How to Recover Permanently Deleted Notes from iCloud on iPhone

You can easily recover permanently deleted notes from iCloud, iCloud backup, or reliable iPhone data recovery software, along with step-by-step instructions.

Ivy

By Ivy / Updated on April 2, 2025

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The iPhone Notes works as flexible sticky notes, thus many Apple users are likely to capture a quick thought, edit checklists, sketch, and refine ideas with it. You can also create an instant note from the Lock Screen with an Apple pencil and a compatible iPad. More surprisingly, it will keep your notes updated on all the devices involved iCloud.com.

However, you may permanently delete notes by accident. Don't worry too much and this article will show you how to recover permanently deleted notes from iCloud in 3simple and effective methods.

Is it possible to recover permanently deleted notes from iCloud?

I have deleted some unnecessary notes to release storage. However, I realized that I need to retrieve some deleted notes for business. Unluckily, I find there’s no way to recover these notes from the Recently Deleted folder beyond a month. It’s the same on iCloud.com. But I have made iCloud backup before. Could you help me recover permanently deleted notes from iCloud?

Yes, it's possible to recover permanently deleted notes. But first, you need to be sure it's "permanently deleted", usually in one of the following two ways. In this case, you can try to recover permanently deleted notes from iCloud backup or reliable iPhone data recovery software. 

  • You deleted notes from the Recently Deleted folder.
  • The deleted notes are kept for over 30 days in the Recently Deleted folder.

However, there is one exception.

You enable iCloud sync for your Notes and delete it from iCloud settings on your iPhone. At this time, all notes are still on icloud.com, but not showing up in Notes on iPhone, creating the illusion that they've been permanently deleted. You can choose to enable Notes in iCloud settings to download them automatically.

How to recover permanently deleted notes from iCloud 

Here are 3 proven methods to recover permanently deleted notes from iCloud or iPhone. 

Way 1: Turn on Notes in iCloud settings for automatical downloads

If your Notes is disabled in iCloud settings on iPhone, you'll need to turn it on. The notes synced with iCloud are downloaded automatically to your Notes app on iPhone. You can then recover deleted notes from Recently Deleted folder again.

Step 1. Open a web browser and log in with your iCloud account.

Step 2. Click “Notes“ >  “Recently Deleted“ folder and check if deleted notes are there.

select-recently-folder

Step 3. If yes, you need to enable Notes in iCloud settings. Go to “Settings“ >“[your name]“> “iCloud“ and click Notes and slide the “Sync this iPhone“ button. Wait for a few seconds to let it automatically download.

Sync This iPhone

Way 2: Recover permanently deleted notes from iCloud backup (if available)

Both iCloud and iCloud backup are indispensable for recovering deleted notes on iPhone 11, 12, 13,14, etc. You need to enable them before losing any notes to ensure deleted notes are in the iCloud backup. Please pay more attention to the following notes:

  • If you want to recover notes from the iCloud backup, ensure the deleted notes will not be overwritten. If you turn on iCloud with your Wi-Fi connection, the data will be updated and overwritten automatically. So the network needs to be interrupted.

  • Wi-Fi, Lock Screen, and Mobile Charge are three prerequisites for iCloud automatic backup. There’s no access to restore data if these three premises have not been met simultaneously.

  • According to Apple, when you tap the Lock Screen with your Apple pencil and edit notes, your sketch is automatically stored in Notes.

Step 1. Click “Settings” > “General” > “Reset” > “Erase All Content and Settings”.

erase-all-contents-and-settings

Step 2. Your iPhone will restart and ask you to set it up. Be sure it connects to a working WiFi. When comes to the “Apps & Data” screen, tap “Restore from iCloud Backup”.

choose-restore-from-icloud-backup

Step 3. Sign in with your iCloud account and select a backup containing deleted Notes.

Step 4. Once the Notes app is downloaded and installed (it turns from dark to bright), turn off the Wi-Fi and Mobile Data Usage and turn on the airplane mode immediately.

