How to Recover Deleted Files on Mac in 6 Ways

Recover Deleted Files on Mac: Quick Navigation

The Put Back feature lets you quickly restore recently deleted files from the Mac Trash. If you have emptied the Trash, you can recover deleted files on Mac with Mac data recovery software, Undo options, Time Machine backup files, and Terminal commands. There are five different ways to restore deleted files on Mac. The following table outlines these options and applicable scenarios:

🥇Mac deleted file recovery software	This solution offers the highest chance of recovering deleted Mac files. Whether you've deleted Mac files recently or permanently lost your data for various reasons, this software can undelete Mac without backup.
🔁Trash Put Back	This method works when the deleted files are in Trash without being emptied.
🎯Undo Delete Option	You can quickly restore lost files by pressing the Command + Z undelete keys. However, this requires you to do it as soon as possible and cannot restart your computer; otherwise, it will not work.
🧫Restore from iCloud	If you have iCloud syncing enabled, you can log into your iCloud account to get your data back if it's lost.
🧭Time Machine Backup	Time Machine is essential for protecting data against accidental deletion. The precondition is that you set up a Time Machine and create backup copies beforehand.
✍Use Terminal on Mac	You can use Terminal to recover deleted data on the Mac, but this method is somewhat difficult and unsuitable for computer beginners.

Video Tutorial on Restoring Deleted Files on a Mac

We provide a video tutorial on retrieving lost files on a Mac. 

• 00:00 Deleted Files Recovery Overview
• 00:23 EaseUS Mac Data Recovery Wizard
• 01:14 Put Back Option
• 01:41 Undo Option
• 02:12 Time Machine 
• 03:07 Restore Using Terminal

If you prefer a step-by-step guide, follow the steps below to restore deleted files on Mac. 

Method 1. Recover Deleted Files with Mac Deleted File Recovery Software

This is the most effective way to find and restore deleted files on a Mac. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is an ideal tool for Macintosh data recovery. It is user-friendly for beginners and professionals and can recover deleted files using advanced algorithms. 

• Recover deleted files from SD cards, USBs, external hard drives, and more devices on Mac
• Support deleted photos, videos, documents, audio files, and email recovery 
• Recover deleted files on macOS Sonoma/Ventura/Monterey/Big Sur/Catalina/High Sierra, etc.
• Restore permanently deleted files after emptying the Trash, hard drive formatting, OS crashes, etc. 

Download this data recovery software for Mac and undelete files on Mac using the steps below.

Note: You can create a backup by clicking the "Disk Backup" on the left first. The software will recover the deleted files from the backup image. It can prevent further damage to your disk and data, making it safer and more reliable.

Step 1. Scan for deleted files

Select the hard drive, external drive, or SSD where your important data & files were deleted and click "Search for lost files".

Step 2. Filter the lost files

The software will run quick and deep scans and work hard to find as many deleted files as possible on the selected volume. Filter wanted files through the "Type" and "Path" options.

Step 3. Recover deleted files

Double-click the deleted files to preview. Then, click the "Recover" button to get them back.

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Method 2. Restore Deleted Files from Mac Trash

Where is the recently deleted file on Mac? If you drag a file to the Trash or right-click on the file and click "Delete", and you haven't emptied the Trash can yet, the recently deleted files to go the Trash, the following simple steps can quickly restore the deleted data on macOS Trash folder.

Step 1. Open the Trash Bin icon on your desktop, and you can see all the deleted files there.

Step 2. Find the files you want to recover and drag them to the desktop. Or right-click on them and select the "put back" option to recover files on Mac from the Trash. The files will return recovered files to their original location.

You can check the restored files on your Mac desktop. For Windows users, the Recycle Bin recovery operations could be slightly different. You need to right-click the file and choose "Restore".

Method 3. How to Undelete Files on Mac with Undo Option

If you accidentally delete important files on Mac, you can easily restore them by using the "Undo" option. But you should do it immediately after removing the files. It is invalid after you empty the Trash or permanently delete files.

Step 1. After deleting files, go to "Edit" and select the "Undo Move" option. You can also use the Command + Z key to undo the delete operation.

After the process, you can put back lost files on a Mac. These two methods help recover lost data on Mac that have not been permanently deleted. If you emptied the Trash, you must use a Time Machine backup or macOS data recovery software.

