How to recover deleted photos from your phone

Losing photos stored on your smartphone is very unpleasant, but don't despair just yet. I'd like to figure out how to recover deleted photos from your phone if you or the operating system accidentally deleted them.

Simple methods

There are several ways to find files from the gallery. All options will work on phones running iOS and Android operating systems. Some will require installing apps from the App Store or the Play Store.

Check the trash

The first method is the simplest – search for deleted images in the system trash. Not all users know that photos are not deleted permanently and immediately. They are first moved to the trash.

From Android

1. In the Android system, open ‘Google Photos’ → tap on the three dots (lines) → go to the trash bin → check the pictures you want to restore → tap on ‘restore to device’.
2. In addition, photos are stored in Google's cloud service. If, during the initial setup, synchronization with the gallery was enabled in your Google account settings, we recommend trying to download the missing files from there (see below).

From iOS

It's a little easier for iPhone users. To restore an accidentally deleted photo, go to your gallery → find the album called ‘Recently Deleted’ → select the missing photos → tap ‘Restore.’

Images moved to the trash are subject to a 30-day time limit. After that, iOS will delete the photos from memory.

In addition, photos are stored in iCloud cloud storage if the user initially linked to the cloud and synchronised the device. Now you can retrieve the image from the cloud service.

Programs

Sometimes deleted photos cannot be found in the recycle bin, in the cloud, or on a removable drive. For such cases, there are additional applications that allow you to find and recover deleted images or videos.

DiskDigger

Free program for Android. Allows you to find lost or deleted files in the internal memory of your device and the SD card. Great for recovering information after a factory reset. Does not require root privileges for a quick search.

Instructions:

1. Open the DiskDigger app.
2. Tap the ‘Start simple image search’ button. Root privileges are required for a full scan.
3. Once the scan is complete, the utility will display the found items as tiles.
4. Select the photo and tap ‘Recover’ in the top field. The system will ask you to select a save location: cloud, folder, or FTP server. Tap the most convenient option.
5. The photos will appear in the specified location.

iSkysoft Toolbox for Android Data Recovery

A program with a wide range of features. Unfortunately, image search is not available in the trial version. You will need to purchase a licence. The latest version is available on the developer's website. The cost of a 1-year subscription is $40.

Instructions:

1. Launch iSkysoft Toolbox and go to the ‘Data Recovery’ window.
2. Connect your smartphone to your PC using a USB cable.
3. Once the application finds your device, tick the box next to “Gallery” and click ‘Next’.
4. Select ‘Scan for deleted files’. Wait for the scanning process to finish.
5. The program will display the files it has found. Click ‘Recover’.
6. All done!

For correct operation, you will need to enable USB debugging mode. Please read below to find out how to activate it.

Undeleter

A smartphone app available on the Play Store that requires root privileges to perform a full search for deleted media files after formatting. Otherwise, only the cache of some utilities and temporary files will be accessible. The programme is distributed free of charge. The ‘probing’ takes place in the internal memory and on the flash drive (SD card).

Instructions for Undeleter:

1. After installing the application, you must obtain root privileges. I'll talk about this later in this article.
2. After clicking ‘Next’ several times, proceed to the “Storage” search area settings. Specify the location: SD card or internal memory. Wait for the scan to complete, then select the ‘Images’ tab at the top of the interface.
3. The programme will display the images it has found.
4. Tap the desired photo, then tap the floppy disk icon in the upper field of the new window. In the window that appears, tap ‘restore’.
5. The restored image will appear in the system gallery.

Undeleter

Restore Image & Photo Recovery

Another free app that is very similar in functionality to DiskDigger, but does not require root privileges to work.

To find all images, you will need:

1. Open the utility and click on the green ‘scan’ button.
2. When the programme displays a tick in a green circle, click on the ‘show’ button.
3. The system will display the photos it has found in a tile format.
4. You can restore a specific image or select all by clicking on “select” and then on the ‘restore’ button.
5. The photos will appear in the gallery.

