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Photos Disappeared From iPhone After Signing Out of iCloud

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If your photos disappeared from your iPhone after signing out of iCloud. It’s likely because the images were stored in iCloud and not on your device. Here’s a quick explanation and steps you can take to recover them:

 

Why Photos Disappeared

  1. iCloud Photos is enabled: When you use iCloud Photos, your photos are stored in the cloud rather than locally on your phone to save space. If you sign out of iCloud, those photos will no longer be available on your device.
  2. iPhone doesn’t store a copy: iCloud Photos syncs your photos across all devices. However, they are only saved locally if you specifically download them. When you sign out, the synced content is removed from your iPhone.

 

Steps to Recover Photos:

1. Sign Back into iCloud:

    • Go to Settings > [Your Name] > Sign in to iCloud.
    • Enter your Apple ID and password.
    • After signing in, ensure iCloud Photos is turned on by going to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos, then toggle iCloud Photos on.
    • Wait for the photos to sync back to your iPhone.

 

2. Check iCloud.com:

    • You can also log into iCloud.com on a computer or browser to check if your photos are still available.
    • If they are, you can download them directly from iCloud or sign back in on your iPhone to sync them.

 

3. Check Recently Deleted Album:

    • Go to the Photos app on your iPhone.
    • Tap Albums and scroll down to Recently Deleted to see if the photos are there.
    • If they are, you can recover them.

 

4. Enable iCloud Photos Download:

    • If you get your photos back after signing in, ensure that they are downloaded and stored locally by going to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos and selecting Download and Keep Originals.

 

Prevent Future Data Loss

  • Before signing out of iCloud, always ensure your photos are backed up locally (on your iPhone) or manually downloaded from iCloud.
  • For extra security, use an external backup method, such as transferring photos to a computer or external storage.

 

How to Make Sure Photo Remain Available on iPhone

To ensure your photos remain available on your iPhone after signing out of iCloud, you must download and store the images locally on your device before signing out. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you do this:

 

1. Check iCloud Photos Status

First, check if you are using iCloud Photos to store your photos in the cloud.

    • Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos.
    • If iCloud Photos is turned on, your photos may be stored in iCloud, not necessarily on your device.

 

2. Download Photos Locally

To make sure your photos are available on your iPhone even after signing out of iCloud, follow these steps:

    • In Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos, make sure iCloud Photos is turned on.
    • Below the iCloud Photos toggle, select Download and Keep Originals. This option will download the full-resolution versions of your photos and videos to your iPhone.
      • Note: Depending on the number of photos and your internet speed, this process might take some time and require sufficient storage space on your iPhone.

 

3. Check Local Storage for Photos

Once you’ve selected Download and Keep Originals, you can check if the photos have been downloaded locally by:

    • You are opening the Photos app to ensure you can view pictures without internet access.
    • If a cloud icon appears when you try to view photos, they are still in iCloud and have yet to be downloaded.

 

4. Sign Out of iCloud.

After you confirm that your photos are stored locally on your iPhone:

    • Go to Settings > [Your Name] > Sign Out to safely log out of iCloud.
    • When you sign out, iCloud will prompt you to choose whether to keep a copy of your data (including photos) on your iPhone. If you have downloaded all your photos already, they will remain on your device after signing out.

 

5. Backup Photos for Extra Security

For additional safety, consider backing up your photos to another location before signing out of iCloud:

    • iTunes/Finder Backup: Use your computer (Mac or PC) to create a local backup of your iPhone using iTunes (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
    • External Storage: Transfer important photos to a computer or external drive.

 

Conclusion

The critical step to ensuring your photos stay on your iPhone is selecting Download and Keep Originals in the iCloud Photos settings before signing out. This downloads all your photos and keeps them on the device so they won’t disappear when you sign out of iCloud. If you could not get your photo back, feel free to contact us, a Singapore Data Recovery Services Centre.

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