Develop Bugs

[Q] Desperate newbie with deleted files problem….help please!!

I have a real cry for help!
Somehow all my pictures disappeared from my Galaxy Nexus. My only possible explanation (since it could not have decided to delete them itself!) is that I must have been a complete idiot and last night when I thought I was deleting a video I had just taken I must deleted the camera directory itself. This is supported by the fact that there was no ‘camera’ directory when I looked this morning. I then took a new photo and the directory reappeared. I have plenty of experience with PC’s but I’m a newbie with smartphones. I figured if I don’t write any more files to the phone then most of the actual data should still be there so I hoped to do some kind of undelete.
I’ve done some research and it looks like the ‘feature’ of only connecting as an MTP device (rather than USB mass storage) is potentially a killer blow. Without an assigned drive letter it seems that none of the usual recovery programmes will recognise the phone.
In theory an alternative might be to take a complete image of the phone contents and somehow recover the data from here?
I am pretty desperate as I have five months of pictures/videos of my kids etc, and most of that data must still be on the phone – but how to get to it?
Finally – yes I am a complete plonker, I shouldn’t have made such a stupid mistake and I should have backed up the phone or the pictures. I have learned my lesson. But given that, is there anything I can do?
BTW - the phone came from 3 network (via a reseller) and I have not touched it with respect to unlocking/rooting etc. It is in the state I received it.
HELP please!
Thanks very much...........

I believe the MTP vs. USB Mass storage would be a driver thing. There are many different versions of drivers so its possible there are ones that will mount the phone with a drive letter. I can think of some other things to try (Boot into fastboot mode by turning phone off then powering on by holding power, volume up and volume down at the same time and holding till it vibrates). You could also try Disk Management under windows to see if you can assign a letter
In the future I highly recommend setting up a google account and using Google Photo/Instant Upload to keep a backup of your photos. You dont even have to sync anything else

Thanks for your suggestions, much appreciated.
I’ve now tried going into fastboot mode and connecting to PC but no joy – Windows recognises there is a device connected (usually ID’d as an OMAP4440) but can’t find a driver.
Disk Management also doesn’t show the Nexus as a drive and therefore won’t allow a Drive letter to be assigned.

Try these (obviously no guarantees and I havent used any personally)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fahrbot.apps.undelete
http://android-photo-recovery.com/tutorials/deleted-file-recovery-for-google-nexus-phones.html
EDIT: Found another:
http://www.wondershare.com/disk-utility/recover-deleted-photos-from-nexus-s-and-galaxy-nexus.html

Thanks again, I appreciate all suggestions. Yes I have come across these and unfortunately they don’t solve my issue. The last two are amongst those I’d seen reported as not working as they need a drive letter. I had installed both anyway but found that to be true (
The first requires root access which I don’t have. If I understand correctly, to root I’ll need to unlock the bootloader first, and unlocking will erase all the data anyway??

Unfortunately, you are out of luck. You cannot mount the storage on a GNex in USB Mass Storage mode, and I am pretty sure that none of the "undelete" programs that run in Android support ext4 (which is what our GNex internal storage is formatted).
If you are running 4.0.1 or 4.0.2, you can still get root access without losing your data (but not on 4.0.4), but I can't see how it will help you given what I mentioned above.

I am on 4.04 so sounds like I can't get root access without overwriting, can I roll back to 4.01/2 without overwriting the data? (sounds unlikely but I have to ask - I upgraded from 4.02 without losing data....).
If not, is there a way to get a data image without rooting? That way at least I have the data preserved if at some future point it becomes possible to do an undelete on Ext4 data??

Gavdroid said:
[snip]
can I roll back to 4.02/3 without overwriting the data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately no.
Gavdroid said:
If not, is there a way to get a data image without rooting? That way at least I have the data preserved if at some future point it becomes possible to do an undelete on Ext4 data??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe there are utilities to "do an undelete" on ext4. The problem is how to get access to the data image. I don't really know of any way to pull off the data partition of a GNex to your computer, but it may be possible.
Have a look at this thread. I think shaaXo managed to find a way for your computer to see the memory on the GNex and likely dump it (although it is not very user-friendly).

