While organizing my iPad photo library recently, I found that many of my previous photos were missing. Losing those precious memories was frustrating, so I tried several methods to find and recover deleted photos on iPad. I'll share the methods I tried, how I successfully recovered deleted iPad photos step by step, and what should you note during the recovery.

Part 1: Can I Recover Deleted Photos on My iPad?

First, it important to find out that can deleted photos be recovered from iPad. Overall, whether you can recover deleted photos from an iPad depends on when they were deleted, whether you have a backup, and whether the data is overwritten.

For photos deleted in less than 30 days, you can recover them from the Recently Deleted section both on Photos or from iCloud.com.

If your iPad's recently deleted photos are not showing, that's because they were deleted over 30 days. In this case, you can try an iCloud or iTunes/Finder backup if available.

Don't be frustrated if you don't have a backup, either. You can also retrieve deleted photos on iPad even without a backup with the help of third-party software, as long as the data isn't overwritten.

Below is a summary table covering different situations. You can find your case and choose the most suitable recovery method.

Calm down and follow the detailed steps to recover deleted photos on iPad below!

Part 2: How to Recover Recently Deleted Photos on iPad

Apple introduced a Recently Deleted album into both iPad and iCloud to store the deleted photos for 30 days. Before they are permanently deleted, you can recover these photos at any time. Therefore, the Recently Deleted album is always the first place you should check when you lose iPad photos. I found the photos I accidentally deleted 26 days ago in this album and successfully restored it within a few taps.

This section will tell you how to retrieve deleted photos from iPad in the Recent Deleted folder.

How to Recover Recently Deleted Photos on iPad

Step 1. Open the Photos app from your home screen, go to the Albums tab at the bottom, and choose the Recently Deleted album.

Step 2. Here, you can view all photos that were deleted within 30 days. Tap the Select button, and choose the desired photos.

Step 3. Tap the Recover button at the bottom right side, and press Recover Photo. Then the deleted photos will go back to the original album.

How to Retrieve Recently Deleted iPad Photos from iCloud.com

Step 1. Access icloud.com in your browser, and sign in to your account with your Apple ID and password.

Step 2. Choose Photos to enter the iCloud Photos page. Then head to the Recently Deleted album from the left side.

Step 3. Next, select the desired photos, and click the Recover button. Then these photos will go back to iCloud Photos and you can download them directly.

Part 3: How to Recover Deleted Photos on iPad from iCloud

Can I recover deleted photos from iPad if they are not in Recently Deleted folder? Another commonly mentioned method for recovering deleted iPad photos is restoring from an iCloud backup. Fortunately, I had the habit of backing up my iPad regularly, so I tried this method and successfully recovered the photos I had deleted.

However, there is one thing to keep in mind: iCloud restore will restore the entire iPad from the backup instead of restoring photos only. As a result, any new data created after the backup date may be replaced by the older backup content, and the whole process can take a long time. Therefore, it is important to back up your current iPad data in advance.

Step 1. Start the Settings app, head to General, choose Transfer or Reset iPad or Reset, and tap Erase All Content and Settings. Then reset your iPad to factory status.

Step 2. Wait for your iPad to restart, and you will see the Hello screen. When setting it up, connect to a Wi-Fi network.

Step 3. Choose Restore from iCloud Backup on the Apps & Data screen, sign in with your Apple ID and password, and restore the right backup. Then the deleted photos will be recovered to your iPad.

Part 4: How to Find Deleted Photos on iPad with iTunes/Finder

If you don't have an iCloud backup, but you regularly back up your iPad with iTunes or Finder, you can also retrieve deleted photos from iPad using iTunes/Finder backup. However, similar to iCloud restore, this method restores the entire iPad instead of photos only. You also need to back up your current iPad before the recovery.

Step 1. Run the latest version of iTunes on your computer. On macOS Catalina, run the Finder app. Connect your iPad to your computer with a USB cable.

Step 2. Click the Device button in iTunes, and go to the Summary tab. Or choose your iPad name in Finder, and go to the General tab.

Step 3. Hit the Restore Backup button under the Backups area, choose a proper backup, and follow the instructions to recover deleted photos on your iPad.

Part 5: How to Recover Deleted Photos from iPad Without Backup

What if the deleted photos are no longer in the Recently Deleted album, but you don't want to restore your iPad from an iCloud or iTunes/Finder backup because it may replace your current data with the one? Or, how to recover deleted photos on iPad without a backup? In this case, a professional data recovery tool may be the solution. After comparing several options, I tried Apeaksoft iPhone Data Recovery.

How to Recover iPad Deleted Photos Without Backup

Step 1. Scan your iPad

Launch the best photo recovery software once you install it on your PC. There is another version for Mac. Plug your iPad into your computer with a Lightning cable. Choose Recover from iOS Device, make sure to tap Trust on your iPad screen if you are prompted, and click the Start Scan button to start looking for lost data on your device immediately.

Step 2. Preview deleted photos

When the data scan finishes, you will be presented with the preview window. Choose the data types that you want to recover, like Camera Roll, Photo Library, and more on the left side. Here you can preview the deleted iPad photos.

Step 3. Recover deleted iPad photos

At last, select the desired files and click the Recover button. Then set an output folder, and hit Recover again. Your deleted photos will be recovered on iPad.

Bonus Tips: Retrieve Deleted Photos from iTunes/iCloud Backup Selectively

This software also enables you to recover photos from iTunes/iCloud backup.

If you don't know whether the backup you choose contains the deleted photos you need or find it inconvenient to recover all photos (including the unnecessary ones) in the last backup, you cannot miss this feature!

It enables you

• Preview photos in the backup before recovering.

• Selectively choose photos to be recovered.

If you want to retrieve deleted photos on iPad from iTunes backup, just click the Recover from iTunes Backup File option on the main interface and then choose the corresponding backup.

If you need to retrieve deleted photos on iPad from iCloud, you can click the Recover from iCloud Backup File option and log in to your iCloud account. Then, choose the targeted backup and start your operations.

Part 6: FAQs About Recovering Deleted Photos from iPad

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