If you are an Android user, you have likely encountered this frustrating problem at least once. It is possible to recover data from a locked phone if it has not been turned off or restarted after closing the screen. If your phone has been turned off or restarted, all of the data will be lost and unrecoverable. If you need to recover your data from a locked android phone, here are some steps to follow.
What to do if your phone is locked
If your phone is locked and you do not know the password, follow these steps:
1) Power off your android phone.
2) Press and hold the volume down button and then press and release the power button.
3) A boot menu will appear on the screen. Choose “Recovery Mode” with volume buttons and confirm with the power button.
4) Once you see an android with a red triangle, hold the power button and volume up buttons together for 30 seconds or until you see a green Android logo with a message “No Command.”
5) Once you see this message, release both buttons and use the volume buttons to navigate “wipe data/factory reset.” Confirm by pressing the power button.
6) You will now be asked if you want to wipe all user data. This means that all of your personal files such as pictures, videos, music, contacts, text messages will be deleted. If this is okay with you, choose yes with the power button. Then select Reboot system now to reboot your device.
What to do if your phone has not been turned off or restarted
If your phone has not been turned off or restarted, it is possible to recover data even if the screen is locked. The first step is to try entering the incorrect password 3 times. If this does not work, use an android data recovery software with USB debugging enabled and then connect to the phone. Next, go to Settings> Security > Clear Data, then start up your device in Safe Mode. This will remove any unsecured files on your device, allowing you to access all of the data on your phone again.
How to recover data from a locked android phone (connecting PC)
Connect your phone to the computer. Make sure the phone is turned on and unlocked, then go to “My Computer” or “Computer” on the desktop screen. Double-click your device name to open it.
Click “Data Recovery” tab > Select “Next.” Select ” Internal Memory ” if you want to recover data from the device’s internal memory, select “Internal Memory.” If you want to recover data from an external SD card, select “SD Card.”
Select what type of file formats you want to scan for data. Click “Next” after selecting what types of file format you want to scan for data.
You will be given a list of files that can be recovered with an option to preview them before recovering them. Choose which files you would like to recover and click “Recover.”
How to recover data from a locked android phone (connecting SD card)
One way to recover data from a locked android phone is by connecting the device to your PC/laptop using a USB cable.
This method requires you to have an external SD card. If you do not have an external SD card, this option will not work for you.
Once the device is connected to your PC or laptop, open up My Computer or Explore or another file explorer of your choice.
There should be a new drive labeled “Removable Disk” on the left-hand side” with a name that starts with “E.” This is the external SD card that was just connected to your PC/Laptop.
Once you find the removable disk, go to it, and you should see all of the folders of your phone’s data on the left-hand side once again.
Double click on these folders until you get one that says “Android” on it. Double click on this folder and then double click on “Data.” Double click on this folder and then double click on “android,” which is where all of your Google account information is stored, among other things like pictures and videos.
Double click on any of these apps until you find what you are looking for within that app.
Conclusion
Data recovery is important to the vast majority of smartphone users. If your Android phone is locked, you can still do a few things to recover your data. It may take some time, but it’s worth the effort.