There are many ways you can lose data on an iOS device.

You can delete it, experience a system crash, forget your password, catch a virus, damage your device, or have your device stolen altogether. Factory resets, iOS updates, jailbreaking/flashing, and being unable to sync backups are also common scenarios that result in you needing to recover your data. Although it's scary to imagine, you don't have to worry about what can happen to your data.

Dr. Fone can get it all back. And it'll do all the hard work for you.

Dr. Fone: What is it?

Dr. Fone is an app for your iOS device, Windows, or Mac. It is a toolkit that boasts several major features targeting both Android and iOS devices. This article will focus on Dr. Fone for iOS.

It claims to have to the "highest iPhone data recovery rate" in the industry. Dr. Fone gives you three ways to recover data, including from an iOS device directly, iTunes backup, or an iCloud backup. With either of these methods, you'll be able to recover photos, videos, contacts, messages, notes, call logs, and more. 

Please note that Dr. Fone does not fix any PC-related problem though technically it is a desktop application. Dr. Fone for iOS is available in both Windows and Mac versions. There is also an iOS app, but the function of app is limited compared to the desktop apps. 

Dr. Fone: How to recover iOS data

Before you decide which method you'd like to use in order to recover your iOS data, download the Dr. Fone app to your Windows PC, Mac machine, or iOS device. You can find download links from the Dr. Fone website.

From iOS device

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  1. Make sure you're running the latest version of iTunes before using Dr. Fone, and then disable automatic syncing in iTunes (launch iTunes > Preferences > Devices > Check “Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically”).
  2. Using your device's USB cable, connect your iOS device to your computer,  then launch Dr. Fone on your computer, and let Dr. Fone automatically detect your device. A Recover from iOS Device window should appear. 
  3. Click the Start Scan button in the window to let Dr Phone scan your iOS device for deleted/lost data. This process may take a few minutes. During the scan, if you see the data you're looking for, click the Pause button to stop the process.
  4. After the scan is finished, you'll see the scan results. Both your lost and existing data on your device should be displayed in different categories. Enable the Only display the deleted items option to filter out the deleted data, and by clicking the file type on the left side, you can preview all the found data. There's also a search box on the top right that lets you search for a specific file.
  5. When you find all the data you need, put a check mark in front of the box to select it, then click the Recover button at the bottom right of the window, and all the recovered data should save to your computer. However, when you click Recover, all texts, iMessages, contacts, and notes will prompt a pop-up that asks you to Recover to Computer or Recover to Device . If you want to put this stuff back on your iOS device, click Recover to Device .

From iTunes backup

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  1. Launch Dr. Fone and click Recover from iTunes Backup File , then let the iTunes backup recovery tool detect and display all iTunes backup files on your computer, and confirm which backup file you need according to the date it has been created.
  2. Select the iTunes backup file that has the data you want to recover, click Start Scan , and let it grab all data from the iTunes backup file.
  3. All data in the backup file will be displayed in categories. You can preview them individually before recovery, and mark and recover those you want by hitting the Recover button at the bottom. There's also a search box in the window that lets you search for a specific file.
  4. Contacts, notes, and messages can now be directly recovered to your iOS device if you keep your iOS device connected to your computer via a USB cable during the recovery process.

From iCloud backup

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  1. Launch Dr. Fone, choose the Recover from iCloud Backup Files recovery mode on the top, and then in the window below, enter your iCloud account credentials to login. Dr. Fone said it will not store any your Apple account.
  2. When logged into iCloud, Dr. Fone can locate all the iCloud backup files in your account. Choose the file you'll need to recover data, then click on the Download button, and then in the pop-up, select the type of files you want to download. After that, scan the iCloud content, and then click on the Scan button to begin. This process may take a few minutes.
  3. When the scan stops, preview the data in your iCloud backup file (like contacts, messages, photos, etc), then check them individually, and click on the Recover to Computer or Recover to Your Device button to save them on your computer or your device. 
  4. Contacts, notes, and messages can now be directly recovered to your iOS device if you keep your iOS device connected to your computer via a USB cable during the recovery process.

Dr. Fone: Which systems are supported?

  • Supported OS: Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP; Mac OS X 10.11, 10.10, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, or 10.6; and iOS 9 and former
  • System requirements: 1GHz (32-bit or 64-bit) CPU, 256MB or more of RAM (1024MB recommended), and 200MB or more free space

Dr. Fone: Which file types can be recovered?

  • Supported file types: Contacts, messages, call history, notes, photos, video, calendar, reminders, WhatsApp messages, messenger messages, voice memos, voicemail, Safari's bookmark, app's photos, app's video, and app's documents

Dr. Fone: Which iOS devices are supported?

  • iPhone: iPhone SE, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 4
  • iPad: All models of iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad Mini, and iPad
  • iPod Touch: iPod Touch 5 and iPod Touch 4

Want to know more?

Dr. Fone for iOS also features some other useful functions such WhatsApp backup & restore, iOS system recovery, etc. If you would like to learn more and take a free trial of the application, please visit the official site: Dr. Fone. You can also watch these helpful video tutorials below.