# Accidental sync overwrote my full AnkiWeb collection with a smaller local one **URL:** \ **Category:** Syncing & AnkiWeb\ **Created:** [September 9, 2026, 7:33am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-sync-overwrote-my-full-ankiweb-collection-with-a-smaller-local-one/70976 "2026-09-09T07:33:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@chucan](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/chucan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 7:33am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-sync-overwrote-my-full-ankiweb-collection-with-a-smaller-local-one/70976/1 "2026-09-09T07:33:48Z")
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? Thanks in advance for any help! ---
**Author:** ![hamanovich](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/hamanovich/32/34735_2.png) [@hamanovich](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/hamanovich)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 7:47am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-sync-overwrote-my-full-ankiweb-collection-with-a-smaller-local-one/70976/2 "2026-09-09T07:47:04Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Danika\_Dakika](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/danika_dakika/32/17815_2.png) [@Danika\_Dakika](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Danika_Dakika)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 8:32am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-sync-overwrote-my-full-ankiweb-collection-with-a-smaller-local-one/70976/3 "2026-09-09T08:32:23Z")
> [@chucan](#): > > I opened Anki on my desktop app, which only had a small subset of my collection 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? ---
**Author:** ![chucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@chucan](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/chucan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 10:43am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-sync-overwrote-my-full-ankiweb-collection-with-a-smaller-local-one/70976/4 "2026-09-09T10:43:26Z")
Hello! 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. ---
**Author:** ![chucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@chucan](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/chucan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 10:47am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-sync-overwrote-my-full-ankiweb-collection-with-a-smaller-local-one/70976/5 "2026-09-09T10:47:27Z")
Hi! 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. ---
**Author:** ![Danika\_Dakika](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/danika_dakika/32/17815_2.png) [@Danika\_Dakika](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Danika_Dakika)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 3:28pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-sync-overwrote-my-full-ankiweb-collection-with-a-smaller-local-one/70976/6 "2026-09-09T15:28:07Z")
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.** _ ---
**Author:** ![chucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@chucan](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/chucan)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 10:51am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-sync-overwrote-my-full-ankiweb-collection-with-a-smaller-local-one/70976/7 "2026-09-10T10:51:37Z")
Yes, please help me restore that to my account. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Danika\_Dakika](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/danika_dakika/32/17815_2.png) [@Danika\_Dakika](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Danika_Dakika)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 3:25pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-sync-overwrote-my-full-ankiweb-collection-with-a-smaller-local-one/70976/8 "2026-09-10T15:25:04Z")
A post was split to a new topic: [Wrote over with a backup](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/wrote-over-with-a-backup/70987) ---
**Author:** ![Danika\_Dakika](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/danika_dakika/32/17815_2.png) [@Danika\_Dakika](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Danika_Dakika)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 4:43pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/accidental-sync-overwrote-my-full-ankiweb-collection-with-a-smaller-local-one/70976/9 "2026-09-10T16:43:42Z")
I’ve restored that version. On your next sync, you need to choose **download from AnkiWeb**. And it will overwrite the local collection you have on your device. If there’s anything there you want to save, you should do that before syncing. See: [Syncing with AnkiWeb - Anki Manual](https://docs.ankiweb.net/syncing.html#merging-conflicts) .