How to recover deleted photos on iPhone 13 - the complete guide
If a photo is deleted from your iPhone 13 by mistake, it can be annoying. Knowing where to find it can be a help; knowing how to recover it is even better. Our guide helps with both.
Alex Griffith Updated on Feb 1, 2023 8:44 PM
If you've accidentally deleted photos from your iPhone 13 and need them back, you can go to Recently Deleted folder built in Photos app and try to recover them with a few taps. You can also recover permanently deleted photos from iPhone 13 backup stored in iCloud or computer.
Still no luck? You may try a dedicated file recovery app— iOS Data Recovery to retrieve iPhone 13 deleted photos that have not been overwritten by scanning the device's internal memory.
Photos app and backups give you a big help of recovering iPhone 13 deleted pictures.
These days, there are a few incredibly reliable cloud storage services you can take to back up awesome photos on your iPhone 13, ranging from Apple's own iCloud to Google Photos and Dropbox. However, there are still times when accidental deletion happens - maybe you're clearing unwanted pictures and a simple wrong tap of Delete button gets a photo that you need erased from the album, or perhaps you try to maximize your iPhone's storage and accidentally wipe out some of your important pictures from the Photos library. Now what?
If you're looking to recover deleted photos from iPhone 13, you can do so through the built-in Recently Deleted album in Photos app. For those who have devices backed up to iCloud or computer, you can even recover photos deleted from iPhone 13 with backups. We also introduce an excellent data recovery software app to help you recover iPhone 13 photos.
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How to recover iPhone 13 deleted photos with Photos app
The first time you go to recover a photo you previously deleted from your iPhone 13's Photos app, you might already know there's a Recently Deleted album integrated in the app and where to find it, but you ignore this album.
Actually, the deleted pictures will be sent to the Recently Deleted folder and stay for 30 days. During the grace period, you can access from the Photos app to restore a photo with a few simple taps.
Here is how to find your deleted iPhone 13 photos and recover them with Photos app.
Tip: For iPhone 13 running iOS 16 and later, it requires you to use Face ID or Touch ID to view the Recently Deleted album to restore or deleted photos.
Step 1: Open Photos app on iPhone 13. You will see your photo library is divided into 4 categories: "My Albums," "People & Places," "Media Types," "Utilities."
Step 2: Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and select the folder labeled "Recently Deleted," under "Utilities."
A list of your recently deleted photos will appear, showing the days remaining until permanent deletion on your iPhone 13. However, iOS lets you view and recover deleted photos only if you have them deleted in the past 30 days (up to 40 days), so you should act relatively fast.
Step 3: Tap "Select" from the top right of the screen.
Step 4: Tap on the photos you'd like to restore, then tap "Recover" at the bottom right.
Step 5: Select "Recover Photos" to confirm
Recover permanently deleted pictures from iPhone 13 memory (without needing backup)
iPhone Data Recovery is a dedicated photo recovery tool designed for iPhone and iPad users. It lets your deeply scan the device memory to search for deleted files, including pictures. Once it finds the file you need, you can get it back quickly with a simple click of Recover button. This can be really helpful if you can't retrieve deleted photos from Recently Deleted album on Photos app, or you don't have any backup of your iPhone 13 photos available to restore.
The overall process for recovering deleted photos from an iPhone 13 without backup requires a few steps, and you'll need to do things through a computer. Here is what to do.
1. Run the program and connect your iPhone 13 to the computer. Select "Recover from iOS Device" from the interface for image recovery if you don't have backups.
2. Click "Start Scan" button. Let it begin scanning your phone for deleted files that are still recoverable, including pictures.
3. Once the scan is complete, you can preview the found photos under "Media" categories on the left pane. All photos are sorted by Camera Roll, Photo Stream, Photo Library, App Photos.
4. Select the deleted photos you want to retrieve from the list.
5. Click on the "Recover" button on the right corner. All selected photos will be immediately saved on your computer after you specify a location.
That's how to use iPhone recovery software to recover deleted photos. You can use this application to recover other files, such as text messages, contacts, notes from any iOS devices. It even enables you to extract files from iTunes backup without a restore.
