Handling Lost Originals

If Mylio Photos cannot locate a copy of an original quality file, it will show this file as a Lost Original. Lost Originals are caused when the original version of a file is deleted outside of Mylio Photos+ before it is fully synced. To identify any Lost Originals in your Mylio Photos Library:

1. Click or tap on the Dashboard icon  in the left sidebar.
2. Select the Device Card for your device to view the Device Details, then scroll down to Lost Originals.

*NOTE: If your Mylio Photos Library does not have any Lost Originals, this section will be hidden.

3. Click on Lost Originals to see all files deleted in the file system before they were fully synced with Mylio Photos.

Restoring Lost Originals

One of the most common causes of a Lost Original is when a user accidentally deletes a photo outside of Mylio Photos (in Windows Explorer, macOS Finder, or on the camera roll of a mobile device) that has not yet been backed up to a Vault. In these instances, the original may be in the system trash or recycle bin, or in the recently deleted album on a phone camera roll. These images can often be restored by locating the original in the trash or recycle bin, right-clicking on the item, choosing Put Back or from the Recently Deleted section in the camera roll, and choosing Recover.

If the trash or recycle bin has been emptied, you may still be able to recover your original from a system backup if you use a service like Time Machine (macOS) or Backblaze. These services create incremental backups over time and can protect against user error. Open your backup file and locate the Original image, then copy and paste it into the folder it was deleted from.

Once a file has been put back, Mylio Photos will scan that folder and note that the image has been restored, and the image will no longer be listed as a Lost Original.

Removing Lost Originals

If an image listed as a Lost Original is one that you intentionally deleted and no longer wish to have in your Mylio Photos Library, you can delete it.

1. Locate any Lost Originals following the steps above.
2. Select the Lost Originals you want to delete.
3. Right-click your selection or tap the kebab icon in the right sidebar to access the Actions menu.
4. Select Photo > Delete File(s) to permanently delete the file(s) from your Mylio Photos Library and file system.

*TIP: You can also delete files by clicking or tapping the trash can icon in the right sidebar or pressing the delete key on the keyboard.