Step 5. Go to “Settings“ > “Notes “ > slide on On My iPhone Account Default Account > On My iPhone. Then, the lost or deleted Notes will be restored to your iPhone automatically. 

iphone-settings-notes-on-my-iphone

Way 3: Recover permanently deleted notes on iPhone using software (without backup)

Some users might find the above method is subjected to too many regulations and guidelines. It may be time-consuming and unpractical. More importantly, they are not sure whether iCloud backup contains deleted notes or not. Even there’s no available iCloud backup.

If you are not sure or don't have any iCloud backup, it's suggested to try powerful iPhone data recovery software like MyRecover for iOS to recover permanently deleted notes on iPhone 8, X, 11, 12, 14, 16, etc.

  • Integrated AI-driven scanning technology ensures all data is found accurately and without omission.
  • Recover Photos, Videos, Contacts, Notes, Reminders, WeChat History, Call History, Calendars, Voice Memos, etc.
  • Preview all files and recover partial data instead of all to your iPhone.
  • Support all models of iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, etc., with iOS 10.0 and higher.
  • No need to use iCloud or iTunes Backup, which will erase all the existing data on your iOS devices.

The recovery process is very easy as long as you can turn on your iPhone. Download MyRecover for iOS to prepare for iPhone data recovery.

Download Software iOS 10 and later
Secure Download

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to your computer with the original lightning cable. Install MyRecover for iOS on your PC and launch it to start data recovery. 

connect-ios-device

Step 2. Click “Scan Now” to scan your iPhone for deleted or lost data.

start-scan-now

Step 3. After scanning, all the detected data will be listed, go to “Notes” and select your needed data, then tap “Recover”.

Recover iPhone Data

More flexible way to backup your notes on iPhone 

If you're unwilling to suffer data loss again, it's time to backup them after recovering. Usually, you can consider creating an iCloud backup, iTunes backup, or using a third-party iPhone data backup software like AOMEI FoneBackup. Which one is the best suited?

Backup Methods  Description
iCloud/iTunes backup Both of them will backup the entire iPhone and data on it including notes, pictures, videos, etc. Thus, it will restore all of them and overwrite all the existing data on the iPhone. 
AOMEI FoneBackup  It allows you to make full or selective backups. You can choose to backup only notes or any other items you want. The same goes for restoring. 

Although iCloud/iTunes backup empowers the possibility for iPhone data recovery, it does cause data loss. But AOMEI FoneBackup will not.

In addition, it has a super fast speed and provides users with some useful features, such as preview files, view backup files, incremental backup, etc., making the backup process simple and effective.

Step 1. Download and install AOMEI FoneBackup on a working computer. Then, open it and connect your iPhone to the PC.

Download FreewareWin 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
Secure Download

Step 2. Select “Phone Backup“ at the left panel. Then, click “Selective Backup“ and “Get Started“ to backup your notes on your iPhone.

selective backup

Step 3. Select any data you want to backup, such as notes, and click “OK“. 

select files

Step 4. Click “​​​​​​​Backup Storage Path“ to select your PC, external hard drive, USB drive, NAS, etc., to save the backup file.

Step 5. Confirm all the items you select and click “​​​​​​​Start Backup“ to backup notes onyour  iPhone.

click on backup

Closing words

You can easily recover permanently deleted notes from iCloud on iPhone using iCloud, iCloud backup, and iPhone data recovery software - MyRecover for iOS. If your notes are not available on icloud.com or there is no iCloud backup, you can directly use AOMEI Fast Recovery to scan your iPhone and recover deleted notes.

Download Software iOS 10 and later
Secure Download

Of course, if you don't want to lose any data on iPhone, the best method is to backup them. The iCloud/iTunes backup will backup the entire iPhone and data, causing data overwriting, which is not recommended. You can consider using iPhone data backup software AOMEI FoneBackup. 

Ivy
Ivy · Editor
Ivy is an editor of AOMEI Technology, she covers backup & restore,hard disk & partitions management and cloud files transfer and so on for AOMEI. She is an outgoing girl and enjoys helping people find solutions to their problems. She loves traveling, eating, reading and so on. She usually hangs out with friends at her leisure time.