Data Recovery ProA microSD card works like any other SD card, so deleted photos and videos can usually be recovered. Take it out of the device, put it in a reader or adapter, and scan it on a computer.
MicroSD cards come out of phones, drones, action cameras, dash cams and game consoles. Inside, they use the same FAT32 or exFAT file system as full-size SD cards, so the same recovery works.
Take the card out of the device first. A device left switched on, especially a dash cam or security camera, keeps recording over free space, which is exactly where deleted files are.
What to expect
| What happened | Chance |
|---|---|
| Files deleted, card removed straight away | High |
| Card formatted in the device | High |
| Dash cam or security camera left recording | Low they loop over the oldest footage |
| Long video clips | Varies often partly damaged |
The ratings are a rough guide. We haven't measured recovery rates.
Recover them in four steps
- Stop using the card or driveDon't take more photos, copy files to it or format it. Every new file can overwrite one you want back.
- Connect it to your computer and open Data Recovery ProUse a card slot or a USB reader. If your computer offers to format or initialise the card, click Cancel or Ignore. Data Recovery Pro asks for permission so it can read the card directly.
- Scan and previewThe quick scan takes seconds; the deep scan reads every block. Files appear as they are found, each marked intact, partly damaged or not checked, so you see what can be recovered before you decide.
- Recover to your computerChoose the files you want and save them to a folder on your computer or another drive, never back to the card. You only pay if you choose to recover more than the free allowance.
Phones are different
If the photos were on a phone's own storage rather than a removable card, this won't help: phone storage isn't a drive a computer can scan. Data Recovery Pro scans memory cards and USB drives.
Questions
Do I need a special reader?
No. Any microSD-to-SD adapter in a card slot, or a USB card reader, works.
Will videos from a drone or action camera come back?
Often, partly. The deep scan finds MP4 and MOV files, but long clips are stored in pieces on the card, so some come back partly damaged. You see which before you recover.