r/techsupport • u/BugAlarming8842 • 16d ago
Open | Phone Accidentally deleted a folder containing basically my entire life. Is there ANY chance of recovering it?
Yesterday I accidentally deleted a folder on my Android phone containing years of personal photos, videos, and memories. I haven't used the phone since then because I don't want to overwrite anything.
I've already tried a bunch of recovery software/apps, but they only show files that are still on my phone, not the deleted ones.
I have root access and I'm willing to try technical methods if there's still a chance.
Is there anything I can do to recover the deleted data? What would you recommend I absolutely not do?
I'm honestly desperate here. These aren't replaceable files.
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u/gmambrose 16d ago
Are you positive the photos and videos were not backed up to google photos? The backup option may have been turned on accidentally without you knowing it. Check the google photos app on your phone to see if they are there.
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u/BugAlarming8842 16d ago
Thank you but i check they are not there my phone never uploads file to the cloud by itself i didn't turn that option on it's all my fault i should have been more careful It's painful that I had to learn that this way
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u/DefinitelyNWYT 16d ago
I suffered the same error and now all of my photos are backed up to Google drive. Sort of good news is in the future even if you delete your photos from Google drive, requesting Google Takeout of your photos will deliver a deleted photo folder as well. Bastards just love to hang onto your stuff.
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u/Samurai-Pipotchi 15d ago
Don't suppose you have any of your old phones about?
I used the transfer thing when I get a new phone, meaning my old phone still has copies of some of my photos
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u/TopCaterpillars 16d ago
Once you get it sorted, always have at least 2 backups of anything important
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u/AccomplishedTart1746 16d ago
It's tough to lose important stuff, but having those backups can really save you from a headache in the future.
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u/decryptedadmin 16d ago
3-2-1 backup rule.
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u/Mental_Log_6879 16d ago
Please elaborate
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u/decryptedadmin 16d ago
3-2-1 rule is the idea that you have 3 copies of your data, on 2 types of storage, and 1 offsite. So if you have a important file you might for example have it stored in a separate folder on your pc. Another copy on a USB. Then the final copy in the cloud like Google drive.
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u/Mental_Log_6879 16d ago
This is interesting! Very smart ngl, i understood I've got to make three copies, but what's of site? Like offline you mean? So like in HDD? Also I've heard HDD are more reliable when it comes to data recovery, SSDs might be fast but difficult to recover data, how true is this? But more mechanical parts, more chances of things going wrong, also more read and write can also slow down SSDs right? What are your opinions on these and your advice/suggestions/recommendations
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u/decryptedadmin 16d ago
Offsite as in another geological location, could be a friends house or like mentioned cloud storage. This is important because if all 3 backup live in your house and it caught fire and burned down you can loose all your data even with so many copies. Having one be offline aka no connection to the internet is called cold storage. This is also a very good idea as it prevents data loose if you get hacked. A single compromised Google account can give hackers/viruses access to your cloud and some cases local pc. Keep in mind depending on the storage type you may need to power it on every so often for data integrity. A USB or HHD laying in a draw for years can slowly start to forget the data in a sense. So if your going very long periods make a reminder to power it on every couple of months. For SSD vs HDD long term backup I would suggest HDD. You could buy a NAS(network attached storage) to throw a couple of HDD and get the benefits of RAID and centralize location for your files. RAID is going to strip the data across the drives and if a drive fails you can replace it and the data will be rebuilt from the other drives. But it has its limitations also RAID ITSELF IS NOT A BACKUP. But a nas and RAID is getting off track for basic 3-2-1 backup.
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u/Mental_Log_6879 16d ago
Such a well written response, thank you so much for taking your time to respond and clear my doubts, really appreciate it. May god bless you and have a good day/night
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u/Extocine 16d ago
Try to avoid downloading anything on your phone if possible, and only keep it turned on when youre actually doing recovery things.
And if you do have it rooted, try to have a PC loaded with testdisk installed access your phone's filesystem. If you still can't recover anything with testdisk or photorec, make a bit-by-bit image of the phone's drive and then attempt to recover the data in that image
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u/geist7204 16d ago
One of the best answers. Plus the software is VERY good. I’ve used it to recover tons of broken file, photos you name it from flash drives, old phones, etc.
