How to Recover Deleted iTunes Backup on Windows

Can you recover the deleted iTunes backup?

To prevent iPhone data loss, we can choose to backup iPhone to the computer via iTunes, which will create a backup package containing almost all iPhone data. With iTunes backup, we can easily recover lost iPhone data.

However, the iTunes backup files may also be missing: when cleaning up space on the computer, we can accidentally delete iTunes backup files. Worse still, the deleted files cannot be found in the Recycle Bin either. In this case, can you recover the deleted iTunes backup?

Fortunately, the answer is Yes! It is possible to recover permanently deleted files even if you do not have a backup of your computer. When files are deleted, they don't disappear from the computer but wait to be overwritten by new data. Therefore, when you find iTunes backup lost, please stop using the computer immediately to prevent lost files from being overwritten.

How to recover deleted iTunes backup

Here are two ways that can help you recover deleted iTunes backup file. If you have not enabled Windows backup, then you can go directly to Way 2 and see how to recover deleted iTunes backup via data recovery software.

▶ Way 1. How to recover deleted iTunes backup via Previous Versions

If you have enabled backup on your computer, then you can try to recover the deleted iTunes backup file via the Previous Versions feature. When backup is enabled, it will back up your previous versions of files on your computer. You can go to the folder where the backup files are stored and see if the previous version of this folder has iTunes backup files.

Step 1. Right-click the folder that stores iTunes backup files.

Where is the iTunes backup location?
✦ In Windows 11/10/8, iTunes backup files are stored in C:\Users\[PC name]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\ MobileSync\ Backup or C:\Users\[PC name]\Apple\MobileSync\Backup\.
✦ In Windows 7, iTunes backup files are stored in C:\Users\Your username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\.

Step 2. Select the Restore previous versions option.

Step 3. Choose a previous version that may contain the iTunes backup file you need. You can click Open > Open in File History to verify the version contains the deleted folder you want to restore.

Step 4. Click Restore to recover deleted iTunes backup.

▶ Way 2. How to recover deleted iTunes backup with MyRecover

If there is no available backup, then you can rely on a data recovery tool to help you recover deleted iTunes backup files. As mentioned before, deleted files may still be on your computer and we can't see them, but recovery software can get them out.

There are quite a few Windows data recovery tools in the market, here we choose MyRecover as an example. We chose this tool mainly because it is easy to operate. Simply click Start Scan and the tool will automatically scan the drive and find the lost files. It is one ideal tool for those who don't know much about computers.

You can click the download button to get the tool and follow the steps below to recover deleted iTunes backup in Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11.

Step 1. Launch MyRecover > Hover the mouse over the partition where you have lost the iTunes files, usually, it’s the C drive > Click Scan.

Step 2. It will automatically scan your drive to find all deleted data or other lost files. As soon as any deleted data is found, the tool will immediately display it in the list. In addition, you can type keywords in the search box to search the files you need.

Step 3. Once you see iTunes backup files, then you can select them and recover them immediately without waiting for the scan to complete.

Bonus tip - Easy way to customize iPhone backup

Hope one of the methods above can help you recover deleted iTunes backup. The reason you accidentally delete iTunes backups could be that they take up a lot of computer space - you just want to clean up the large files, but didn't expect to delete them by accident.

Well, an iTunes backup contains almost all the data on your iPhone so it can occupy a lot of storage space. To save space, you can choose to only backup important data or backup iPhone to USB flash drive.

iTunes only allows you backup your entire iPhone and it’s a difficult job to change iTunes backup location. If you want to customize your iPhone backup, you can try AOMEI FoneBackup. It’s one professional iPhone data backup software for Windows PCs.

• It allows you to backup selected files instead of the entire iPhone, which helps save time and storage space.
• In addition, you can choose to backup your files to a local drive, USB flash drive, external hard dirve, or NAS.

Click the download button to get the tool and explore more by yourself.

Final words

That’s all about how to recover deleted iTunes backup on a Windows PC. If you have enabled Windows backup, you can check if the previous version of the folder has the iTunes backup files. If there is no available backup, then you can try ADR for Windows to scan the drive and find the lost files.

FAQs about recovering deleted iTunes backup file

There are some frequently asked questions that you can refer to:

✎ How do I access my old iTunes backup?

Open the Finder. Click your device. Under the General tab, click Manage Backups to see a list of your backups. From here, right-click on the backup that you want, then choose Show in Finder, or select Delete or Archive.

✎ Can you recover the overwritten iTunes backup?

Perform System Restore to recover overwritten iTunes Backup. If you didn't have the system backup, we are sorry that you can't restore the overwritten backup. If you have created a system restore point on your PC, you can directly perform "System Restore" on your PC to bring the overwritten iTunes backup file back.

✎ Why I can’t recover my iPhone from iTunes backup?

Here are possible reasons why you can’t restore your iPhone from an iTunes backup and what to do about them:

Corrupt backup – Your iTunes backup may have become corrupted. Use an alternative backup. If you don’t have one, use data recovery software. You can also try contacting Apple support.

Incompatible backup – Your iOS or iTunes may be outdated. Try updating first.

Bad internet – Your network may be disrupting the restore process. Make sure you have a strong connection before attempting to restore.

✎ How to find iTunes backup on Mac

The iTunes backup folders (and simply iPhone or iPad backup folders for macOS Catalina and above), are stored in the “MobileSync” folder, which is located in the ~Library folder of your Mac – this is set up by default.

Step 1. Open Finder by clicking its icon on your dock.

Step 2. On the Apple menu bar, click Go > Home.

Step 3. In the home folder, navigate to Library > Application Support > MobileSync > Backup.