Data loss on smartphones can be caused by a number of factors. More often than not, it’s down to user error, such as accidentally deleting files, dropping and breaking it, or letting it get into contact with water. Some phones are easy to recover data from, others not so much.

Let’s focus on the iPhone, the most popular smartphone in the world – and for good reason. Regardless of how great the iPhone is, iPhone data loss is probably one of the most frustrating technological problems of modern times. There’s nothing worse than finding out all of your photos, notes, contacts, messages and music have disappeared, seemingly into nowhere. iPhones use built-in NAND flash memory, rather than removable storage in the form of SD cards that many other models use.

The most common cause of iPhone data loss is plain, old-fashioned human error, with accidental deletion of files more common than you’d imagine. Another common mistake is restoring an out-of-date backup from your iTunes account, wiping all subsequent data in the process. A botched iOS upgrade, perhaps caused by a power outage during the process, can also lead to data loss. It may also come as a surprise that replacing your iPhone’s battery acts as a factory reset, so if you’re getting a new battery fitted, make sure you’ve backed up your iPhone first.

So what can you do to prevent data loss from an iPhone? The best thing we can recommend is backing up consistently. Depending on how much data is written to your iPhone, we recommend a backup every week, fortnight, or month. You should also consider looking at an iCloud backup, although this option may be pricey if you have a lot of data to protect. When it comes to updates, you should always make sure your iPhone has a constant power supply (it won’t actually let you update if your battery is below 50% unless it’s plugged in) and that it’s compatible with the update. If it isn’t, forcibly installing the update onto your phone’s memory can corrupt it. In the event of your data becoming lost, it's worth checking out our guide on how to recover deleted files.