Restore after factory reset gone bad

[TonyGSD]

S21 Ultra was acting buggy, so I decided to do a factory reset to try to fix it. (It didn't)

I backed up everything on my google drive and on my Samsung account.

Long story short, it's a PITA to restore a factory-reset phone compared to a new device. I wish I would've just upgraded to the S24 Ultra and never attempted the cloud backup / restore on the old device.

Anyway, I lost my notes (the app on Samsungs) in the restore process. I cannot find anything on google drive, and the Samsung account restore did not bring them back, either. Since the reset didn't help my phone issues, I bought a new S24 Ultra but am unsure of the best way to set it up; I'd like to try to locate and restore my notes, first.

Do google drive backups save the "Notes" app data? The backup I selected said it did backup app data.

Why didn't my Samsung account backup/restore save the Notes? Is there a way to verify they exist somewhere in the cloud, or try to specifically restore them now? 

[realaud]

What happens if you go to your phone settings and tap on your Samsung account? If you scroll down, under "apps and features" Samsung cloud should be there and, if you tap that, at the very bottom, are settings to back up and restore.

Did you check your apps list to make sure Samsung Cloud is installed? It's actually part of the OS.

[TonyGSD]

It's not on the OS anymore!

From the looos of this reddit thread, I am SOL. Should have had Notes sync turned on and linked with Microsoft OneDrive. 

Samsung cloud gone : r/GalaxyS23Ultra

[LongHiker · Accepted solution]

It is on my S23 Ultra. Are you using Verizon? Some carriers have blocked services.

[realaud]

Yeah, being on a locked Verizon phone would explain everything. Verizon doesn't think the user should have control over anything.

[realaud]

I am showing you pictures from my device. THEY HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOT DISCONTINUED SAMSUNG CLOUD. What they did discontinue is the part where it acted like Google drive where you could store individual files, but the cloud itself is still active for backups and restoration. It is part of your Samsung account and it cannot be uninstalled, but it can be disabled. So, your factory reset really did go wrong. Perhaps you should try resetting again. Perhaps you should contact Samsung support and put in an error report.

[TonyGSD]

My carrier is Verizon. From what I understand on the reddit link above, this is a Verizon-Samsung issue.

[realaud]

I just posted to Longhiker that it being Verizon would explain everything.

You should consider buying unlocked phones in the future. In the meantime, for the future, sync your notes to your Microsoft One Notes. Or use a different notes app. I use ColorNote, which syncs through Google.

Also Verizon is the most restrictive of the carriers in what controls they take away from the user on their locked phones.

[Mixman]

I just went through this via reset for repair. I've got an unlocked, purchased from Samsung, Flip6 on Verizon. There is an option to backup to Samsung Cloud, but not to restore. I resolved this by inserting a SIM from another carrier, AT&T in this case, that wasn't even active, and I was then able to access and restore my backup via Wi-Fi.