Recovering Your Data from a Broken Phone: How to Do It?

A smartphone is fragile, and if it falls to the ground, the screen can crack or break. If it has landed in water, it may refuse to turn back on, despite various drying techniques. You then think that all your data (photos, contacts, videos…) is lost. But fortunately there are several tricks to recover everything. Find out how, depending on the condition of your phone…

If you have saved everything to the Cloud

If you are used to regularly backing up your mobile phone data to your PC in the Cloud (Google or Apple), you won’t have any trouble recovering your information.

The Cloud allows you to save all your files to a “cloud” so you never lose them.
Many apps (such as AirDroid, for example) exist to transfer files from your smartphone to your PC in a few simple steps.

Note that some apps, such as WhatsApp, have automatic cloud backup, so you will find your messages directly on a new device as soon as you set up your account. The same goes for Google Photos if you have enabled the backup feature.

If that’s not your case, you’ll need to find the most suitable solution among those we now suggest…

If your screen is cracked but still working

Whether your screen works partially or fully, you need to unlock the phone.

If you have a fingerprint sensor, this will be easy. If you have another way to unlock it, you can plug an OTG mouse into your smartphone. It will let you enter or draw your password.

Once your phone is unlocked, simply proceed as follows:

Connect the phone to the computer using a USB cable;
Open Windows File Explorer and open “This PC”;
Unlock the smartphone again;
Enable “mass storage” if it isn’t already;
Click the smartphone icon to view its contents;
Select the internal storage memory folder;
Copy and paste all the desired files and folders from your smartphone into a folder on the computer.

If your screen is cracked and no longer turns on

If your screen no longer turns on or responds and you don’t have an OTG mouse, you can use the Droid@Screen software, which will project your smartphone’s screen onto your computer.

Before that, you need to:

Install the Android SDK for Windows;
Install your smartphone’s USB drivers (available on the manufacturer’s website);
Enable USB debugging in “Developer Options” (Android smartphones only);
Install the latest version of Java on your computer;

Then you will need to:

Connect your smartphone to your computer using a USB cable;
Download the Droid@Screen software from its publisher’s website;
Launch the program by double-clicking it. If Android Debug Bridge (ADB) isn’t found, be sure to locate it manually on your hard drive.

As soon as your smartphone is recognized, its screen will appear directly on your computer’s screen. You can then save all your smartphone’s data to your PC.

If this method doesn’t work, there is another solution using the Android Control software. The prerequisites are the same (Android SDK, USB drivers, USB debugging, Java).

You will then need to:

Download the Android Control software;
Download Android Debug Bridge (ADB) and unzip it;
Launch Android Control (by double-clicking it);
Go to the ADB tab in Droid@Screen and select “ADB Executable Path” then ADB.exe;

You can then use the virtual keyboard that appears on your computer to control your smartphone and save all its files and folders to a folder on your computer.

How to recover your data in all cases of a broken phone

The Vysor Chrome extension is a good alternative to all the previous solutions. It also displays your phone’s screen on your computer, whether it’s running Windows, Linux, or Mac.

As before, you need to enable USB debugging, then simply download the Vysor Chrome extension. It will then automatically detect your phone and install the app. If that doesn’t work, you can still download it. You will then sign in on the computer with the same Google account as the one on the mobile phone, and you can then back up your data.

Call on our services

If none of the methods above for recovering your files work, we recommend calling on our services. We have mastered all data recovery techniques and handle all mobiles and smartphones, whether broken or not.

We can thus handle:

Access to files, regardless of the startup, reading, or other issue;
Electronic failures (voltage, shock, humidity…);
And flash memory (when memory wear prevents reading).

How to avoid this problem in the future?

Once your data has been recovered, you’ll have the choice between having your phone repaired or buying a new one. But how do you avoid stressing over the idea of another bad fall?

In either case, you’ll want to protect your phone with a tempered glass case. If it falls, the case will crack, but your phone will remain intact.

And you will of course make regular backups of your device. Photos are generally the most important (enabling Google Photos is a good way to avoid losing anything), but also remember your contacts and saved documents (by enabling Google Drive).

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