That sucks. If it's deleted, it's gone for good. Sorry, buddy.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

Thanks very much I will go through that post and see where I get to!
Edit! - uh-oh, taking a quick look it seems you need to use CWM, which I take to be ClockworkMod, which I thought required the phone to be rooted to install it? And if I understand correctly, rooting requires an unlocked bootloader, which wipes your data??
I will take a deeper look in case I've misunderstood (very likely), but am I thinking clearly here?

Mobile Network wont work after root

Hi,
I just rooted my Galaxy Note 2, build nzo54k.n7100xxdmc3.
I rooted using this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2143479, method number 2. Now I cant use networking. There is a cross over where the network bars use to be. Everything else seem to be working fine. It rebooted a couple of times tho. Can anyone help me with this problem, how I can fix this. If I press "mobile networks" it tells me that I have to insert a simcard. I have the simcard in and tried to restart the phone several times.
I would appreciate any help that you guys can give me. Thank you!

mvattoy said:
Hi,
I just rooted my Galaxy Note 2, build nzo54k.n7100xxdmc3.
I rooted using this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2143479, method number 2. Now I cant use networking. There is a cross over where the network bars use to be. Everything else seem to be working fine. It rebooted a couple of times tho. Can anyone help me with this problem, how I can fix this. If I press "mobile networks" it tells me that I have to insert a simcard. I have the simcard in and tried to restart the phone several times.
I would appreciate any help that you guys can give me. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link you've attached is broken ,
Strange , Could you check if your device shows IMIE number or it shows null ?

aukhan said:
Link you've attached is broken ,
Strange , Could you check if your device shows IMIE number or it shows null ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It says IMEI: unkown. I can check under battery if you need me to? Can it have something to do with my service provider? Im from Norway

mvattoy said:
It says IMEI: unkown. I can check under battery if you need me to? Can it have something to do with my service provider? Im from Norway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems you've corrupted your EFS folder buddy, Have you rooted your phone ? After Root did you backup your phone EFS folder ??? Or any kind Of NAND backup

aukhan said:
It seems you've corrupted your EFS folder buddy, Have you rooted your phone ? After Root did you backup your phone EFS folder ??? Or any kind Of NAND backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know what a EFS folder is. I have rooted my phone using this guide, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2143479
I used method number two. I just rooted my phone so haven't done anything yet. I think I have rooted my phone, I got a "Superu" app but haven't tried doing anything yet.

mvattoy said:
I don't know what a EFS folder is. I have rooted my phone using this guide, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2143479
I used method number two. I just rooted my phone so haven't done anything yet. I think I have rooted my phone, I got a "Superu" app but haven't tried doing anything yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EFS file is where your Imei , Mac address and few more important files are stored as you phone doesnt have an IMIE it shows as unknown so that is the reason your unable to make calls or the Sim is not getting registered, What you could try is to Flash a Stock Firmware and check if the IMIE shows up or else will have to take it to Samsung Service Center and will have to Pay for the Service.
The Guide which you've Followed dont say that you will have to backup the EFS Folder i've informed to update it on OP any ways not your mistake .
Always remember 1step after Root is to backup EFS File
Getting to know your EFS folder on Samsung Devices
Common Files We Back up
I am sure you have heard of critical things you need to do when you mess with an Android device right? One of the things that always come up is to back up your devices.
Backing up data usually involves making sure those contacts, calendar entries, memos, messages and special media that you may have kept within the internal memory are kept safe. The general rule when flashing and rooting is that often times, you may have to end up wiping all your internal memory data.
Some people tend to take this further and back up the internal data of apps, which is only possible if you have root access on your device. This is especially useful for those who like to play games as well as flash custom ROMs.
There are those who would also recommend that you back up the entire image of your current ROM state by making a Nandroid backup so that you can get back that exact state of your ROM if you mess up with flashing a whole new one or if you didn’t like the new ROM you tried and wanted to get back.
For Samsung devices, there is one other thing you may want to secure in a back-up chest – your device’s EFS data.
What is an “EFS”?
EFS refer to a folder location called /EFS in Samsung’s Android devices. It is a very sensitive folder hidden within the deepest core of your smartphone’s internal file system and is very essential to the functions of our smartphones.
One of the very sensitive information you can find in this folder is the information regarding your phone’s unique IMEI number. As you may have guessed by now, it also contains other unique identifying numbers for your smartphone including the MAC address for your smartphone’s radios, as well as the MEID, ESN, as wells as the registered phone number for locked smartphones.
The Danger to EFS
Normally, the EFS folder is highly protected. Rooting and flashing ROMs normally do not touch this part of the device. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a controlled environment where everything goes according to plan in the real world. Sometimes, a process hits the EFS folder, or ends up corrupting the data within.
The EFS is also likely to be corrupted by users who like to unlock smartphones since it usually involves editing the data within the EFS folder. Once the data is corrupted, the only way to get it back to working order is to restore the data as is.
The loss of the EFS folder may cause your phone to no longer be recognized by your carrier or some of your radios may no longer work. This breaks the device as a whole no matter how many times you reinstall a ROM.
Even if you are not planning to modify the EFS folder itself, you can still accidentally corrupt that data. That is why even if the process of rooting and flashing ROMs does not require you to do so, it would be prudent to back up the folder. This would be a classic case of being “better safe than sorry”.
Why Modify the EFS
Messing with the EFS is what you would call some “high level stuff”. People normally don’t mess with this folder due to the high risk of making the smartphone unusable. The most common use of editing the EFS folder is to unlock the smartphone so it can be used on other carriers.
Most users usually steer clear of this folder. If you really want to mess with it, look for us tomorrow as we show you how to back-up your EFS folder.