Complex methods

Sometimes, simple actions or installing applications are not enough. Either root access is required to find deleted photos. In this case, advanced methods come into play. But for this, you need to know how Android works at a higher level.

Root access

All devices running the Android OS have a so-called superuser, or an account called ROOT. Full access is enabled if a flexible system configuration is required. Essentially, this functionality is intended for developers or advanced Android users.

We recommend that inexperienced users obtain root privileges through special software. For example:

• Framaroot;
• CF-Auto-Root;
• Universal Androot;
• iRoot;
• KingRoot.

Just to let you know, this action will automatically void the warranty.

Developer mode

Another fine-tuning feature of Android is the ability to activate developer mode. This gives you access to debug the operating system via USB.

To switch your device to debug mode:

1. Go to your smartphone settings and find the ‘About phone’ or “Help” section.
2. At the bottom of the new menu, you will see the ‘Build number’ line. Tap it 7 times.
3. A notification will pop up saying ‘You are a developer’. Now go back to the settings menu.
4. In the new ‘For developers’ section that appears, activate the ‘USB debugging’ tab.

This mode is often required for third-party software to work. In particular, for connecting and fine-tuning a smartphone with a PC.

Using ADB

ADB (Android Debug Bridge) is specialised software that allows you to manage and configure almost any mobile device running Android. The only exceptions are devices where the manufacturer has specifically turned off this option.

To get started with ADB, you will need:

1. Download the software for your smartphone model from the developer's official website. The utility comes with the official Platform Tools package.
2. Install the program on a computer or laptop running Windows.
3. Restart the system.

The initial stage is complete. Now you can proceed to the preparatory part.

Preparation

Brief algorithm:

1. Download and install the BusyBox app. You will need this program to execute commands from your gadget. You will need to set root privileges in the utility.
2. Connect your device to your PC in mass storage mode.
3. Unzip the downloaded Platform Tools to any convenient folder on your PC.
4. Open the command prompt (Win+R) and enter: ‘ADB’ (without quotes).

Boot into recovery mode

Recovery mode provides access to some advanced settings for your device's hardware. To enter recovery mode, follow these steps:

1. Turn off your smartphone. Press and hold two buttons simultaneously: the power button and the volume down button (on some models, this is the volume up button). Hold them down for about 7-10 seconds until a line menu appears on a black background.
2. In this menu, select ‘Recovery Mode’. Use the volume up/down buttons to navigate through the lines. Confirm the command by pressing the power button.
3. If everything is done correctly, an inverted Android logo will appear on the display.

You can access the Recovery menu via the console. To do this, type the command: ‘adb reboot recovery’, then enter: ‘adb shell’. Type all commands into the console without quotation marks.

Select a section

Now you need to find out which section the photos were deleted from. To do this, enter the following command in the console: ‘mount | grep /data’. Press Enter. The system will indicate the required block.

Could you change the configuration file?

The next step is to connect the smartphone memory to the PC. To do this, you will need to make changes to the configuration file. You can find it using the console command: ‘find /sys -name lun’. Here, see the path leading to the f_mass_storage directory.

Now enter the command: ‘echo path to the partition> location of the configuration file/file’.

Please note that the new path to the partition is added with the name ‘file’. You will get its address in the previous command.

Remount the partition

The penultimate step is to remount the partition:

1. Enter the following command in the console: ‘umount /data’.
2. Disconnect the USB. Now turn the device on in mass storage (MTP) mode.
3. Enter the following command in the console: ‘echo 0 > enable && echo ’mass_storage,adb‘ > functions && echo 1 > enable’. This will disconnect ADB.

If the system shows an error during the process, please restart the device. The changes you made will be rolled back.

Recover files

The recovery process is similar to the procedure for a hard drive, flash drive, or other PC memory partition. This may require the installation of additional software, such as Recuva or Pandora Recovery.

From a computer — Recuva software

The software is distributed on a shareware basis. The trial version of the software is sufficient for recovering photos from a smartphone. Found photos will be saved in *.jpg or *.png format. The utility is localised into Russian and has a simple interface.