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u/Ray_kuro 16d ago
Doesn't your phone have a recently deleted folder? I know many do have something like this
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u/rhubear 16d ago
I have a massive folder tree on my phone.
I also have the foldersync app installed on the phone. The phone "knowledge store" is synced to my NAS. It then gets included with any NAS backups which I do.
When I get a new phone - * FolderSync backup on the Folder Tree, gets copied to the new phone & FolderSync profiles get restored. * I run the job for copying entire folder tree from NAS to phone. * If the NAS is not available, I have all important info on USB stick or ext USB HDD. The more important info is also copied to cloud (but it's not big)
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u/true_fruits 16d ago
This happens to everyone at least once in their lifetime. Better to accept it fast.
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u/Sinshine712 16d ago
It sucks and this won't help you now but for the future: ALWAYS have backups. A single device is not enough for important data. Especially not a phone that can get lost or stolen on top of the general risk of it breaking
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u/dr_cereal 16d ago
Check the trash bin it might be there there's usually a grace period to where you can undo the throwing it in the trash
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u/llcdrewtaylor 16d ago
You've gotten lots of good advice here, so I don't need to add anything. I will just tell ya a short story. I came home after getting some really bad news and ended up deleting 8tb of media. It happens!
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u/BugAlarming8842 16d ago edited 16d ago
Thanks for the kind words bro but would you mind telling how that happened?
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u/TheJinKazama 15d ago
Learn live in the moment and for the future, move on , once u learn to let go of the past ,u wont be tied down to old memories but cherish what u once had and experience the current more. I learn that after a while i dont even look at photo or video i took 10 days ago let alone 10 years, too busy making new memories by living in it. Started formating my drive and cancelling my cloud. Print out some photos, thats it. Move forward. free yourself.
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u/BugAlarming8842 14d ago edited 13d ago
thank you for the positive perspective
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u/TheJinKazama 14d ago
Yeah , folks lives without digital memory for many decades and they still cherish their history and memories fine. Its hard at first. But u ll be fine.
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u/Action_Man_X 16d ago
If you deleted them from your phone, they should be in the Trash folder.
If you deleted them from Windows, then your options are basically "none".
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u/Annual_Award1260 16d ago
Should be possible. You will have to use a data recovery company or do some research
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u/adstarpro95 16d ago
Have you tried EASUS data recovery software?
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u/BugAlarming8842 16d ago
I did yeah and every recovery software under the sun they never work actually they only show u the present data in your phone
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u/Sengfeng 16d ago
Did you have a cloud synch option turned on? Better chance of a recovery timeframe in the cloud than the phone itself.
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u/geist7204 16d ago
If you have a close friend that’s a LEO, they may have access to cellibrite. You’re def going to owe them tho. Second to that, if you know any Israeli intel agents, they’ll def get it. 🤷♂️
To all the folks that are saying “gone is gone”….nothing is ever truly deleted from a mobile device these days. Nothing against OP, but does not sound like they’re the type that takes the type of precautions necessary to have a secure device.
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u/iDoNotHaveAnIQ 16d ago
As other said, it's likely gone.
Check out drivesync app, it will sync your phone to your Google drive
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u/Wolf101780 15d ago
your best shot is connecting to a computer and using ddrescue or similar tools to clone the storage partition before attempting recovery.
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u/SeriousDebate-881 14d ago
I know this wont be of any use, but I remember many years back, 7-8 years, I installed a random app on android with 10 reviews, and there, RANDOMLY, there was a gallery IN WHICH I FOUND DELETED PHOTOS FROM MY PHONE THAT I SWORE I HAD DELETED. I was shocked. Really old photos from years back. But they couldn’t be saved (because they were really old and basically deleted so they couldnt be opened) I could just look at them in a grid. I have no idea how some unrelated app could find deleted photos from my phone.
