Best iPad Data Recovery Software to Restore Deleted Files

The reality of losing data on your iPad can be extremely catastrophic and even worse if you do not have an existing backup plan. If you are currently trying to restore deleted files from your iPad, chances are that you may have already come across some possible solutions on the internet.

Executing a simple google search query on how to recover data on your iPad would reveal multiple results. However, there is no guarantee that all the solutions will help you recover your lost data.

This article explores some of the best iPad data recovery software to help you restore deleted files on your iPad.

Understanding the Reasons for Data Loss on your iPad

To give you a better perspective, it’s important to first explore some possible causes for data loss on your iPad. Losing data ranges from a variety of occurrences with the most common reasons being unintentional. The following are some of the common data loss scenarios for iPad users:

• ⚠️ Accidental Deletion. Deleting a file erroneously is not an uncommon practice. For many users, the possibility of losing data through accidental deletion doesn’t come as a surprise. Attempting to delete some photos, videos, documents etc. could result in mistakenly including items that you do not intend to get rid of. When seeking to delete items off your iPad, always double-check to confirm which items you truly mean to delete.
• ⬆️ Software Upgrade. While it’s relatively rare to encounter data loss after upgrading your iPad device to the latest iOS version, some users have experienced this. It’s good practice to try and backup all your data, or at least the relevant ones using iTunes, iCloud or any other preferred data backup tool to prevent losing your vital data.
• 📱 Jailbreak Failure. If you are in the habit of tinkering with your iPad to gain free access to apps that have been restricted or reserved for a premium price through a jailbreak, the risk of your device going into DFU mode is high and could render the data on your device inaccessible. As a precaution, avoid jailbreaking your iPad.
• 🔨 Physical Damage. Causing physical damage to your iPad can result in data loss. Whether it falls to the ground or drops into a pool of water, there’s the possibility of your device not powering on again.
• ❌ System crash. Devices including iPads may experience system crashes from time to time due to reasons such as insufficient storage, or when running an app that is no longer compatible with an existing iOS version. Always ensure to keep your device running at an optimal level.
• 🔑 Forgotten Credentials. Many users in a bid to protect personal information, have enabled system locks or passwords. Due to the stress on our memories sometimes, we can suddenly forget our passwords synced to our device. This is especially common for people who use multiple passwords across different devices. For sophisticated devices like iPads, failure to remember your password will lock you out of your device forever, and could potentially erase all your data.

10 Best iPad Data Recovery Software

Even with the most advanced data protection measures, certain data loss scenarios could leave you in a state of shock whilst highlighting loopholes you failed to take notice of. After such an experience, the ideal solution would be to depend on a data recovery software to help you recover deleted files on your iPad.

Despite a plethora of data recovery software, you might come across, the following data recovery tools, each containing different recovery scenarios will help you recover deleted files with ease.

1. Disk Drill iOS Recovery

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Disk Drill is a very popular data recovery app that can restore files not only from iOS devices, but also from Android, Mac, and Windows machines (as well as almost all external storage devices). It can recover data from your iPad directly or retrieve files from iTunes and iCloud backups to avoid having to roll back the device or recover all the files at once.

Users are given many quality-of-life features that make recovery more efficient, such as a sorting tool and categorizing tool, a preview tool (that can even play videos), and reliable session management. Disk Drill also recognizes a vast amount of file signatures (more than most of its competitors), so it should support almost every iOS file you need to recover.

Aside from its above-average performance, the app also provides a great user experience. The interface is visually pleasing and designed to allow users of any level to start restoring data immediately.

Disk Drill is also one of the first apps to support the latest iOS and iPad models, thanks to its constant updates.

Overall, its performance, user experience, and multi-platform recovery features make Disk Drill our #1 choice – especially considering its value for money.

Pricing
You can download Disk Drill for free to scan your iPad and verify chances of successfull recovery. The Disk Drill PRO version can be purchased at $89 and the Enterprise for $499.

2. FonePaw

FonePaw is another well-known data recovery app but it’s specifically for iOS. It can directly scan your iPad or restore files from iTunes or iCloud backups. It recognizes over 30 file types, including photos, videos, messages, Safari bookmarks, calendar entries, as well as messages and attachments from messenger apps.

While its recovery rate is slightly lower than some of its competitors (especially in the top 5), it’s dependable for common data types like MOV, HEIF, and PAGES. And though a bit cluttered, FonePaw’s interface is easy on the eyes and approachable for users of any level.

Like Disk Drill, FonePaw provides filtering and search tools so you can easily review recovered files. However, we feel the app is a bit expensive considering what it offers compared to other apps on this list.

Overall, FonePaw is a somewhat pricey but reliable iPad recovery app with good performance and decent user experience.

