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brogazelle
เข้าร่วมเมื่อ 26 ก.พ. 2022
Play the Game.
"On My iPhone" notes disappeared - How to get all your Notes back
This videos shows how you can recover your iPhone notes if they randomly disappeared from the Notes app but you can still search for them in the search bar. I explain this at the beginning of the video.
If you are facing the same problem then you should be able to get your notes back by following this tutorial.
Simplified steps:
1. Use a 'Backup Manager' software (iMazing or iPhone Backup Extractor) to copy the 'com.apple.notes' (or 'AppDomainGroup-group.com.apple.notes') folder from one of your old backups to the PC.
2. Navigate the 'group.com.apple.notes' folder on the Mac and delete the files there. NOTE: THIS WILL DELETE ALL THE NOTES THAT ARE ALREADY ON YOUR MAC SO MAKE A COPY OF THESE NOTES FIRST.
3. Copy and paste the content of the 'AppDomainGroup-group.com.apple.notes' folder you obtained form the Backup Manager into the 'group.com.apples.notes' folder on the Mac.
4. Open the Notes app on the Mac and you should see your notes (at least some of them but if you don't then don't worry, this is not the final step)
5. You should see a 'Backups' folder in the ''AppDomainGroup-group.com.apple.notes'' folder you got form the Backup Manger (THIS IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH 'NoteStore.sqlite' YOU SEE ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE 'Backups' folder.
6. In there you will find a file called 'NoteStore.sqlite'. Check the size of the file to make sure that it has some data in it.
7. Now from the 'group.com.apple.notes' folder delete the files with the names 'NoteStore.sqlite', 'NoteStore.sqlite-shm', and 'NoteStore.sqlite-wal' and copy and paste the 'NoteStore.sqlite', from the 'Backups' folder in here and open the Notes app on the Mac again. You should now see all your notes in the app that were on your iPhone (ASSUMING THEY WERE BACKED UP IN THE BACKUP).
NOTE: There may be easier and less complicated ways to do this but I have not found any yet. From what I know this is the only working method.
Any questions, feel free to contact me. I will try to get back as soon as I can.
iMazing:
imazing.com/
iPhone Backup Extractor:
www.iphonebackupextractor.com/
More on recovering data from the DB Browser for SQLite:
ciofecaforensics.com/2017/10/13/theres-gold-in-them-there-blobs/
Reddit:
www.reddit.com/user/brogazelle
If you are facing the same problem then you should be able to get your notes back by following this tutorial.
Simplified steps:
1. Use a 'Backup Manager' software (iMazing or iPhone Backup Extractor) to copy the 'com.apple.notes' (or 'AppDomainGroup-group.com.apple.notes') folder from one of your old backups to the PC.
2. Navigate the 'group.com.apple.notes' folder on the Mac and delete the files there. NOTE: THIS WILL DELETE ALL THE NOTES THAT ARE ALREADY ON YOUR MAC SO MAKE A COPY OF THESE NOTES FIRST.
3. Copy and paste the content of the 'AppDomainGroup-group.com.apple.notes' folder you obtained form the Backup Manager into the 'group.com.apples.notes' folder on the Mac.
4. Open the Notes app on the Mac and you should see your notes (at least some of them but if you don't then don't worry, this is not the final step)
5. You should see a 'Backups' folder in the ''AppDomainGroup-group.com.apple.notes'' folder you got form the Backup Manger (THIS IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH 'NoteStore.sqlite' YOU SEE ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE 'Backups' folder.
6. In there you will find a file called 'NoteStore.sqlite'. Check the size of the file to make sure that it has some data in it.
7. Now from the 'group.com.apple.notes' folder delete the files with the names 'NoteStore.sqlite', 'NoteStore.sqlite-shm', and 'NoteStore.sqlite-wal' and copy and paste the 'NoteStore.sqlite', from the 'Backups' folder in here and open the Notes app on the Mac again. You should now see all your notes in the app that were on your iPhone (ASSUMING THEY WERE BACKED UP IN THE BACKUP).