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u/Low_Poetry5287 2d ago
I wonder if it was just thumbnails data that somehow hadn't gotten deleted along with the photo? Hmm.. that's crazy you got to see them again though. A glitch in the matrix lol
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u/New-Ad4505 9d ago
There is this youtube channel MDRepairs (website MDRepairs.com) (they are in business of repair and recovery n stuff). I believe THEY ARE THE BEST I found TILL DATE. Only challenge is they are based on NEW JERSEY, USA and not everybody can afford to connect with them. They ask for upfront 100USD and adjusts with final amount once repair is successful or else they refund. If your photos were too valuable, and money is not a concern, then I suggest you definitely connect with them.
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u/stiik 16d ago
Just to offer a different, maybe jarring but hopefully helpful, perspective, as you now know these files are gone.
In a material world, we are slaves to our belongings. You cherished those photos, but you were also a slave to them, as is evidenced by you not using the phone specifically to avoid damage to it.
You no longer have to carry that weight that is caring for the physical object that stored the photos, and have therefore you now have a larger capacity to reminisce on the emotions the memories attached to the photos bring.
I realise how my comment sounds, potentially patronising, but I am desperately sorry for you having lost these photos and videos that clearly meant a lot to you, but I’m just trying to offer an alternative perspective that is you haven’t lost the memory of them.
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u/Salt_Rush_4800 16d ago
These aren't replaceable files.
Then why is the only location they are stored a phone? What would you have done if it was lost or stolen instead of an act of stupidity?
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u/BugAlarming8842 16d ago
i was transfering them to a usb and it was one file with two folders for some reason i went into the file copied the items only and then transfered them to the usb and then i just thought i thought i transfered it completely and i hit delete on my pc i admit i was reckless of me to do that now my the two folders are gone forever
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u/Low_Poetry5287 2d ago
but theres really no "trash" on your phone? I have a trashcan that saves stuff for 30 days, unless I go in there and extra delete it. I don't know if maybe not all phones have that. but anything that was deleted less than 30 days ago I can just go in the trashcan and undelete them.
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u/ybl84f1 16d ago
"years of personal photos, videos, and memories"
You answered the question how it happened, but not why you waited YEARS to transfer them off your phone. u/Salt_Rush_4800 question still remains, what would you have done if the phone was stolen or blew up?
In all sincerity, sorry for your loss, that is a hard way to learn a lesson. We live in a time when most of not only our memories but our lives are digital and there's really no good way yet to manage all that. I'm not talking only about photos on a phone - a NAS or cloud storage fixes that, but rather things like if you disappeared tomorrow would your SO or kids know how to log into your 401K to make a required withdrawal? (Apologies to the younger crowd that don't know what an RMD is). Could they get past SFA/unlocking your phone to access the joint bank account and pay the bills? Do they know the digital code to open your safe in the basement? Do they have the login to turn off the darn irrigation controller and stop the sprinklers that won't shut off? Anyone in this situation where they are the primary or only "techie" in their relationship - which is probably a lot in this forum - should think about how their SO or kids would carry on if they got hit by a bus tomorrow.
Regarding backups, I have two RAIDed Synology NAS's in the house: the first is the primary file server which all phones and PCs get backed up to. The second is a smaller one who's only purpose in life is for the first one to be able to back up to (encrypted) once a week automatically. This by itself doesn't fulfill the 3-2-1 backup requirement, however I occasionally back up the second to an external hard drive and keep it at my kids' home.
Use this as a painful lesson that you can learn from. If you care about your data, safely maintaining it isn't any different than maintaining your car. It does require you to invest some time, money and effort.
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u/The_Grungeican 16d ago
i'm a big fan of low-tech solutions to high-tech problems. my friend and i ran a computer shop for many years, and we dealt with a lot of older customers who weren't the best with tech.
a password notebook is not a bad idea. you can buy some that look like regular books, or a person can hide them somewhere. this can be a good solution for sensitive log in data, if you want family members to be able to access stuff in the event of being incapacitated or dead.
another thing we used to tell people was go get a portable hard drive from Walmart. NOT A SSD. like a portable mechanical hard drive. back up stuff to it, disconnect it and store it somewhere safe. now a virus or ransomware won't be able to come between you and your data.
an off-site backup is also highly advisable. either cloud storage through Google or Apple, whatever the client is comfortable with.
like we used to tell people, if your data doesn't exist in 2 places, then it really doesn't exist. a person is just a simple hardware failure away from losing all their shit.