aukhan said:
EFS file is where your Imei , Mac address and few more important files are stored as you phone doesnt have an IMIE it shows as unknown so that is the reason your unable to make calls or the Sim is not getting registered, What you could try is to Flash a Stock Firmware and check if the IMIE shows up or else will have to take it to Samsung Service Center and will have to Pay for the Service.
The Guide which you've Followed dont say that you will have to backup the EFS Folder i've informed to update it on OP any ways not your mistake .
Always remember 1step after Root is to backup EFS File
Getting to know your EFS folder on Samsung Devices
Common Files We Back up
I am sure you have heard of critical things you need to do when you mess with an Android device right? One of the things that always come up is to back up your devices.
Backing up data usually involves making sure those contacts, calendar entries, memos, messages and special media that you may have kept within the internal memory are kept safe. The general rule when flashing and rooting is that often times, you may have to end up wiping all your internal memory data.
Some people tend to take this further and back up the internal data of apps, which is only possible if you have root access on your device. This is especially useful for those who like to play games as well as flash custom ROMs.
There are those who would also recommend that you back up the entire image of your current ROM state by making a Nandroid backup so that you can get back that exact state of your ROM if you mess up with flashing a whole new one or if you didn’t like the new ROM you tried and wanted to get back.
For Samsung devices, there is one other thing you may want to secure in a back-up chest – your device’s EFS data.
What is an “EFS”?
EFS refer to a folder location called /EFS in Samsung’s Android devices. It is a very sensitive folder hidden within the deepest core of your smartphone’s internal file system and is very essential to the functions of our smartphones.
One of the very sensitive information you can find in this folder is the information regarding your phone’s unique IMEI number. As you may have guessed by now, it also contains other unique identifying numbers for your smartphone including the MAC address for your smartphone’s radios, as well as the MEID, ESN, as wells as the registered phone number for locked smartphones.
The Danger to EFS
Normally, the EFS folder is highly protected. Rooting and flashing ROMs normally do not touch this part of the device. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a controlled environment where everything goes according to plan in the real world. Sometimes, a process hits the EFS folder, or ends up corrupting the data within.
The EFS is also likely to be corrupted by users who like to unlock smartphones since it usually involves editing the data within the EFS folder. Once the data is corrupted, the only way to get it back to working order is to restore the data as is.
The loss of the EFS folder may cause your phone to no longer be recognized by your carrier or some of your radios may no longer work. This breaks the device as a whole no matter how many times you reinstall a ROM.
Even if you are not planning to modify the EFS folder itself, you can still accidentally corrupt that data. That is why even if the process of rooting and flashing ROMs does not require you to do so, it would be prudent to back up the folder. This would be a classic case of being “better safe than sorry”.
Why Modify the EFS
Messing with the EFS is what you would call some “high level stuff”. People normally don’t mess with this folder due to the high risk of making the smartphone unusable. The most common use of editing the EFS folder is to unlock the smartphone so it can be used on other carriers.
Most users usually steer clear of this folder. If you really want to mess with it, look for us tomorrow as we show you how to back-up your EFS folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your help.
I knew I could lose everything on my internal memory but diden't bother me. Can you link me to how I flash with custom rom?

