How to recover internal data from completely dead powerless phone?

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How to recover internal data from completely dead powerless phone

What to Do First When Phone Won’t Turn On

The first step when dealing with a phone that won’t turn on is to confirm that it is completely unresponsive, with no signs of life whatsoever. Even if the screen is black, check for any LED notification lights, sounds, or vibrations when pressing buttons or connecting to a charger (1).

Next, connect your phone to the charger and leave it charging for several hours. It’s possible the battery has been fully depleted, so allowing adequate time to charge may allow the phone to turn back on (2).

Finally, try force restarting the phone by holding down the power and volume buttons for 10-20 seconds to see if that helps revive it. The steps vary slightly by phone model, but forcing a restart can get a phone unstuck if the issue is software related (3).

If after charging and force restarting there are still no signs of life, move on to the next steps for recovering data from the dead phone.

Connecting the Phone to a Computer

The first step is to connect the dead phone to a computer using the original charging cable. This allows the computer to potentially recognize the phone and access its internal memory. If the phone won’t turn on at all, a computer connection may be the only option for data recovery.

However, some additional setup may be required for the computer to detect the phone. You may need to install the appropriate USB drivers for that specific phone model. Many Android phones require dedicated drivers to interface with a computer. Without the drivers, the phone may not show up as a drive or device when plugged in. Check online to find and download the USB drivers for your phone’s make and model.

Once the drivers are installed, reconnect the phone to the computer. Hopefully the phone will now appear as a removable drive, allowing data recovery software to scan and extract its contents. But if the phone still isn’t recognized, you may need to try some advanced troubleshooting steps covered later in this guide. The key is getting the computer to detect the phone so its internal memory can be accessed.

Check for Signs of Life

The first thing to check when your phone won’t turn on is whether it is being detected by your computer. This can give you an indication if there is still life in the phone.

Connect your phone to your computer using the charging cable. For an iPhone, open up Finder or iTunes on a Mac or Explorer on Windows. For an Android, open File Explorer on Windows or Finder on a Mac. See if your phone shows up as a connected device or drive letter.

You can also look in the Device Manager on Windows or System Information on Mac to see if the phone is being detected. On Windows, open Device Manager and look under Portable Devices. On Mac, open System Information and check under USB.

In addition to being detected, check for any indicator lights when you connect the phone to a charger or computer. Any LED flashes or illumination when plugged in shows there is still some power getting to the phone.

If your phone does not show up at all when connected to a computer, and no lights come on from charging, then it likely has no power and is completely unresponsive. This will make data recovery very difficult.

However, if it is detected in some way, that’s a good sign there is still a chance to recover data. You can then move onto trying other data recovery methods.

Trying Data Recovery Software

One of the best options for recovering data from an unresponsive Android phone is to use data recovery software. There are many excellent Android data recovery apps available that can scan the phone’s memory and find deleted or lost files that can potentially be recovered.

Some of the top recommended Android data recovery software includes:

These powerful software tools connect to Android devices and scan every sector of the memory. They can extract recoverable files even from phones that won’t power on. With the right software, there’s a good chance of recovering data from a dead Android phone.

Enabling USB Debugging

Before data recovery software can access the contents of a dead Android phone, you may need to enable a setting called USB debugging. This allows USB data connections between the phone and a computer. USB debugging is usually disabled by default for security reasons.

To enable USB debugging on a phone that won’t turn on, you need to boot into recovery mode, which bypasses the normal phone user interface. The steps vary by phone brand and model, but generally involve some combination of holding down the Volume Up, Volume Down, Power and Home buttons during boot. Look up the specific key combo for your device.

Once in recovery mode, use the volume keys to scroll to the option to enable USB debugging and select it with the power button. You’ll then be able to connect the phone to a computer and use data recovery software.

According to this guide, popular phone brands like Samsung, LG, Motorola and Sony have unique methods of enabling USB debugging through recovery mode when the screen is black and unresponsive.

Recovering Data from Phone Memory

If your Android phone won’t turn on, you may still be able to recover deleted files, photos, messages, and other data directly from the phone’s internal storage. There are several apps that can extract data directly from an Android device’s memory, without needing the phone to be powered on.