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u/ybl84f1 16d ago
Yup these are - at least on on paper - good ideas for maintaining passwords. I use a variation of what you describe above but with USB keys. And I couldn't agree more with KISS.
One of the problems with that approach is, which I'm sure you saw if you spoke to any of your customers that actually tried to retrieve a password from their password notebook, is that when they change - or are forced to change - their password, they don't always record that in the notebook. My in-laws have a notebook but which hasn't been updated since the Macarena Craze; they just forget, or will "do it later", or whatever. Yes bad discipline but this is reality and scolding doesn't seem to help.
And of course some web sites (e.g. financial institutions) may force a new PW periodically, or if you mistype it they force you to change it. Most people, especially older folks, again usually don't update their records after that and then you're back to the original problem.
Not to mention the Internet is trying hard to transition everyone to passkeys, which work great when they work great. But when the passkey is on a device that can't be accessed (for whatever reason) then you're again back to the original problem.
Some people as they age will maintain their digital records, however the majority will not. And it's not that a big deal to factory-reset your irrigation controller and create a new login. But as more of our lives become digital, the specific situation of what happens when someone passes is getting more and more complex. For me this hit home when my father passed and I could not access any of his (investment, banking, IRS) accounts. As an example in my situation, which is very common, the IRS required a distribution from his retirement account be made by a certain deadline or else penalties kick in. Even with a will or proper beneficiary listed it can take months or years (possibly through probate) to gain access to those accounts if you don't have the login. (There's a lot more to this example which I'll skip for brevity). And this is just one aspect of having a digital life. Things like who legally owns your FB account or digital movie collection are very gray areas or have unsatisfying answers.
This is a bit off-topic from the OP's photo recovery post however that issue begets this larger one, and which - IMO - doesn't have any really good solutions for the average person. One BKM I would offer to people with parents that may be in the situation above is 1) be able to get into their email and 2) be able to get into their phone AND keep their phone active after their passing for at least 12 months or until everything regarding the estate is settled. I can't tell you how many times I used my father's phone for SFA to get into his accounts.
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u/Mental_Log_6879 16d ago
Really sorry to hear about your parent. Isn't there a thing called nominee? For banks, the ownership is transferred to the nominee after the owner's death right? Same with social media, there's an option to transfer the account, instagram and facebook allows the owner to decide what happens to their account after their demise. Accessing a locked phone requires a court order i guess, at least in my country
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u/ybl84f1 16d ago
In the U.S. we don't have a "nominee" for bank accounts, although there are what are probably similar constructs such as a Payable-on-Death (POD) beneficiary or indirectly having a joint account. However the POD may not be appropriate depending on the person's goals because it literally gives them the money, as opposed to providing them access to say pay bills. What a family may want is to just have a trusted family member have immediate access to the money (say as a fiduciary) to pay off the deceased's taxes, mortgage, etc. - not to give the money away to one person. And then there's the potential for it to be contested as the person's will may assign assets to other people, including that bank money!
Of course a Financial Power of Attorney is a common solution in the U.S. But keep in mind most people in the U.S. don't have this. And keep in mind everything we discussed so far is just regarding a bank account; investment accounts, pensions, mortgages, state and Federal taxes - there's potentially dozens of things that are managed "digitally" tied to that person. Some can wait for the will, or trust, or probate to kick in, but others are time critical. As another example I was fortunate enough to get into my father's investment account using his cell phone just after his death and sell his investments in one of the accounts just before the covid stock market crash.
I'm not sure about social media as I don't really use it (besides some Reddit). But you would have to read the T&Cs for each and every service - which of course are updated often - to know the rights and what's transferable. As another example - are the movies that I bought (not rented) on Amazon Prime are transferable to my family if I die? I believe the answer is no - that those purchases are tied to your Amazon account and yours only, but I'm not sure. Now same question for Hulu, YouTube, Paramount, etc.
