Is It Possible to Recover Replaced Files on Mac?

Have you accidentally replaced a file you were working on with another file with the same name? Or maybe you overwrote something important, thinking it wasn’t a big deal—until it was? It’s a situation most of us have been in—our team included. A lot of people think it’s a lost cause and just start over, but that’s not always true. We’ve helped many people recover replaced files on a Mac, and now we’re here to show you what can actually be done.

What Are the Possible Ways to Recover Overwritten or Replaced Files on a Mac?

We would say there are four possible ways to recover overwritten or replaced files on a Mac. The best method depends on the situation, what kind of files we’re talking about, how were they stored, and whether backups are available. Here’s an overview of what you can do:

How to Recover Overwritten Files on Mac With App-Specific Features

Let’s start with app-specific backup features. Many people don’t realize that the app they’re using might already include built-in backup tools. These options work in the background, so you can, so to speak, “unreplace” a file on your Mac without any extra software. Apple’s Pages and Numbers, Microsoft Word and Excel, and even some creative tools like Photoshop or coding apps like Visual Studio Code have recovery options that let you bring back earlier versions with just a few steps.

To show how this works, we’ll use Apple’s Pages app as an example. Pages automatically saves a new version of your document every time you hit save, so you can easily bring back an older version if you replace or overwrite the file by mistake. You can even choose to restore the entire file or just copy parts of an earlier version. Here’s how:

1. Open the document you want to recover in Pages.
2. Go to the File menu at the top of the screen and select Revert To.
3. Choose Browse All Versions from the dropdown.
4. The screen will show your current version on the left and a stack of older versions on the right. A timeline appears along the side.
5. Scroll through the timeline or use the arrows next to the stack to find the version you need. Click a thumbnail to see it full size.
6. To replace your current file with an older version, click Restore.
7. If you want to keep both the current and older versions, hold down the Option key and click Restore a Copy. This opens the older version in a new window so you can save it separately.

How to Retrieve Replaced Files From Backups on Mac

Not all apps, of course, have built-in tools to save you from accidental file replacements. That’s where system-wide backups come in. If you’ve set up backups using macOS’s Time Machine or a cloud service like iCloud, you have a solid way to recover files that were replaced or overwritten.

Time Machine

If you have Time Machine running on your Mac or MacBook, great! Here’s a quick refresher: Time Machine is macOS’s built-in system that takes hourly, daily, and weekly snapshots of your files and folders. It allows you to go back in time and recover individual files, folders, or even your entire system. Whether you need to recover a replaced folder on your Mac or retrieve an overwritten file, Time Machine makes the process straightforward—provided the file or folder was included in a previous backup.

Here’s how to browse your Time Machine backups and recover replaced files or folders:

1. If you’re using an external drive for Time Machine, connect it to your Mac.
2. Go to the folder where the replaced file or folder was located. For example, if the replaced folder was in “Documents,” open that folder in Finder.
3. Click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and select Browse Time Machine Backups.
4. If you don’t see the icon, go to System Settings > Time Machine and enable it.
5. A timeline on the right side of your screen will display available backups. Scroll through the timeline or use the arrows to find a version from before the file or folder was replaced.
6. Once you’re in the correct snapshot, navigate to the replaced file or folder. You’ll see the contents of the folder as they appeared at that specific point in time.
7. Click Restore. The file or folder will return to its original location.

After you click Restore, a window will pop up and ask if you want to replace the existing file, keep the original, or keep both versions.

• If you choose Keep Both, you’ll see two files with the same name in the folder. The older version will include “(original)” at the end of its name.
• If you choose Replace, the restored file will overwrite the existing one.

Cloud Backups

Cloud backups work differently from local backups like Time Machine. While Time Machine saves snapshots of your entire system, cloud services sync your files in real-time. These two approaches don’t replace each other—they complement each other. Cloud backups are perfect for accessing your files across devices, but they lack the full-system coverage that local backups provide.

On a Mac, the most popular cloud solutions include iCloud, Dropbox, and Google Drive. Since iCloud is Apple’s built-in service, it integrates directly with macOS. Since iCloud is Apple’s built-in service, it integrates seamlessly with macOS. That’s why we’ll highlight iCloud as an example.

If your replaced file or folder was in one of these locations, here’s how you can restore it using iCloud Drive’s version history feature:

1. Open a browser, go to iCloud.com, and log in using your Apple ID credentials.
2. Navigate to Settings and select Data Recovery from the options.
3. Click Restore Files to view a list of available versions for your files.
4. Browse the list to find the file or folder you want to recover. Check the box next to the items you need.
5. Click Restore to revert to the selected versions. The files will be restored to their original locations.