Method 4. How to Recover Deleted Files on Mac from iCloud 

Many Mac users apply iCloud to sync and store files. If you're using iCloud Drive to keep data, then you can easily retrieve recently deleted contents. EaseUS Mac data recovery software is also good at iCloud recovery for deleted photos, videos, notes, and other data types.

Step 1. Choose iCloud Recovery

Select the iCloud tab from the left list, choose the "Recover data from iCloud account" option to recover your iCloud Drive data, and click "Next" to log in to your iCloud account.

Step 2. Choose the "iCloud Drive" category

EaseUS software will quickly scan all the recoverable data from your iCloud account. Check the "iCloud Drive" category, and click the "Next" button.

Step 3. Recover iCloud Drive data from iCloud

Select the iCloud Drive data you want to restore, click the eye icon to preview the details, and then click the "Recover" button to get them back.

Step 4. Save recovered iCloud Drive data

Choose a safe storage location on your Mac hard drive to save the recovered iCloud Drive data. You can also save the recovered data to your cloud drives, such as DropBox, OneDrive, GoogleDrive, etc.

Method 5. Restore Deleted Files on Mac from Time Machine Backup

Time Machine application is Apple's backup solution for the Mac, designed to offer an easy way to back up and restore files on the Mac. It enables users to automatically back up documents, applications, system files, photos, videos, emails, audio files, and other data to an external hard drive, USB, or a network-attached storage (NAS) device.

Time Machine creates incremental backups rather than a full backup, which means it only copies newly added or modified files since the previous backup, taking less time and occupying less disk space. Time Machine allows multiple backup plans, such as hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months.

When you need data restoration, you can go back and check any restore point, then recover individual files or entire folders. Time Machine is deeply integrated with different macOS environments, with great system compatibility and support.

To set up and back up Mac data with Time Machine, you can: 

Step 1. Connect an external hard drive to your computer or MacBook

Step 2. Go to "System Preferences > Time Machine > Select Backup Disk".

Step 3. Select the location where you want to save the Time Machine backup files and click "Use disk".

Step 4. Tick the "Back Up Automatically" option to automatically set Time Machine to back up everything on your Mac.

Once you have enabled Time Machine backup, you can recover deleted data on Mac via a recent backup even if you have emptied the Trash bin. This way is useless if no backup has been created before. If you need to recover permanently deleted files without backup, refer to the Mac deleted file recovery program for help.

To recover Mac deleted files with Time Machine:

Step 1. Connect the previously created backup media to your Mac, which can be an external storage device.

Step 2. Launch Time Machine on your Mac. You can click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, choose Enter Time Machine, or search for Time Machine using Spotlight.

Step 3. Locate the specific files you want to restore using the onscreen up and down arrows. Then, preview them by pressing the Space Bar.

Step 4. Finally, click the "Restore" button, and the recovered files will return to their original location. 

Apple Support provides full instructions on restoring items backed up with Time Machine on Mac. Go to check the content in detail.

 

Method 6. Recover Mac Deleted Files Using Terminal

Using Terminal is an excellent choice if you want to recover data on a Mac without software. But note that the Terminal command can only recover files deleted from the Trash folder on Mac. If the Trash becomes empty, turn to a Mac data recovery tool for help.

To restore deleted files on Mac via Terminal, follow these steps:

Step 1. Go to "Finder" > "Applications" > "Utilities" and double-click "Terminal".

Step 2. Type command cd .Trash and press the "Return" key on your Mac.

Step 3. Continue typing "ls -al ~/.Trash". This command lets you view the contents of your Trash folder.

Step 4. Input "mv filename ../" and hit "Return". (Important: the filename must be the full file name to make this command line take effect)

Step 5. Type "Quit" in the Terminal to exit the Terminal window. 

The recovered files by Terminal are located in your home directory folder. You can then navigate there and check the items.

Useful Tips to Restore Deleted Files on a Mac Successfully

To avoid severe data loss problems and improve the success rate of data recovery, you need to know the following instructions. 

Avoid Writing to the Device
Stop using the device immediately once data loss occurs. Do not save new files or install software on the drive from which you're trying to recover files. This can overwrite the deleted data and make it unrecoverable.