mvattoy said:
Thanks for your help.
I knew I could lose everything on my internal memory but diden't bother me. Can you link me to how I flash with custom rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first recommend you to flash stock and try see if you've got you IMIE .

mvattoy said:
Hi,
I just rooted my Galaxy Note 2, build nzo54k.n7100xxdmc3.
I rooted using this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2143479, method number 2. Now I cant use networking. There is a cross over where the network bars use to be. Everything else seem to be working fine. It rebooted a couple of times tho. Can anyone help me with this problem, how I can fix this. If I press "mobile networks" it tells me that I have to insert a simcard. I have the simcard in and tried to restart the phone several times.
I would appreciate any help that you guys can give me. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1st flash a stock rom and see whether u get imei and baseband back or not.. if it didnt get recovered then service centers can only help you as u didnt make a backup of efs..

There is a slim chance its not his efs,
I did pretty much the same as he to get root thru the toolkit, and had no network, I found I had no APN configured
Perhaps check this.
Settings... more settings .. mobile networks... acess point names.
Make sure you have something here.
if not you will need to search for the settings for whoever your provider is.
good luck
A|c

[Q] Data recovery on Xperia S (rooted)

Hi all,
Just wanted to start by saying, big thanks to DooMLoRD and the rest of the xda-developers forum for providing me the tools to get root access to a friends phone, who has recently accidentally deleted all their photos and videos. If we are successful, I'll definitely be suggesting that they make a donation to Doom for his epic contributions
I'm trying to help them recover the lost media. I know that typically performing data recovery on a phone requires root access, so I have gone ahead and done this. On with...
My question:
I've got an Xperia S running Jellybean (4.1.2) which is rooted. However attempting to use my data recovery tools on the phone, the device is not shown as a storage device. As you may well be aware, the S does not come with external storage. The S also has the 'mass storage mode' removed. Nice one Sony, give professionals another reason to avoid your products in the future...
I don't want to Flash the phone since any added files will start destroying the potentially recoverable data (plus I'd simply rather not format the phone if possible).
Is it possible to mount the internal storage of the Sony Xperia S as a drive so that I can run my PC based data recovery tools on it?
I imagine App Store apps are too lightweight to handle a file-based undeletion. If I could just see the device in my recovery apps I'm sure I'd be in business! I've attempted Recuva and R-Studio.

Doing some more research (like a good little n00b) I imagine I'm going to need SD Mounter.
I'm a little thrown off because 'SD' usually describes SD cards (of which the Xperia S has none). Also, the screenshots (for SD mounter) seem to indicate it's for ICS so I'm not sure if there's going to be a compatibility issue there.
Am I barking up the wrong tree by making this assumption? Should JellyBean have access to the mass storage and the option is simply not showing for some reason? Anyway, I'll continue working under my assumptions until someone suggests otherwise...
To get SD Mounter running, I'm going to need BusyBox. The problem is, I'm trying to read the BusyBox installation FAQ, and I'm finding it very vague. Like...
and save it under the name "busybox"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but it does not specify WHERE. Make a folder called 'busybox' on the root folder of the phone? Somewhere on my PC (the page suggests its for the PC rather than the phone)? Also I'm seeing Linux-looking command lines, but I'm on a PC... can I run this via the command prompt in Windows? I downloaded the 'binaries' like it said, but there aren't any executables in here...
Can anyone shed some light?

