It can be painful to realize that important files have disappeared. There can be many reasons – an error when obtaining root rights, a device malfunction, or you can accidentally delete something yourself. Fortunately, there are several applications that will help you recover your photos, documents, and videos.
This is possible because deleted data still remains on the phone until it is overwritten with other information. It is best to act quickly - the data you need can easily be overwritten with new files. Therefore, stop all downloads and do not install new applications.
When compiling this list, I selected both paid and free Android apps. All of them are published on Google Play, so they are safe. Which app recovers data best? There is no clear answer, depending on what you need. Some are quite good at recovering photos/videos, while others are good at recovering Whatsapp messages. Each has its pros and cons, and the decision will depend on the specific situation.
To increase the chances of recovery, it is advisable to root your phone. This will allow the application to gain full access to the operating system and perform a deeper scan.
DiskDigger Photo Recovery
Disk Digger — is a free and simple application that does not require root rights. DiskDigger is loved for its simple interface. It recovers data well, it can save up to 80% files. If some data was stored in the internal memory, you can perform a limited scan without root rights. Although with a full scan, you can also recover video. If you have root rights, you can choose which partition to scan. The SD card can be found by the directory name, usually it ends in /mnt/sdcard/. If you specify which type of files you need, this will significantly speed up the scanning process.
Once it's finished, you'll be able to filter the files found by type and size by clicking on the gear button. You can also specify the minimum file size by checking the boxes in the necessary items, which will also speed up the search. After I found the lost photos, the app gave me three options for restoring them: save to the device, send to a messenger, and upload to an FTP server. I didn't find any limit on the number of files that can be restored.
Data Recovery
I was reluctant to add this app to the list. I couldn't find much information about it due to its generic name, but it has a high rating on Google Play, so I decided to give it a chance. Its creators advertise it as a program that can recover anything from images and important documents to video and audio files.
Data Recovery has a minimalist interface. You can choose one of four recovery modes, depending on what type of file you need to recover. Root rights are not required and the scan is quite fast. On the other hand, I did not find how to scan a specific area of memory, although you can set up a filter by date and size. Before recovery, a preview is available for each file, which is very convenient. After some time, I was able to find three of the four photos that I had previously deleted.
The found files can be saved to your phone or Google Drive. But the second option is only available in the premium version. In addition to restoring Data Recovery, it can clean "junk" files. But I would not recommend doing this - in my case, the application immediately ended with an error (closed). To use it to the maximum, you will need a premium license, which costs $ 12. This will allow you to restore an unlimited number of files, set up backup to the cloud, and also remove ads.
EaseUs MobiSaver
Next up, we have a candidate from EaseUs, a well-known company that has been recovering data for over 17 years. The app has a simple interface, does not require root access, but the functionality in the free version is very limited.
U MobiSaver There are 6 recovery modes to choose from. In addition to scanning the memory card, there is recovery of: photos and videos, call log, WhatsApp, SMS and contacts. In total, EaseUs MobiSaver works with nine formats: JPG, GIF, TIF, BMP, PNG, MP4, MOV, AVI and 3GP. Files can be sorted by size, format and date. Pictures display previews, contacts - name and number, which makes searching easier.
The free version only allows you to recover one file at a time, which is not for everyone. To use the app at full capacity without any limitations, you need to purchase a paid license for $40 and also get root rights on your phone.
Dr.Fone
Dr.fone One of the most popular recovery apps, used in over 150 countries. It is developed by Wondershare Technology, a company based in China.
In addition to photos (JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF), contacts and messages, you can restore videos of many popular formats from the cache: MP4, 3GP, AVI, MOV and others. Dr.fone can extract data from the cache, so root rights are not necessary. To test the effectiveness of the application, I deleted several videos before installing it. It was able to restore 9 out of 10. Not perfect, but in my opinion, quite good.
A very cool feature that sets it apart on a general level is wireless file transfer between phones and computers. You just need to go to their online service, enter a 6-digit key and you're good to go. Dr.fone also has a recycle bin that works exactly like Mac and Windows.
There is also a desktop version of the program with additional functions. The Clone function will allow you to transfer all contacts to another phone with one click. Root allows you to easily and safely get root access, and with Backup you can copy all important files to your PC.