backup to restore an iPhone, your Messages and Voice Memos may not appear on the iPhone.

If your information is still missing after you restore, you can try to restore from a different backup in iCloud or on your computer. Always back up your current data on your computer before you try to restore from iCloud Backup.

*If you use iOS 11 or earlier, or macOS High Sierra or earlier, your Voice Memos are included in iCloud Backup, not iCloud.