There's an app called BusyBox Installer, that installs it correctly on my Xperia S. That SD Mounter app works perfectly on 4.1.2, though. I use time to time. It just messes up a bit with Media Scanner, requiring me to do a reboot on the phone to make it work again.
I wish you lot of luck trying to recover your files. I once tried something like that, but came unsuccessful. There were some media I wish I had saved, but it wasn't THAT important, so I just gave up.
Suggest to your friend, though, to get an account on Mega, Box.net or Dropbox. All of them has auto backup of camera media to the server. All of them has options to backup only on WiFi, and even when charging only. The first two has 50 Gb of free storage for life (Box, you just need to sign with your Xperia device), and the later only 2 Gb, but you can get more and more with promotions.
Alternatively, he can enable the Google+ Auto Backup. There is 15 Gb (shared with Gmail and Google Drive) for pictures on original resolution or unlimited on 2048px, compressed. On Google+, though, you have the Auto Awesome, which make some awesome images.
Hope it helped. If I can help any further, just tag me
Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

Hey Felimenta97, thanks for your swift response!
Felimenta97 said:
There's an app called BusyBox Installer...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see 'BusyBox Installer' in the Play Store, is that the one? Seems strange that the Play Store would add an app that requires rooting. Just wanna make sure I shouldn't be looking for it somewhere else (plus I'm away from that phone at the moment)
Felimenta97 said:
It just messes up a bit with Media Scanner, requiring me to do a reboot on the phone to make it work again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's okay. I've warned them this process might even brick their entire phone. They are prepared (I hope) for complete loss/compromised apps
Felimenta97 said:
...I wish you lot of luck trying to recover your files. I once tried something like that, but came unsuccessful...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*touches wood*. Gah I'm suddenly 10 times less confident this file recovery is gonna work. Wish me luck! They'll be crushed if I can't get their media back...
Felimenta97 said:
...get an account on Mega, Box.net or Dropbox...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh trust me, I've already given them the lecture
Thanks for your help!

TheWaste said:
Hey Felimenta97, thanks for your swift response!
I see 'BusyBox Installer' in the Play Store, is that the one? Seems strange that the Play Store would add an app that requires rooting. Just wanna make sure I shouldn't be looking for it somewhere else (plus I'm away from that phone at the moment)
That's okay. I've warned them this process might even brick their entire phone. They are prepared (I hope) for complete loss/compromised apps
*touches wood*. Gah I'm suddenly 10 times less confident this file recovery is gonna work. Wish me luck! They'll be crushed if I can't get their media back...
Oh trust me, I've already given them the lecture
Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I'm a lazy person, who can't find a way to break quotes into multiple parts (serious, how do you Do that, without having to write the quote code every time? It is not much, but I'm really lazy, so yeah.
Yep, that's the app. There's no reason for Google to block root apps. It's a function of the OS itself, just hidden from users. It's one of the easiest things to do on a Nexus device, after all. It's hidden because, if used without caution, can soft brick your device. But, don't worry, that shouldn't do any harm. At it least it hasn't with my device until now haha
As I said, I had already lost lots of stuff, and I didn't bothered much to go any further to recover it. It was a simply Install Recuva, run on the SD card and see if I could restore anything. Nothing? OK, no worries. As you already mentioned in your first post, avoid at all costs writing new files to the SD Card partition.
About the lecture, yeah, I imagined you had already told them, but it doesn't hurt to tell anyway.
About the SD Card on the Xperia S, another technical info you might or might not know, and also doesn't hurt to tell. Until Android 2.3, devices with a big internal storage required a partition for cache, one for data (apps and their own data), one for system, and one SD Card. The last one in Fat32 (plus others, but those are just too small and insignificant, for most, anyway) Think of a normal hard drive with plenty of partitions. Since Xperia S was developed (and launched) with 2.3 (one of Sony's biggest mistakes with this phone), it had to follow those "guidelines".
With Android 4.0 and beyond, the above mentioned data and SD Card turned into one partition, in Ext4 format. That data partition stores both apps and their data, and also other types of media, like media, documents, and etc. That storage goes into a mounted folder.
Anyway, again, wish you good luck. If they aren't very close friends/relatives, you should charge some money for all the hassle if you recover haha
Sent from my SGP311 using Tapatalk

