Will Restoring iPhone Delete Documents and Data? How to Prevent

Does restoring your iPhone delete everything?

iPhone users will not be unfamiliar with apps, be it a social media apps, online games apps, or other abundant variety of apps. While using, a quite heavy load of data will be created, which is stored with the apps and called Documents & Data.

While using iPhones, it is hard to avoid and escape from software issues, iOS updates errors, etc.

When meeting these, many users will do some attempts to bring it back to normal, but some severe ones require a factory reset, which arise the worries of users – will restoring iPhone delete documents and data?

In addition, there are also some users who have made deletions, like they have accidentally deleted notes on iPhone, want to restore the iPhone to a previous date to fetch the data, but are afraid of losing the documents & data.

To figure out does a factory reset delete everything including this important part, let’s walk through what actually is Documents & Data.

What are the Documents & Data?

To give a definition:

These data and info kept with the apps are to improve the performance of the apps, increasing the speed and shortening the launch time. Thus giving a better user experience for users.

According to Apple, offloading an app will just remove the app itself but meanwhile, keep the documents and data in case you will download it again.

On the contrary, deleting the app will wipe both the data and the documents and data it created.

However, apps can be re-downloaded with WiFi easily, but the documents and data are irreversible once deleted.

So, it is suggested to seek other methods to solve your problems. Check the next part.

How to prevent data loss before restoring?

After the question of will restoring iPhone delete documents and data has been settled, now we could move on to avoid data loss and cope with your problems.

In general, you will plan to perform a factory reset to your iPhone in order to restore from a backup, fix possible errors, or free up storage space.

Since documents & data are essential and not recommended to be removed, you could try to delete other data on iPhone to free up space.

For the other 2 cases, feasible methods are prepared.

Case 1. If you want to restore your iPhone to the previous date to get deleted data back

If you are trying to restore your iPhone from a backup to get the deleted data back, but are worried whether restoring it will make you lose the app data, then it is much preferable for you to recover data directly.

Easy Fix: just recover deleted data directly and flexibly via data recovery tools

As is known to all, restoring an iPhone from iCloud backup or iTunes backup will wipe the current data on your device. That is to say, all the content made after the backup will disappear, which is definitely what the users don’t want to see.

Instead, a professional iPhone data recovery tool can help you flexibly choose what you want to restore, deleting no previous data. MyRecover for iOS is an eligible one that uses advanced techs and is equipped with efficient features.

Use this app, and you won’t be bothered by the question of will restoring iPhone delete documents and data.

Step 1. Install this software on your PC > connect your iPhone to the PC.

Step 2. Click Scan Now to start the device scanning.

Step 3. Choose data types, e.g., Photos > select what you need > click Recover.

It also helps recover WeChat chat history from iPhone 13/14.

Case 2. If you need to fix iPhone issues with a factory reset

Another situation that makes you restore your iPhone might be iPhone errors and issues.

If you encountered some issues, like the iPhone touch screen not working, or you want to downgrade iOS 15 to 14, etc., you might be forced to perform a factory reset to rescue the device.

Here are some fixes & suggestions to prevent further damage or data loss.

Fix 1: Restart your iPhone

Restarting your iPhone is a good option and attempt to fix possible errors and issues on your iPhone.

Generally, it can help cope with issues like apps not working, iCloud sync failing, touch ID not working, etc.

Different device models should be restarted in different ways.

iPhone 8/later: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button, then press and fast release the Volume Down button, and then hold the On/Off button until the Apple logo shows up. 

iPhone 7/7 Plus: Press and hold both the On/Off button and the Volume Down button at the same time until the Apple logo comes out. 

iPhone 6s/earlier: Press and hold both the Home button and the On/Off button, do not let go until you see the Apple logo.

Fix 2: Backup iPhone before restoring

If restarting is still no use and you are forced to factory reset the iPhone, there is something needed.

Does a factory reset delete everything? Yes, of course. So a backup in advance is necessary. With a backup, you could restore iPhone without losing data.

Here, you could turn to professional data backup software for iOS – FoneTool. It is a multi-functional data backup and transfer app that assists users to manage their data easily.

Step 1. Start FoneTool > connect iPhone to a PC > tap Trust on your iPhone > Click Phone Backup > Full Backup > Get Started.

Step 2. Enable Backup encryption to get the Health and Keychain data covered > select a storage path as you wish > click Start Backup.

Thus the iPhone could be completely backed up and you don’t need to worry about "does a factory reset delete everything".

Conclusion

Will restoring iPhone delete documents and data has been answered and given with detailed fixes. Thus you could solve your problems easier with other methods rather than losing your data.

You might as well choose to recover deleted data from iPhone directly using a professional data rescue app to avoid losing your current files;

Users whose devices have some problems could back up their devices in advance to prepare for anything.