Pricing
For Windows users, a single-user license can be purchased for $59.95 whiles the Family license (supports 5 PCs) is available for $99.95.

3. EaseUS MobiSaver

EaseUS MobiSaver is an iOS data recovery app from one of the longest-standing developers in the recovery space. Like other apps on this list, it can restore common iOS data types – like messages, photos, voice memos, etc. – directly from your iPad, from an iCloud backup, or from an iTunes backup. While its scan takes a bit longer than other apps on this list, it recovered most of our data successfully (which is what really matters).

EaseUS apps are well-known for being very beginner-friendly, and MobiSaver is no exception. The app is straightforward and makes it almost impossible to get lost along the way. The standard utilities are present, such as data filtering, search, and preview. Thumbnail view makes it easy to quickly browse photos and videos.

And while there are some apps that can offer more value for money, EaseUS MobiSaver’s basic pricing is more affordable outright. Its free trial can also recover SOME files instead of only being able to preview anything.

Pricing

EaseUS MobiSaver can be downloaded for free but to actually recover files you need to pay extra to secure the professional version for $59.95 and $79.95 on the Windows and Mac platforms respectively.

4. Stellar Data Recovery

Despite its name, Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone can restore data from iPads and other iOS devices. It has the expected features of our top 5 apps; it can restore data from your iPad directly or from an iTunes or iCloud backup. It provides a search tool and automatically categorizes your data in the sidebar.

You can also scan specific data types only, allowing you to restore the files you need faster. And while its GUI is pretty average, it’s clean and easy to use for users at any level.

Stellar Data Recovery’s biggest advantages are its extra features and affordability. The Toolkit version of this app provides an iOS repair tool (which can fix crashes, getting stuck in the Apple logo, etc.) and an Apple ID remover in case you forgot your login details. Even with the Toolkit version, the app is cheaper outright than other entries in our top 5. It also offers a sizeable 1 GB worth of free data recovery.

Stellar Data Recovery’s main disadvantage lies in performance. Its scanning speed is pretty slow and its recovery rate is a bit lower than other apps in the top 5. However, it’s a great choice for users on a budget who also need a repair tool.

Pricing

Just like many other data recovery tools, data recovery is not achievable using the free version.

The most basic package which is the standard version can be purchased for $39.99 whereas the toolkit and toolkit plus packages are available for purchase at $49.99 and $149.99 respectively.

5. Dr.Fone

Dr.Fone for iOS is another known entry of many iOS recovery top 10 lists. From popular company Wondershare, Dr.Fone is a decent data recovery solution with impressively high-value optional features.

The standalone data recovery app has one of the nicer interfaces we’ve seen and it’s designed to be easily used by beginners from installation to starting the scan. Users easily sort, search, and filter found files for more efficiency. The recovery process itself does take a lot longer than many of the other apps, but users can technically speed it up by only scanning for specific files.

However, restoring everything – especially long videos – can be tedious. It also has a pretty good recovery rate, but not the best. Dr.Fone really shines when you purchase the full toolkit, which provides useful utilities like screen unlock and system repair.

Overall, it’s a good choice for users who want an all-in-one iOS repair and recovery tool to fix recurring issues that may be causing data loss in the first place.

Pricing
For users who are comfortable with a 1-year license, Dr.Fone can be purchased for $59.95. A lifetime license and a business license(annual) are available for $69.95 and $399 respectively.

6. Gihisoft Data Recovery

Gihisoft Data Recovery is a passable iOS recovery app that offers a very good deal for a certain set of users. Our first impression of Gihisoft wasn’t great, as the interface looked long overdue for an update and the recovery process took longer than most apps on this list. Although, the scan time can be cut down thanks to its selective scanning feature. On the other hand, its user experience sorely lacks critical sorting features, making the recovery process a bit tedious.

However, it’s worth a second look because the app offers to recover 12 iOS data types for free. In other words, you can restore as much data as you want as long as they fall under these 12 data types (more info in the Pricing section below) from an iPad or an iCloud or iTunes backup. It did recover a lot of data during the live test, but many apps on this list are far ahead in terms of performance.

Pricing

The free version allows you to recover certain vital data for free — an offer that is hard to come by considering the category of data recovery tools it belongs to.

For $59.95, you can get the PRO version and have access to a lot more features and filetypes.

7. Tenorshare

Tenorshare UltData for iOS is an older data recovery app known for having multiple features in one tool. Like most iOS recovery apps, it can selectively restore data from an iPad or a backup file. Its user interface isn’t special in any way, but it’s simple and usable.

Tenorshare UltData’s recovery performance is passable but it lacks the quality-of-life features present in the earlier entries. Its scanning speed is slow and the app itself feels somewhat unoptimized. It’s also rather expensive for what it offers.

