I need help recovering cards

Anki Syncing & AnkiWeb
1

Before posting, please do the following:

  1. Dear Anki Support,

    I need help recovering cards that I added to my AnkiWeb collection today.

    Here is exactly what happened:

    • I was using AnkiWeb in a web browser on my laptop and added many new cards today.

    • The cards were present in my AnkiWeb collection before I opened AnkiDroid on my phone.

    • At approximately 14:10 today, I synchronized AnkiDroid.

    • AnkiDroid asked me which collection to keep: AnkiWeb or AnkiDroid.

    • I accidentally selected the AnkiDroid collection.

    • After this, the cards that I had added earlier today disappeared from AnkiWeb.

    • I checked AnkiWeb afterward, but the missing cards are no longer there.

    • I also checked the AnkiDroid backups from today, including backups at approximately 13:51, 14:23, and 14:34, but the missing cards were not present in those backups.

    • I have avoided performing another synchronization because I do not want to overwrite any remaining data.

    The important time window is approximately:

    • Cards were added: earlier today, before 14:10

    • Accidental synchronization: approximately 14:10

    • AnkiDroid backup: 13:51 (missing cards were not present)

    Could you please check whether AnkiWeb has any server-side backup or previous version of my collection from before the accidental synchronization, particularly from before approximately 14:10 today?

    I would be very grateful if the previous version could be restored or if you could advise me on how to recover those cards.

    Thank you very much for your help.

    Best regards,

2

Server-side backups are made much less frequently than local backups on your device. The most recent server-side backup of your account was made on 16 August, so it wouldn’t have captured any changes you made to your collection today.

There’s no need to check backups on your AnkiDroid device, because from your description, those changes were never synced to that device. I don’t know why your collection required a one-way sync, but those messages are very important and should be handled carefully – especially when you have un-synced changes on AnkiWeb.

On a computer, you might be much happier using the full desktop version of the app, which would also help you avoid this situation. Anki - powerful, intelligent flashcards