Felimenta97 said:
how do you Do that, without having to write the quote code every time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, actually I still kinda do. #hen I hit 'reply' I empty the quote block, copy the empty quote block a few times, then copy-paste the parts of the text I'm replying to as I go
Felimenta97 said:
avoid at all costs writing new files to the SD Card partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah absolutely.
Felimenta97 said:
Until Android 2.3, devices with a big internal storage required a partition for cache, one for data (apps and their own data), one for system, and one SD Card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jeaz. Thank god I don't have to eff around with that!
Felimenta97 said:
With Android 4.0 and beyond, the above mentioned data and SD Card turned into one partition, in Ext4 format. That data partition stores both apps and their data, and also other types of media, like media, documents, and etc. That storage goes into a mounted folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't need to re-format the internal storage of the phone to attempt recovery do I?
Thanks again Felimenta!

TheWaste said:
Haha, actually I still kinda do. #hen I hit 'reply' I empty the quote block, copy the empty quote block a few times, then copy-paste the parts of the text I'm replying to as I go
Yeah absolutely.
Jeaz. Thank god I don't have to eff around with that!
I don't need to re-format the internal storage of the phone to attempt recovery do I?
Thanks again Felimenta!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not in Xperia S case. As I said, it is on Fat32, so it is easily mount-able on Windows.
On any phone with Android 4.0 or more, you'd need a Linux to do the recovery. You can't format it, or else you will turn the device into a really expensive paperweight.
Sent from my SGP311 using Tapatalk

Lost ALL images and videos - will rooting possibly save me?

Hey all,
as I was backing up files from my phone (internal storage full, 500MB to go) via USB, and after I'd done a bunch of PDFs and what not, I wanted to start moving videos / photos. That failed instantly and after that, EVERY SINGLE IMAGE / VIDEO file was gone from the phone. I installed three "recovery" apps - they couldn't find a thing. I have a bunch of family stuff I really, really would like to have back.
I downloaded the MIUI unlocking tool and wanted to 'get going' with rooting, but I'm getting a "Unlock will erase user data" notification, for if I continue. This does not seem what I want.
- Can I continue without definitely trashing any hope of recovering files?
- Is there another way to get to files that magically disappeared (no Sync on, no OneDrive auto-backup, no nothing at all) that do not required root, and/or ...
- Is this a "known" problem? I cannot seem to find anything.
Many, many, many thanks......

As MIUI Unlocking tool says, it will delete all the data on the phone.

Whelp, this is happening. I'll give it a go before I can't get the files...
I have to wait 2 weeks for the MIUI tool to allow unlocking the bootloader. So I guess at this point I'd mostly like to know if the Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Files is something that's more common on the Redmi Note 5 - or on Android 8.1 / MIUI? I'd like to assure the reader at this point that, while threads like these are a dime a dozen and it often boils down to user error, I'm not a complete nitwit and assure you I was doing nothing other than Ctrl-X -> Ctrl-V to harddrive, got an error message, 40GB were magically freed up on internal storage and ALL files were gone. All of it. Folders too.
Updating thread title, hope that's okay..

Realistically, considering different "undelete" / "recovery" apps are not finding ANYTHING!!! at all, how likely is it even that something will be found once the device has been rooted? This almost seems like it had a system reset while it was still enabled...... Just everything gone / re-encrypted / whatever. Is that even possible? Again, though, the device DID NOT reboot. The files were there......then 40GB was gone.

It is possible to recover the data but the process will require root permissions. Install Disk digger pro from playstore. And give root permissions it can easily recover the most of the photos ( May recover all but possibilities are less ) Give a try bro it will definitely help you. As it helped me before.

I had something similar back when I had Redmi Note 3. Files just disappeared when I put them inside obb folder. However, they reappeared when I entered the recovery (it was custom) and I copyed them via cable onto my pc. They weren't there when I connected normally turned on phone to the pc, and it was annoying. So whatever you are doing, don't format your phone, otherwise you'll lose the files forever.
If rooting and installing an app to recover the files won't help, I suggest you flashing twrp and trying to find them from there using the cable and a pc, or whatever.

Thanks. It's a shame I'm finally "getting in to" rooting only now, now that I have a problem. When I tried many years ago I felt it was too complicated and most of all risky....
The main problem I have with rooting is that the Mi Unlock Tool wishes to Reset the phone, re-encrypting it in the process, and destroying any hope of recovering data. I intend to flash OrangeFox before it can reset.... Does anyone have a better idea....? It's really very, very much appreciated!

