Did you
accidentally delete a whole folder of photos from your Android phone? Are you
looking for a way to undo it all? Well, you’re in luck. Follow the steps below
and you’ll have access to access your precious pictures in no time.
Understanding Folders
No folder is safe from deletion. You can accidentally erase any type of content – be it images, videos, PDFs, etc. without notice.
It’s not always the user’s fault though. You can lose folders from corrupt SD cards or unexpectedly crashing phones.
Fortunately,
modern devices have built-in features that enable data recovery. That means
there are ways to recover lost files you might otherwise think are deleted
forever.
Hidden
Folders
Are you sure you lost your files? There is a feature that lets users hide folders for security reasons. You may have unwittingly enabled that option. To find hidden folders, follow the steps below:
Go to File Manager.
Tap Menu > Settings. Go to Advanced.
Tap Show Hidden Files.
Cloud
Recovery
It’s possible you
might have cloud backup enabled in the background.There’s a chance you
subscribed to cloud storage solutions like Google Photos, OneDrive, or Dropbox
running in the background.
Without you
knowing, your device automatically saved the files to your account online!
Even though your files are no longer available on your mobile device, you can access copies of by logging into your cloud account.
In Google Photos,
for example, you can check the trash folder for images that are not supposed to
be there and return them to their proper place.
- Tap the hamburger menu icon near the search bar.
- Go to Trash.
- Select the images you want to recover then tap Restore.
Items in the
Trash folder will be deleted permanently after 60 days.
SD
Card
If you don’t have
cloud storage, digging through your SD card might be your next best bet. That
is assuming you saved your files on an SD card.
For this method to work, you will need to connect your phone to a desktop or laptop. You will also need to download and install a data recovery program.
There are many
recovery software solutions online. You will need to do some research and make
sure the tool you use is trustworthy, easy-to-use, and effective.
It’s just as
important to manage expectations. There’s no guarantee that lost data will be
recovered.
Rooting
an Android Phone
Rooting an
Android phone is not the ideal solution for average users. But if you saved all
your files directly on your phone and not a memory card, this may be the only solution left.
There are risks —
the least of which is voiding the warranty of your device. However, recovering
data from the phone itself requires root access. But if you’re up for it,
rooting isn’t a difficult process. It can even unlock other phone features that
you might find interesting.
The folks over at Lifehacker have a guide on how to root an Android phone.
Prevention
The best way to
avoid any inconvenience is preparation. Android device users have no excuse to
not use Google Photos, Dropbox, or any other cloud storage app.
While free
versions have limitations, they are enough for the average user. Any solution
is better than no solution.