How to Recover Permanently Deleted Notes on iPhone?

Can you recover permanently deleted notes on iPhone?

Notes utility from Apple is definitely a well-designed tool for users to create to-do lists and seize an idea or so.

Additionally, just like Photos, the Notes App is also equipped with a Recently Deleted folder. If you accidentally delete some of the notes or repent of your deletion, you could head over there and easily get them back.

But this folder only saves those notes you deleted for the utmost 30 days. After 30 days, all notes will be removed from your device permanently, which is called “Permanently delete”. Similarly, if you intentionally delete them from this folder; they are gone for good.

Hi everyone, I would like to ask if anyone knows how to recover permanently deleted notes on iPhones. The note is not being backed up on iCloud, and I pressed delete in the recently deleted notes section...I made a huge mistake. I hope someone can help. Thanks

- Question from Reddit

It is simply a disaster to lose loads of notes you have collected for years. So, how to recover permanently deleted notes on iPhone? Aiming at this question, this tutorial will offer 3 methods to get back your wanted notes.

How to recover permanently deleted notes on iPhone?

To put it briefly, 3 ways to restore permanently deleted notes will be given in this section. You could choose to recover from backup;

If you don't have backups, you could also turn to the professional iPhone data recovery app introduced in this post to recover deleted notes without backups.

Beforehand: Get permanently deleted notes back from another iDevice

How to recover permanently deleted notes on iPhone? Under a very restricted circumstance, you could make it to recover permanently deleted notes on iPhones.

The prerequisites are as follows.

• You have another iDevice with the same iCloud account logged in.
• You have enabled Notes synced via iCloud.
• The iCloud sync on another device is already disabled while you delete notes on your device in use.

With these prerequisites, you could probably still get access to some of the notes on another iDevice; then you could copy them to a safe place.

After that, when you enable the iCloud sync again, they will disappear immediately. Also, sometimes iCloud sync goes wrong as well, causing data loss. For example, some users find iCloud Photos are not syncing on iPhone.

Method 1. Recover permanently deleted notes iPhone from iCloud backup

How to get permanently deleted notes back? If you have enabled iCloud backup, your iPhone will create a backup automatically as long as 3 conditions are satisfied: your device is connected to power, WiFi, and is locked.

Additionally, if you have activated notes synced via iCloud, notes seem to be covered in the iCloud backup at the same time.

So the possibility to get back your needed notes is quite satisfying since every night users tend to connect their iPhones to a power supply & WiFi and lock their iPhones. You could restore the latest iCloud backup.

Notes:✎...

To use this method, you must have already enabled “Notes” in “APPS USING ICLOUD”.

Restoring from an iCloud backup will erase all the data on your device now, so it is suggested to back up your current data first. 

Those photos, videos, and other types of data that are synced via iCloud will not be covered in the iCloud backup, but you could get access to them by connecting to a WiFi network. 

If restoring from iCloud backup not working, please get help.

Step 1. Go to “General” > “Reset” > “Erase All Content and Settings”. Input your passcode to confirm your choice.

Step 2. Your iPhone will restart > enter the Hello Screen > set up your iPhone > connect to a WiFi> “Apps & Data” > “Restore from iCloud Backup” > sign in with your iCloud Apple ID. Choose the latest backup.

Step 3. When seeing the Notes App downloaded successfully, turn your iPhone to airplane mode immediately to abort the sync. Then go to "Settings" > “Notes” > switch on the “On My iPhone” Account > “Default Account” > “On My iPhone”.

Step 4. Then go to “Notes” > Select Notes > Move All > move your recovered notes to “ON MY IPHONE”.

Thus you could successfully recover permanently deleted notes on iPhone.

Method 2. Recover permanently deleted notes iPhone from iTunes backup

How to recover permanently deleted notes on iPhone? If unfortunately, you have never enabled “Notes” in “APPS USING ICLOUD”, don’t be upset; you still have a chance to make it.

Except for those data synced via iCloud, iTunes backup almost includes all contents on your device. So if you have never activated notes sync by iCloud, an iTunes backup will cover this part.

You could recover permanently deleted notes iPhone from an iTunes backup.

Notes:✎...

Restoring would wipe all data on your device now; it is strongly advised that you back up your data first. 

Some private data like Health, Activity, etc. will only be included in the backup when “Encrypt Local Backup” is toggled on. With your backup encrypted, you could easily recover health data on iPhone when in need. 

If iTunes can not restore iPhone from backup, please seek help.

Step 1. Run the latest version of iTunes, and connect your iPhone to the computer.

Step 2. Click the “iPhone” icon under the toolbar.

Step 3. Go to “Summary” > “Back Up Now” to back up your current data.

Step 4. Click “Restore Backup”. Choose the backup which contains the notes you need.

Then the permanently deleted notes will be recovered.

Method 3. Recover permanently deleted notes on iPhone using software

How to recover permanently deleted notes on iPhones easily and conveniently?   If you find restoring notes from backup bothering you, why not try some professional iPhone data recovery software? Here the MyRecover for iOS will be recommended.

Recover over 10 types of iPhone data: notes, photos, videos, voice memos, contacts, WeChat messages, etc. 

Scan, select, and recover your wanted files in 3 steps. 

Compatible with iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, from iPhone 6 to the latest iPhone 14/13/12, etc. 

Available on iOS 10.0 and above, as well as the latest iOS 15/16.

With this tool, you could easily get back permanently deleted notes back just 3 easy steps.

Notes:✎...

Tap “Trust” when you see “Trust This Computer?”.

Please keep your iPhone properly connected to your computer during the whole process.

Step 1. Download and run MyRecover Assistant for iOS. Connect your iPhone.

Step 2. Click “Scan Now” to scan your iPhone.

Step 3.  Go to “Notes” and select the notes you need, click “Recover” .

Related suggestions

Notes are loaded with memories, quick thoughts, inspirations, etc.; no one wants to lose them. To decrease the risk of losing notes data again, here are suggestions prepared for you.

• ✍ Think twice when deleting notes.
• ✍ Unless your iPhone is running low storage, never delete notes in Recently Deleted.
• ✍ Back up your data in more than one way and one place.
• ✍ Back up important data separately.

To flexibly choose certain types of data to back up, you could utilize a good backup tool, FoneTool. “Custom Backup” could satisfy your need to back up notes separately. You could also take advantage of “Photos Backup” and “Full Backup” in specific conditions.

In this post, the question “How to recover permanently deleted notes on iPhone?” has been elaborated. Several points worth attention are attached, too. Choose any according to your condition.