This is a review of Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery, a software tool for recovering lost data on iPhones.
I’ve been offering IT training and support for several decades, and write software reviews and how-tos for business users. I’ve taken an in-depth look at Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery to let you know whether it can recover the lost data from your iOS device.
Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery’s scans can take hours depending on the size of your phone, but that’s quite typical for this type of software tool. I was dissatisfied with how it worked after the scan. It lists existing and deleted items together and that can add up to hundreds of thousands of files. Locating the ones you want to recover is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
In this Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery review, I’ll explore the types of data the application can restore, how long this is likely to take, and weigh up your chance of success. Let’s get started.
Contents
Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery Overview
Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery is able to retrieve various types of lost data from your iPhone. The software runs on your Mac or PC and scans your phone via an attached cable.
Two versions are available:
- Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery Free: free, limited
- Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery Pro: $59.95 (normally $79.95), unlimited
Windows and Mac downloads are available for each. A free trial of the Pro version will show you if your files can be recovered before paying for the application.
What are the limitations of the free version? It’s unable to recover your contacts, call logs, messages, WhatsApp and Viber chat history, photos, or videos. It also doesn’t include technical support.
In this review, we cover the Mac version of Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery Pro.
Recovery Features
How is data recovery possible? The data of deleted items isn’t removed from your iPhone but is simply made available for new files. In time, it will be overwritten by the new data you add. That means that data recovery is never guaranteed, and you’ll have the best chance of success by acting promptly.
Methods of data recovery offered:
- Recover directly from your iOS device
- Recover from an iTunes backup
- Recover from an iTunes backup
Supported devices:
iPhones:
- 11, 11 Pro. 11 Pro Max
- XS, XS Max
- XR
- X
- 8, 8 Plus
- 7, 7 Plus
- SE
- 6S, 6S Plus
- 6, 6 Plus
- 5, 5S, 5C
- 4, 4S
- 3GS
iPads:
- Pro 12.9-inch, 11-inch, 10.5-inch
- 2018 (6th-gen)
- 2017 (5th-gen)
- Air, Air 2
- Mini 4/3/2
- The New iPad
- iPad (1), 2, 3, 4
iPod touch:
- iPod touch 4, 5, 6
Supported data types:
- Photos and videos on the camera roll (Pro only)
- Photos and videos on the photostream (Pro only)
- App photos (Pro only)
- App videos (Pro only)
- Messages and attachments (Pro only)
- Contacts (Pro only)
- Call history (Pro only)
- Voicemail (Pro only)
- WhatsApp and attachments (Pro only)
- Viber and attachments (Pro only)
- Notes
- Calendar
- Reminders
- Safari bookmarks
- Voice memos
User Experience
Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery is easy to install and use. Scanning for lost data on your iPhone is done using three simple steps:
- Connect your device
- Scan and search
- Preview and recover
Performance
Scanning for lost files can be time-consuming. How fast is Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery? Scan my 128 GB iPhone 12 mini for lost data took about 1 hour 45 minutes. That’s significantly slower than the app’s initial estimate of one hour.
How does that compare with similar apps? It’s a little slow, but some alternatives are much slower. I tested ten other apps on a similarly sized iPhone, and the fastest five scans were around an hour. The other five ranged from 2.5 hours to 21 hours.
Fortunately, Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery allows you to choose the categories it scans for. By selecting only the types of data you want to recover, you can significantly speed up the scan.
Effectiveness
Data recovery can never be guaranteed. In fact, I have not yet found a recovery tool that could locate every lost item.
How successful is Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery? That’s difficult to tell. The app listed tens of thousands of items after the scan on my iPhone, but it combines existing items with deleted ones. There’s no way to tell how many lost files were found.
This effectively hides the lost items I want to recover. I have to scroll through countless pages and there’s no way to search or filter it to narrow down the list of possibilities, and no way to display only the deleted items. Even if all of my lost data was located, finding it would be very difficult.
Are users satisfied with the software? Unfortunately, there are few consumer reviews available. G2 gave it a 3.8-star rating based on just three reviews. [1] Comments there indicate that users have had success restoring lost data, but not always.
Customer Support
The Gihosoft Support Center [2] offers few resources, but comments are open and usually responded to. The support team can be contacted via email.
FAQS
Is Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery safe?
Yes. Scanning for lost data won’t harm your computer or phone and a scan with Bitdefender Virus Scanner found no malware.
Is Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery really free?
Yes, but only for certain types of data. You can recover notes, calendar entries, reminders, Safari bookmarks, and voice memos for free. For other types of data, you need a Pro license.
Will Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery rescue lost files from my Android Phone?
No, but their other software, Gihosoft Android Data Recovery, will.
Alternatives
If Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery isn’t right for you, here are some alternatives I recommend.
Aiseesoft FoneLab offers fast and effective scans as well as support for rooted Android devices. Windows and Mac versions are available.
Tenorshare UltData can recover a range of data types from iOS and rooted Android devices and allows you to choose the types of data to recover to minimize the scan time. It runs on your PC or Mac.
Wondershare Dr.Fone is a third reputable alternative and offers versions for Windows, Mac, and Android. Its scans are quite slow but it doesn’t require you to first root your Android phone.
Final Verdict
I can’t recommend Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery. While it may find lost data on your iPhone, locating those files among many thousands of located items is next to impossible, and the app offers no help in narrowing down those results.
Other data recovery tools make the job much easier. They allow you to display only deleted items and offer effective search and sorting options to help you find the files you need. Aiseesoft FoneLab, Tenorshare UltData, and Wondershare Dr.Fone are three alternatives that I recommend.
References
