I really really can't believe I'm saying this...

I really really can't believe I'm saying this, but * profanity* Apple!.

I updated my iPhone to iOS 5 the other day, and the installation made a backup of my phone, installed the new OS, and then tried to sync the backup. But the backup has an error, or the update thing is ****ed up. So after three tries I gave up and said, you know what, ok, I can do without all my old details just so I can start syncing my phone again.

So, the phone syncs smoothly again, and an hour later I think to check what I have to do tomorrow. Only to see that iCal is completely empty of each and every single calendar I have set up and used for 2 years. Which means that all upcoming events are all completely wiped out as well.

I have a really bad memory, I am so scatterbrained I live by my organizer and was so thankful when I realized that all the programs in my mac talk to each other and help me remember birthdays, events that were awesome, what date I got married, etc.

All I can say is THANK GOD I had recently disabled address book syncing or I would now be completely and utterly *profanity*.

sjinsjca said:

Have you tried restoring-as-new and then loading your calendars, apps, and everything else back to the phone?
Or restoring from a previous backup?

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The think is, to restore as new you have to agree to remove the back-up. So there is no backup any more.

sjinsjca said:

Might be wise to export your Mac iCal calendar to an archive, then enable syncing.

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The damage is already done. When I agreed to install as new, it also synced the phone with the computer. That's why there are no calendars any more, because a new install is clean of all that.

My emails survived because they are gmail, and the address book I had just turned off automatic syncing because I wanted it to sync with google instead! So it could have been a lot worse but it is... mortifying. Apple never betrayed me before!

sjinsjca said:

Your sense of betrayal and horror is understood! I'd be livid. Frankly, I'm not a fan of iTunes and the syncing process, and it's good to see the whole paradigm starting to fade away with iOS5.

Have you tried going to the Genius bar or calling Apple? Perhaps they can restore your previous calendar entries from their end.

Do you have a Time Machine backup from which you can pull your previous calendars? (I always do a TM backup before an iOS upgrade in case of just this sort of situation.)

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I'll be glad not to have to sync with iTunes all the time now for sure.

I tried contacting Apple, but they want me to pay for support since both my iMac and my iPhone are too old, and I don't really see a reason to give them money for telling me it's a lost cause.

My husband has promised me to set up a backup thing online for me, since he says a local backup (time machine, etc) isn't clever in case of fire or what ever. He's a major geek so I'll just trust him.

Mostly I wanted this experience out there, so people can see it and hopefully learn from my mistake. I'll definitely always make backups before syncing anything at all again.

kappaknight said:

Sorry to hear this happened. As someone who is technically capable, I did run into some issues when upgrading as well.

I do believe iTunes keep a number of backups in the system, not just the most recent one. It may be worth digging deeper to see if you have older backups elsewhere.

Also, for Calendar, I am currently using Google Calendar and syncing them to my devices. In addition to being able to see the in iCal and iOS, there is the added bonus of being able to see them in Gmail and Google+. I've always found that it is too easy to delete a calendar in iCal, at least compared to Google - then again, I haven't really taken advantage of my calendar until just recently.

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I am not technical at all which is why I've always loved my machine from day one. It's been smooth sailing until tonight.

I'll look into whether there are older back-ups, I just fear the button I clicked to install as new removed all of the backups and not just the most recent one.

I did look into using google calendar as well but it only syncs one way, and I love the ease of use with iCal instead of going online every time to add new events. And I use them. A *lot*. A chicken without it's head still has better memory than I do.
I'm looking forward to a two-way sync with iCal and Google Calendar appearing, then I'll feel safe again.

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mreddys10 said:

I am not sure if this works all the time, but if u select "Replace information on this iPhone" under the info tab in iTunes when u r setting up a new phone, it won't delete what's on ur computer

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Except it has already synced away the information in the computer (when I installed iOS 5), that I wanted in both of them. But thank you for the suggestion none the less.

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yourtoys7 said:

I have same issue but with Notes', out of all the notes I only have 3 left , I've got into a habit to write things into notes and this is how it is. How can if bring them back if I can at all?

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I used the iCal for the same thing, then I would have the date and so on as well. I'm so sorry you lost your things too, and I hope you can get them back as well!

Edited to add: I checked my notes, and each and every single one of them are gone as well.

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sawah said:

Sadly, all software has glitches. Not apples fault, it happens. Also, you can always restore from a previous backup not to mention your calendars and contacts should be backed up to google I assume if you use a google email.

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My contacts yes, but that didn't sync away.
iCal does not sync *to* google calendar though, only *from*, so I never bothered to enable that since then I would have to add all new things on google instead of in iCal.

OMG OMG OMG OMG I am so happy!
Thank you for suggesting that there might be older backups as well! It had only removed the back-up made with the iOS update!

It is not perfect, it's an "older" copy which means a few things changed and missing, but my main issue is that I got my past back!!
It also restored notes, and other things, so try this if you please yourtoys7.

I've attached two files, to show where to find the old backups. (There is a limited number of them available unless you're saving them in a time capsule.)

I <3 again!