You’re not alone if you’ve ever scrolled through your iPhone Notes app only to discover missing dearest memos. Users have been posting on social media about the notes disappearing. Others predict that Apple may be dropping the ball on reliability, with some calling it a relic issue resurfacing.
Bled by the sudden loss, one user shared their experience post-update: “I just updated to iOS 18, and most of my notes have disappeared into nowhere.” They’re still gone. I’ve tried freaking everything. They still go from syncing iCloud to sifting through the Recently Deleted folder. Another disheartened user wrote that he lost years of precious voice notes and written content as reported the app’s trustworthiness, which was once relied against.
So, what causes the mysterious note vanishing act, and how do you recover your missing musings?
Check your settings first
The first defense is a solid foundation that the notes app is correctly configured. Sometimes, missing notes were just hidden because of changes made to settings on email or iCloud. Here’s what to do:
- Verify account settings:
- Go to Settings > Mail > Accounts.
- Go to each email account you use and see if the Notes toggle is set.
- Do this for all linked accounts (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.). If Notes isn’t turned on, your content might not sync very well, and your app will look empty.
- Check the recently deleted folder:
- Open the Notes app and tap the back arrow until you see the Folders list.
- Navigate to Recently Deleted and look for any missing notes.
- If found, tap Edit, select the note, choose Move, and place it back into your desired folder.
It’s a great method that often works on users who accidentally delete notes or temporarily shift notes when the system is updated.
Dig deeper: Search and manual checks
If your notes are still playing hide and seek, it might be time to employ a more thorough search method:
- Use the search feature:
- Open the Notes app and tap the back arrow until you reach the main folder list.
- Use the Search bar at the top and type in any keyword, title, or phrase you remember.
- Ensure All Accounts is selected, allowing you to search all email and iCloud-linked folders.
Remember, if your note is locked, you may only see its title in search results, so don’t forget to check each locked note individually.
- Manually browse through folders:
- Navigate back to your Folders list and check each folder manually, especially those synced with third-party services like Gmail or Yahoo.
- If notes are stored under different folders or accounts, they might not appear in a general search.
Still no luck? If the note was permanently deleted or unsynced during the update, it’s possible it was lost. That said, backing up important notes manually or exporting them before a major iOS update may prevent future heartaches.
Holy crap. I guess you really just can’t rely on Apple anymore.
First I lost ~11yrs worth of voice notes…just gone one day.
Now suddenly my written notes app shows 0
There was many many hundreds of pages of notes. One being incredibly important.
Haven’t updated to 18 yet pic.twitter.com/MeCYpxVg4p
— Not the Droid you’re looking for (@FiveOhFour) November 9, 2024
What if your iPhone Notes are still missing?
Hopefully, if none of these steps works, you’re experiencing a system bug rather than a sync issue. This may fix itself if you update to the latest iOS version. So, your best bet is to keep things updated, and Apple will occasionally release bug fixes for this kind of issue.
Use one of these recovery tips or a third-party notes app with improved backup. Like the relic of the ancient problem of vanishing notes, the problem is back — and with a little sleuthing, you can still find your lost thoughts in the digital abyss.
Featured image credit: Brett Jordan/Unsplash
