Retrieving lost photos with iCloud after ios26 update

Hi everyone. I recently updated my iPhone 13 to ios26. I was going through the people album & identifying possible photos of a person when I saw really old photos (10yrs) I thought were lost forever looking to be identified, but they’re not actually on my camera roll. I’ve logged into iCloud and checked my Apple ecosystem of devices hoping to find those photos again, but they only appear when I’m “identifying” a certain person. I really want these photos back, does anyone have any advice or insight?

iPhone 13

Posted on Oct 16, 2025 6:46 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 16, 2025 7:13 AM

beyond11 wrote: … I’ve logged into iCloud and checked my Apple ecosystem of devices

That sounds odd. Do you use a Mac? If so, you should try connecting the phone and using the app Image Capture from the Applications folder. I've found some old pictures that way.


Of course, you should look in Recently Deleted and in Hidden. And be sure to check your Library thoroughly-- the pictures may not be where you expect, as dates may have changed. Get as much info as you can when you do see those pictures to help you. You can use the search field with the date or location. And remember, you can sort the Library by date captured or by date added. Also, your Library view on the iPhone now has filters, and you may not have your filter set to "All Items’.


Some pictures transferred, maybe with iTunes, from a computer can be viewed in Photos but they can't be modified by Photos, so there may be some operations that produce a warning about those being at risk. So if you’re missing pictures that were transferred from a computer, then you should look on the computer. 


You can see this:

         If you're missing photos or videos in the Photos app - Apple Support


Let us know what you find…



1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 16, 2025 7:13 AM in response to beyond11

beyond11 wrote: … I’ve logged into iCloud and checked my Apple ecosystem of devices

That sounds odd. Do you use a Mac? If so, you should try connecting the phone and using the app Image Capture from the Applications folder. I've found some old pictures that way.


Of course, you should look in Recently Deleted and in Hidden. And be sure to check your Library thoroughly-- the pictures may not be where you expect, as dates may have changed. Get as much info as you can when you do see those pictures to help you. You can use the search field with the date or location. And remember, you can sort the Library by date captured or by date added. Also, your Library view on the iPhone now has filters, and you may not have your filter set to "All Items’.


Some pictures transferred, maybe with iTunes, from a computer can be viewed in Photos but they can't be modified by Photos, so there may be some operations that produce a warning about those being at risk. So if you’re missing pictures that were transferred from a computer, then you should look on the computer. 


You can see this:

         If you're missing photos or videos in the Photos app - Apple Support


Let us know what you find…



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Retrieving lost photos with iCloud after ios26 update

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