You can lose important Android data in seconds. You might have deleted the wrong file by mistake, or even accidentally lost all your WhatsApp conversations after an app problem. If you’re lucky enough, you can recover the data. What you can recover depends on where the data was stored and what happened to it.
Collaborative content
Where to start? This article lists various options you may try.
These include recovery via phone scans, Google Drive backups, broken-mobile device recovery, and Android data recovery software, to name a few.
Part 1. What to Do Immediately After Android Data Loss
Before trying any data recovery methods, here is a quick checklist to go through:
- Avoid using the phone: Do not take new photos, download files, or install apps.
- Look for Trash: Check Google Photos or apps such as Files for recently deleted items.
- Verify the Drive situation: You may find the missing documents or a recent backup there.
- See the other synced profiles: Contacts, pictures, and documents have a good chance of still being available
- Record the incident: The best recovery method depends on what happened, such as accidental deletion, an app problem, a reset, or a broken phone.
- Pick a recovery plan: If there’s no backup or the files aren’t in a Trash folder, you can consider an Android data recovery program that supports your device and the data you need.
Part 2. Recovery Sources: Device, Google Drive, and Broken Phone
Where do you start to look for the missing data? It will partly depend on what is wrong with your phone.
These are the three most common places to check for data restoration:
1. Device Scanning
If the deleted files were on a phone, device scanning might be successful in identifying the files that are still recoverable. Recovery software that works with storage drives can also help by scanning and listing the files before recovering data.
Note: Stop using the phone as much as possible after deletion. New data can overwrite deleted files.
2. Google Drive
If you’ve backed up your Android data to Google Drive, check your available backups first. But make sure you have backups in Google drive before you opt for the next and more complicated recovery options.
Note : A backup works only if it has the necessary data. The files it contains and what it restores can change depending on the device and backup settings.
3. Data Recovery from a Broken Phone
If you have a phone with a broken screen, software troubles, or another kind of issue, your data is likely still there. Some recovery tools can also recover data from supported broken or locked Android devices.
Note: Support depends on your phone model, Android version, damage, and recovery method. Unfortunately, not all broken phones can be scanned or recovered.
Part 3. How Scan, Preview, and Selective Recovery Work
The whole scanning process becomes clearer when you look at what a recovery tool does. A recovery tool like Dr.Fone – Data Recovery (Android) deserves a closer look, especially when other recovery methods fail.
You can use Dr.Fone – Data Recovery (Android) to scan a supported Android phone, Google Drive backup, or supported broken phone for available data. It recovers 14+ file types: photos, videos, contacts, messages, documents, and WhatsApp data, and more. Moreover, it can work with more than 6,000 Android devices.
Additionally, the software helps you in several situations including lost files by accident, system crashes, failed updates, and broken phones in a certain way.
Note: Recovery options and results can vary by device, Android version, data type, and recovery mode.
Part 4. How to Scan and Recover Android Data with Dr.Fone – Data Recovery (Android)
Step 1. Open Android Data Recovery
Open the Dr.Fone desktop software, under the main menu choose “Toolbox > Data Recovery”. Select an Android phone and then choose “Recover Android Data”.
Step 2. Connect Your Phone and Choose File Types
Connect your Android phone to the computer with a USB cable. Once the tool detects it, select the types of files you want to look for, such as photos, messages, contacts, or WhatsApp data. Then click Start Scan.
Step 3. Browse and Preview the Scanner’s Results
After the scan, look at the discovered files. You can search for a particular file by selecting filters and preview it before recovery.
Note: Previewing a file doesn’t mean its entirety can be recovered or exported.
Step 4. Choose and Recover Files
Check off the files you need to be recovered and then hit Recover button. Choose a folder on your computer to save the files recovered.
Part 5. Retrieving Deleted WhatsApp Messages on Android
Wondering how do you retrieve deleted whatsapp messages on Android?
In some cases, if the usual WhatsApp backup and restore options fail to recover your chats, you may want to check if the data is still there on your device. Here is where Dr.Fone – Data Recovery (Android) helps!
Dr.Fone is also compatible with WhatsApp Business as well as View Once media and supports 14+ file types. Dr.Fone supports a wide range of Android devices, but available features and recovery results depend on the device, Android version, and recovery method.
Part 6. Recovery Limits and Prevention Tips
Using recovery software is a good idea, but one can only get back some of the deleted data.
Here are some important tips to remember:
- Quick action: If you create new files in the same directory, they can overwrite the lost data. Hence, it is good to act quickly.
- Use backups before anything else: Your Google Drive or a particular backup app may be a better place you can get your files back from.
- Don’t reset your phone: A factory reset can erase data you may still be able to recover.
- Preview files: It is common to see that some data may not be recoverable even if you can preview the file.
Conclusion
Losing important data without a backup can be frustrating, but there are still recovery options you can try. Your first step should be to scan the Trash and Backups folders. If you still can’t find the data, Dr.Fone – Data Recovery (Android) gives you another option to check what may be recoverable from your Android device.
You can preview what it finds and recovers only the files you need. Just remember that recovery is never guaranteed, so acting quickly can make a difference.
Disclaimer: the author(s) of the sponsored article(s) are solely responsible for any opinions expressed or offers made. These opinions do not necessarily reflect the official position of Daily News Hungary, and the editorial staff cannot be held responsible for their veracity.
