Go to the Time Machine menu in the Mac’s menu bar and choose Enter Time Machine. Swipe upwards with two fingers on your Mac’s trackpad or press the up arrow next to the Finder window that appears in order to navigate to a time before you deleted the file.

By Vernon Roderick, Last updated: June 16, 2020

The Downloads folder can mean a lot to many users. It’s where most files go when you download something from the internet. And we all know that this folder is built-in, meaning it is already there before you even got your Mac.

Despite being built-in to the Mac computer, it is still as vulnerable to data loss as other folders on your Mac. In fact, quite a few users have already been complaining about losing their Downloads folder out of the blue.

• Luckily, you can still recover deleted files on Mac without software bythe Time Machine Backup. Click the 'Spotlight' icon on the top right of Mac. After then, type in 'Time Machine' in the search box and search for it. Find Time Machine in the search result and click to open it.
• To Recover Deleted Files from your Mac for free: Open the Trash Can on your Mac's desktop by clicking on its icon, and you can see all the deleted files there. Locate the file you want to recover. Drag deleted files to the desktop or right-click on the files you wish to restore. Select 'Put Back'.
• A free Mac file recovery software scans your system to trace the deleted files and then restores them. One of the best data recovery software is Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac, which locates your deleted files and restores them. It is an award-winning DIY tool, purpose-built to offer data recovery from all Mac devices, data loss.

This article will talk about how you can restore deleted Downloads folder Mac so you may also restore the files contained within the folder. Let’s start with what I consider the best solution.

Part 1: Restore Deleted Downloads Folder Mac with Mac Data Recovery

Our very first entry involves a third-party tool that specializes in file recovery. File recovery software is known to have the capability of recovering files and even folders altogether. As such, a data recovery tool is a must, and for that, I recommend FoneDog Data Recovery.

FoneDog Data Recovery is a tool that is capable of restoring files from their original state. It supports all kinds of files and can even include folders. Since it supports Mac, it is the perfect tool for the job. Here’s how you can restore deleted Downloads folder Mac with this tool:

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Step 1: Choose File Type and Storage Drive

Open the FoneDog Data Recovery software on your computer. Now on the main page, there will be a selection of file types and storage drives. For the file type, I suggest selecting the Check all file types option since the Downloads folders are likely to have all kinds of files. For the storage drive, select the drive where the Downloads folder is located, which is most likely to be the C: drive.

Step 2: Scan for Files

Once you have configured the settings on the first page, click on the Scan button. This will initiate a Quick Scan by default. However, you may continue with Deep Scan if you want to get more results.

Step 3: Restore Deleted Downloads Folder Mac

The scanning will start after you click on the Scan button. At that point, you will get a list of files on the next page. However, all you have to do is look for the Downloads folder and click on its box. Then, click on the Recover button.

It should be very easy to restore deleted Downloads folder Macwith this tool. However, some people may find it very difficult to trust a tool that they haven’t heard of before. If that’s you, then this solution may not be the most suitable option for you. So you may want to look elsewhere for the best solution.

Part 2: Restore Deleted Downloads Folder Mac from Trash

The keyboard of Mac is the same as of Windows’. They both have the Delete key that is used to delete items on your computer. That’s why if Windows users can unintentionally delete folders in their computer, Mac users can also do the same. If your case is an unintentional deletion, there is a high chance that you will be able to restore deleted Downloads folder Mac.

This is pretty common since there are two ways to send files and folders to the trash. The first one would be by pressing the Command + Delete, and the second one is selecting Move to Trash. Files and folders that go through this process will always be sent to the Trash, but since it is common, a solution was made immediately.

If that’s the case, you can restore deleted Downloads folder Mac by first opening the Trash by clicking on its icon on the Mac Dock. Once you are in the Trash, you can restore deleted Downloads folder Macin several ways:

• Select the Downloads folder and press Command + Delete. This will return the selected files or folder into its original location.
• Drag back the Downloads folder outside. This of course will not return the folder into its original location, but into the place where you drag it into.

This is a very quick solution since it won’t take long even if the Downloads folder is filled with files. However, there are many occasions where you won’t be able to use this method. You now have the Downloads folder again. Now, what if you can’t find the Downloads folder in the trash? How will you restore deleted Downloads folder Mac then?

Part 3: Restore Deleted Downloads Folder Mac from Home

Although most files that are lost get sent to the Trash, sometimes you just need to look harder since it was probably sent somewhere else and not deleted. This is the problem with some users. They often assume immediately that the files are deleted just because they can’t find it the same way they did before.

Fortunately, there is a way to automatically go to where the Downloads folder is located and possibly put it into the Dock once again. This is so you can restore deleted Downloads folder Maceasily. Here are the steps to do put the Downloads folder into your Dock again:

1. Open a session of Finder on your Mac.
2. On the menu bar of Finder, click on Go.
3. From the resulting dropdown menu, select Home.
4. Now you will see a list of folders inside the Home directory. You can now find the Downloads folder here.
5. Simply click and drag the Downloads folder and drop it into the Dock.

The Downloads folder is now on the Dock once again. With this, you can restore deleted Downloads folder Mac by simply finding it and not recovering it from deletion. However, there are actually two possible reasons why you can’t find the Downloads folder in the Trash. The first one would be because it wasn’t deleted in the first place, which is that case you can solve it with this method.

The second reason would be if it was permanently deleted, thus explaining why it wasn’t sent to the Trash. This is often the case when the user presses Shift + Delete instead of the Delete key only.

