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How to recover deleted files emptied from Mac trash?

I recently deleted some important Excel files and PDFs from my Mac and emptied the Trash. I want to get them back. Is it possible to recover these files on Mac? Thx!

Best Answered by

Jenny Zeng

Answered on Monday, April 29, 2024

Whether you can recover the deleted files that are also emptied from Trash depends on if your Mac has TRIM-enabled. Follow the steps below to check if your Mac has turned on TRIM:

  1. Press Command + Space to launch the Spotlight search.
  2. Type "system information," and click the app.
  3. Select NVMExpress or SATA/SATA Express.
  4. Check "TRIM Support." 

If the value says Yes, your Mac has TRIM enabled and it's unlikely to restore your files with any data recovery tool.

If the value reads No, you can use iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac to retrieve the deleted files. It supports recovering deleted or lost Excel files, PDFs, videos, audio, photos, etc from Intel and Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 13 Ventura to Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan.

This tool also allows you to preview files you want to get back for free. Give it a try!

Also read:

Recover Deleted Files on Mac Before or After Trash Has Been Emptied