Hi, I need help checking if a server-side backup of my collection still exists.
My AnkiWeb account had my full collection of decks and notes. On September 9, around 5pm AEST"], I opened Anki on my desktop app, which only had a small subset of my collection. When I synced, it overwrote my AnkiWeb collection with this smaller local one instead of the other way around, and I’ve now lost the rest of my notes on AnkiWeb.
I have no other synced device (phone/tablet/other computer) that still holds the fuller collection, and my local automatic backups only go back to after the app already had the reduced data, so I’m unable to recover it locally.
Could someone check whether a server-side backup from before September 9, 2026 still exists for my account, and if so, help me restore it?
One check before the server side: File > Switch Profile, and see whether that list has more than one profile in it. A second profile is a completely separate collection, and landing in the wrong one looks exactly like this.
Backups belong to a profile, and you open them from that same Switch Profile screen with the “Open Backup” button. So “my backups only go back to the reduced data” rules out the profile you were sitting in and nothing else.
The other thing that produces this exact symptom is the Anki data folder moving or a link to it breaking. Anki can’t find the folder it normally uses, makes a fresh empty one, and what you open is a much smaller collection that then syncs up.
Why did it only have a “subset” of your collection? Was this the first time you’d synced that device with AnkiWeb?
The other thing I need to verify is whether you’re talking about the AnkiWeb account that is connected to the email address you used to post here. This account was just created/activated 4-6 weeks ago. Is there another account I should be looking for?
I did so and in the list there’s only User 1, and the files on AnkiWeb only got modified when I chose to copy the files from the app to the web version.
Yes, I believe it’s the first time I synced the Anki app on this device with AnkiWeb. When I first started using Anki, I added several flashcards to the app (which I never touched again), but then switched completely to the web version so the app only has a subset of my collection while the web has everything. I accidentally synced the web to the app today and lost all the active files.
And yes it is the AnkiWeb account using the same email address I use to post here.
Server-side backups are made much less frequently than local device backups (which happen automatically when you have an app installed on your device).
I’m looking at the AnkiWeb account connected to the email address you used to post here. The most recent server-side backup of your account was made on 3 September, so it wouldn’t have captured any changes you made to your collection more recently than that. Please confirm if you want me to restore that to your account.
I always learning from my old Laptop (1) and yesterday I did a few cards with my phone. Today I wanted to proceed learning with my new laptop (2) but clicked the wrong button and wrote over with a backup from March. The problem is, I’m on vacation and do not have access to my first laptop and the local backup. What can I do?