Nowadays, M2 Macs have become quite popular in the market due to their powerful performance and efficiency, which makes them best for personal and professional purposes. However, sometimes due to accidental deletion, formatting, virus attacks, or any other reason, you may lose important files from your M2 Mac. Such data loss issues can be frustrating and stressful. Still, the good news is that several Mac data recovery software and manual workarounds are available online that you can try to restore your lost data.

This article explains various methods for easy and quick data recovery on Mac, ensuring you gain access to your lost or deleted data once more. Just go through these methods one-by-one to restore your lost data easily on M2 Macs.

Understanding Data Loss on M2 Macs

Data can be deleted from your M2 Mac due to variety of reasons, some of which are:

• Accidental Deletion: Files may be unintentionally deleted from your M2 Mac while performing other tasks on it.
• Drive Formatting: Formatting the drive without a backup is also one of the main causes of loss of important data on your M2 Mac.
• Corruption: File system corruption, malware, or software issues may lead to corruption or even deletion of files.
• Hardware Failures: Disk drive malfunctions or SSD failure can also cause data loss.
• System Crashes: MacOS updates or kernel panics can result in unintentional data loss, especially when a crash occurs during an important process.

How do I Recover Lost Data on an M2 Mac?

Now that you are familiar with the reasons for data loss on your M2 Mac, it’s time to apply adequate Mac data recovery methods to restore your lost data. For this, go through the recovery methods mentioned in this part of the blog:

Method 01: Recover Deleted Data on M2 Mac from Trash

Before you proceed with any method for data recovery for Mac, it is important to check the Trash folder. This folder stores all your files which are recently deleted on your M2 Mac before they get permanently deleted. To recover data from M2 Mac via Trash, you need to:

• Double-click on the Trash folder icon to open it.
• Go through the deleted files and select the ones you need to restore.
• After selecting the desired files, right-click on each one and select the Put Back option. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the file to another location.

Method 02: Recover Lost Data Using Time Machine Backups

Apple’s in-built Time Machine backup utility allows you to recover lost data easily without much effort. If you have previously enabled Time Machine and backed up your system, follow the below steps for recovering lost data on your device:

• Firstly, check and ensure your Time Machine backup drive is connected to your M2 Mac.
• Now, click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and select Enter Time Machine.

• Use the timeline on the right side of the screen to locate the backup that you need to restore.
• Locate the files you want to recover, click on them, and press the Restore button to save selected files to their original location.

Method 03: Recover Lost Data from iCloud

Another built-in backup option that you can try to restore lost data on macOS devices is iCloud Drive. It allows you to sync and store your files across multiple devices simultaneously. If you’ve enabled iCloud Drive, you can recover files that were deleted from the cloud. All you have to do is:

• Open any web browser on your device, go to iCloud.com and log in with your Apple ID.
• Once logged in, click on iCloud Drive to view your stored files.
• Locate and click on the Recently Deleted folder in the iCloud Drive to open it. This folder stores all the files that were removed within the last 30 days.
• Select the files you need to restore and click Restore to save them back to your device.

Method 04: Use Third-Party Mac Data Recovery Software

When the above-mentioned built-in macOS recovery options aren’t successful in recovering lost data on your M2 Mac, it’s time to use a professional Mac data recovery software. Tools like Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac are especially designed to scan your Mac’s storage for deleted files and allow you to recover them easily. It supports various file formats and can recover deleted files of multiple types, including photos, videos, documents, and many more.

The Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac tool is known for several amazing features, such as:

• Offers ‘Pause and Resume’ scan to restore files while the scan is in progress.
• Supports the latest macOS Sonoma 14 and M3-powered Mac systems.
• Allows you to recover lost data from multiple storage devices, including SSD, Hard drives, memory cards, etc.
• 100% safe and secure tool. Free from viruses or malware.
• The preview functionality allows you to preview the recoverable files after scanning the storage drive.

Here’s how to recover data from M2 Mac using the Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac tool:

Step 1: Firstly, download and install the Stellar Data Recovery Professional tool on your Mac. Launch the software and select the file type you need to restore. Click Next to continue.

Step 2: Now, from the Recover From window, choose the storage drive where your deleted data was earlier stored and click Scan to initiate the scanning process.

Step 3: After successful completion of the scanning, preview the recoverable files and choose the ones you need to restore. Click on the Recover button to save selected files at the desired location.

That’s it! Once you are done with the above steps, check if you can access those recovered files from the storage drive where you’ve saved them.

Conclusion

Recovering data from an M2 Mac is possible through a variety of methods, ranging from built-in macOS features like Time Machine and iCloud to third-party Mac data recovery software like Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac. The best method depends on the cause and severity of the data loss. For minor issues, you can check previously created backups like Time Machine or iCloud, while third-party software can assist with more complex data recovery needs. Moreover, you can consider preventive tips like maintaining regular backups, installing the latest OS updates, etc. to avoid such data loss issues on M2 Mac.