The app earns its spot thanks to its extra features; namely, it can help you get unstuck from the Recovery Mode loop and repair your iPad’s operating system. It also provides a separate scanning menu for restoring messenger data (e.g. LINE, Kik, etc.).

Pricing
Users who prefer just a monthly or annual license can purchase each for $45.95 (Annual price discounted from $149). The premium lifetime license is being offered for $59.95 so depending on which value you desire the most, we recommend carefully selecting the package that will offer the best outcomes for you.

8. Syncios

Syncios Data Recovery is a minimalistic-looking data recovery app that can restore standard iOS data types (such as messages, photos, and videos) from an iTunes backup, an iCloud backup, or directly from your iPad. While it has one of the cleaner interfaces we’ve seen, it lacks utilities like session management and tree view.

Syncios Data Recovery is slow – fortunately, it allows users to select individual data types to scan. And despite its slow scanning speed, it’s reliable for common iOS data. Syncios Data Recovery’s biggest drawback is its lack of updates. Since 2022, the app’s only major updates have been support for the newest iOS and bug fixes. As a result, the app has been left behind in terms of performance and user experience optimization.

That said, its discounted price makes it a pretty sweet deal outright, even if it lags in value down the line.

Pricing
Syncios data recovery for iPad is available for free download. Whether you are a Mac or Windows user, you can download the data recovery software for free. However you’ll have to pay $39.95 for a 1-Year license on both Windows or Mac to be able to recover data, Lifetime License is available for $49.95 and unlimited Busines License will cost you $299 a Year.

9. Fonelab

FoneLab iPhone Data Recovery is an iOS data recovery app that also works for iPads, despite its name. It supports the recovery of the core iOS data types, but it can also restore data from third-party messenger apps (e.g. QQ, WeChat, etc.) separately.

Like the other entries, FoneLab iPhone Data Recovery can restore files directly from your iPad or from a backup. In terms of recovery performance, the app works. It also provides additional tools like iOS system recovery, as well as the less common backup and restore tool.

Unfortunately, its user experience is long overdue for a redesign; we couldn’t find its change log online, but its interface looks severely outdated. It also seems to repeatedly ask to be unlocked, making the recovery process more tedious than it needs to be.

We think the app should be cheaper and should at least offer limited free recovery as a trial especially if you’re trying to restore less common data types. But it provides a quick fix tool for free in case of any minor iOS issues, which we appreciate.

Pricing
Fonelab is available for free download except that you can’t do more than preview files. Getting the most features out of Fonelab requires an upgrade to the paid version which can be purchased for a limited offer of $55.96 (Single-user) & $132 (multi-user) on both Windows and Mac platforms.

10. Leawo iOS Data Recovery

Leawo iOS Data Recovery is the oldest recovery app on this list. Its last update was released in 2017 and it was last optimized for iOS 8 and macOS 10. It still works just fine with newer operating systems, but users may struggle with some modern app data (not a huge problem for 80% of users).

Like its more advanced counterparts, Leawo iOS Data Recovery can restore data from an iPad directly as well as from iTunes and iCloud backups. It works reliably for photos, videos, SMS & MMS messages, call logs, contacts, calendar entries, and other “core” iOS data. And while its interface looks outdated, it can still preview and filter data, and its user experience is even better than some of our previous entries.

It leans on the more expensive side though, so it’s mostly a consideration for users who have older devices and whose alternatives don’t provide backward compatibility.

Pricing
As in most cases, Free trial version allows only to scan itunes and icloud backups for your data. If you wish to recover found data yo tour computer, you will need to purchase Leawo iOS data recovery for $59.95.

How to Recover Deleted Files on iPad Using Disk Drill

Out of the many iPad file recovery solutions that have been reviewed, Disk Drill is easily our favorite because it works seamlessly to recover just about any file type on your iPad. In terms of usability, performance and compatibility which are key touchpoints we recommend for any iPad recovery software, Disk Drill scores higher than the average solution.

Many iPad data recovery solutions would easily pass for being excellently marketed products but would easily fail to deliver major selling points. Instead, Disk Drill delivers unparalleled user experience and offers a more comprehensive approach towards data recovery.

To recover iPad files with Disk Drill, follow these steps:

1. Download and install Disk Drill for iPad.
2. Launch the Disk Drill app.
3. Connect your iPad to your PC using Wi-Fi or USB. We recommend connecting via USB for a faster experience. Your iPad will appear under the iOS group on the disk and device list.
4. Select Search for lost data.
5. Wait until Disk Drill scans for files on your iPad.
6. Review scanned results and select the items you intend to retrieve by once again clicking Recover.

Conclusion

Selecting the right iPad data recovery tool can greatly affect the outcome of your data recovery efforts. You need to consider usability, compatibility, and performance as your major benchmarks. In some cases, you would be required to pay something extra if you desire the most efficient features.