I am using Anki version 2.1.65 on my Windows computer. I opened Anki today and first noticed my streak was gone and when I looked further many decks I made were also missing. It is 12/07 today. I checked the automatic backups (“Open Backups”) and the previous one I see is for 18/06, almost a month ago. I have used Anki almost every day in between these dates. I checked my backup intervals and they seemed normal (30mins between automatic backups and keeping about 10 daily, weekly and monthly).
I estimate I have probably lost hundreds of cards.
I have seen similar posts dating back to 2021, which have been unable to recover the work. I wondered if there is anything else I can do if I cannot find the automatic backup? I checked both my Anki app on my iPhone and AnkiWeb but both of these have reverted to the same stage as on my computer.
I am not sure why backups weren’t created intermittently and am quite annoyed.
I would appreciate anyone’s help to recover my lost work.
you should be annoyed. With yourself: “No backup, no compassion.” If you were to be annoyed with the dev, who creates this free libre open source program, then you should reconsider.
in case you synced with ankiweb, then you can get your backup from there even if you already missynced.
Thank you for your reply. I just wanted to clarify I am not annoyed at dev just the situation in general. I didn’t mean to cause any offence. Apart from adding some add-ons I have not tinkered with Anki a lot and did not know about creating backups. This is my fault due to lack of knowledge.
Maybe it will be helpful to add that when the pop-up came up I clicked “Upload to AnkiWeb” since I have made all my recent cards on my computer and tend to just use Anki on my iPhone to learn the cards instead of making them. I usually do this with no problems. Please let me know what other information is useful to you.
I am unsure how to find backups on AnkiWeb?
I read this article which seemed to have some miracle work by @dae. In your opinion is there anything I can do? I would be very grateful for your help.
to reconfirm: You don’t have your cards neither on windows nor on your iphone? I just reconfirm, because in panic mode everyone tends to forget simple solutions like checking synced devices.
However, as you pointed out, it is likely that dae can do some magic for you, as you have synced regularly.
Just wait a few hours/days, till dae has time to answer to your ping. He will.
In the meantime you could add what date you synced your full desk the last time.
Yes, I checked Windows and iPhone and they have the same decks so I know neither are as they were yesterday (as I have been making lots of new decks over the past month, which I can see are missing in both).
Last sync: I cannot be sure but I would have done it at least once w/c 07/07. I would be grateful to have my work back even from a week ago but closest to today would be an ideal world. I have recently developed a habit of not fully closing Anki which I now realise could be detrimental. Instead, I just press sync sometimes but leave the app open as I keep coming back to my laptop to work.
Thank you for your support. I will wait on dae’s response.
I should also add that it could well be a problem with my laptop. Sometimes it hangs on the screensaver and I have to restart the laptop which would mean a forced closure of Anki. I have had to do this more in the past week. I am unsure why my laptop is doing this, but I wanted to mention this in case it means anything more to you.
I’m very sorry to hear that your backups appear to be missing on the Windows side, but there are a few other places to look. [As you can see in that other post, a server-side backup should only be a last resort, since you can’t choose what date it is from.]
Are you sure you’ve opened the correct Profile, and not another duplicate Profile that you haven’t used since June? If you have similarly named profiles, make sure to rename them so you can clearly tell them apart. If you have multiple Profiles with syncing enabled, make sure they are not set to sync to the same AnkiWeb account. Profiles - Anki Manual
Directly check your Anki2 Profile folder in Windows – Managing Files - Anki Manual. In the folder for your Profile, do you see more than one folder of backups, or do you see any additional backup files?
Restore an automatic backup on your iPhone – Preferences - AnkiMobile Manual. Force a one-way sync from there to AnkiWeb. Receive that one-way sync in Anki Desktop.
I’m not aware of any recent reports of the automatic backup system failing, so if that’s what happened here, that is concerning. Even if your laptop hangs, and a backup can’t be made upon closing, there should be many other backups being made throughout the day.
Profiles: I am sure that I have the correct profile open. I was not aware that only one profile may be synced to one account. I will export my other profiles and add them to my main profile as soon as this wider problem is sorted out. I do often notice a window stating that AnkiWeb differs to my computer Anki, but never knew this might be the cause.
Anki2 folder: I have checked my Anki2 profile and I now see four backups from today and one backup from each of the 18th, 14th, 13th and 12th of June.
Partial success: thank you so much for the AnkiMobile one-way sync tip! I tried it and my streak has been restored until 08/07. It is possible I did not use Anki on my phone after this date so this might be the best I’ll get with this route.
I’m glad to hear things are trending in the right direction!
If you’ve been syncing multiple profiles to the same AnkiWeb account, they’ve been overwriting each other, so that also seems like the way you could have lost that progress.
Do any of your other profile folders have backups that are newer than that?
I only know how to check backups in the “Open Backup” area while choosing a profile. On here, the backups are as I stated although there have been a few new ones made since I made this post.
Thanks for your support. Do you think I will be able to regain the last week’s work?
Do you advise not using Anki in the meanwhile? I was thinking I could use it to make new notes, then export the new deck before any old version is restored. Or shall I leave it alone for now?
It should be fine for you to keep studying. But yes, you’ll have to be careful – similar to – Synchronizing multiple profiles - Frequently Asked Questions . If there’s a backup that can be restored, you’ll want to make sure to export anything you have changed/updated/added/studied in the meantime, so you can import that back.
I was changing all my profiles to new AnkiWeb accounts and discovered one had been overwritten with my current profile. That profile had a backup dating 11/07 so I have now reverted my current profile to that backup. I am sorry that I did not check this thoroughly enough beforehand and told you that this was not present.
I have learned a few things about Anki through this experience. Thank you everyone for your support.