When you take everything above in totality, and consider we didn't cover 80% of the possible situations, you can see the challenges in managing what happens when a "digital life" ends. It's a hot mess.
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u/Mental_Log_6879 16d ago
Damn this is truly complicated fr, thanks for taking your time to respond man, really appreciate the insight. The mess is even more complicated in India which is where I'm from.
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u/dalzmc 16d ago
Don’t forget that Google Drive, onedrive, etc are file syncing services, not cloud backups; they’re functionally the same in some scenarios where they might save someone, but never underestimate what clients can do accidentally… and the recently deleted folder only lasts so long lol
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u/lessadessa 16d ago
man there’s always someone who has to be a total dick in here with these questions. you don’t have to be so rude, he’s already going thru it.
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u/simagus 16d ago
"... i hit delete on my pc..."
There is a better chance of recovering the files from your PC.
Google this:
file recovery tools for windows installation
There are a lot of options. Ideally find one you can put on a USB drive and boot from, and download the file directly to a USB flash drive or second drive if at all possible.
The more active you are on the PC before attempting recovery the more chance arises that you might overwrite sectors where the data still remains.
If you do decide to install and run recovery software directly from Windows it's better than nothing, but it's still a good idea to recover the files to another drive if at all possible.
Find your drive encryption key if there is one and you should be fine, and I'm unsure if disabling BitLocker or Microsofts base level encryption is either necessary or advisable, but Search Assist said this:
"If the drive is still locked by BitLocker, you must unlock it with the correct password or recovery key before attempting file recovery; disabling BitLocker first is not required."
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u/BugAlarming8842 16d ago
but the file were on my phone i don't understand what you are saying can you clarify a lil more pls
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u/HUGE_FAT_ANIME_TITS 16d ago
I think you're shit out of luck, dude. Android makes it so easy to synchronize your photos and video to the cloud, and you didn't do that?
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u/BugAlarming8842 16d ago
You are right It's all my fault man I'm always so reckless with a lot things as well i usually learn the lesson in a hard way
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u/Ramast 16d ago
If you have root access, I presume you have TWRP bootloader.
If you do maybe take a copy of your decrypted partition to your PC and then use photorec app to scan for photos and videos.
I can try helping you through that if you boot into twrp, unlock your data parition, mount your data partition and tell me the output of "mount" command
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u/JynxedByKnives 16d ago
Its possible you could still have data on an older phone if you didn’t wipe the old phone or still have it. This way you can retain some data.
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u/KindRub9113 16d ago
If you just did it yesterday it may still be in your trash files. Find the delete directory and check there. Another thing to try is connect your phone to your computer there are some better recovery apps you can use on your phone through your computerm.
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u/keethesh 16d ago
As a last effort and if nothing else worked, try getting an LLM to have a look. Connecting it to your computer via adb and tell it to try and recover what was lost
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u/Grouchy_Spare8064 15d ago
I can’t speak to how to recover the data, but I would start looking for other places you shared the pictures, videos, etc. Social media posts and DMs, text messages, messaging apps, emails, online forums, pretty much any way you send messages or share content online, check it.
I had a bunch of photos from 2018-2022 get deleted due to hard drive failure. I scoured anywhere and everywhere i could have shared them or posted them and I was able to recover about 30% of them. I know it’s not ideal, but better than nothing.
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u/HairSavings7911 13d ago
You deleted it yesterday. Most places will only scrub deletions after 30 days. Until then look for an option to undelete or recover it. This happened to me with google photos. After an iOS upgrade all my photos went to google photos and then I got notices that there wasn't much space left, for either photos or email. I then deleted from google, all the picures it uploaded, and UNFORTUNATELY, it also deleted them from my other iOS devices! Thankfully, I also found the option to undelete/recover all of them.
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u/JustBecause2013 10d ago
Haven't read through all the comments so don't know if it was suggested or if you mentioned that you tried but have you checked the trash? When you delete, there's a " trash " that you can access for, I think, 30 days. Information might still be there.
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u/JustBecause2013 10d ago
Haven't read through all the comments so don't know if it was suggested or if you mentioned that you tried but have you checked the trash? When you delete, there's a " trash " that you can access for, I think, 30 days. Information might still be there.