Act Quickly 
The sooner you take action after deleting a file, the higher the chance of a successful recovery. Delayed recovery risks overwriting data, making recovery more difficult.

Use professional Mac Data Recovery Software

If your files were permanently deleted or if the Trash was emptied, you need specialized Mac data recovery software, such as EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac. Follow the on-screen wizard to install and run the software, scan the hard drive that contains lost data, and recover the files you want.

Regularly Back Up Your Data 

The safest way to protect data is to back up files regularly. Use the Time Machine or other reliable backup tools. For additional protection, sync and back up data using cloud storage services like iCloud, Google Drive, or Dropbox.

Contact Apple Support
If none of the recovery methods work, you can contact Apple Support for further assistance. They may be able to provide other guidance or solutions based on your specific situation.

Common Reasons Leading to Mac Data Loss or Deletion

The following list shows the most typical ways to delete files or folders on a Mac. The removed items (even not in the Trash anymore) are recoverable by using professional Mac data recovery software.

• Directly drag files to the Trash and restart the computer.
• Regularly empty the Trash to remove deleted files.
• Permanently deleted files by using "Option + Command + Delete" hotkeys.
• Deleted files by clicking the Finder menu and selecting "Empty Trash...".
• Mac Trash automatically deletes files without asking.

The graph below shows all the causes of data loss, including intentional or unintentional deletion. Understanding why data is lost can help you take an effective approach to data recovery.

Why Is It Possible to Recover Deleted Files Mac

When you delete a file on a Mac, the system doesn't immediately erase the actual data on the hard drive; Instead, it marks the space where the file is stored as available for new data. That's the key reason why you can apply macOS data recovery software to trace deep entries and eventually find lost files!

Accordingly, once new data occupies the marked area for "available", it's getting hard for any piece of software on the market to retrieve replaced and overwritten files. That's it. The sooner you find data recovery solutions, the more deleted files you can get back.

Conclusion

I hope this article helps you recover files on the Mac after deletion. There are five approaches you can take. The first approach is relevant when you don't have a backup of your Mac. Follow the mentioned steps to recover data from any macOS version. Other approaches enable you to get files back before emptying the trash bin. You can also restore Mac data with Time Machine if you have a backup.

Sharing is caring. Help more people who need to get deleted files back.

It is pretty easy to undelete files and folders from the emptied Trash with an all-in-one solution for Mac deleted recovery! The magic tool comes in handy anytime when you lose important data on an internal hard drive, a USB flash drive, a memory card, or a pen drive... Why not share your happy moment in regaining the deleted files with others in trouble?

Recover Deleted Files Mac FAQs

After Mac data recovery, you can read these frequently asked questions to get additional help.

1. Is it possible to recover deleted files on Mac?

Of course, it is possible to recover deleted files on Mac. In general, the deleted files from the Mac hard drive are put into the Trash Can, from where you can restore them quickly. If you have emptied the Trash, you can restore deleted files on Mac without software with Time Machine Backup files, undo options, and terminal commands.

To recover deleted files on Mac from an emptied Trash:

Step 1. Download and launch EaseUS Mac data recovery software. Select where your data or files were deleted and click the Scan button.

Step 2. The software will run quick and deep scans and work hard to find deleted files.

Step 3. Select the files and click the Recover Now button to get them back.

2. How do I recover permanently deleted photos from my Mac?

Permanently deleted files are not gone forever. You can recover deleted photos on Mac for free with secure methods.

• Recover deleted photos in the Photos App on Mac
• Recover deleted photos from Trash/emptied Trash
• Recover deleted photos from Time Machine backup
• Recover deleted pictures and photos from Mac with Mac data recovery software 

3. How can I recover permanently deleted files from Mac without the software?

Recover permanently deleted files on Mac without Software:

Step 1. Launch Time Machine on your Mac. 

Step 2. Find the deleted files you want to restore using the onscreen up-and-down arrows to locate them. 

Step 3. Click the Restore button, and the deleted file will return to its original location. 

4. Where do permanently deleted files go?

Files moved to the recycle bin (on PCs) or the trash can (on Macs) stay in those folders until the user empties the recycle bin or trash can. Once they have been deleted from those folders, they are still in the hard drive and can be retrieved with the right software.