Recover deleted photos with iCloud
If your iPhone 13 is backed up to iCloud, you may be able to recover your deleted photos from an iCloud by restoring the phone. While iCloud can restore photos to your iPhone 13 from a recent backup, it erases all you current content and revert your device to a state where your backup is made. But if the deleted photos is important for you, it might be worth it.
Follow these steps to restore your iPhone 13 from iCloud to recover deleted photos.
Back Up iPhone 13 before a restore
Open Settings app, select your Apple ID profile, tap iCloud, select iCloud Backup, then tap Back Up Now.
Perform a factory reset to erase the device
Go to General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings, enter your passcode to wipe out the phone completely.
Restore from iCloud backup while setting it up
After the device is reset to factory settings, set it up as you did the first time. On App & Data page, select a relevant iCloud backup from before the time when you deleted photos.
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Restore deleted photos on iPhone 13 from iTunes backup
Rather than restoring from iCloud to get photos back, if you have your iPhone 13 backed up to a PC, or Mac running macOS Mojave or earlier with iTunes, you should restore deleted photos from an iTunes backup. Just as with the iCloud way, it will factory reset your iPhone 13 and delete everything from after the backup. To recover deleted photos with iTunes follow these steps:
Step 1. Open iTunes application on your Mac or PC containing the backups. For macOS Catalina and newer, you should launch Finder to retrieve your photos instead.
Step 2. Connect your iPhone 13 to the machine.
Step 3. Select the phone icon when it appears in the top left-hand corner of iTunes.
Step 4. Choose Restore Backup, then select the most relevant backup.
Step 5. Click Restore. Give iTunes a few minutes to erase and restore your iPhone 13. Your deleted photos should appear in the Photos app library later.
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Retrieve deleted pictures from iPhone 13 backup with Finder
To recover deleted photos from iPhone 13 backup with Finder, take these steps:
- Launch Finder on your Mac, and connect your device.
- Select your phone name from the left pane where listed your device.
- Under General, click the Restore Backup at the bottom right corner of Finder.
- Restore your iPhone 13 from backup. It will get deleted photos back, as well as other types of data, such as app settings, texts, notes, contacts, and so on.
Recover deleted photos from iCloud Photos
iCloud Photos is another way to recover your deleted pictures for iPhone 13 without using a backup, and it doesn't require a complete reset. If you enabled iCloud Photos on your iPhone 13, your photos saved on library should be uploaded to iCloud, and you may be able to recover your photos in the iCloud "Recently Deleted."
To access your iCloud Photos, try the steps below:
1. Sign in to iCloud.com with your Apple ID and password.
2. Select "Photos" icon from iCloud website.
3. Click "Recently Deleted" album under "Photos."
4. Click the photos on the right pane to select ones you want to recover.
5. Click "Recover" button on the upper right corner.
It will get the deleted photos back to your iCloud Photos library. You will also see they're restored to your iPhone 13 once iCloud finishes its sync.
Recover deleted photos on damaged iPhone 13
What to do if your iPhone 13 is damaged unexpectedly and need your deleted photos back? No worries, there are a few ways you can try.
1. Restore from iCloud Photos. If you can't unlock your iPhone to access Photos library to see if the lost photos are stored in Recently Deleted folder, you may log into iCloud website to check your iCloud Photos and restore your photos from Recently Deleted.
2. Use iOS Data Recovery's "Recover from iTunes backup" feature. It allows you to access your backup in iTunes or Finder without an iPhone 13 factory reset and extract just the permanently deleted photos you need.
3. Repair your damaged screen. You may need to take your phone to a local Apple Store or authorized service provider for repairing the physical issue. You then can follow the methods outlined above to retrieve deleted photos on your iPhone 13.
4. Resort a professional data recovery services. If a regular Apple's recovery route or image recovery software solution doesn't help, your last resort is to send the device to a professional data recovery center. This may cost a lot, but at least your iPhone 13 photos will get back.
