How to Recover Deleted Files from Mac after Emptying the Trash (2022 Tips)

How to Recover Deleted Files from the Mac Trash (Quick Access)

1. Open the Mac Trash by clicking its icon. 2. Find the lost or deleted file you want to restore. 3. Right-click the selected file or folder. 4. Choose "Put Back" to restore the deleted file to its original location on your Mac.

How to Recover Deleted Files on a Mac, Even After Emptying the Trash: 5 Tricks

If you've already emptied the Trash, you can still recover deleted Mac files using Mac data recovery software, the Undo option, Time Machine backup files, and Terminal commands. There are five different methods for recovering deleted files on a Mac. If you accidentally deleted an important document, here's what you should do.

• Method 1: Recover Deleted Files with Software
• Method 2: Restore Files from the Trash with the Put Back Option
• Method 3: Recover Deleted Files with the Undo Option
• Method 4: Restore Files from a Time Machine Backup
• Method 5: Recover Deleted Files with Terminal

You can watch this video to learn how to recover permanently deleted files on a Mac.

• 00:00 File Recovery
• 00:23 Recovery Tool Wizard
• 01:14 Restore Options
• 01:41 Undo Options
• 02:12 Time Machine Recovery
• 03:07 Recovering Files using Terminal

If you prefer a step-by-step guide, follow these instructions to recover deleted files on a Mac:

Method 1: Recover Permanently Deleted Files on a Mac (Trashed and Emptied)

Works on macOS 10.9 through macOS 13

This method works best on macOS 10.9-13, though the steps are the same for other versions of macOS. tools Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is an ideal tool for Mac data recovery. No other file recovery tools are as easy to use.

Regardless of the reason behind the data loss – whether it's damaged files, accidental deletion, or unexpected formatting – we can help you get it back. In addition, our Mac hard drive recovery tool can also restore emptied Trash, formatted drives, crashed operating systems, and even Macs that have been infected by viruses.

Please download this data recovery software for Mac and follow the steps below to recover permanently deleted files from Mac.

Step 1. Scan the Deleted File

Select the hard drive, external drive, or SSD from where your important data and files were deleted, and then click “Search Lost Files.”

Step 2. Find Lost Files

The software will scan the selected volume quickly and deeply, trying to find as many deleted files as possible. Filter the required files by Type and Path options.

Step 3: Recover the deleted file

Double-click to preview the deleted files and then hit the “Recover” button to get them back.

If you're a Windows 10/8.1/8/7/XP user, you can also use a 100% effective way to recover deleted files. The methods below will show you four real solutions to recover deleted files on Mac without any third-party software. Keep reading to learn how to recover deleted files on macOS Ventura/Monterey/Big Sur/Catalina/High Sierra.

Method 2: Recover Deleted Files from Mac Trash

Where is the Recently Deleted folder on Mac? If you drag a file to the Trash or right-click and select Delete, and you haven't emptied the Trash yet, your recently deleted files are there. The steps below will quickly get you to the Recently Deleted folder in the Trash folder on macOS to recover deleted data.

Step 1: Click on the “Trash” icon on your desktop, and you will see all your deleted files.

Step 2: Find the files you want to recover and drag them to the desktop. Or right-click on them and choose "Put Back" to restore deleted files on Mac from the Trash. The file will return to its original location.

You should be able to view the recovered file on your Mac's desktop. If you're using Windows, the process for recovering files from the Recycle Bin is similar, except you right-click the file and choose "Restore."

Method 3: How to Use the Undo Option to Restore a Deleted File on a Mac

If you accidentally delete important files on your Mac, you can easily recover them using the “Undo” option. However, you must do this immediately after deleting the files. This method will not work if you have emptied the Trash or permanently deleted the files.

Step 1: After deleting the file, choose Edit > Undo Move.

Step 2: Alternatively, you can use the Command+Z keyboard shortcut to undo the deletion.

Once done, you can put the lost files back on your Mac. Both methods help recover deleted files from Mac that aren't permanently removed. If you emptied the Trash, you must use a Time Machine backup or macOS data recovery software.

Method 4: Restore Deleted Mac Files from Time Machine Backup

Time Machine is Apple's backup solution for Macs. If you have Time Machine backups enabled, you can restore deleted data from the most recent backup even after you empty the Trash. If you haven't created a backup before, this method won't work. To recover permanently deleted files without a backup, see Method 1 for help.

Applies to macOS High Sierra through macOS Ventura

Restore deleted files on Mac using Time Machine:

Step 1: Open Time Machine on your Mac. You can do this by clicking the icon in your menu bar and selecting Enter Time Machine, or by searching for Time Machine using Spotlight.

Step 2. Use the up and down arrow keys on your screen to locate the specific file you want to recover. Press the spacebar to preview it.