What about Dropbox or Google Drive❓Other cloud services, like Dropbox and Google Drive, also offer file version history features:

• Google Drive has a different retention policy. Older file versions may be deleted after 30 days or once 100 versions are stored. To prevent automatic deletion, you have the option to keep specific versions forever.
• Dropbox stores previous versions of files for up to 180 days (it depends on your plan). File version history doesn’t count toward your storage quota.

Got No Backups? Use Data Recovery Apps to Retrieve Replaced Files on Your Mac

If you don’t have backups—or if your backups don’t include the replaced file—you still have a shot at recovery. Earlier, we explained the technical details of how data recovery software works by scanning for leftover data on your drive. However, it’s important to understand that this method isn’t guaranteed. Success depends on several factors:

• 🕗 How much time has passed since the replacement occurred? The longer you wait, the more likely the system will overwrite the replaced file’s data with new data. This happens naturally as you create, edit, or even download new files. Every action your Mac takes could overwrite the space previously occupied by the replaced file.
• 💾 The type of storage where the file was saved—your Mac’s HDD, SSD, or an external device. Traditional hard drives offer the best chances for recovery because they don’t immediately erase data when a file is replaced. SSDs are much less forgiving, with TRIM enabled. TRIM automatically erases old data blocks when a file is deleted/replaced, which leaves you with little to no chance of recovery. However, if the SSD is connected through a hub, the TRIM commands often don’t pass through, which leaves your data intact for longer.

You won’t know for sure if the file can be recovered until you run a scan with a data recovery app and see what it finds.

We’ve reviewed and tested many popular recovery apps, and our top recommendation is Disk Drill. It performed the best in our tests, recovering the most data consistently. We also use it frequently in real-world scenarios, so we’re very familiar with how it works. If remnants of the replaced files exist, Disk Drill is one of the best tools to recover them.

Here’s a quick guide on how to use Disk Drill to get back replaced files on your Mac:

1. Download and install Disk Drill. Do not install it on the drive where the replaced files were stored to avoid overwriting the data.
2. When you open Disk Drill, it may prompt you to grant permissions for storage access. Follow the instructions to allow this, Disk Drill is safe.
3. From Disk Drill’s list of drives, select the drive where the replaced files were located. This could be your Mac’s internal SSD, an external drive, or another storage device.
4. Click Search for Lost Data.
5. Disk Drill displays a progress percentage, but you don’t need to wait for the scan to finish completely before you can check results. Click Review Found Items at the top to see the files it has already identified.
6. Each file will show a thumbnail preview on the right. An eye icon near the filename lets you preview the file’s contents to confirm it’s the one you need.
7. Pay attention to the Recovery Chances сolumn. It rates each file as High, Average, or Low, giving you a clear idea of how likely it is to recover that file fully. Focus on files marked as “High” for the best results, but you can still attempt to recover those with lower chances.
8. Next to each file and folder, you’ll see a checkbox. Select the files or folders you want to recover.
9. Once you’ve made your selections, click the Recover button at the bottom. Disk Drill will prompt you to choose a location to save the recovered files—make sure to select a different drive to avoid overwriting recoverable data.

Why Disk Drill is the best choice here❓Disk Drill stands out for all the right reasons. Here’s why it’s the best:

• The first reason is its ease of use. No confusing menus, no unnecessary steps—everything is laid out clearly and intuitively.
• Next, Disk Drill combines multiple recovery methods in a single scan. It’s what makes it so effective. It starts with a Quick Scan to find recently lost files by scanning the file directory. Then, it runs a Deep Scan, which digs into your entire drive to rebuild files—even if the metadata is gone. It also performs a Signature Scan, which identifies files by their unique extensions, like .jpg or .docx. It covers all bases in one go.
• It supports almost every file type you can think of. Documents, photos, videos, system files—whatever you’ve lost, Disk Drill can recover it (of course, unless it’s been entirely overwritten—no app can work miracles on that).
• Then there’s the compatibility factor—it works seamlessly with macOS. It is fully compatible with macOS Sequoia and receives regular updates.
• Finally, Disk Drill is reliable and proven to be efefctive. We’ve tested it extensively in real-world situations, and it consistently delivers results.

The Bottom Line

The methods we’ve covered above are proven and tested, but we want you to understand that if you don’t have backups, there’s no way to predict whether or not you’ll be successful in recovering overwritten files with data recovery apps. It’s simply impossible to know for sure. In our experience, there have been cases where we were able to recover all replaced files, while in other cases, we had partial success, with some files already overwritten beyond recovery. And of course, there have also been situations where there simply was nothing to recover at all.

So, while recovery tools can offer hope, it’s important to manage your expectations. If you don’t have a backup running on your Mac or MacBook, we strongly suggest you set one up—preferably with Time Machine. It’s quick and easy to activate. Don’t wait until it’s too late—with a backup in place you’ll never find yourself in this situation again.