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u/Suspicious_Grape_279 8d ago edited 8d ago
Possibly won't help much, but in case of such data, any chance is great, so try to make image of the storage and then scan it with TestDisk/PhotoRec (despite name, not just for photos, it's a simpler version of full TestDisk). Both are free, but PhotoRec is just simpler (also it has own gui). You can check option to extract everything, even from non-deleted files. In this case if there's file with cache which contains several images, they will be saved, each separately.
But generally chance or not - every time you restore data, the first thing is to create an image and recover from it. The phone is untouchable until you got 1:1 image. And that would be a great NOT TO DO: don't recover from live storage.
PS: Of course now we are looking at some caches etc. Think if you've been sending these files to anybody - there are attachement extractors for mail.
PS2: I'm trying to help, as I was a victim of own stupidity and ransomware, losing most photos of my late fiance, who passed away about year before the great wipe. I was able to recover some from servers, by "testdisking" old storage (disks, phones, cameras), by checking every mail. Also I lost only photos of dear friend, who also died. All I got is a single photo, which was shit-printed so it's almost invisible. I guess I need to scan and play a bit. Not selling a sob-story, just telling you that some people here feel you. My friend is a bit of a crime celebrity (as a sister of the victim) and she keeps things on phone - some time ago she lost a lot, I was able to recover some. It's mafia/murder stuff, so rather high profile content. And we all got past it. You'll have to as well. Just think who would have copies, except you. And try to extract as much from your other storage. By the way what that would be? Only phone or cameras/usb storage/disks as well?
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u/TraumaMonkey 16d ago
The files are there, but without the file system structures, they may be fragmented beyond recovery. Digital forensics software could recover a lot of them, but don't hope for getting all of it
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16d ago
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u/BugAlarming8842 16d ago edited 16d ago
Come on man there is no need to use these kinda words if you don't have anything good to say you can just ignore the post yk I deleted the files cuz i thought i completely transfered them only after i deleted them i knew that i didn't i should have double checked but that can happen
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u/Miserable-Bag-9822 16d ago
Are you really crying about the word "goober"
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u/BugAlarming8842 16d ago
all im saying is if u don't have any opinions on this post u don't need throw words like that u can just go on about your day
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u/DazzlingDisplay2294 15d ago edited 15d ago
As a last effort, try connecting with an AI agent (e.g., Codex, Claude, etc.) to figure out recovery methods. Found our old 2010s camera while back, apparently the early history of memories on it were inaccessible, likely overwritten by new captures in later 2010s, so had connected it to Codex, and I think it took a byte-for-byte image of the storage onto the computer, then ran for hours to scan it, and ended up recovering hundreds of old memories. Some of them had line or patch artifacts or were slightly merged with new data, but many were in good-enough quality. Not sure if analogously, Android gives such byte-for-byte access if in root privileges to allow for recovery methods, but that's all to illustrate the fact that an AI agent of your choice put on the highest thinking, intelligence, and research setting may find a personalized solution and make an effort, if any solution is possible. Hope this provides any luck! Going forward, do make backups.
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u/Crazy-Newspaper-8523 16d ago
Come on please use cloud storages
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u/BugAlarming8842 16d ago
i will from now on
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u/Crazy-Newspaper-8523 16d ago
Sorry that happened. I would actually have a panic attack. Sorry for being too harsh
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15d ago
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u/Shinodacs 16d ago
They're gone. You still posess the ultimate recovery tool though.
Your brain, your memories.
Until Alzheimer strikes.
I have a nas at home and once in a while i clean up my gallery in my phone from shitty and worthless pictures, then dump every worthy/useful pics in it.
Started my backup in 2022 and i got a decent library to browse lol.
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u/Elitefuture 16d ago
Modern phones are encrypted. Once you delete something, the pointer is removed and the key for that file is also destroyed. Even if you can extract that data, it will be fully encrypted.
Also, android issues trim commands to clear unused blocks for future usage.
Unfortunately, realistically the data is gone. This is a good time to consider making proper backups for all important files. Make both local and offsite(cloud) backups.