NOTE: There may be easier and less complicated ways to do this but I have not found any yet. From what I know this is the only working method.
Any questions, feel free to contact me. I will try to get back as soon as I can.
iMazing:
imazing.com/
iPhone Backup Extractor:
www.iphonebackupextractor.com/
More on recovering data from the DB Browser for SQLite:
ciofecaforensics.com/2017/10/13/theres-gold-in-them-there-blobs/
Reddit:
www.reddit.com/user/brogazelle
มุมมอง: 8 079
I don’t own a Mac so I had to install Mac OS on a virtual machine to get my notes back, and it worked! I feel like simply saying thank you would not be enough for the service you have given to me and others who had this exact issue. Instead I wish that you receive many good things in life. Thank you so much for your help!
Thankyou! i got my notes back. Tried using imazing 2014 free version and followed the steps. Many many thanks!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to make this video. This worked for me, using the 2024 free version of iMazing after my Notes dissapeared due to low storage. Legend!
You are welcome!
did you have a previous back up? also, where they saved under "on my iphone" and that is what disappeared? were you able to search for them in your Notes or iphone like he showed in the video? I have not been able to get it to work. I have my icloud notes but not the "on my iphone". my phone deleted my due to low storage as well. :( HELP!!!
@@imfunsize52 My notes were saved "on my iPhone" and disappeared after having low storage. I was able to search for them on my iPhone home screen, although I could not open them in the Notes app. I made a back up even after they disappeared and thankfully they were still there in the back up. I followed his video and got them back.
this worked for me as well, and i am very grateful for your video tutorial. thanks a lot brother. it is a shame that apple is such a shitass company that 1. allows such a glitch to occur in the first place, 2. offers no assistance, support or workaround in such a situation, and 3. expects everyone to be cloud slaves. you've been a huge help and i am impressed by your know-how. thanks for sharing this with everyone. at first the copy and paste didn't work, but i then followed the second step where i retrieved the file from the backup folder and when i brought that over, all the notes were there! woo! =)
I am glad I could help. Thank you for you kind words!
1:16 what if there wasnt anything when i searched? i lost my 2023-2024 notes. because i didnt back it up and my icloud storage was full. now i lost it because i changed ti a different apple user and when i got back to my old apple acct, rverything was lost.
This video is for Notes that were stored on you iPhone. I am not sure if it would work for notes store on iCloud.
Hello Brogazelle! My nerves have been all bundled up for two days until I could sit down to try this after Apple deleted all my notes due to storage. I have officially restored ten years of notes thanks to you and I actually cried when they popped up again. THANK YOU so very much!!!
You are welcome!
Thanks for this video - once you open the notes on your Mac what do you do from there? Manually copy and paste them back into your phone? The data still lives on the phone, it is just not showing up for some reason.
Yes, you could manually copy and paste them. In this video I only show how to have them back in a readable form, and what do you decide to do them afterwards is up to you. I mean once you have your notes on you Mac, you could delete the Notes app completely from your iPhone so you will delete the Notes data allowing more storage space on your phone and then download Notes app again and transfer it from Mac to iPhone possible using Airdrop. Just a warning, I have not done that yet so try this at your own risk but I don't see what could go wrong but you know just letting you know that I haven't done it myself so I can't be for sure it will work as intended.
Excellent it worked! Thank you so much. (Navigate to zwidgetsnippet for full data). But if I can see the notes in opensource why don`t they show up in notes on iPhone?
You are welcome! I am glad I was able to help. And I don't know the answer to your question sorry. It should be just some software issue,
oh my god!!! this video saved my notes. I cried today while talking to apple tech support as all my notes had disappeared. These notes were from 2015. I never took a backup (beat myself for it). Came across this video via reddit. We tried and it worked, like magic!!!! I really cannot thank you enough.
I am glad I could help :)
I tried to post it on as many subreddits as possible so people facing this issue could use this and fix their problem, I even got banned from several subreddits for posting this lol
I’ve never backed up? Is there any way to get my notes back?
