How to Get Back Files Missing After a Mac Update

Missing files after a Mac update? Updates are meant to improve your Mac, not erase anything, but sometimes things go wrong—especially with storage issues or interrupted installs. We’ve helped many people in this exact situation and know how to get those files back. Here’s a step-by-step guide based on the methods we’ve seen work best. Let’s get to it.

Where to Check First if Files Are Missing After a Mac Update

Here are three quick places to check first. We always recommend starting with these, as files are often just moved. These steps can save you a lot of time.

First things first—check the Trash

It’s obvious and basic, but you’d be surprised how often people skip this step. During updates, macOS sometimes sends files to the Trash if it runs into certain issues:

1. Click the Trash icon in your Dock.
2. Look for any missing files. If you find them, right-click and choose Put Back to restore them to their original location.

Search for missing files with Finder

Sometimes, files just end up relocated. If that’s the case, you can use Finder or Spotlight to find missing files after a Mac update by searching with parts of the file name or type.

• Open Finder from the Dock, go to File > Find, and type part of the file name or file type (like “.pdf” or “2023 Invoices”) to narrow it down. Finder helps track files that may have landed in different folders.
• Or press Command + Spacebar to open Spotlight, then enter keywords related to the file, like “Photoshoot,” “Tax Report,” or “2023.” Spotlight will pull up any matches across your Mac.

These quick searches are often all it takes to find files that got shuffled around in the update. If they don’t turn up, it’s okay—up next, we’ll get into some solid recovery methods.

Check the Relocated Items folder

If a Relocated Items folder shows up on your Mac after a macOS update, it means some files couldn’t be moved to their new spots. During an upgrade, macOS reviews all files to make sure they’re valid, authorized, and undamaged. Any files that don’t meet these standards end up in the Relocated Items folder.

You can find this folder in Users > Shared > Relocated Items, and there’s usually a shortcut on your Desktop. Open the folder and look for a PDF that explains what to do with the files inside. This is a good place to check if files are missing after your Mac update.

Didn’t Find Missing Files After Mac Update? Here’s What’s Next

Quick checks often turn up missing desktop files or documents after a Mac update. If they don’t, you’ve basically got two options: backups or data recovery software. From our experience, most people don’t have backups set up on their Macs, which means a reliable recovery tool is often the go-to. We’ll walk you through using a data recovery tool first, and for those who do have backups like Time Machine or iCloud, we’ll cover how to restore files from those too.

How to Restore Missing Files Using Data Recovery Software

Data recovery tools can scan your Mac’s drive for traces of files that were deleted, moved, or made inaccessible after the update. Even if a file seems permanently lost, it usually leaves behind data fragments that these tools can detect and reconstruct.

Here are some popular data recovery tools: Disk Drill, R-Studio, PhotoRec, UFS Explorer. We’ve tested and reviewed all of these (and more), but we’ll show you how to use Disk Drill. This app consistently ranks at the top of lists and ratings as the #1 choice for Mac users.

Over the years, we’ve recovered terabytes of data thanks to Disk Drill. The process is straightforward, and it’s helped countless users get back missing files after a Mac update. We’ll explain why Disk Drill is perfect for this job, but first, let’s get your files back. Here’s how to do it:

1. Head to the Disk Drill website and download the latest version for macOS.
2. Open the downloaded file and follow the prompts to install Disk Drill on your Mac.
3. When you open Disk Drill, you’ll see a clean interface; the main screen displays your available drives, and recovery tools, all laid out for quick access.
4. Select your Mac’s main drive (usually labeled Macintosh HD or Macintosh HD – Data).
5. Click on Search for lost data, and the recovery process will start. You’ll see categories like Pictures, Videos, Audio, and Documents appear. You can choose any category or click Review found items at the top to see all files found so far. Disk Drill lets you preview and recover files even before the scan finishes, making it easy to grab what you need right away.
6. You can pause and resume the scan whenever you want. Next to each file, you’ll see Recovery chances, which shows how likely it is to recover that file successfully.
7. You can select individual files or entire folders, then click the Recover button at the bottom to restore them. Keep in mind, though, that you’ll need the PRO version to actually recover files. The Basic (free) version allows you to scan and preview files, but it doesn’t allow actual recovery.