6 yr old son somehow erased phone

My wife has a PIN on her phone. She told our 6 yr old to put the phone down as she put my our other children to bed, and when she came back the phone was erased and reset. He couldn't have got in to the phone and through the menus. Does the phone reset and wipe everything after too many failed attempts at the PIN? Is there anyway out of this? I am familiar with rooting phones. Is there any back entry and restore through ADB? The phone was not previously rooted.

Doesn't take long to navigate to settings and do a factory reset.
Data is likely lost but you can try... I hope you backed up critical data. Even if you do manage to retrieve it the file structure has been lost.
A sea of random files and no way to recreate the file structure or associations except by memory.

blackhawk said:
Doesn't take long to navigate to settings and do a factory reset.
Data is likely lost but you can try... I hope you backed up critical data. Even if you do manage to retrieve it the file structure has been lost.
A sea of random files and no way to recreate the file structure or associations except by memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So pictures and everything are gone?
He doesn't know the PIN. Is there something that comes up that's says the phone will be wiped after so many bad attempts that he could have pressed?

Schroeder09 said:
So pictures and everything are gone?
He doesn't know the PIN. Is there something that comes up that's says the phone will be wiped after so many bad attempts that he could have pressed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jpeg files if recoverable will be separated from their exif files, no order, original time stamp or number. Even 100 jpegs are a small nightmare to try and sort.
You start to get the depth of the problem.
Not sure but I think you're correct.
I never use screen locks or encryption; security is purely physical. Meh, wysiwyg
"Kids do the darndest things..."
My cousin once "waxed" the whole kitchen floor with a bottle of baby oil.
My mother exclaimed:"Who did this?!"
Danny replied:"I doed it!"
He was quite proud of his achievement. The floor really did shine... clean up took a bit longer then the wax job.
Somebody may have a better plan than my call it a wash. If backed up on cloud you have another option. Personally I use hard backups.

blackhawk said:
Jpeg files if recoverable will be separated from their exif files, no order, original time stamp or number. Even 100 jpegs are a small nightmare to try and sort.
You start to get the depth of the problem.
Not sure but I think you're correct.
I never use screen locks or encryption; security is purely physical. Meh, wysiwyg
"Kids do the darndest things..."
My cousin once "waxed" the whole kitchen floor with a bottle of baby oil.
My mother exclaimed:"Who did this?!"
Danny replied:"I doed it!"
He was quite proud of his achievement. The floor really did shine... clean up took a bit longer then the wax job.
Somebody may have a better plan than my call it a wash. If backed up on cloud you have another option. Personally I use hard backups.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I try to see what is left on the phone? Is there an ADB process for this?
I've never understood backing stuff up on a phone. The restoring part seems to be more the problem for me. I did used to do multiple backups with titanium backup, but never once was successful restoring from the backup. How are you backing up and how are you restoring from it? Especially on a NON-ROOTED device? The latter will be more important. When I pick up my next phone (probably an s22. Currently have rooted 2xl running A10 yet) I will not be rooting. It's too much of a time-consuming PITA, and while the gains are noticeable; they're not worth the effort.

Not sure what if anything adb can do for you. I never use that to restore as I run stock devices and assume the file decryption keys are already lost as well as file structure after a factory reset!
For backup first identify all critical data that can be backed up. DCIM folder, Documents, contacts, all needed accounts/passwords written or as text files etc, music, vids and so on.
Apps that allow backup of settings like Poweramp and Color Note (can be used for bookmarks rather than the browser). I use ApkExport to make installable copies of all my apps and updates. On reload no Playstore needed.
Copy, paste, verify size and if readable to 2 or more hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC. A OTG flashstick can be used for quick backups but don't use as the only backup; hdds are more reliable. Work out a sync folder for media, etc.
SmartSwitch can be used to backuo homepage but never rely on it to backup critical data! It may or may not work!!!
If you have an SD card slot use an SD card as a data drive; all critical data goes here. There can be only DCIM folder so periodically backup the DCIM folder to the SD card but name something without DCIM in the name. Only apps and the download folder go on internal memory. Then backup the SD card redundantly and regularly to the hdd backups. That gives you multiple backups should one fail. NEVER encrypt backup data drives!!!
You have to methodically plan this to do backup this way but it's pretty foolproof and has built in redundantcy. Once you get used to it, it's not hard to do.
I have over a dozen backup hdds in various locations. I may lose some data but never all my data. Syncing data is the biggest headache with this method.

