Photos are some of the most important things we store on our smartphones and losing them can be a real tragedy for a lot of users. However, if it happens to you, there’s no need to panic, since there are a few ways to recover deleted photos from Android internal storage.
Yours truly went through this once and hours of documentation and experiments followed, everything ending with an accomplished mission. Therefore, I put everything together in this guide, so you can solve the problem way quicker. Let’s get those pics back, shall we?
How can I lose photos from my phone?
I hate this answer, no matter the question, but in this case, I’m forced to give it: it depends. There are quite a few reasons why data on a phone can be lost. Whether it’s a bad update, malware or even a corrupt firmware if you’re trying to explore the possibilities of Android. Heck, some people even manage to delete photos accidentally.
But hey, the good news is that this is actually reversible since you can recover deleted photos from Android internal storage. Before starting the actual recovery process though, there are a few things you should do right after spotting the lack of data, no matter if we’re talking about photos or anything else.
- Stop using your phone. After any type of data is deleted from your phone, it still remains on the storage for a short time. On the other side, the memory occupied by the deleted data – photos, in our case – gets available and it’s overwritten by any type of activity.
- Don’t restart your phone a lot. You will be tempted to try a restart, believing that this will solve your problem. Avoid this at all costs, since it can lead to unexpected results.
- Don’t try a factory reset. This will put an end to any chances of recovering data.
- Use a data recovery app as soon as possible. It’s very important to act fast, so no data is overwritten on the storage. And don’t worry, I’ll tell you which Android picture recovery app does the best job.
How to get back deleted photos on Android?
As mentioned above, the safest way to do this is by using dedicated apps. I knew about this when I had to get my own photos back, but I had no idea about the app I should use for this. “Ok, no need to worry, I will definitely find something on Google Play…”
Little did he know that the store is loaded with tons of apps, all of them promising to recover deleted photos from Android internal memory without root or who knows what other things. Let the research begin, then!
After testing and reading, I came across Android Data Recovery, which seemed to be the best option, according to the reviews and a few forums I’ve carefully studied. Claiming to have the highest success rate on the market, the app is compatible with thousands of Android devices and it’s able to retrieve not just photos, but contacts, messages, and many others.
Android Data Recovery was tested on a Windows PC and it was a success, but it also works on a Mac. I haven’t tried it on Apple’s platform though, so we’ll have to take the developers’ word on this one.
How to use Android Data Recovery on Windows
Thought that you will install an app on your phone, right? Well, we just talked about the fact that the phone should be used as little as possible after an incident like this happens, right? The recovery will be done using your PC. Here are the steps you need to follow:
Step 1: Install the app on your PC
First thing first, you need to have Android Data Recovery installed. You can get it from here, absolutely secure.
Step 2: Look for the Data Recovery option in the UI
After you’re done with the installation process, launch the app and click on the Data Recovery feature. It’s the first on the left, you can’t miss it.
Step 3: Enable USB debugging on your phone
Go to Settings > About phone and look for the build number. Tap on it 7 times, until you see the “You are a developer” message. After this, access the Developer Options menu in Settings and look for the USB debugging option. Check it.
Step 4: Connect the phone to your PC, via USB cable
You should get a pop-up message, regarding the USB Debugging feature. Tap OK. After this, the app will detect the device and will show a list of the files which can be recovered. Check photos (because this is what you’re after) and click Next.
Step 5: Pick a recovery option
The app offers you two variants to recover deleted photos from Android internal storage: Standard or Advanced.The main difference is that the Advanced mode will root your phone in Recovery Mode, but it may cause additional issues.
Our recommendation is to stick to Standard mode since it’s easier and it cannot affect your phone.
Step 6: Wait until your storage is scanned
You will see your photos appearing in the Android Data Recovery app. You might get a Superuser authorization on the phone, but don’t mind it. Just agree and carry on.
Step 7: Preview your data and recover it
After the scanning is done, you will see all the photos the app recovered. Select the one you wish to keep and press the “Recover” button in order to save them.
Are there any alternatives to this app?
As mentioned above, I’ve found a lot of apps promising to do the same thing. And even though Android Data Recovery is by far the best, I thought that I could also mention a few runner-up titles. You know, just in case…
Therefore, let’s talk about them and see why they’re worth a shot.
Piriform Recuva
If the name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s made by the same team behind CCleaner, a very popular tool among Windows users.
Recuva does a great job at recovering photos, as well as other types of files. It’s also very easy to use and fast, but the main reason why it’s not our first choice is the interface. At first, it looks very complicated and you will definitely need some time to get familiar with it. But once you understand it, you shouldn’t have any problems in recovering your photos using it.
You can get it from here.
MyJad Android Data Recovery
We’re not done, as we have one more app able to recover deleted photos from Android internal storage.
MyJad Android Data Recovery does exactly the same thing as the previous two apps, with a very user-friendly interface as a bonus. However, it must have a minus, since it wasn’t our first choice either.
The app will, most likely, ask you to root your device in order to retrieve files, while the installation process, same as the uninstalling, takes a lot of time. But it does the job!
You can get it from here.
Wrap-up
Doesn’t feel like the world is ending anymore, now that you know how to get back your lost photos, isn’t it? Hopefully, with our guide on how to restore deleted files from your phone, you will be able to recover anything you considered disappeared forever.
Did our instructions work for you? Also, do you know any other great apps able to do this? Let us know, by dropping a few lines in the comments section below!
Comments are closed.