How to Recover Lost Photos After macOS High Sierra Update

“I installed High Sierra on my MacBook Air yesterday and now all pictures in a desktop folder are gone, leaving me en empty folder there. I checked some other desktop folders and everything else is normal. Anyone else has the same problem? I want recover lost photos on my Mac!”

Actually, data loss is quite common after performing system update on computer, both on Mac and PC. Thus, nothing but backing up your computer before system update becomes essential. With Time Machine backup on Mac, you are able to recover lost photos as well as other missing files by restoring your Mac. But what can you do to retrieve lost photos after High Sierra update when there is no backup available?

Don’t worry. In this post, we’ll show you detailed steps to recover lost pictures after High Sierra update with or without backup.

How to Recover Lost Photos on Mac After High Sierra Update

1. Recover Lost Photos on Mac With Time Machine Backup

Mac OS is built-in with Time Machine feature that allows you to back up all your files to external storage. If you have set Time Machine backup before, you can restore lost photos or recover other files from Time Machine backup without software.

Step 1. Open the folder where your photos lost.

Step 2. Click the Time Machine icon in the upper-right corner of the menu bar, and then enter Time Machine.

Step 3. On the edge of the screen, check the timeline to see the items in your Time Machine backup.

Restore Lost Files After High Sierra Update from Time Machine Backup

Step 4. Select the item you need and press Space Bar to preview it. Click Restore button to recover your lost photos on macOS High Sierra.

However, to use this method to restore lost pictures on Mac, you need to make sure you have available Time Machine backup to use. For those users who haven’t set up Time Machine feature previously, the only solution to retrieve lost photos on Mac without backup is to use a third-party photo recovery software.

2. Recover Lost Photos on Mac Without Backup

Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery Mac, a professional picture recovery tool, is here to help. By securely analyzing the disk where your photos lost, Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery Mac makes it possible for you to recover lost photos after High Sierra when without backup. Download Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery Mac free trial on your computer and follow the steps below to see how this software recover missing photos on Mac computer.

Tip: The free trial version only supports scanning & previewing lost photos on your Mac, to save the recoverable photos, you need to purchase the full version of Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery Mac. Buy it now >

Step 1. Run Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery Mac and select Recover Photo, Audio & Video.

Recover Lost Photos on Mac Without Backup

Step 2. Select storage media. For faster scanning and better recovery results, you can click the Advanced Settings button and then select only corresponding photo files format to scan. Then click OK to save your preferences and click Scan Now to begin recovery process.

How to Recover Lost Photos on Mac

Step 3. After the scan completes, select the pictures to preview and then click the Recover button.

How to Recover Lost Photos After High Sierra Update

Once data loss occurs, you need an efficient solution to retrieve your missing photos on Mac. With powerful Mac photo recovery technology, Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery Mac lets you recover lost photos on mac within quick clicks. Buy Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery Mac now >