Yes, if there is still data in the Notes app so that it shows in the settings -> storage then you can make a backup and use that backup to follow the steps in the video.
I have an iPhone 14 I’m still on an older iOS I haven’t updated to the newest one. Unlike yours the notes arenot searchable. Should I update first or maybe offload my notes app and redownload it again bc my storage is almost completely full? Also when I check my storage in settings it shows 1gb of notes so clearly something is still there even though there’s nothing I can see in the app? Could I also maybe still offload the app and redownload to get the data back?
I suggest you try follow the steps in the video before updating or offloading the app.
Bro I had lost 6 months worth of travel notes and memoir and thanks to you I got them all back! ❤❤❤❤ I don’t what religion you have or what you believe in, but from the bottom of my heart thank you and I pray that everything beautiful and good and pure and amazing comes your way in life and that you are bestowed with goodness and happiness worth 1000000 times the joy and happiness you have just brought me thanks to your tutorial. God bless you bro
I'm so glad it worked for you hoping it will work for me as well, I have some pretty important notes that I need to get back. Did you use the free version of iPhone back up extractor or another app?
@@tsiontibebu1648 I used the free version of what was in the video. Worked perfectly
I am glad I could help Thank you for your kind words :)
Thank you very much
You are welcome!
what if you dont have a previous backup ? ):
You don't need a previous backup. You make the backup after you lose the notes. That is what I have done in this video. But in the video I say that if you do have a previous backup then you should try that one first in case the new backup overwrites the old one and you end up losing the notes in your old back up too. But yes, ideally all your notes should be in the new backup. Let me know if you have any questions.
@@brogazelle6583 ohh! thank you so much!!!!
@@brogazelle6583 will the backup work if you don't have enough space on your mac for a backup ? for eg. my phone has maxed out it's 256 gb and my mac also has 256 gb which is also almost full, how will it have space for a backup of my entire phone's storage? and will this method work with the free and not upgraded version of iMazing?
@@sugahobi2329 Hmmmm I don't think think that would work because your Mac would have no where to store your backup... Unless you find a way to only backup the Notes app. Or you could save the stuff you have on your phone on another device (or like USB/Hard Drive) and then delete that off your phone and then back up your phone so that it has low storage and also make sure there is enough space on your Mac. This method works with the free version of iMazing. I used the free version too.
I just got back my notes. I can't thank you enough YOU ARE MY HERO
You are welcome! I am glad I could help.
This man is an absolute life saver
Hi, I am glad I was able to help. Thank you for your kind words :)
hi, i was so excited to see a solution as so many people in the comments said it worked for them, but it didnt work for me. my situation is the same as was yours, on my iphone notes disappeared but i still saw them in spotlight search as well as in the iphone storage (almost 200mb) and i did everything exactly the way you did it, but when i opened the notes in the end, it was still empty. can you help? i have no idea how you could, but can you?:D
i can see all the media that were in my notes as attachments in the backup file, but not the text. i really would just need the sq lite file to open, and i have toruble downloading the db browser also
@@emamihalova7329 Hi, I am not sure why that's happening. I could suggest a few things that you could try: 1) Check you are copying the correct NoteStore.sqlite file. Check that it is taking up some space (like make sure it is not 0MB). 2) Try copying over the NoteStore.sqlite-wal file too when you copy the NoteStore.sqlite file over. Make sure you are copying it to the right place. Let me know if this fixes the problem.
Thank you so much. You saved my life, the only method works on the whole internet
Hi, Thank you for your kind words. I am glad I could help :)
You are a life saver. This worked perfectly.
Thank you! I am glad it helped :)
absolute legend! This needs to be top of the searches. saved 1400 notes from the past 10 years
Hey, I am glad I could help. Thank you and welcome :)
Can this be done on a PC? I don’t have a MAC
You can get the data (files) using a PC but to view the Notes you will need a MAC.
Ok whenever I get to the App domain groups for notes I don’t have an “account” folder or anything to see my actual notes all I have is the backups folder with nothing in it, and on the iPhone backup extractor top, please help!!