For example, EaseUS MobiSaver for Android claims it can recover lost data from broken, damaged, dead, locked Android phones and tablets. It can extract files directly from internal memory as long as the phone hardware is intact ([1]). Dr.Fone – Data Recovery is another app designed to retrieve lost data from internal memory of Android devices that won’t power on ([2]).

These data recovery apps work by leveraging USB debugging and ADB commands to interface directly with an Android device’s storage, bypassing the need for the OS to be functioning. They scan the raw memory contents looking for file signatures that match photos, messages, documents and other common formats.

Before attempting data recovery from an unresponsive Android phone, it’s important to first connect it to a computer and check if the phone is detected and enters USB debugging mode. As long as the core hardware is operational, specialized apps provide one of the best options for rescuing your data.

[1] https://www.easeus.com/android-data-recovery/recover-files-from-android-phone-internal-storage.html

[2] https://drfone.wondershare.com/android-recovery/phone-memory-data-recovery.html

Using Advanced Recovery Methods

If basic recovery methods don’t work, there are some more advanced techniques you can try to recover data from a completely dead or unresponsive phone:

Factory Reset Data Recovery: If the phone seems totally bricked or dead, you may need to try a factory reset to get it functioning again before attempting data recovery. This will wipe the phone, but data may still be recoverable from the internal memory using recovery software [1]. Just be sure to avoid using the phone or adding any new data before running recovery software.

Repairing the Device: For phones that won’t power on at all, you may need to repair hardware components like the battery, screen, or motherboard before data can be recovered. Phone repair shops can sometimes diagnose issues and perform repairs to get the phone functioning enough to pull data before it’s truly dead. This option takes expertise, but may work when all else fails [2].

Advanced Recovery Software: As a last resort, professional data recovery services using advanced software and hardware tools may be able to recover data from phones that are completely unresponsive. This is an expensive option, but can work when DIY efforts have failed completely.

The key is to avoid anything that writes new data to the device before recovery – don’t try normal use, don’t take photos, don’t download apps. With care, even a phone that won’t turn on at all may still have recoverable data in its memory.

Recovering Data from SD Card

If you have stored important files like photos, videos, documents, etc. on the SD card of your Android phone, you may still be able to recover the data even if the phone won’t turn on.

First, remove the SD card from the phone. You’ll need a card reader or an SD card adapter to connect the card directly to a computer.

Once connected, run data recovery software like DiskDigger or Recuva to scan the SD card and recover deleted files. The sooner you run recovery software after deletion, the better chance you have of getting your files back.

However, if the SD card is corrupted or damaged, you may need more advanced software like Stellar Data Recovery to repair the card first before recovering data. Formatting the card should be avoided, as it overwrites deleted content.

With the right tools, recovering lost or deleted data from a phone’s SD card is often possible, as long as the card itself is still functioning.

Preventing Data Loss

The best way to handle data loss is to avoid it in the first place. Here are some tips to help prevent losing data on your Android phone:

Enable automatic backup features – Android phones come with built-in backup options like Google Backup, which can save your contacts, apps, settings, and more to your Google account automatically. Keep these backups enabled to save you headaches later.

Manually back up important data regularly – Don’t rely solely on automated backups. Make it a habit to manually back up irreplaceable data like photos and videos, message histories, and documents to cloud storage, an external hard drive, or your computer. This gives you multiple backups if one method fails.

Store data in cloud accounts – Services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive make it easy to store and sync your phone data securely in the cloud. Enable syncing in the apps and upload vital files for added protection.

When to Seek Professional Help

In some cases, it may be necessary to seek professional data recovery services. Here are some of the main scenarios where professional help may be needed:

For water damaged/corrupted phones – If a phone has been exposed to water or other types of physical damage, the internal components can become corroded or short-circuited. Attempting DIY data recovery on a water damaged phone risks further damage. Professional services use specialized tools to safely extract data from damaged devices.

If DIY options unsuccessful – If you have already attempted all of the DIY data recovery options without success, a professional service may be able to help. They have access to more advanced data recovery tools and techniques that go beyond what average users can access.

Highly critical unrecoverable data – If the data on your device is extremely important or irreplaceable, and you’ve exhausted all other options, professional data recovery may be warranted despite the typically high costs. This is especially true for business or personal data that absolutely cannot be lost.

Leading professional phone data recovery services like PicoRepair and PicoRepair Services are experienced in safely recovering data from dead Android devices. They can often recover data when DIY options have failed.