How Recuva works:

1. Perform the initial setup. Set the language to English if necessary: Options -> Languages.
2. When you open the app for the first time, the recovery wizard will start in automatic mode. Click ‘Next’.
3. In the search settings, select the necessary file extensions. These are usually images or videos.
4. We recommend specifying the exact location where the deleted photos were stored.
5. Check the box next to ‘in-depth analysis’ and start the process.
6. After a while, the programme will display the photos it has found. Restore the missing photos.

It is essential to specify the new directory. Found fragments are marked with three colours: green, yellow, and red. The colour indicates the degree of damage to the element.

More options

In addition to the methods described above, there are a couple of other ways to recover deleted photos.

Specialised applications

Users can install specialised applications on their mobile phones that can find both individual photos and entire photo galleries:

1. FonePaw Android Data Recovery. A handy tool for finding and recovering different types of info from your PC, flash drives, and external hard drives. It's free and works on Windows and iOS. The interface is fully localised. It's super easy to use. All you need to do is connect your smartphone to your PC and open the programme. The utility allows you to extract data even from broken or non-working devices.
2. MobiKin Doctor. Another powerful program for ‘reincarnating’ various types of data. For full functionality, you will need to enable USB debugging mode and root privileges. The interface is in English. The free version is sufficient for recovering photos.

If these methods do not help, you can take extreme measures and hand your phone over to specialists.

Authorised service

An authorised service centre will check your gadget using diagnostic equipment to determine whether it is possible to recover your data (photos). So that you know, this service is subject to a fee. The warranty does not cover this service. The only exceptions are if the device burns out for reasons beyond your control or if there is a manufacturing defect in the chips. However, in the latter case, there is almost no chance of recovery.

Questions and answers

Let's look at some questions that users encounter when trying to recover photos.

If your mobile phone is smashed to pieces

Yes, it is possible. There are two ways to recover data, even if the phone is broken as a result of a substantial impact or the display is cracked:

1. Use specialised software. For example: FonePaw Android Data Recovery or Dr. Fone Toolkit. This method helps when the motherboard and main memory chip are not damaged.
2. Desoldering the memory chip on the donor smartphone. This operation can only be performed by experienced technicians using special soldering equipment. This is a last resort and a costly operation.

If the phone is badly damaged and you are not confident in your abilities, it is best to take the device to a specialist repair shop immediately.

Drowned or left underwater for a long time

It all depends on how long the gadget was in the liquid. Was it dried immediately after ‘swimming’? If the smartphone was removed from the water within 5 minutes and dried immediately, the chances of recovering the photos are high.

If the phone was in water for a long time, the contacts on the motherboard will oxidise. The chip will be physically damaged, and it will be tough to re-solder it onto a donor board.

Does not charge or turn on

Not charging and not turning on is not a death sentence. Perhaps the power controller has burned out or the battery has died. In any case, you can try to restore the device using special software or take it to a service centre. The main thing is that the memory chip is not damaged.

Lost in messenger correspondence

If you want to recover photos from messengers, remember:

1. The same applies to WhatsApp: the app does not save photos to your smartphone, storing everything on Facebook's servers in the cloud.
2. Viber is different: the messenger uploads video and graphic files to internal memory. When deleted from the phone, everything disappears.
3. Telegram downloads information to your mobile phone, but leaves messages in the chat and does not delete the data. It is easy to recover photos sent via Telegram.

Conclusion

Let us remind you once again how to recover deleted photos from your phone, whether they were deleted accidentally or intentionally:

1. Start by checking the recycle bin.
2. If the files you need are not there, use special software to search for them: DiskDigger, iSkysoft Toolbox for Android Data Recovery, Undeleter, Restore Image & Photo Recovery, FonePaw Android Data Recovery, and MobiKin Doctor.
3. More advanced methods are suitable for experienced users: obtaining root privileges, activating developer mode, and connecting the device's memory manually using ADB.
4. As a last resort, you should contact a service centre for help, if you don't mind. The main condition is that the memory chip on the smartphone must not be mechanically damaged.

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