Hi, that's strange. I didn't encounter such problems. I am not sure why you don't have an "Account" folder. I am sorry I couldn't help.
Hello! I successfully did all the steps and I already see my On my iPhone notes when I open the Notes app on my Mac, however the Notes app crashes after a few seconds of opening with the pasted NoteStore.sqlite file from the backup. Is there any way I can fix this? Thanks! (BTW, great tutorial!)
UPDATE: tried pasting the .wal file and it didnt crash anymore; hope this also helps with your research OP!
@@EnzoSalvador Hi, I am glad I could help you :) And thank you for letting us know how you fixed the Notes app crashing problem.
Oh man, I can’t thank you enough, this saved so much precious information. I deleted my iOS mail app(it was taking up over 7GB for some reason) idk why but doing so wiped out my notes. You’re a genius for figuring this out and a hero for sharing it with the world.
Hi, you are most welcome. I am glad this worked for you :) And thank you for your kind words.
I have never commented on a youtube video in my life but I cannot begin to thank you enough. I ended having to use iPhone backup extractor and I had to replace the files of my notes on my Mac, but it worked PERFECTLY and I regained the 200 notes that were on my phone. You are so amazing for this. Thank you.
You are most welcome. I am glad I was able to help :)
Hi, I have no previous backups, should I backup my phone now? I don’t know if I should since you mentioned that it might be an issue
Hi, I think it should be fine. The only reason I mention that you should try using your old backup first before making a new one is so that you don't accidentally end up overwriting the previous one. I found my files from the new backup I made after losing my notes but I just wanted you guys to be safe because you might not have the notes in the new backup so IF you have an old one, it is better to try that one first. If you don't have any previous backups then you don't really have a choice but to make a new one. Thanks.
Can this also work for my photos that wasn’t backed up because the storage was full already ?
Hey, I am not sure about this one. You can give it a go but I think you will need to look for different files rather than the Notes files I show here. I feel like it will be a different process entirely. Sorry, I have little knowledge in how iPhone stores photos.
Can this also work for my photos that wasn’t backed up ?
I dont have an old backup, would this work with doing a new backup?
Yes, it should work. That is the method I use; by creating a new backup. I explain this at 02:10. But make sure you have a secure copy of the notes you already have just in case. Let me know how it goes.
For some reason my folder that has my backup does not have a folder inside named "Backup" it instead has a folder called "thumbnails" I can see there is data on the ".sqlite" file but whenever I copy it over and open notes, it still doesn't show.
Are you also copying all the other files as shown in the video?
@@brogazelle6583 Can this also work for my photos that wasn’t backed up because the storage was full already ?
@@slime4ktjay870 I don't think it will work for Photos. Though, I am not sure you could give it a go.
I opener imazing and on my iPhone it says my last backup was 2:41 pm but when I open imazing it says there’s no backups I can choose from?
Did you do your backup on the same computer as the one you are using iMazing on?
please help, for the iphone backup extractor i cannot find “expert mode” please
Try iMazing?
Hi, i can’t find the com.apple.notes part on my mac, please help me i really need my notes back. what did you do or where did you find it?
Hi, I am not sure what the issue is here. It should be there... I don't think others have had this issue... Maybe try it on a different Mac?
Brother, you saved me! Thank you so much for this tutorial. Mine was same issue as many other--squeezing too little storage space on iPhone and one day all notes vanished; however i knew they were actually buried somewhere in phone bc general>storage>notes revealed lots of MBs of data present. It worked for me in latest version I think of iMazing (2.17.16). Anyhow can't thank you enough. Please update if you find a way to restore these old notes back on phone. I may try to delete app and reinstall now that I've allocated space onthe phone and have this backup now on my computer. Maybe that will get them visible again?
Hi, i can’t find the com.apple.notes part on my mac, please help me i really need my notes back. what did you do or where did you find it?
