On the back of Wednesday’s blog post about data backups and recovery, a customer came into the store wanting to know how they could recover some deleted files from iCloud. They had been backing up their college work to iCloud but had accidentally deleted them when housekeeping. So how can you recover them?
iCloud is Apple’s cloud storage service that you can use to automatically save documents from your Mac or MacBook to the cloud. It offers some storage free and more storage for a fee. It makes easy work of backing up important data, as long as you don’t accidentally delete it of course!
This is something the guys here at Dave’s Computers have come across before so we knew exactly what to do.
iCloud and data recovery
There are two things you need to know if you accidentally delete files from iCloud. You only have 30 days to recover them and you need to be running the latest iOS or MacOS version to stand the best chance of recovery.
iCloud has a trash feature that will keep all deleted files for 30 days before wiping them forever. If you move fast, you can quickly recover the files just like you would on your Mac.
Here’s how:
- Log into iCloud from within Safari.
- Select Settings from the dashboard and scroll down to Advanced.
- Select Restore Files.
- Select the file(s) you want to restore and select the blue Restore link.
- Rinse and repeat until you have recovered every file you need.
Your files should be recovered immediately and iCloud will tell you after each one has been successfully recovered. That’s all there is to it!
Find out how much space you have in iCloud
If you delete iCloud files because you think you’re running out of space, there’s a quick way to find out how much space you have left. Select Manage Storage from the app or Storage depending on what version you’re using. It should tell you exactly how much storage you have used and how much is free.
If you’re running out, you can free up space in a number of ways. This page on the Apple website can tell you more.
Like with any situation where you lose data, speed is of the essence. You have more time than usual with iCloud but the longer you leave it the more probable it is that you will forget to do it. Act immediately and you now only save your data but you also save yourself hours of worry!
If you need help with data recovery or backup, contact Dave’s Computers in New Jersey. We can help!
