How to Recover Old Deleted Photos from Windows, iPhone, and Android?

Are permanently deleted photos really gone?

Are you wondering where do permanently deleted photos go on iPhone, Windows, or other electronic storage devices?

What has happened to us is that the permanently deleted photos might still be on your PC or iPhone because the Windows OS or iOS will only remove your deleted photos from the file category and flag the storage of the deleted photos as ready for overwriting.

That is to say, if you want to recover the recently deleted photos/get old pictures back, you need to use backups or data recovery software. And the later you start the recovery process, the worse your chances will be.

Case A. How to recover old deleted photos on Windows 10/11?

So how to recover old deleted photos from Windows, iPhone, and Android? Figure out your data loss scenarios and follow a targeted one among the following methods.

Are you wondering how to recover permanently deleted photos on Windows 10/11? We want to introduce a free Windows feature and another top-rated data recovery software for Windows with you.

Solution 1. Recover permanently deleted photos on Windows 10/11 through File History

File History can backup copies of files in Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, Desktop folders, and OneDrive offline files saved on your PCs. After enabling this feature, you can restore the original files even if they were deleted, lost, or damaged. 

Notes:✎...  

Ensure you’ve opened Control Panel > System and Security to activate File History.

With File History on, you’re allowed to recover overwritten Excel files by restoring previous versions of Excel files.

Windows7 users cannot enjoy the above features because File History first appeared in Windows 8.0 operating system.

Step 1. Search Control Panel and open it. Then click the “System and Security” option.

Step 2. Go to File History and select the “Restore your files with File History” option.

Step 3. Click the “Restore personal files” button.

Step 4. If you want to recover your selected image files to the original location, click the “Restore” button.

You can also right-click on the “Restore” button and select the “Restore to” option to set a new saved path.

Solution 2. Recover permanently deleted photos on Windows 10/11 via photo recovery software

As mentioned above, there’s no better way than using trustable photo recovery software for Windows to recover old deleted photos if there’s no backup for you.

Are you unwilling to open the restored photos one by one without the original filenames? Are you worried about changing the file format after the recovery process? If you’ve suffered the above concerns, MyRecover can help you.

Functionality & User-friendliness

Recover the deleted/lost files from HDD, USB, SD cards, and other storage devices.   

Recover 200+ types of data: Word, Excel, PPT, Photos, Videos, Audio, Emails, and Compressed files.

Get the original path, filename, and format for the deleted files.   

During scanning, you can search your targeted image files by typing their filenames in the search bar or wait to find all the deleted and other lost files on your computers after running Quick Scan and Deep Scan automatically.

Support NTFS, exFAT, FAT32, and ReFS file systems in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Windows Server.

Step 1. Download and install MyRecover on your computer.

Step 2. After loading the disk, hover the mouse over the disk/partition that includes your targeted image files before data loss and click Scan.

Step 3. Search or wait to view all the deleted and other missing files after scanning.

Step 4. Go to the Deleted files/Other missing files folder, and select the photos you want to restore. Then click “Recover x files” and save them in your specified saved path.

Case B. How to recover old deleted photos from iPhone?

Likewise, you can also restore your iPhone from iCloud/iTunes backups or ask for help from iPhone data recovery software. 

Solution 1. Recover old deleted photos from iCloud backups

If you want to recover permanently deleted photos from iCloud backups, please ensure your selected iCloud backup includes your needed image files.   

Notes:✎...

After turning on iCloud Photos, your iCloud (not your iCloud backup) will store these photos. If you log in the iCloud.com with the same Apple account, iCloud.com will sync and update these photos automatically with a good internet connection.

You cannot preview all the files and restore the selected data to iPhone. Moreover, all the existing iPhone data will be overwritten by your selected iCloud backup after restoration.

These steps depict how to recover old deleted photos from iCloud backups.

Step 1. Click “Settings” > “General” > “Reset” > “Erase All Content and Settings.”

Step 2. Your iPhone will reboot. Please click “Restore from iCloud Backup” on the Apps & Data screen.

Step 3. Sign in to your Apple ID and select an iCloud backup from the listed backups.

Solution 2. Recover old deleted photos from iTunes backups

Some users believe that restoring iPhone from iTunes backups is a better way because the iTunes backup nearly covers everything on their iOS devices.

iTunes cannot include iCloud Photos and the second reason mentioned above is also suitable for iTunes.

Step 1. Run the latest iTunes on your PC. Then connect your iPhone to the connected computer and click the “iPhone” icon.

Step 2. Click “Summary” > “Restore Backup.”

Step 3. “Restore” your iPhone with your selected iTunes backup.

Solution 3. Recover permanently deleted photos from iPhone without backup

If you are reluctant to erase all the existing iPhone data, at the moment, you can recover old deleted photos with iPhone data recovery software like MyRecover for iOS.

It saves you from complicated backups and provides a better user experience with you. And you just have to ensure your iPhone is on.

★Tips:

 Preview all the files and restore the partial data before iPhone data recovery.

 Recover 10+ types of iPhone data: Photos, Videos, Contacts, Notes, Reminders, Calendar, Call History, Voice Memos, etc.

 Support different models of iPhone, iPad, and iPod and work well with the latest iOS 15.

Let’s perform how to recover old deleted photos as many as possible.

Step 1. After running AOMEI Data Recovery for iOS on your PC, connect your iPhone to the connected computer.

Step 2. Please “Trust This Computer” on your iPhone and click the “Scan Now” button.

Step 3. Choose the old deleted image files you want and click the “Recover” button.

Case C. How to recover old deleted photos from Android?

Google Photos is gaining more and more popularity across the world because Google Drive enables users to store files in Cloud, as well as sync and share files across devices.

Recover permanently deleted photos from Google Drive on Android

If your photos were deleted no more than 30 days, you can go to restore them from Trash with ease. 

Sign in to your Google account, and go to Trash.  Then right-click on your selected photos and click "Restore" to get them back. You can also use "CTRL" to select several photos at the same time. 

But how to get old pictures back after 30 days? If you’ve synced or shared your needed image files with it, you can contact Google Drive Help to recover permanently deleted files.

Step 1. Sign in to your account to enter the Google Drive Help site.

Step 2. Fill in your first and last name, and tick the “I consent to allow Google to attempt…” option. Then “Submit” it.

Step 3. Please wait patiently and you’ll receive a reply. Then you can confirm whether Google Drive can restore the old deleted photos or not.

Wrapping up

How to recover old deleted photos from Windows, iPhone, and Android? Read the above content to get corresponding methods. If you want to prevent data loss, please consider the following data loss prevention tips.

• Please think twice before permanent deletion.
• Take advantage of Windows features like File History or free backup software for Windows, AOMEI Backupper to backup files, folders, partitions, disks, or systems.
• Utilize free backup and transfer iPhone data software, FoneTool.