You are most welcome. I am glad I was able to help :) I will update. ifI find a way to restore the notes back on your phone. The reason I have not tried that yet is because I am waiting for a new phone. But is it not possible to Airdrop your notes to your phone? Of course this is not convenient if you have too many notes.
Thank you so much for this tutorial! I lost all of my notes spanning back several years and was in a complete panic - I also had icloud turned off and no recent backups of my phone but I was able to get all of my notes back. Thank you once again this was a lifesaver!
You are most welcome. I am glad I was able to help :)
where you able to search for your notes? I have no back up either of the "on my iphone" notes. I have tried to search my phone like suggested in the video and nothing comes up so I am scared they are gone.
Thanks bro! This was a Life Saver!!! It definitely works! Even if you can’t search your notes prior it still works.
What did you do?
You are most welcome. I am glad I was able to help :)
You are an angel my brother! Thank you for saving our life !!
You are most welcome. I am glad I was able to help :)
does this work if i can’t search the notes the same way you do, or the data? mine just disappeared and they were “ on my iphone”
It should work if your problem is the same as described in the video. But it is still worth to give it a shot. Let me know if it works or if you need help with anything :)
I just want to thank you very much! Your tutorial saved 5 years of my life/notes =). What you did is unbelievable and this is the only answer on internet that fits my problem. Apple support is no use… thank you one more time! For everyone who wonders, I really had the same issue as author of this video and my notes still were somewhere on my phone. I could see them through search bar but not on the notes app. as others I couldn’t find that folder in iMazing but it worked for me in iPhone backup extractor. I did a fresh backup cos I didn’t have one before , then I downloaded couple of files (trial version gives only 4 random files) there were only photos from my notes but from different periods so I was sure that it sees my “gone” notes. So I had to buy a full version… around 40€ … but it was worth it… Now I have them all on my Mac. Just in case, before sending them through iCloud to your phone better reinstall the iPhone notes app. Because one of my “test” notes disappeared on the way from Mac to iPhone in iCloud…
Hey, you are most welcome. I am glad I was able to help and this worked for you :) Also thank you for letting us know how to get around with not finding the folder in iMazing. I hope others read your comment and resolve this issue.
hello will this still work even if searching it up doesn’t show? when i check the storage in settings it still shows the docs and data mb number
It should work if your problem is the same as described in the video. But it is still worth to give it a shot. Let me know if it works or if you need help with anything :)
i followed your video tutorial step by step but I couldn’t find the backup folder, everything else is the same in your video but I’m just missing that backup folder do u seem to know in which directory its hiding because i still can see my lost notes when typed the keywords under search on iphone just that it would turn out blank when trying to open
Were your notes saved on "On my iPhone" or other email like gmail or iCloud etc?
@@brogazelle6583 Can this also work for my photos that wasn’t backed up because the storage was full already ?
i have the same problem however they dont come up when i search them. do you think this will still work? in settings it says the data is there.
It should work if your problem is the same as described in the video. But it is still worth to give it a shot. Let me know if it works or if you need help with anything :)
I also am using iMazing and the "app groups" are not there. There are only 4 folders: apps, documents, logs, and media, please help!!
Hello, I have not had this issue before and someone else has also reported the same problem but I am not sure how to fix this. My recommendation would be to use another backup extractor; try iPhone Backup Extractor. Maybe it is because you are using a different version of iMazing? If that is the case try downloading an older version (maybe from 2021/2022) if you can and let me know if you are still facing the same problem. EDIT: The version I used was 2.14.6
Have you tried checking the other folders in case Apple has decided to change the way they store data in the newer version of the app?
I'm facing this issue, I'm assuming due to storage issues... and my notes still have taken a lot of storage so I am reassured my stuff is still there, but I can't find "app groups" from 3:10 at all! It's really making me panic. I had super important stuff on there. Would really appreciate if you could help!
Hi, "App Groups" should be there... I am not sure why it is not showing up for you sorry. Have you tried other back up apps like "iPhone Backup Extractor" that I mention in the video?