Step 3. Finally, click on the “Recover” button to save the deleted files back to their original location.

Method 5: Recover Deleted Files on Mac via Terminal

If you wish to recover deleted files on your Mac without software, using the Terminal is a good option. However, bear in mind that **Terminal commands only work for restoring files deleted from the Trash on your Mac**. If you've emptied the Trash, seek assistance from dedicated Mac file recovery tools.

To recover deleted files from a Mac through Terminal, follow these steps:

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

Step 2: Type in the command cd .Trash and press "Enter" on your Mac's keyboard.

Step 3: Type in "ls -al ~/.Trash". This will show you the contents of your Trash.

Step 4: Type mv filename ../ and press Enter. (Note: This command will only work if you type the entire filename, including the extension.)

Step 5: Type "Quit" in the terminal and close the terminal window.

Recovered files end up in your Home directory folder. You can navigate there and check out the items.

5 Common Reasons for Data Loss or Deletion from Mac

Below are the most common ways to delete files/folders on a Mac. These deleted items can be recovered with professional Mac data recovery software even if they are no longer in the Trash.

• Drag the file to the Trash, then restart your computer.
• Empty the Trash regularly to permanently delete files you've already deleted.
• Delete a file immediately using the "Option + Command + Delete" shortcut.
• Empty the Trash by clicking the Finder menu and selecting "Empty Trash…"
• On a Mac, the Trash will automatically delete files without prompting you.

It's also a great example of how powerful software can be to resurrect files that don't even exist!

How is it possible to recover deleted files from a Mac?

When you delete a file, instead of erasing the data outright, the entry is removed. First, the space that the deleted file occupied is marked as “available” for new data to be written over. This is why it's possible to trace deep entries with a tool like macOS Ventura Data Recovery Software, ultimately leading to the original file!

So once new data takes up the “available” space, it can be very difficult for any software to recover files that have been overwritten. The sooner you get a data-recovery solution working, the more of your deleted files you'll get back.

Extra Protection for Your Mac Data

Regular backups are an easy but effective way to protect your data from accidental loss. Time Machine, a utility that comes built into macOS, handles backups automatically.

Back Up Mac Data with Time Machine

Step 1: Connect the external hard drive to your computer or MacBook

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

Step 3: Choose the location to save your Time Machine backups, then click Use Disk.

Step 4: Check the box next to "Backup automatically" so that Time Machine backs up everything on your Mac.

If you want to back up your Mac without Time Machine, you can rely on a trustworthy Mac data backup tool that lets you create backups in full, incremental, or differential modes.

Conclusions

This article will help you with file recovery on Mac. You can try 5 methods. The first method is applicable when you don't have a Mac backup. Follow the mentioned steps to recover deleted/lost files from any macOS version. The other methods let you retrieve files before emptying the Trash. You can also use Time Machine for Mac data recovery if you have a backup.

Sharing is caring, help more people in need of recovering deleted files

It's so easy to recover deleted files and folders from an emptied Trash with a powerful Mac data recovery solution! This amazing tool comes in really handy when you lose important data from your internal hard drive, USB flash drive, memory card, or iPod – why not share the joy of retrieving your deleted files with others who have the same problem?

Frequently Asked Questions on Mac File Recovery

After you perform Mac data recovery, you can read these FAQs for more help.

1. Can I recover deleted files on Mac?

Yes, you can recover deleted files on a Mac. Usually, when you delete a file from your Mac's hard drive, it gets sent to the Trash, from where you can quickly restore it. If you've emptied the Trash, you can still restore the deleted Mac files without software using Time Machine backups, the Revert option, and Terminal commands.

Recover deleted files from the empty Trash:

Step 1: Download and run the Mac Data Recovery software. Select the location from where your data or files were deleted and then click on the “Scan” button.

Step 2: The software will perform a quick and deep scan to look for the deleted files.

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

How can I recover permanently deleted photos from my Mac?

Permanently deleted files are not lost forever. You can securely get back your deleted photos from Mac for free.

• Recover deleted photos from Photos app on Mac
• Recover deleted photos from Trash/Empty Trash
• Restore deleted photos from Time Machine backup
• Retrieve deleted pictures and photos from Mac with data recovery software

How can I recover permanently deleted files from my Mac without software?

Recover deleted files from Mac without software in UTF-8 format:

Step 1: Open Time Machine on your Mac.

Step 2: Use the up and down arrows on your screen to locate the deleted file you wish to recover.

Clicking the "Restore" button will put the file back where it was.

4. Where do permanently deleted files go?

Files moved to the Recycle Bin (on PCs) or Trash (on Macs) remain in these folders until the user empties them. Once deleted from these folders, they are still present on the hard drive and can be recovered with the right software.