Phone Data Recovery

$300 Data Recovery charges a flat $500 to recover any phone or tablet in our own lab, whatever the brand or storage size. We attempt every device in-house first. If we can’t recover it, we’ll offer to send it to a specialist at $600 to $800 plus shipping, and only with your approval. There is no charge from us if we can’t recover your data in-house.

How much does phone data recovery cost?

RECOVERED IN OUR LAB
$500
Flat. Any brand, any storage size. iPhone, Samsung, Google Pixel, Android, iPad and tablets.
SPECIALIST, ONLY IF WE CAN’T
$600–$800
Plus $75 shipping. Offered only after our own attempt, and only with your approval.

We try every phone in our own lab first. Nothing goes to a specialist automatically. If our attempt doesn’t succeed, we’ll tell you what a specialist would cost and you decide whether to go ahead.

Device Specialist fee
iPhone 14 and earlier $600
iPhone 15, 16 and 17 $800
Non-iPhone phones (Android, Samsung, Pixel) $700

In plain terms: $300 Data Recovery charges $500 flat for any phone recovered in-house. A specialist recovery is $600 for an iPhone 14 or earlier, $800 for an iPhone 15 through 17, and $700 for non-iPhone phones. Shipping to and from the specialist is $50. If you mailed the device in, return shipping to you adds $25, for $75 total.

Half the specialist fee is due before they begin, and it’s refunded if they fail. If the specialist can’t recover your data either, you pay only the shipping. Your phone is always returned to you.

Not sure whether your phone is recoverable? Submit our Chances Form with the model and what happened, and we’ll give you an honest read on your odds and a firm price before you send anything.

More on recovery costs and policy: Do I pay anything if you can’t recover my data? · Is everything really $300? · My device got wet. Can the data be recovered? · Why did another company quote me thousands? · What’s the cost to recover an iPhone?

Is Your Phone Recoverable?

“My Galaxy S10e suffered a major logic board failure and I genuinely thought years of data were gone for good. They successfully recovered everything…” –Ken

Phone and tablet data recovery consists of physical and logical failures.

1) Physical failure (bad logic board, liquid damage, bad battery)

We primarily use three techniques to recover from physical failures:

  1. We repair logic board or physical issue (battery, screen, etc.) so the phone works again enough to back up the data.
  2. We remove the NAND or eMMC chip (this chip stores the User data), and extract the files using chip-off data recovery.
  3. We can manually solder leads to the appropriate contact points on the PCB and recover data directly from the data chip.

*2 & 3 only apply to unencrypted phones, including: LG G4, Samsung Galaxy S3/S4/S5/S6, Galaxy Note 4, Motorola XT1030 (Droid Mini). iPhone 3+ and Android devices with Android OS 6+ are encrypted.

2) Logical failure (corrupt firmware, deleted files, wiped OS)

  • We can recover data from phones when a software update or some other issue has corrupted the firmware. This includes most Samsung devices and iPhones.
  • Deleted files/wiped OS issues typically cannot be recovered. If you need deleted files back, we can recommend a mobile forensic data recovery specialist that may be able to help (email us). 
Phone recovery using ISP pinout data recovery method

Samsung phone recovery using ISP pinout data recovery method

Our Phone Data Recovery Abilities

We will try various in-house software fixes to repair OS corruption and basic logic board repairs for internal damage, along with chip-off recovery when possible. We know which repairs to try and which to avoid in order to keep your data safe! Other companies try risky repairs which can worsen the phone’s condition. If we can’t recover your data without risk, we won’t attempt it.

Like most data recovery companies, our phone data recovery abilities are somewhat limited as this is a highly specialized niche in data recovery. Even the biggest companies use third-party specialists outside of their labs to recover phones (they just don’t tell you, and charge you $2,500+)!

If we cannot recover the data in-house, we’ve partnered with the top phone repair specialist to offer affordable prices with expert abilities.

The specialist fee includes a donor phone if one is needed. Half the fee is due before they begin and is refunded if they fail. If the specialist can’t recover your data either, you pay only the shipping, and your phone is always returned to you.

Shipping to and from the specialist is $25 each way. If you mailed your phone in rather than dropping it off, return shipping to you is a further $25.

Some older phones and tablets with eMMC chips need the chip removed from the phone’s board to be read directly. That carries a $100 removal fee, due up front and non-refundable, applied toward the recovery price on success. You’ll also need a Transfer Drive for the recovered data, which you can supply yourself or buy from us. You’re responsible for shipping to us; return shipping is $25 within the USA, and drop-off and pick-up are available in Studio City.

iphone data recovery

"They were able to get 100% of my data back for 1/5 of the price that Drive Savers wanted me to pay." -Jordan

How Does The “No Data, No Charge” Policy Work?

Phones are typically either 100% recoverable or not recoverable at all. Once the repair is finished, the phone will almost certainly not work, as the goal is to recover the data to a Transfer Drive, not give you back a repaired/working device.

If we can recover your data in-house:

  • Payment is due after your data has been recovered and after you approve our file listing.
  • If we can recover your data, our previously discussed rate is due (there is no option to decline the recovery).
  • If we can’t recover any files, there is no charge (excluding shipping for mail-in customers).

If we need to send your phone to the specialist:

  • 50% payment + shipping both ways is required before we send out your device. After the technician recovers your data, the remaining 50% is due.
  • Should the recovery attempt fail with the specialist, there will be no charge for the recovery attempt (we will refund the 50% payment), though shipping costs will still apply.

What is your turnaround time?

Our average turnaround time for in-house phone repairs is 3-5 business days. If we send your phone to our partner, the turnaround time will likely be 2-6 weeks.

If you need your data back as quickly as possible, consider our Priority Service for an additional $300 ($100 up-front; +$200 if the recovery is successful).

"Apple suggested another site that they are affiliated with to the tune of at least $3,500. I found $300 Data Recovery..." -Michelle

How will the data be recovered?

dropped iphone data recovery

Samsung Phones

For Samsung phones, Smart Switch is the best solution for getting a full backup that can be restored to a new phone. It is typically a seamless transfer, with applications included. The recovery will include the Secure Folder as long as the Secure Folder is unlocked before running the backup. You can copy the SmartSwitchBackup2 folder to a USB-C flash drive and connect it directly to your new phone to restore without needing to use a computer. With Smart Switch, the restored data should merge with any newly accumulated data. However, we recommend backing up your existing data just in case. So, if you have been using a new phone and accumulating text messages and calls, the backup that we provide will merge with your new data rather than overwriting it.

iPhones

For iPhones, we make a fully encrypted backup of all the data so it can easily be restored to a new phone using Finder. We also extract files like photos, videos, notes, voice memos, WhatsApp messages, and more from the phone and provide them on the external drive. Note that files from some applications cannot be extracted (but they will be included in the backup file). Restoring an iPhone backup will replace all existing data on the phone. So if you have already started using a new phone, you should back up its data first before restoring the recovered data.

Is your data recoverable?

Click below to submit our Chances Form and find out the likelihood of data recovery, along with a price quote.