Maybe it is because you are using a different version of iMazing? If that is the case try downloading an older version (maybe from 2021/2022) if you can and let me know if you are still facing the same problem. EDIT: The version I used was 2.14.6
Apple needs to address this issue asap, Im guessing it happened to me because of storage issues along a bunch of other people, why would they think its a good idea to remove NOTES out of all things just delete some apps off my phone instead man they gave me a heart attack. Are they so stupid to remove peoples most important information ?!!!?
Hi, I followed the steps. I had to take a new backup using Imazing. However, in that backup, the folder AppDomainGroup-group.com.apple.notes did not contain "backups" folder. :/ ALl other info is there. Any thought on why did this happen?
Hmmm... I am not 100% sure but that could be because you are facing a slightly different problem? Maybe there is an easier (and simpler) way to get your notes back. If you can describe how your notes disappeared and what you have tried so far to get them back then that would be helpful. Thanks :)
I have the same issue as him, under AppDomaimGroup-group.com.apple.notes do not have “backup” folder in it But all my notes that disappeared were not the ones ‘on my iphone’ they were the ones synced to a 3rd party email not iCloud. I know people would ask me to re-toggle the notes sync function in settings but the problem is mine is all greyed out cuz it was a old email that I never used anymore and forgotten the login pw but notes were still able to be saved under this email in the notes app so I did not bothered until they all disappeared suddenly today. I did not access that mail for more than 8 years and notes were still saving fine I still feel that the notes were around the phone somewhere since they all are still able to pop up under the search bar if searched, just when I click into it a blank page comes out
@@james-kwan Hi, this video is specifically for the notes "On my iPhone". In the case of a 3rd party email, I believe there must be an easier way to get your notes back. I am sorry this didn't work for you.
This works using a backup from iTunes done on windows to access the notes data to move it to Mac to access? How do you get them to show in iPhone, is it when you copy the notes file on Mac, that it syncs to iCloud and your iPhone?
Yes, it should work using a backup from iTunes done on windows which is how I originally did it. I used iTunes to make a backup but then using iMazing to get the Notes data. In this video I don't show how you can get them to show in iPhone but there are many ways you could do that. One of them being to just simply airdrop them to the iPhone. I have not tried that I don't see why that wouldn't work though. In this video, I mainly focus on just getting your notes back somewhere where they are readable.
oh my god it wooooorks! Thank you so much man! this one the only way I tried everything !! I'm so happy... FYI I had no icloud storage and no backup, but as I can see the data on my phone settings, I knew the notes were still there... So I just backed up the iphone and followed your instructions. Thats so great, thousand thanks you rule !!!!
You are welcome :) I am glad I was able to help. Have an amazing day!!
@starskyflo Did you get the notes to show again on iPhone, If so, how? Was unclear in the instructions how that happens. Is it when on Mac, you sync notes to iCloud thus they go to your phone? Thx
@@JK-fr6hu No, not yet. The notes are back on my Mac and now I have to find a solution to transfer them on the iPhone
@@starskyflobut you see them on your Mac? I mean you can read them again?
@@АлександраКомарова-щ5ы yes!
I only see apps andi can't find app groups :(
Hey, may I ask what software you are using? iMazing or iPhone Back Extractor?
Also, could you tell me what part you got to, as in are you having trouble finding "App Groups" in your Backup like at 3:14 or for the 'Notes' app on your Mac like at 5:58?
@@brogazelle6583 I also have the same issue using iMazing, we're not able to find the App Groups at all it's a little bit different now (I'm not sure if it's upgrade related or not)
@@morganekimbembe9004 Hi, I am not really sure what's causing that? Have you tried installing an older version of iMazing or tried using the iPhone Backup Extractor instead?
you need to create a backup first. then you access the backup folder and through there you access app groups.
I have the iPhone backup extractor I got to the part where you click extractor selected but the rest of it I’m having trouble with
Can you provide more details about your problem and we can try fix it? 😄
If you are having trouble extracting the files using "iPhone Backup Extractor" then I suggest you try "iMazing".