And now, as promised, here’s why Disk Drill is our go-to tool for recovering lost files after a Mac update:

• Straightforward setup and a clean design.
• Recovers all kinds of files, from popular formats (PDF, JPEG, MP4) to more specialized ones (RAW, PSD, FLAC).
• Known for high success rates, even from formatted or corrupted drives.
• Offers Quick Scan (locates recently deleted files), Deep Scan (analyzes the drive for deeper recovery), and Signature Scan (searches by unique file signatures for hard-to-retrieve files).
• Updated frequently and fully supports the latest macOS Sequoia on Intel, M1, M2, and M3 Macs.
• Lets you preview recoverable files.

Use Time Machine to Recover Missing Documents after Mac Update

Now, let’s get to backups. If you’re one of the few wise and farsighted Mac users who set up backups before the update, you’re in a great position to recover files in case something went wrong and your Mac update deleted everything. If you had Time Machine active but never actually needed to use it, we’ll show you how it works to recover your files.

Option 1: Restore Data with Time Machine in macOS

Time Machine is a super useful feature in macOS, and we always recommend that you turn it on because—you never know when you might need it. Time Machine automatically saves hourly, daily, and weekly snapshots of your data, so you can easily recover files if something goes wrong. Plus, it’s can restore specific versions of files before they were deleted or modified.

Here’s how to use Time Machine to restore files missing after a Mac update:

1. Plug in the external drive where your Time Machine backups are saved.
2. Click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and select Browse Time Machine Backups. If you don’t see it, go to System Preferences > Time Machine and check Show Time Machine in menu bar.
3. Use the timeline on the right to scroll back to a point before the update. This lets you see your files as they were on that date.
4. Browse through folders or use the search bar to locate specific files.
5. Select the files or folders, then click Restore. Time Machine will place them back in their original locations on your Mac.

Option 2: Restore Data From APFS Snapshot

Another option is to restore data from an APFS Snapshot in Recovery Mode. This only works on APFS-formatted system drives. When macOS updates, it takes a snapshot of your entire system—files, folders, and settings, as long as Time Machine is enabled.

This method has its downsides. It resets your entire system, so any files or changes made after the snapshot will be lost. Plus, it’s not available for older drive formats. Still, it can be a lifesaver in extreme data loss situations where other recovery options aren’t enough.

To enter Recovery Mode:

• Apple Silicon Macs: Shut down your Mac, then press and hold the Power button until “Loading startup options” appears. Select Options and click Continue to enter Recovery Mode.
• Intel Macs: Restart your Mac and hold Command + R until the Apple logo or a spinning globe shows up.

Once in Recovery Mode, follow these steps to restore from an APFS snapshot:

1. In macOS Utilities, select Restore From Time Machine Backup and click Continue.
2. You’ll be presented with a list of available backups. Look for the APFS snapshot on your Mac’s startup disk.
3. Select the snapshot you want to restore and click Continue.

Your Mac will restart once the recovery finishes, and bring back your system exactly as it was at the time of the snapshot.

Use iCloud Backup to Restore Files Missing after a Mac Update

Another backup option for restoring files is iCloud. It typically backs up key spots on your Mac, like the Desktop and Documents folders, along with photos, app data, contacts, and calendar events. Like Time Machine, though, iCloud isn’t active by default—it needs to be set up before the update to be useful for recovery.

Here’s how to use iCloud to restore missing Desktop/Documents files after a Mac update:

1. Open iCloud.com in a web browser and sign in with your Apple ID. This gives you access to your files stored in iCloud from any device.
2. Click on iCloud Drive to view your backed-up files.
3. Look in the Recently Deleted folder on the left sidebar. iCloud keeps deleted files here for up to 30 days, so it’s a good place to find files that were removed.
4. Find the files you want to recover, select them, and click the Recover All button, or right-click an individual file and select Recover.

Key Takeaways

As you can see, if a macOS update deleted files, you’ve got a few solid options to get them back. In most cases we’ve handled, we managed to recover lost files successfully. If this situation has been a wake-up call, consider using macOS’s built-in backup features, like Time Machine and iCloud. We really recommend it—it’ll save you tons of time and hassle down the road.

And for next time, take a few steps to keep things smooth: keep your MacBook plugged in, make sure you have plenty of free storage, and close any unnecessary programs. These steps can help prevent issues during the next update.