Part 4: Restore Deleted Downloads Folder Mac with Time Machine

How do I restore my Downloads folder? If your case involves deleting the Downloads folder permanently, there is only one solution left, and that would be to revert your whole computer altogether into its original state. In other words, you have to turn back time on your computer, which will return the Downloads folder along with other files and folders.

Altogether it is quite extreme; there is an easy way to do this. And it involves a function that is literally named “Time Machine”, and you can probably guess what this function can do.

Time Machine is a built-in function in all Mac devices that allows users to turn back time on their computers. It is often used to solve any issues that may be related to the operating system.

Follow these steps if you are ready to restore deleted Downloads folder Mac:

1. Connect the Time Machine disk into your Mac. It should be the disk that you used when creating the Time Machine backup.
2. Go to the Applications folder.
3. Select Utilities and open the Migration Assistant.
4. Follow the onscreen instructions until you get to the main page of Migration Assistant.
5. Select From a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk and click on Continue.
6. Select the backup that you would like to use, preferably the one where the Downloads folder still exists and you already have the new files. Click on Continue.
7. Select the files you want to include. I recommend including Applications, the option with your profile name, and Other files and folders. Click on Continue.

This will not only restore deleted Downloads folder Mac, but it will also restore other files that you have lost, regardless of whether you intend to recover them or not. The only downside of this is that you will lose some of your files, most likely the ones that you didn’t have before or the ones you have recently downloaded or transferred into your Mac.

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Part 5: Conclusion

A lot of users complain about not being able to access their Downloads folder the same way they did before. This often leads to many complications, but that just goes to show how important the Downloads folder is to Mac users.

Although it is quite difficult, you can always learn how to restore the deleted Downloads folder Mac. Once you have gained such skills, you can always keep tabs on your Downloads folder and possibly retrieve it if the worst comes to pass.

So you hit the “Empty Trash” option on your MacBook Pro, only to find that you had several important files got removed as well?

Or they are lost after you updated your machine to latest macOS Big Sur?

Those files could be the precious photos you’ve just synced from an iPhone/iPad, or some documents you’ve been working on for days…whatever they are, the question is – is it possible to recover files deleted from Mac Trash?

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Quick answer: yes, though the chance is NOT a guaranteed 100%.

In this post, we’re going to explain the reasons why and show you the right step-by-step guide on how to recover those trashed files the best you can.

Contents

• How to Recover Trashed Files on Mac?

Are files deleted from Mac Trash still recoverable?

We all know that once you delete a file by dragging it to the Trash bin, it’s easy to undelete it. Simply go to the Trash, find the file, highlight it, right-click and select “Put Back”. Then you’ll find it immediately in its original location. You see, macOS doesn’t actually delete the file immediately.

But what if you also removed the file from the Trash? Does that mean it is gone for good?

Well, it depends.

If you are using a MacBook with a hard disk drive (HDD), the chance to recover the file is high.

Technically speaking, only the name of the file is removed from the disk directory of your Macintosh HD, and space the file originally takes is now marked as vacant, to be written over by new files generated by the user (you) or the system.

The disk directory we talk about here acts like a “chief-commander” to manage all the data writing activities that occur in a hard drive. It records everything, where every file lives, its size, etc. When you delete a file, only the “header” information of the file is removed while the real data remains intact.

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So, as long as you don’t write anything new to the disk space, the file is usually recoverable. However, there is no way to tell when the released space will be reused.

If you are using a MacBook Pro with a solid-state drive (SSD), sadly it’s another story. When you erase the file, it’s usually beyond recovery unless you have a backup.

This is due to how the “Trim command” organizes a file in an SSD. When you delete a file from Trash, the TRIM system in Apple macOS also zeros out the actual data as part of its disk management, making the chances of salvaging the data slim.

Enough techy stuff, hope you get it 🙂 let’s move on.

How to Recover Trashed Files on Mac?

First things first — it is highly recommended that you stop using your Mac immediately. If your Mac has an HDD, try your best not to save or generate new files as they can possibly “over-write” the disk space. If your deleted files got overwritten, it’s extremely hard to retrieve them.

Step 1: Check if you have saved the files on another storage device.

Close your eyes for a few seconds, think about when you created the files.

For example, if they are photos, maybe they are still on your smartphone or on removable media (memory card, USB stick, external hard drive, etc.). Don’t forget the cloud storage services you might be using too.

Also, if they are project-based documents, maybe you’ve shared them with your co-workers, also check your email sent box to see if they are there.

Step 2: Restore from Time Machine backup.

If you have enabled Time Machine backup, you are in luck.

The files you trashed are probably in a previous Time Machine snapshot. Simply enter Time Machine and navigate to the folder where your erased items lie. This Apple support article is a detailed tutorial. If you prefer video tutorials, here’s a good one:

Step 3: Use a third-party Mac data recovery program.

If the above steps didn’t work out, your last option is to use a professional data recovery app.

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We recommend Stellar Mac Data Recovery. The trial version is free and allows you to see if it is able to scan and locate the deleted files (with “Preview” functionality), you’ll need to purchase the software to fully recover the items though.

Other good alternatives include DiskWarrior 5 and Remo Recover Mac, in case Stellar doesn’t work for you.

Final words: backup is king!

In the digital age, your data is irreplaceable. The best way to avoid data disaster on Mac is to make good backups, or backup of backups 🙂

Apple Time Capsule is my first recommendation as it’s made by Apple. If you’re looking for something more affordable, check our our list of the best external drives for MacBook Pro.

Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that online backup services like Dropbox, iCloud, and Google Drive are also great choices, and they have free plans to get started.

Personally, I prefer hardware storage devices because they are more reliable and secure than online storage services. But hey, it’s up to you 🙂