[Fixed] iPhone Activity Data Missing after Restore

“How do I get my activity data back on my iPhone?”

Tracking daily activities like standing, exercising, and moving, Apple Watch can help users arrange their health and fitness goals. Though as such a well-designed tool, it went wrong sometimes.

Some users complain about iPhone activity data missing after restore.

Health data is incomplete when restoring from iCloud backup

I'm trying for my third time tonight to restore from an iCloud backup of my 7+ to the new X I received today. I have most of the health data there up until October 29th. After that, it's all gone. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

- Question from Largefarrva (MacRumors)

Some users found after restoring from a backup, some parts of their activity data are missing. So many users are eager to restore Health & activity data on iPhones. To get directed at this question, this article will give 7 fixes to help users get their activity data back.

How to fix iPhone activity data missing after restore

7 fixes will be given in detail, users who are being bothered by this question could choose any according to their specific situation.

Fix 1. Check if “Health” sync via iCloud is enabled

Activity data is stored with Health data on your iPhone. If you found activity data partially/completely missing after restoring, the very first course of action will be to check whether you have enabled “Health” in “APPS USING ICLOUD”.

You could head over to “Settings” > “Apple ID” > “iCloud” > “APPS USING ICLOUD” > "Health" to check if it is enabled.

If this option is toggled on, your activity data will be back eventually, as long as your iPhone is connected to WiFi. The time required for synchronization varies from several hours to several days, please be patient.

Fix 2. Check your iCloud storage space

The iCloud storage space is also a factor. If you did not upgrade your storage plan, there will only be 5GB of free storage. As you can imagine, that’s far from enough, because, for most users, their photos and videos take up most of the storage space.

If your iPhone is running low on iCloud storage space, your health data won’t be covered. Go to “Settings” > “Apple ID” > “iCloud” to view the space size.

You could also try to manage iCloud storage to free up space.

Fix 3. Restart your Apple Watch and iPhone

A restart could solve some of the questions of your iDevice. If there is something wrong with your activity data, you could try restarting both your Apple Watch and your iPhone.

Notes:✎...

Apple Watch cannot be restarted while it is charging.

If you find your Apple Watch not paring with your iPhone, check the tutorial for troubleshooting methods.

For your Apple Watch.

Step 1. Press and hold the side button, until you see the sliders; drag it to the right side to turn off your Apple Watch.

Step 2. Hold the side button for several seconds until the Apple logo shows.

For your iPhone.

Tap and hold the Assistive Touch > Tap “Restart”. Or press and hold the Side/Wake button > slide to the right to turn it off; then press and hold the Side/Wake button until you see the Apple logo.

Fix 4. Update your iOS software

Apple releases iOS software updates every year to improve the software performance. But bugs or issues are not always avoidable. If you found iPhone activity data missing after restore, it could have something to do with the bugs.

A version of the iOS software update states that it will fix an issue that prevents data sync in Health. So, when finding lost activity data on your Apple Watch, try to upgrade your iOS software.

Notes:✎...

If iOS 16 update not showing up, check the tutorial for help.

You could go to “Settings” > “General” > “Software Update” > “Download and install”.

After that, see if your activity data is successfully synced.

Fix 5. Unpair your Apple Watch

If the fixes above cannot save you, you could try to unpair your Apple Watch, and then re-pair it.

According to Apple Support, when unpairing your Apple Watch, a backup will be created automatically in iCloud. So after that, if re-pairing does not help, you could jump to Fix 7 to recover from an iCloud backup to get your activity data back.

Fix 6. Check if your iTunes backup is encrypted

If you found iPhone activity data missing after restore from your iTunes backup, then you are supposed to check if you have toggled on “Encrypt Local Backup”. iTunes backup indeed provides backup encryption, but the backups you make are not encrypted by default.

And private data, such as health, activity, keychain, etc., need to be backed up and encrypted before it will be included in your iTunes backup.

In other words, if you do not tick this option -“Encrypt Local Backup”, your backup will not contain your activity data.

Fix 7. Restore iPhone from iCloud backup

Different from iTunes backup, iCloud backup uses an end-to-end encryption method to protect your data, in other words, the Health data, including activity data, will be stored in your iCloud backup.

How to restore activity data on iPhone? If your iTunes backup does not contain the activity data, you could recover it from the iCloud backup.

Notes:✎...

Restoring from an iCloud backup wipes all content and settings on your iPhone. So make sure to backup iPhone before factory reset using iTunes or backup software to avoid data loss. 

Make sure to select the right one to restore from the backups. 

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

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

Step 2. iPhone restart > set up your iPhone> connect to a WiFi > “Apps & Data” > “Restore from iCloud Backup” > sign in with your iCloud Apple ID. All the backups will be listed. Choose one that contains your activity data.

Bonus tips: how to recover selected data on iPhone without restoring?

As private data, activity data cannot be accessed or scanned by any software, so there is no way to use a third-party tool. You could only retrieve it from your backup.

Different from private data, some parts of the data on the iPhone are definitely recoverable.

• MyRecover for iOS facilitates users to recover deleted photos, videos, notes, voice memos, etc.
• Using this tool does not force you to reset your iPhone, all your current data will be intact.
• All scanned data can be saved to your computer.
• Compatible with iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, from iPhone6/6s to the latest iPhone 14/13/12, etc.
• Work perfectly with iOS 10.0 and above, to the newest iOS 17/16/15.

★Tips: 

Using a lightning cable is advisable. 

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

Step 1. Install MyRecover for iOS on your PC, then connect your iPhone to the computer.

Step 2. Click “Scan Now”.

Step 3. You could view all the recoverable data in the left column. Go to the type you need to recover, for instance, “Photos” and select the photos you need, then click “Recover”.

Thus you could recover selected data on iPhone with ease.

In this article, 7 fixes are offered for all users who are suffering from "iPhone activity data missing after restoring" issue. The method to recover deleted data on iPhone has been given as well.