iPhone Lost 10 years of photos & messages - back-up isn't showing up for 'old' iPhone X or Phone Xs Max.

[PandaNix]

Update

They are the same iOS now (12.1) but the new device doesn't pick up the backup.

OP below

I have an iPhone X that I'm replacing with an Xs Max. I went though all the usual set up but it won't let me restore from the back-up due to the iOS.

I searched how to remove the Beta software, I deleted the profile, put it in recover mode etc. When it started up, iOS12.1 was still there but the "profile" is empty.

My iPhone Xs Max is on iOS12.

What do I do now to be able to use my backup to restore all photos, apps and messages to the new iPhone? The 'old' iPhone X is backed up on the MacBook Pro, as it's too big for the free iCloud.

Should I upgrade the iPhone Xs Max to Beta 12.1 - will that make them compatible for the backup?

Or is there a way to downgrade the iPhone X Beta iOS12.1? As said above, the profile is empty - so how do I do it now? I would prefer this but can't find out how.

 

[Julien]

You need to update your XS Max to 12.1 in order to use the backup. You can't use a newer backup on an older iOS.

As an extra example you wouldn't expect an iOS 12 backup to work on an iPhone running iOS 10.

 

[PandaNix]

Is there no way to downgrade the Beta iOS to 'just' 12 on the iPhone X? Then I can create a new backup and restore from that?

When you say update to 12.1 do you mean wait for the official update or use Beta 12.1 on the iPhone Xs Max too?

 

[Julien]

Only by going back to your last 12.0 backup. ANY backups made after an update can NOT be used on ANY older iOS.

You should to update your XS max to 12.1.

Also no offense but you should have a good general understanding of the way betas work before installing them.

 

[PandaNix]

Thanks - you've given more help in a few minutes from posting than the Developers Forum did in over 3 days!

About the 2nd question. When you say update to 12.1 on the Xs Max - do you mean wait for the official update or use Beta 12.1 on the iPhone Xs Max too?

 

[Julien]

12.1 official release may be a month or more away. Are you willing to wait that long? Instal BETA 12.1 on your XS Max NOW and restore your backup OR WAIT weeks without an iPhone. I think the choice is obvious.

 

[PandaNix]

Thanks again!

 

[PandaNix]

No that didn't work either. Now they both have the exact same iOS.

I also created a brand new backup just to be sure. However the iPhone X back-up (which I can see is in "preferences" -> "device") doesn't show up for iPhone Xs Max.

 

[PandaNix]

Anyone that can help please? They are the same iOS now.

 

[Banglazed]

Put your older device into recovery mode, use iTunes to “Update” your device which will download and install the latest firmware iOS 12.0.1. This should retain your data and do an iTunes encrypted backup. Update your newer device using either on DFU or recovery mode to update it as well. Then set up newer device and restore using iTunes backup.

 

[PandaNix]

That made it worse. It went around in loops and I couldn't get out of recovery and had to restore as new. The use the back up to restore it. Now this one won't recognise it either.

Now neither phones pick up the back up and I've lost 10 years of iPhone messages and photos.

 

[vagos]

I had a similar problem and had success using a different computer.

 

[PandaNix]

I can't back up again as I've lost everything. I'm actually crying at the thought. My brother who past away, all his messages gone.

I only have one back-up on the MacBook, my other device is a MS Surface Pro 3 - is it possible to get the back up from one to another in spite of the other one being Windows?

 

[JCCL]

Do you have iTunes on that Surface Pro 3? If you have ever backed it up there, you should be able to restore that backup. It will be older but at least you don't lose 10 years worth of pics.

Always keep a copy outside your Phone man! ALWAYS. I used Onedrive and as soon as I open the app in my phone it upload all the new pics.

 

[AlumaMac]

I can't back up again as I've lost everything. I'm actually crying at the thought. My brother who past away, all his messages gone.

