I updated to IOS 5, and now my Notes are missing.

[3sqzper]

I actually did this quite awhile ago, and am only now posting this question.

I updated my iPhone 4 to IOS 5 within hours of its release, and the first thing I noticed was that the handy notepad I use for recording daily lists and whatnot has been wiped clean. I did backup my phone before doing the IOS 5 upgrade, and have not synced my phone since, so i will assume my 40 or so notes are somewhere on my PC. It is my work PC, and I am using Outlook.

Can someone please instruct me on how to go about setting iTunes to a) give me my old notes back, and b) not remove them after future syncings?

The fact that the default setting is to remove these notes is grounds - in my book at least - for someone to be skinned alive. I have seen similar posts on missing notes, but no follow through on their recovery. To say that I need these notes is an understatement and most certainly redundant.

Now... Who can help me?

Much appreciated, in advance!

 

[Night Spring]

When you "updated" to iOS 5, did you update or restore? If you restored, did you set your phone up as new, or did you restore from backup?

I suppose you could try getting your notes back by connecting to the PC where you last backed up before you updated (your work PC in this case), and restoring from that backup. Connect your iPhone to PC, start iTunes, right click on the iPhone icon in the left-hand column, select "Restore from backup."

You will, however, lose any changes you made to your phone since you updated.

Or, you could try extracting your notes from your backup by using a program like iBackupbot. (http://www.icopybot.com/itunes-backup-manager.htm) I haven't personally used it myself, but from what I understand, it should do what you need.

And from now on, sync your notes somewhere -- you can sync them to most email accounts, including gmail.

 

[3sqzper]

Thanks for your quick reply.

I think the best answer I can give you on the 'update' question is that I plugged my phone in, was prompted to back it up - which i did - then i accepted the notice to install the new IOS 5. I did not restore, as I was reasonably sure that that would mean a significant loss of personal data, pictures, and music, etc. I didn't access a backup as far as I can remember - at least not as a first step. When I was finished 'updating' and had ejected my phone I was satisfied with the result - until i noticed the notes were missing.

I have used ibackupbot as you have suggested (as i have no interest in losing any changes i've made since the update that might come with a restore), and with a bit of looking around i was able to access a text version of my notes. From this I was able retrieve some of what i needed - even if only manually - so thank you very much for that!

I do have one other question now. When i ran ibackupbot, it automatically accessed an iPhone file from my PC dated 7 months ago. I know i have updated and backed up my phone several times since then, but a basic search of my PC's drive hasn't revealed any other, newer backup files. Is it possible that the backup I did a couple months ago is hidden somewhere else on my PC's drive and I just need to know what i'm looking for?

I know that's a very broad, newbie question, but i'm asking in case what i'm looking for is hidden or buried in some cryptic file or folder name.

Thanks again for your help with this.

 

[Night Spring]

Glad to hear ibackupbot worked, at least partially. As for where the backup files might be:
http://www.theipadguide.com/faq/where-are-ipad-backup-files-stored-my-windows-computer

The directory may be hidden, in which case you'll need to set windows explorer to show hidden files and folders before you can find it.

Not sure why ibackupbot wouldn't go straight for the latest backup, though. Are you sure you were signed on as the same user?

Also, since you updated rather than restored, the notes really shouldn't have disappeared. Did you check in Notes to see if it has multiple notes accounts? If there is an "accounts" button on the top left corner of the Notes app, try tapping that.

 

[tonyr6]

Your better to setup a Gmail or Yahoo address in Mail and then just save all your notes on one of those accounts. Then they will be backup up on their email server.