Dr.Fone User Guide for Data Recovery

Learn how to use Dr.Fone to recover deleted or lost data from iOS and Android devices. Download the latest version of Dr.Fone and get started now.

How To Recover Data from an iOS Device?

When important data becomes inaccessible or is accidentally deleted from an iPhone or iPad, a data recovery tool can help you scan the device and retrieve available files. Dr.Fone - Data Recovery (iOS) offers two device recovery modes: Standard Recovery for a faster scan of commonly used data and Advanced Recovery for a deeper scan of supported devices and apps.

Upgrade to the Newest Dr.Fone
Manage Your Phone Wherever You Go
Free Download
For Windows 7 or newer
Try for Free
For Mac OS X 10.8 & higher
Note: Available data types depend on the recovery mode, device, and iOS version. Supported data may include photos, contacts, messages, calendars, reminders, attachments, Safari bookmarks and history, voice memos, call history, FaceTime data, app photos and videos, documents, notes and note attachments, alarms, and selected data from Snapchat, Gmail, Viber, Kik, and LINE.

Recover Data with Standard Recovery

Standard Recovery provides a faster scan for commonly used data on an iPhone or iPad. Follow the steps below to connect your device, scan the selected data types, preview the results, and recover the files you need.

Step 1Open Data Recovery for iOS

Launch Dr.Fone on your computer after installation. Continue to Toolbox > Data Recovery to open the recovery tool.

Open Dr.Fone Data Recovery

* Dr.Fone for Mac may still use the previous interface. This does not affect the use of the Data Recovery function.

Step 2Select the iOS Device Type

Select iOS as the device type because you want to recover data from an iPhone or iPad.

Select iOS as the device type

Step 3Start the iOS Recovery Process

On the next screen, select Recover Data from an iOS device to start recovering data from your iPhone or iPad.

Select Recover Data from an iOS device

Step 4Connect the iOS Device to the Computer

Connect the iOS device to the computer with a USB cable and wait for Dr.Fone to detect it.

Connect the iOS device to the computer

Step 5Choose Standard Recovery

After the device is detected, Dr.Fone checks the device and system information. Select Standard Recovery for a faster scan of commonly used data.

Choose Standard Recovery for the iOS device

Step 6Select File Types to Recover

Select the file types you want to scan, and then click Start Scan in the bottom-right corner.

Select file types for Standard Recovery

Step 7Scan the iOS Device

Dr.Fone scans the selected data on the iOS device. Keep the device connected and wait until the scan is complete.

Scan data on the iOS device

Step 8Preview Data and Choose a Recovery Option

After the scan, preview the available data and filter the results by all data, existing data, or deleted data. Select the items you want to recover. To return supported data to an iOS device, click Restore to Device. To save the selected files locally, click Recover to Computer and continue to Step 12.

Preview iOS data and choose a recovery option

Step 9Select the Device to Restore

If you selected Restore to Device, choose the connected iPhone or iPad that will receive the data. Review the recoverable data, and then click Continue.

Select an iOS device to restore the data

Step 10Disable Find My

If prompted, disable Find My on the iOS device. After disabling it, return to Dr.Fone on the computer and click OK.

Disable Find My before restoring data

Step 11Complete the Restore to Device

Keep the device connected while Dr.Fone restores the selected data. A confirmation appears when the process is complete.

Complete the data restore to the iOS device

Step 12Recover Data to the Computer

If you selected Recover to Computer, choose a location for the recovered files, and then click Recover to save them.

Save recovered iOS data to the computer

Recover More Data with Advanced Recovery

Advanced Recovery performs a deeper scan for more deleted data on supported iOS devices and from supported third-party apps. The initial setup is the same as Standard Recovery, so the repeated steps are summarized below.

Advanced Recovery Compatibility: Advanced Recovery supports iPhone 16 series and earlier models running iOS 17.0–18.7.1 or iOS 26.0–26.0.1.
Step 1Open Advanced Recovery

Complete Steps 1–4 under Standard Recovery: open Toolbox > Data Recovery, select iOS and Recover Data from an iOS device, and connect the device. After Dr.Fone detects the device, select Advanced Recovery and click Start Scan.

Choose Advanced Recovery for the iOS device

Step 2Select Data Types to Recover

Select the system or third-party app data you want to scan, or choose All to scan every available category. Selecting only the data types you need may reduce the scanning time. Click Start Scan after making your selection.

Select data types for Advanced Recovery

Supported data types may include:

  • Contacts
  • Notes and note attachments
  • Alarms
  • Snapchat and attachments
  • Gmail and attachments
  • Viber and attachments
  • Kik and attachments
  • LINE and attachments
Step 3Verify Your Apple ID if Prompted

Dr.Fone may ask you to verify your Apple ID before retrieving certain data types. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the verification.

Verify the Apple ID for Advanced Recovery

Step 4Trust the Dr.Fone DataLink App

Follow the instructions in Dr.Fone to trust the Dr.Fone DataLink app. On the iPhone, open Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, and then open the developer profile shown on the screen.

Trust the Dr.Fone DataLink app on the iPhone

Tap Trust, allow the required access, and launch Dr.Fone DataLink. Then return to Dr.Fone on the computer.

Allow access and launch Dr.Fone DataLink

Step 5Scan and Preview iOS Data

Dr.Fone retrieves and scans the selected data. Keep the iOS device connected until the scan is complete. The required time depends on the amount of data stored on the device.

Scan the selected iOS data with Advanced Recovery

When the scan finishes, preview the results and filter them by all data, existing data, or deleted data.

Preview Advanced Recovery results

Step 6Preview Deleted App Data

Select an app category in the left panel to preview available deleted messages and attachments before recovery. The examples below show recovered Gmail, Kik, and LINE data.

Preview deleted Gmail data from an iPhone

Preview deleted Kik messages from an iPhone

Preview deleted LINE messages from an iPhone

Select the items you want to recover. For recovered View Once data, you can remove unwanted items from the results list so they do not remain there for future scans.

Step 7Recover the Selected Data

Click Recover to Computer to save the selected files locally. If Restore to Device is available for the selected data type, you can return the data to a connected iPhone or iPad. These final actions follow the same process described in Steps 8–12 under Standard Recovery.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Dr.Fone solution center
Solution center on YouTube

Dr.Fone provides a complete set of tools for solving iOS and Android phone problems.