I only have one back-up on the MacBook, my other device is a MS Surface Pro 3 - is it possible to get the back up from one to another in spite of the other one being Windows?

Alternatively, instead of restoring from a backup you can use various 3rd party apps to browse and recover files/messages from your backup.

 

[Mlrollin91]

Are you positive the Max is in 12.1? It still doesn’t sound like it is.

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

Recovery mode was basically nuking your data before being sure if there was a way to use the other backup, which isn't always a guarantee.

What I would have done would have been downloading the iOS 12.0.1 firmware and shift+update on the X. Once that backup had been created, putting the Max on that same firmware should have made the new backup available.

Seems it's too late for this solution though. I wish you luck in finding a way to recover your data from the backup through other means. Like JCCL said, having your data backed up in only one place is asking for trouble.

 

[PandaNix]

I tried to change the X down first but it didn’t work. The Xs Max is on 12.1 it says.

I’ve never in 10 years had any problems with transferring date from old to new phone so it never occurred to me to back up outside the laptop. Will do in future.

Now I have 1 backup only on the MacBook which neither phone recognise. Is there anything I can do to get it to work?

 

[chrismac2]

I can't vouch for this software, I've never used it, but it sounds like it could help.

https://deciphertools.com/decipher-backup-browser.html

 

[bongcp45]

if the old phone is still having all the data, reset the new phone to its factory default and at the stage to where you get to choose setup as new phone or restore data(don't do anything, put both old and new phone side by side, you should see a prompt to migrate data from old to the new.

 

[PandaNix]

Neither of the phones have the data. Only the laptop.

 

[sbcdk]

Obviously there is an issue with the backup, so it can’t be restored. No point in keep on trying. As someone said above, you should concentrate on extracting the data from the backup, using third party software.

Photos are usually quite easy to extract. Don’t expect you will have much trouble getting them back, except if the backup is really messed up.

If you had iMessage for iCloud activated on the original phone, no messages should be gone. They will restore on the new iPhone, once set up. Otherwise it looks like you may need to settle for a text file version, depending on how the extraction works out.

-
If someone gets in a similar situation, never -ever- delete the original, when having trouble restoring the backup. Instead delete the backup and create a new, as everything points to that being the troublemaker. Always keep a seperate backup of any photo you want to keep and do make sure to sync (yes sync, not just backup) everything else, including Messages, to iCloud and other cloud services.

 

[Superrjamz54]

Neither of the phones have the data. Only the laptop.

You didn’t back up your data before installing the beta did you? Almost had th same problem when I switched to the Max, but then I realized I had a backup from 11.4 which allowed me to transfer everything over.

 

[angusmcfisher]

If you log in to iCloud.com, don't your pictures be on there? And if you've been on ios 12 then there's a good chance your messages are also in the cloud saved too as part of messages in the cloud.

Then it's just a case of being on the right iOS version.

I get the feeling that one device would have been on ios 12.0.1 and the other may have been on a 12.1 beta. For backups its easiest to go on to the latest firmware so double check if youre signed up to the public beta by going to https://beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/

And then the profile should install. You might need to do a restart. Then hopefully you'll be able to update to 12.1 beta 3.

 

[ZEEN0j]

If you log in to iCloud.com, don't your pictures be on there? And if you've been on ios 12 then there's a good chance your messages are also in the cloud saved too as part of messages in the cloud.

Then it's just a case of being on the right iOS version.

I get the feeling that one device would have been on ios 12.0.1 and the other may have been on a 12.1 beta. For backups its easiest to go on to the latest firmware so double check if youre signed up to the public beta by going to https://beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/

And then the profile should install. You might need to do a restart. Then hopefully you'll be able to update to 12.1 beta 3.

That would’ve been a nice turn of events. But if his photos is apart of his backup then they won’t be on iCloud photos. And messages on iCloud is something you have to turn on, it’s off by default.

Hope you find a way OP. Best bet is extracting the data from the backup and just sync it back as mentioned.