Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 2: How to Recover Photos and Contacts on iPhone
• Method 2 of 2: How to Recover Photos and Contacts on Android
• Tips
• Warnings

A factory reset on an iPhone or Android phone will erase all data from the device, essentially returning it to its “factory” state. To recover photos, contacts, and other data, you need to recover your phone using the service that is most convenient for you.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: How to Recover Photos and Contacts on iPhone

1. 1 Make sure Find My iPhone is turned off. While it is active, you will not be able to restore your iPhone from a backup. To turn off Find My iPhone, do the following:
   • Open the Settings app.
   • Open the "iCloud" section.
   • Click on "Find iPhone".
   • If the switch is green, tap it.
   • Enter your Apple ID password to verify.
2. 2 Connect iPhone to computer via USB cable. To restore data after resetting iPhone to factory settings, you need to open iTunes and look for the "Restore from Backup" option.
   • Alternatively, iPhone can be restored from iCloud backup. This feature is found on the Apps & Data screen when navigating a factory-reset phone and does not require iTunes to function.
3. 3 Launch iTunes on your computer if it hasn't already done so. iTunes should launch by default when you connect your iPhone to your computer.
4. 4 Click on your device icon in the upper left corner of iTunes. It will look like the silhouette of an iPhone.
5. 5 Wait for the device to finish syncing. Depending on how much data is to be downloaded, this can take several minutes.
6. 6 Click on the "Recover from a copy" button in the "Backups" section of iTunes.
7. 7 Select the backup to recover from. To do this, click on the drop-down menu "iPhone name" and select the most suitable backup.
   • In general, you should restore your phone from the most recent backup.
8. 8 Click "Recover" to start the recovery process. Do not disconnect iPhone from iTunes until the restore process is complete.
   • If the backups are encrypted, you will need to enter the encryption password before the program can start the restore process.
9. 9 Wait for the device to restart and re-sync. Only after the restore process is complete, the phone will restart and sync again with iTunes, it can be unlocked. All your contacts, photos and other data should be restored.
   • If you chose not the most recent copy, but an earlier one, then most likely not all contacts or data will be restored.

Method 2 of 2: How to Recover Photos and Contacts on Android

1. 1 Open the desired search engine. To recover photos and contacts on Android, you need to download and install data recovery software.
   • If you have used your Android device at least once since the reset, not all lost data will be recovered. This is because the data recovery software recovers temporary files from the SD card. Therefore, if you use your phone after the reset, these files will be overwritten.
2. 2 Find data recovery software for Android. Here are a couple of the most popular programs available for Mac and PC:
   • MobiKin Doctor has a free trial and is capable of recovering contacts, photos, text messages and other data.
   • FonePaw Android Data Recovery also recovers contacts and photos. Buy it or use the trial version.
3. 3 Download one of the suggested programs. If your browser asks you for a download location, choose an easily accessible location, such as your desktop.
   • Make sure to download software from the official site and try not to download software from third party sites.
4. 4 Double click on the downloaded installer. The installation of the selected data recovery software will start. The installation process for each data recovery software may be different, so carefully read the instructions for setting up the software and follow the instructions on the screen.
5. 5 Run the data recovery software. When the program completes the installation, launch it to proceed with the recovery.
   • Depending on the installation parameters, the program may open immediately after the installation is complete.
6. 6 Connect Android to computer via USB cable. Use the same cable as when charging your phone.
   • For the program to scan the phone, it must be turned on.
7. 7 Follow the instructions on the screen. Typically, you will need to click on the analogue of the "Start" button in the program interface, and then click "Allow" on the Android phone so that the program can scan it.
   • Most of the programs, including those listed above, provide the user with the ability to restore certain data on the phone (for example, you can check "Photos" and "Contacts", but not restore "SMS messages").
8. 8 Disconnect your phone from your computer. Make sure the recovery was successful before closing the program.
9. 9 Unblock Android. Your photos, contacts and other data must be restored!
   • If you used your Android phone after a reset but before data was restored, the phone may not have all the data it needs.

Tips

• Recovery methods for iOS and Android should work on tablets with the same OS as well.

Warnings

• If you don't back up your phone data before resetting, you risk losing all data.