How to Restore Photos and Contacts After a Factory Reset

Performing a factory reset on your iPhone or Android phone will wipe your device's data, essentially returning it to 'factory' settings. In order to get your phone's photos, contacts, and other data back, you'll need to restore your phone...

Method 1 of 2:

Restoring an iPhone's Photos and Contacts

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    Make sure "Find My iPhone" is disabled. You won't be able to restore an iPhone backup with this feature active. To deactivate Find My iPhone:
    1. Tap your Settings app.
    2. Tap the "iCloud" tab.
    3. Tap "Find My iPhone".
    4. If the switch next to "Find My iPhone" is green, tap it.
    5. Enter your Apple ID password to confirm.
  2. Picture 2 of How to Restore Photos and Contacts After a Factory Reset
    Connect your iPhone to your computer via USB cable. In order to restore your iPhone's data after a factory reset, you'll need to open iTunes and find the "Restore Backup" option.
    1. You can also restore your iPhone with an iCloud backup; this option is available to you when navigating the factory-wiped phone on the "Apps and Data" screen, and you need not use iTunes to do this.[1]
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    Open your computer's iTunes if it doesn't open automatically. By default, your iTunes program should open when you plug your iPhone into your computer.
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    Click your device's icon in the top left corner of iTunes. You can find this beneath the "Accounts" tab; it resembles an iPhone silhouette.
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    Wait for your device to finish syncing. Depending on how much data you have, you may have to wait for a few minutes.
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    Click "Restore Backup". This is under the "Backups" section of iTunes.[2]
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    Choose a backup from which you want to restore. You can do this by clicking the drop-down menu with "[Your Name]'s iPhone" in it and selecting the most appropriate backup.
    1. Generally, you'll want to restore your phone from the most recent backup.
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    Click "Restore". This will begin the restoration process. Make sure you leave your iPhone connected to iTunes until your restoration is complete.
    1. If you have encrypted backups, you'll need to enter your encryption password before the restoration will initiate.
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    Wait for your device to restart and re-sync. After your phone is done restoring, restarting, and syncing to iTunes, you can unlock it; you should see all of your contacts, photos, and other data here!
    1. If you chose an earlier backup than your most recent one, you most likely will not have all of your contacts or data reinstated.
Method 2 of 2:

Restoring an Android's Photos and Contacts

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    Open a search engine of your preference. In order to restore your Android's photos and contacts, you'll have to download and install a data recovery program.
    1. If you have used your Android at all since the factory reset, you won't get all of your previous data back. This is because data recovery programs restore temporary files from your SD card; these files will be overwritten if you use your Android post-reset.
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    Search for an Android data recovery program. Some of the best-reviewed programs available for both Mac and PC include the following:[3]
    1. "MobiKin Doctor", which offers a free trial to help you recover your contacts, photos, text messages, and so on.
    2. "FonePaw Android Data Recovery", which also recovers contacts and photos; it is free to use initially, or you can purchase it.
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    Download your preferred software. If your browser asks you to pick a download location, choose somewhere easy to access--the desktop, for example--before downloading.
    1. Make sure you're downloading your software directly from its parent site; as a general rule, you should refrain from downloading from third-party sites.
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    Double-click your download's setup file. This will begin installing your preferred data recovery suite. The installation process for each data recovery program will vary, so be sure to read your program's setup instructions carefully and follow the directions on your screen.
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    Open your data recovery program. Once you finish installing your program, you'll need to open it before proceeding with the restoration process.
    1. Depending on your installation preferences, your program may open directly after completing its setup.
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    Connect your Android to your computer via USB cable. This should be the same cable you use to charge your phone.
    1. Your Android will need to be on in order for your program to accurately scan it.
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    Follow your program's on-screen instructions. Generally speaking, you will have to click a variation of "Start" on your program's interface, then tap "Allow" on your Android to enable the program to scan your phone.[4]
    1. Most programs, including the ones listed above, will also give you the option of restoring certain aspects of your phone (for example, you can select "Photos" and "Contacts" but leave out "SMS Messages" if you please).
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    Disconnect your phone from your computer. You'll need to make sure the restoration was effective before you exit your program.
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    Unlock your Android. Your photos, contacts, and other data should have been restored!
    1. If you used your Android after the reset but before restoring your data, you may not see all of your preferred data here.
Update 24 March 2020
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