The Best Way to Recover Data From iCloud Backup

You can restore from backup via iTunes or iCloud, depending on which you’ve opted for as the channel for storing your backup. Either way, these backups are solely for the purpose of restoring an iOS device back to the state of when it was backed up. You will not be see what data is available in backup, or choose to only partially restore some of the backup.

In most cases, restoring from an iTunes or iCloud backup using Apple’s official methods does the trick. But in some, they may be neither the most applicable nor the most advisable.

For one thing, backups tend to be large and require long waiting times for their installation to complete. The process then can be tedious and prone to unexpected interruptions that may result in further loss of data. This is especially true when restoring from an iCloud backup, which can be risky in the presence of a not so reliable Internet connection and which necessitates the deletion of current device content and settings in the first place.

And as mentioned, under Apple’s prescribed procedures, restoring backups is an all-or-nothing decision. Either you make use of the entire backup or you don’t restore from backup at all. This can be problematic particularly if you have existing content and settings on your device that you don’t want to be supplanted by what’s on the backup.

There are also cases in which you only wish to recover individual files and types of content — perhaps something you accidentally deleted — from a backup or, more demandingly, from two or more different backups.

In such cases, a recovery tool like Wondershare Dr.Fone for iOS can prove indispensable.

Developed by Wondershare for Mac and Windows, Dr.Fone is a free-to-try desktop application that offers a far more customizable approach to iOS device data recovery than Apple’s methods do. It can be of great help to you if for any reason you don’t want to restore completely from iTunes or iCloud backup, as it can break down the backup into various categories by file type and present previews of files before recovery.

Depending on your device and backup, Dr.Fone can extract and offer previews for the following types of files: camera roll photos, photos and videos in supported apps like Aviary and VLC, messages and attachments in the Messages app, contacts, call history, voicemail, WhatsApp messages and attachments, Facebook Messenger messages and attachments, notes, calendar events, reminders, Safari bookmarks, voice memos, and documents in supported apps like Editorial.

With this roster of compatible file types, Dr.Fone also enables you to access and save backup data, such as messages, photos from messages, call history, and voicemail, that otherwise cannot be selectively accessed and saved. Further, it lets you save data on your computer or on a cloud service such as Dropbox, thus doing away with potential data loss from overreliance on Apple’s over-the-air backups.

Evidently, Dr.Fone offers more control and granularity over iOS device data recovery, and it does so with an iOS-inspired interface to boot.

Whether working with an iTunes or iCloud backup, Dr.Fone offers the same post-scan functionality, which allows you to explore and preview the scanned files by type and recover items collectively or individually.

You can also opt to display deleted items only when previewing certain file types, including photos, messages, message attachments, contacts, call history, notes, calendars, reminders, bookmarks, and voice memos. This is useful if what you’re looking for is something that has been deleted from your device by the time of the backup.

You can also find specific files by typing keywords into the search bar.

Mark items for recovery by clicking their corresponding checkboxes. Then click the Recover button and choose whether to Recover to Mac/Computer or Recover to Device, provided your device is already connected to your computer. The former option will prompt you to specify a destination location to save files to, while the latter will open a new window where you can check messages, contacts, and notes, which are the file types currently supported for recovery to device by Dr.Fone.

Apple’s official methods remain the go-to procedures for restoring devices from iTunes or iCloud backups — and for good reason. They’re not so involved that they entail advanced know-how, they’re sufficient for most purposes and situations, and, not to mention, they’re free of charge.

But in cases where more control over which files are restored from backup is called for or where a backup independent of Apple’s sometimes risky solutions is desired, Dr.Fone may be just what the doctor ordered.

What’s more, Dr.Fone offers additional options for recovering files, specifically deleted ones, from the device itself, and for repairing iOS when the device is stuck in recovery mode, paralyzed by the white Apple logo screen of death, or otherwise rendered inoperable.