# Accidental deletion of anki decks due to syncing **URL:** \ **Category:** Help\ **Created:** [November 30, 2023, 2:22pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-deletion-of-anki-decks-due-to-syncing/37850 "2023-11-30T14:22:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marensr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Marensr](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Marensr)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 2:22pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-deletion-of-anki-decks-due-to-syncing/37850/1 "2023-11-30T14:22:14Z")
Hi! I got the message that my ankiweb and desktop was not syncing due to being too different. I’m obviously not the most technically skilled person, so I chose upload to web on all my devices (macbook, ipad, and iphone), and then downloaded. Now I’ve lost most of my cards, and I’m two weeks out from my exam;( When I click files to find the backup, it only gives me the option to create a backup. Is there a way for me to get my decks back? Thank you so much in advance for your help! ---
**Author:** ![jcznk](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/jcznk/32/15215_2.png) [@jcznk](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/jcznk)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 2:29pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-deletion-of-anki-decks-due-to-syncing/37850/2 "2023-11-30T14:29:16Z")
Try checking this: [How to restore a Backup - Anki Manual](https://docs.ankiweb.net/backups.html#restoring) ---
**Author:** ![sprvlcn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@sprvlcn](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/sprvlcn)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 3:22pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-deletion-of-anki-decks-due-to-syncing/37850/3 "2023-11-30T15:22:32Z")
I guess you didn’t understand the process. You need to start with the device that has the most up-to-date version of your collection, and Upload from it. That copies that up-to-date version into the cloud, essentially. Then on all your other devices, Download into them, so that they all get that up-to-date version. Whenever there’s a forced one-way sync that requires choosing between Upload and Download, it’s always upload once from one device, and then download X number of times into all your other devices. But you probably should have backups on all your devices. For your MacBook: [Backups - Anki Manual](https://docs.ankiweb.net/backups.html#restoring) For your iPhone and iPad: [Preferences - AnkiMobile Manual](https://docs.ankimobile.net/preferences.html#backups) Choose your device that was most up to date, restore a backup from it, then follow the procedure described above to upload once and then download many times. ---
**Author:** ![Marensr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Marensr](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Marensr)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 4:43pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-deletion-of-anki-decks-due-to-syncing/37850/4 "2023-11-30T16:43:01Z")
![Screen Shot 2023-11-30 at 17.40.38](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/anki2/original/3X/9/e/9ebc6c21389ae9c583bc3129a8af46f78c876e4c.png) No I did not, thank you for explaining it to me! I really appreciate the help. Where is the open backup option? ---
**Author:** ![sprvlcn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@sprvlcn](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/sprvlcn)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 5:02pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-deletion-of-anki-decks-due-to-syncing/37850/5 "2023-11-30T17:02:28Z")
See [Backups - Anki Manual](https://docs.ankiweb.net/backups.html#restoring) , where it says: - Open Anki, and choose Switch Profile from the File menu. - Click on the “Open Backup” button. - Select the backup you wish to restore from. I presume that your Mac was the device with the most recent version of your collection? ---
**Author:** ![Marensr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Marensr](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Marensr)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-deletion-of-anki-decks-due-to-syncing/37850/6 "2023-11-30T17:38:14Z")
It worked now, thank you so so much for your help! I really appreciate it ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/anki2/original/1X/8f1279ababc5879d54e4838989f606cfe55af8c7.jpeg) [@system](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-deletion-of-anki-decks-due-to-syncing/37850/7 "2023-12-30T17:38:52Z")
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