blackhawk said:
Jpeg files if recoverable will be separated from their exif files, no order, original time stamp or number. Even 100 jpegs are a small nightmare to try and sort.
You start to get the depth of the problem.
Not sure but I think you're correct.
I never use screen locks or encryption; security is purely physical. Meh, wysiwyg
"Kids do the darndest things..."
My cousin once "waxed" the whole kitchen floor with a bottle of baby oil.
My mother exclaimed:"Who did this?!"
Danny replied:"I doed it!"
He was quite proud of his achievement. The floor really did shine... clean up took a bit longer then the wax job.
Somebody may have a better plan than my call it a wash. If backed up on cloud you have another option. Personally I use hard backups.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how could I attempt to recover these JPEG files?

Schroeder09 said:
how could I attempt to recover these JPEG files?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What OS version? Not rooted?
I don't think you got a prayer but it depends on if the old data is encrypted which I assume it is because of the screen lock.
Full-Disk Encryption | Android Open Source Project
source.android.com
Of you're really hell bent on recovering some of the data a data recovery service that specializes in Samsung's is probably your best shot.
I could be wrong... do some Google searches, to search XDA simply add "XDA" to the end of the Google search parameter. XDA's search engine leaves something to be desired... and misses a lot that the all seeing Google web crawlers don't.
Leave the phone powered down until you decide what to do as any activity can now overwrite those old files.

Is this droidkit a gimic or will it work? the note 8 is on android 8 or 9.
Get Data Recovery, Screen Unlock, and FRP Bypass with DroidKit
www.xda-developers.com

Schroeder09 said:
Is this droidkit a gimic or will it work? the note 8 is on android 8 or 9.
Get Data Recovery, Screen Unlock, and FRP Bypass with DroidKit
www.xda-developers.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most likely a gimmick if not malware. AFAIK a factory wipe doesn't actually erase or overwrite the storage, it just removes the file structure and pointers, so a forensic data recovery tool could potentially help. Unfortunately, doing this on a smartphone is even harder to do, especially considering that most newer Samsung devices use encryption, and since a new key is generated when the device is reset, it won't be able to read the old data.

V0latyle said:
Most likely a gimmick if not malware. AFAIK a factory wipe doesn't actually erase or overwrite the storage, it just removes the file structure and pointers, so a forensic data recovery tool could potentially help. Unfortunately, doing this on a smartphone is even harder to do, especially considering that most newer Samsung devices use encryption, and since a new key is generated when the device is reset, it won't be able to read the old data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Brute forced decryption be the only way as it uses random encryption. Folders are encrypted vs full disk encryption on the newer OS's if I recall correctly. The folder association with the files is already gone, lost with the factory reset. How the effects the encryption, no clue.
It's a mess.

blackhawk said:
Brute forced decryption be the only way as it uses random encryption. Folders are encrypted vs full disk encryption on the newer OS's if I recall correctly. The folder association with the files is already gone, lost with the factory reset. How the effects the encryption, no clue.
It's a mess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is there a service that can recover the pictures? my wife already restarted the phone and has started downloading stuff (if that matters). I told her it would have been best to not even have restarted it and hand it to someone so they could recover from recovery mode prior to any new data being installed.

V0latyle said:
Most likely a gimmick if not malware. AFAIK a factory wipe doesn't actually erase or overwrite the storage, it just removes the file structure and pointers, so a forensic data recovery tool could potentially help. Unfortunately, doing this on a smartphone is even harder to do, especially considering that most newer Samsung devices use encryption, and since a new key is generated when the device is reset, it won't be able to read the old data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any company or service who aren't criminals that I can send it to to recover the pictures?

I think it's a dead horse especially if you're wife keeps using it!
Found this one. Do some searches and research.
Keep the phone powered off until you decide.