Kayabyte

Apple Notes disappeared: what to check first

By Caner Kaya, Kayabyte · Last updated 17 October 2026

You open Notes after an update, a new phone, signing out of iCloud or changing a setting, and your notes are gone, or only some are left. Most of the time they aren’t deleted: they’re in another account, hidden by a setting, or still syncing. Work through these checks before you try anything drastic, and don’t erase or restore a device yet.

1. Look at every account and folder

Notes can hold notes in several accounts at once: iCloud, On My iPhone (or On My Mac), and mail accounts like Gmail or Outlook. Opening Notes often shows only one folder.

Also check that you aren’t in a search or a Tag view, and that the folder isn’t collapsed.

2. Check that Notes sync is turned on

Turning off Notes for an account removes those notes from the device, but they usually stay in the account and come back when you turn it on again.

iCloud notes

Gmail, Outlook and other accounts

3. Check icloud.com

Sign in at icloud.com/notes with your Apple Account. If your notes are there, they’re safe in iCloud and the problem is the device: turning Notes sync off and on, or signing out and back in, usually brings them back. If they’re not there, look in Recently Deleted on icloud.com too.

4. After an update: give it time

After a major iOS or macOS update, Notes sometimes needs to re-download or upgrade your notes. Keep the device on Wi-Fi and plugged in for a while, open Notes and leave it open. Restart the device if nothing changes after an hour.

5. After signing out of iCloud

When you sign out of iCloud, your iCloud notes are removed from that device but stay in iCloud. Sign back in with the same Apple Account and turn Notes on again. If you have more than one Apple Account, check each one on icloud.com.

Notes stored On My iPhone or On My Mac are not in iCloud. If they disappeared after a sign-out or reset, the only copies are in backups.

6. After turning on iCloud for Notes

Turning on iCloud for Notes, or choosing “Sync this iPhone”, merges local notes with iCloud. Occasionally people report that notes stored On My iPhone or On My iPad disappear at this point. Check icloud.com and every folder first. If they’re truly gone, a backup made before the change is where they’ll be.

7. After setting up a new phone or Mac

If you set up the new device without signing in to the same Apple Account, or without turning on Notes, your notes aren’t missing, just not there yet. If the old device stored notes “On My iPhone”, they only come across through a backup or Quick Start transfer. Keep the old device as it is, switched off or offline, until you’ve confirmed everything is on the new one.

If they really are gone

Check Recently Deleted on every device and on icloud.com: deleted notes stay there for about 30 days. After that, a backup made before the loss is the only source:

NoteRescue, the Mac app we make, scans your Time Machine and iPhone backups, compares them with the notes on your Mac today, and shows exactly which notes are missing. The scan is free, never changes your backups, and tells you whether your notes can be recovered before you pay.

Don’t make a new iPhone backup in Finder until you’ve checked the old one. Finder keeps one backup per device and replaces it.