Home / Data recovery / Phones
Phone data recovery. Even if it won't turn on.
Modern phones encrypt their storage and tie it to the phone's own board. That means the data can't simply be read off the memory chip: the phone has to work again, at least long enough to copy everything off. That is board-level repair, and it is what we do every day.
- Free initial assessment
- No data, no recovery fee
- Fixed price before any work
- Dead phones and MacBooks too
What you are seeing, and what it usually means
- Black screen, no response
- Often a power fault on the board. Frequently repairable far enough to recover the data.
- Dropped in water
- Corrosion keeps spreading after the phone dries. The sooner it is cleaned, the better the odds.
- Boot loops or stuck on the logo
- Sometimes storage, sometimes power. We find out which before we quote.
- Smashed after a fall
- The screen is usually the least of it. If the board survived, the photos usually did too.
Clear prices. No surprises.
The free assessment tells us which level applies. You get one fixed price by email before any work starts.
Logical
from €149inc VAT
The device still works, but files were deleted, formatted, corrupted or locked by ransomware.
- 2 to 5 working days
- Our lab, Mullingar
- No data, no recovery fee
- Return shipping included
Electronic
from €299inc VAT
The device is dead: won't power on, won't charge, liquid damage. We repair the board to reach the data.
- 5 to 10 working days
- Our lab, Mullingar
- No data, no recovery fee
- Return shipping included
Physical
from €995inc VAT
A hard drive is clicking, beeping or has been dropped. The drive has to be opened in a cleanroom.
- 5 to 14 working days
- Specialist cleanroom partner
- No data, no recovery fee
- Return shipping included
No data, no recovery fee
If we can't recover the files you need, you don't pay for the recovery.
The initial assessment is always free. If a separate in-depth diagnostic is needed, we quote it first and it is only payable if you approve it. If we then can't recover the files you told us matter, there is no recovery fee and we return your device; you pay only the return postage.
How we recover it
We diagnose the board under the microscope, repair what is needed to bring it back to life, then copy your photos, messages and files to a new drive. If the phone itself can't be saved long-term, that is fine: the goal is the data.
- 01
Tell us what happened
Use the short form, call or WhatsApp. We reply with how to send it, or when to bring it in.
- 02
Free initial assessment
When it reaches the bench we find out what has failed and what is likely recoverable. No charge.
- 03
Fixed written quote
One price by email, with return shipping included. Nothing is opened or recovered until you approve it.
- 04
Your data back
Copied to a new drive and sent back tracked with your original device, or ready to collect.
What our customers say
Top quality service, would highly recommend. Recovered USB files that were lost.Excellent service! They replaced the swollen battery and repaired the damaged charging board and cable in just 2 hours. Fast, professional and reliable.They kept my half dead machine alive for well over six months past its 'this should really be left to die' point... give sound advice that you can trust.Trace Lab is run by the workshop team at Creative IT, rated Excellent on Trustpilot from over 3,600 reviews since 2009.
Questions
Why can't you just take the memory chip out?
On modern iPhones and most Android phones the storage is encrypted with keys held by the phone's own processor. Removed from the board, the chip is unreadable. The original board has to work.
Will you need my passcode?
Yes, once the phone powers on, to copy the data off. You give it to us only when we ask, and the phone is never used for anything else.
Is it worth it for a cheap phone?
If the photos matter, the value of the phone doesn't. You get a fixed quote first and decide.
Was my phone backed up?
Check iCloud or Google Photos from another device first. If everything is there, you may not need us at all.
Other devices we recover from
Hard drives
Clicking, beeping, not detected, or dropped. Desktop, laptop and external drives.
See how we recover it →Laptops & MacBooks
Dead laptops and MacBooks, including models with storage soldered to the board.
See how we recover it →SSDs, USB & cards
SSDs, NVMe drives, USB sticks and memory cards from cameras, drones and dashcams.
See how we recover it →RAID, NAS & servers
Business storage that has dropped a disk, won't mount or rebuilt the wrong way.
See how we recover it →Board-level repair
Told it's beyond repair, or quoted a new board? A second opinion costs nothing to ask for.
See how we recover it →Lost data? Talk to the lab today.
Free initial assessment. No data, no recovery fee. Fixed price before any work.