Android data recovery - Root required or no?

[mru007]

Hey guys,
I have a query on recovering data from Android phone's internal storage.
The phone is J7 Pro (SM-J730GM) and I am trying to recover some deleted data from the phone.

I have tried UltData for Android but it only lists the data that is already present on the phone...it does not show the deleted data.
I tried DroidKit and it clearly states that 'Root required for Deep Scan'. Only quick scan available which is same as UltData (lists only data that is already present).

I did some research and it seems that without root, it is not possible to recover lost/deleted data.

I was wondering if anyone here has some knowledge/experience about this topic?
Is there any reliable tool out there that can recover data WITHOUT root? Or using commands via ADB shell ?

Root is the last thing I want to go for as it may sometimes brick the device.

 

[Renate]

Even if you can recover files... the file and folder structure is lost forever. Jpegs will have no exif data, no time stamp etc. It will be a real mess.

Say, what? Having written JPEG decoders I can (fairly) confidentally say that EXIF metadata is contained in APP1 segments inside the JPEG.

C:\>jpgview photo.jpg
Size:     4000 x 3000
Make:     motorola
Model:    moto g power (2021)
Taken:    11/27/2022 08:46:37 GMT
GPS2D:    12.3456, 123.4567

(Coordinates have been edited.)

 

[mru007]

Sorry I gave bad advice. This device don't have vbmeta partition. In that case flash TWRP and install no-verity-opt-encrypt flashable zip from recovery menu.

Oh ok. I'll check.

 

[mru007]

Hi everyone,
Just an update -

First, I tried to root the device using Magisk and it was not successful.

I tried another method using TWRP.
I tried to root the device using SuperSU and it was not also successful.
"Could not mount /data" error and the process failed.

Basically, TWRP is not able to decrypt the internal storage of device.
And yes, I tried different versions of TWRP but same error popped up all the time.

To remove this error, the workaround that I saw everywhere was from TWRP, go to Wipe -> Advance -> repair /data, then if this does not work, change to FAT/exFAT and back to Ext4.

The error was fixed but unfortunately, this wipes the data.

Both rooting methods failed for this phone...Magisk (patched boot.img) and TWRP (SuperSU install).

I concluded that it was like a cat & mouse game...

Without root, deep data recovery was not possible. But root called for storage decrypt, which wipes data...I believe.
So no chance of data recovery whatsoever.

Anyways, I have now flashed Stock ROM via ODIN and everything is back to normal. I'll soon handover the phone to my uncle.

Thank you all for your support...I really appreciate it

I wish we get such a technology soon that it's easier for common folks like me to recover lost data/deep scan without root on Android.

The root process for some phones have too many variables.
Depending on different phone models, each person keeps getting different errors, and each one having different solutions.
And all of this does consume a significant amount of time.

In the future, maybe a sophisticated Data Recovery AI tool could expedite the process and help in such cases.

 

[WoKoschekk]

In many cases, you can recover certain types of data from an Android device without root access.

I downloaded 3 file recover apps (4,2 - 4,5 stars > 1 Mio downloads). None of them were able to restore any photo. My file system is not encrypted!

 

[Ggff5]

Oh yeah so I have a running system and I want to run testdisk or photorc In termux to recover deleted files
Why can't I do that ?
Force encryption?
Or can I do that ?

 

[WoKoschekk]

Oh yeah so I have a running system and I want to run testdisk or photorc In termux to recover deleted files
Why can't I do that ?
Force encryption?
Or can I do that ?

you need root that's all

 

[borfolk]

No, but you could do the following when TWRP runs:
1. Download the ADB/Fastboot tools here.
2. Extract the downloaded ZIP to C:\ and open the new created folder C:\platform-tools. You should see single files like adb.exe or fastboot.exe
3. In the address bar of your Explorer windows type cmd and hit Enter.
4. Connect the phone in TWRP mode via USB to your desktop PC and execute

adb devices

which should give you a output like this:

C:\platform-tools>adb devices
* daemon not running; starting now at tcp:5037
* daemon started successfully
List of devices attached
<SERIAL_NO>      recovery

If any errors then tell us!

5. Execute

adb pull /dev/block/by-name/userdata

This pulls an image of your data partition right into the current folder C:\platform-tools.
But be aware!! The data image is as big as your total internal storage!
So, make sure there is enough free space on your storage.

If you successfully pulled the image, then I will explain you how to rescue the deleted data on it.

Hello, if you can help me, how to rescue the deleted data from image? Image have no filename extensions?

 

[markweston]

There have been prior software or tools that you can say needed root access to scan for deleted files like photos, videos, documents, and so on. But now, with advanced research and development, some of the reputed data care service providers have come up with some Android data recovery software that does not require any root access, it just that you need to install the software on your PC and plug in your android phone and it will directly scan for the deleted files and will show you the preview of the recovered files which were initially lost from your android device.
You can use any of the Android Data Recovery software that does not require root access to recover the deleted data.
Let me know, if you need further help!

 

[alecxs]

um, nope... thumbnail scanners