Smartphones are essential to our daily lives, often doubling as our go-to camera for capturing memories. But what happens when your phone is suddenly damaged beyond regular use? If it slipped from your hand or was met with water damage, losing access to those precious photos can be heart-wrenching. Fortunately, recovering photos from a broken phone is not impossible. With the right tools and methods, there’s hope.
In this blog, we’ll explore how to recover data from a broken phone, focusing primarily on images, and review the most effective broken phone data recovery methods available today.
Understand the Type of Damage
Before you attempt any recovery, it’s essential to assess the nature of the damage:
- Screen damage only: The phone is working, but you can’t see or interact with the screen.
- Internal damage: The phone won’t turn on or respond at all.
- Water damage: The phone may power on intermittently or not at all.
- Damaged storage: The NAND memory or internal storage is broken.
Each situation calls for a different recovery approach.
Backup First
Before diving into technical recovery tools, check whether your photos were automatically backed up to a cloud platform. Many people don’t realise their photos are already saved.
Google Photos (Android)
If you’ve enabled sync, go to https://photos.google.com on a browser and log in using your Google account to see if your images are stored there.
iCloud (iPhone)
For iOS users, visit https://www.icloud.com/photos. Log in using your Apple ID and browse your library. Your photos are safe there; no advanced methods are needed. Simply download them to your computer or another device.
Recover Photos from a Phone with a Dead Display
If your phone is functional but has a non-responsive or black screen, you can still recover data with the following:
Use a USB OTG Cable and Mouse
A USB On-The-Go (OTG) cable lets Android users connect a mouse to the phone, simulating screen interaction.
- Plug the OTG cable into your phone and connect the mouse.
- Unlock your phone using the mouse.
- Connect your phone to a PC via USB.
- Choose “File Transfer” mode.
- Copy photos from the DCIM or Pictures folder.
This method is ideal when the screen is the only problem.
Use Samsung Smart Switch or Huawei HiSuite
If you own a Samsung or Huawei device, these proprietary apps can help:
- Samsung Smart Switch: https://www.samsung.com/uk/apps/smart-switch
- Huawei HiSuite: https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/hisuite
Install it on your PC, connect it to your phone, and follow the instructions to extract your photos.
How to Recover Data from a Broken Phone That Won’t Turn On
Things become a bit trickier when your phone doesn’t respond at all.
Method 1: Use Google Drive or iCloud Backups
Your phone may have uploaded photos in the background. Visit your Google or iCloud account to check.
- Google Drive
- iCloud
If the photos are available, download or sync them to your new device.
Method 2: Professional Data Recovery Software
If cloud backups aren’t available, you can try third-party software tools to extract data from the phone’s internal storage. Below are some popular options:
For Android:
- Fone – Data Recovery (Android)
- Tenorshare UltData for Android
- iMobie PhoneRescue (Android)
For iPhone:
- Fone – Data Recovery (iOS)
- iMyFone D-Back
These tools allow you to scan a non-working phone and recover deleted photos, videos, and files directly to your computer.
Tip: Ensure that USB debugging was enabled previously on Android devices; otherwise, complete recovery may be restricted.
Advanced Broken Phone Data Recovery Methods (For Damaged Storage)
If none of the above work and the phone storage is compromised, your best option may be professional repair and recovery services.
Chip-off Data Recovery
In this method, a technician removes the phone’s internal NAND chip and reads it using advanced tools. It’s used only in extreme cases:
- Expensive
- Risky
- Best suited for forensic data recovery or legal cases
Ways to Avoid Photo Loss in Future
Once you’ve gone through the stress of recovering your images, it’s wise to set up preventive measures:
1. Enable Automatic Backups
For Android or iOS, ensure your photos sync regularly with Google Photos or iCloud.
2. Use Third-Party Backup Apps
Apps like Dropbox, OneDrive, or Amazon Photos offer auto-upload features with more storage flexibility.
3. Regular Manual Transfers
Periodically copy your photos to your computer or external drive.
If your phone is giving you trouble, there’s no need to stress. Fone World Hove is here to help with top-notch broken phone repair services in the UK!
Final Thoughts
While breaking your phone can be distressing, especially when valuable memories are at stake, you now have several broken phone data recovery methods to consider. It doesn’t matter if it’s a cracked screen or a non-functional device; tools like Dr.Fone, Google Photos, or even professional services offer realistic hope. Next time, setting up automatic backups can save you a lot of time and stress. Still, knowing how to recover data from a broken phone can make all the difference if you’re in a pinch.
If all of this doesn’t work for you, and you’re feeling a bit lost about what to do next, don’t worry at all. We’re here to help with the best smartphone repair in Hove. Get in touch with Fone World Hove, and our team would be absolutely delighted to take care of it for you!