A practical guide on how to recover deleted Android photos for free from PC and mobile without root.
It happens to everyone to delete images by cell phone memory by mistake. After the initial desperation, one wonders if there is a way to recover deleted photos from your Android smartphone. The answer is positive, contrary to what one might think at first.
In fact, there are programs and apps that allow you to get back the photos previously removed from the mobile device. For their use, no payment is required, instead you almost always need root, a complex operation for less experienced users and responsible for cancelling the guarantee.
The recovery of deleted photos on smartphones with Android operating system becomes indispensable when, for example, an image that is particularly fond of an image is eliminated by mistake or a shot is useful to create an online job (think of the graphic designers or photographers).
Having said this, the procedure that we are going to illustrate is to be considered a sort of “last resort”, to which to resort only in exceptional cases.
Below we will explain how to recover deleted Android photos from your PC and mobile phone, thanks to free programs and apps. In the final part of the guide we will suggest some tips to avoid finding ourselves in a similar situation.
Recover deleted Android photos
- Recover deleted Android photos with your PC
- Recover deleted Android photos from your mobile
- Useful tips
Recover deleted Android photos from your PC
The first recommended method involves the use of a specific software for computers, to which the smartphone must then be necessarily connected via USB cable.
Here are two programs to recover deleted Android photos from your PC: FonePaw and MobiSaver for Android. Both are effective even in their free version, require root and have extended compatibility with the phones of the major brands globally.
FonePaw
The full name of the program is FonePaw Android Data Recovery. The software allows you to recover images in .jpg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .webp and .tiff formats, as well as those deleted from internal memory and from the SD card. FonePaw is available for Windows and MacOS.
First of all we connect to the official FonePaw site, so from the Android Data Recovery section we select the Free Download button and click on the Win Version item to start the download.
After the operation we open the file android-data-recovery.exe , type the administrator password and click the following keys: OK, Next (start installation wizard), Next (yes accept the terms of use), Next (creation of the folder that will host the FonePaw program after installation), Next (creation of the icon on the desktop), Install (final installation of the program), Finish (closing window of the installation wizard and starting FonePaw).
Important: it will appear immediately after a window in which we are invited to register for the service via email. Registration is essential to complete the recovery of deleted photos. We remind you that a fake email can also be used for registration, as we explained in this guide on how to create a anonymous email.
At this point we connect the smartphone to the PC via USB cable, making sure to activate the Transfer file function from the Tap tab for other USB options present in the notification menu (scroll down from top to bottom).
Next, always from the phone, we open the Settings (gear icon), we select in rapid succession the items Device Info, Software Info and we press for 10 consecutive times the Build version option to activate the developer options. Now reopen the Settings, select the Developer Options item and move the lever to the right next to the USB Debugging option.
The connection between our Android smartphone and the FonePaw program will start automatically. In the new window that opens on the PC we remove the check for all the items except Gallery, then click on the Next button and wait for the analysis of the software on the phone.
Important: during the procedure the notice of the need to run the root on the device may appear. This occurs when the phone does not have root permissions, a necessary condition to be able to recover deleted photos. If you do not have the root, you can still proceed by clicking on the Continue scanning button but at the end of the procedure it will be impossible to get the images back.
After the operation, the number of deleted photos that can be recovered will appear in brackets next to the Gallery item. Finally, click on the Recover button located at the bottom right to start recovery.
MobiSaver for Android
MobiSaver for Android is a valid alternative to FonePaw, it guarantees the same free recovery service proposed by the program described above. It is a product of the company EaseUS, specialized in the creation of software able to recover files deleted by mistake or lost due to malware or at the end of the root.
To test its use, let’s connect to this link and click on the button Download for free. Once the operation is complete, open the ems4android.exe file, type the administrator password and select the following buttons in the order: OK, Next (after adding the check mark next to I accept the agreement), Next, Next, Next, Install and Finish, agreeing to restart the PC to complete the installation of the program (check mark next to Yes, restart the computer now ).
Important: you must necessarily download the software present at the link shown above, not the Windows version. They are in fact two different software.
After restarting the PC, we double-click on the EaseUS MobiSaver for Android icon on the desktop and connect our Android smartphone to the computer via USB cable. After a few seconds the software will recognize the device, indicating its name on the main screen.
At this point, click on the Start button to start the connection between MobiSaver for Android and the smartphone. A few seconds later, the message Allow USB debugging will appear on the smartphone display, and we will respond by selecting OK. We continue now also giving the OK to the SuperSU warning, the app to manage root permissions, then click on the GO button to start photo recovery.
Important: you have the opportunity to recover deleted Android photos without root with FonePaw and with MobiSaver for Android as long as the images to be restored have been deleted from the SD card and not from the internal memory. The procedure is similar to that seen for the smartphone, only that instead of the phone the removable card must be connected to the PC through a special reader.
Furthermore, if you choose to use the EaseUS service you will have to download the Data Recovery Wizard Free program from this link. With the free version it is possible to download up to 2 GB of data.
Recover deleted Android photos from your mobile
On the Play Store there are numerous apps that promise to recover deleted photos on Android from the phone, in most cases however these are applications with a flood of advertising and that do not allow you to restore previously removed images by mistake or another reason, as reported in the presentation message.
Diskdigger photo recovery
An exception is the Diskdigger photo recovery app, downloaded by over 50 million users and boasting an overall rating greater than 4. The application allows you to recover deleted photos without the root thanks to a search based on the cache memory of the smartphone. On the phones with the root the search will be performed on the entire memory of the device and in addition to the images the videos can also be restored.
To test the Diskdigger photo recovery app, first download it at this link. Once the installation is complete we open the app, then we tap on the Start Basic Photo Scan button, located under the heading Basic Scan (no root) and we wait for the application to finish scanning the cache memory of the device.
Once the process is complete, the thumbnails of the photos that can be restored will be made available: among them there are also those removed in the past. To restore, simply tap the Recover button and then choose the smartphone folder where we want to keep the photos or one of the cloud storage services chosen between Google Drive and Dropbox.
FindMyPhoto
FindMyPhoto is one of the best apps to recover photos for free directly from mobile and without any root permissions. This app comes with a really simple user interface.
To use the free photo recovery app for android FindMyPhoto just download it from the official link. Once the app installation is complete we open the app, choose the language and tap on the Quick Scan or Deep Scan to start Scanning. The time for scanning depends on which button you choose. Once the scanning is completed tap on Show Pictures button. Here you will find all the images which you deleted. Now just look for the photo and have a preview of it and tap on the Restore button. The main feature of this app which I personally liked is that there is no need to connect your Android with PC and does not want any root permissions or any premium feature to restore your memories.
Useful tips
The simplest and most immediate solution to keep your photos safe even after removing them by mistake from your phone’s internal memory is to rely on a cloud storage service available online and back up your data. In this regard we recommend reading how to make an Android backup.
In the specific case of images we suggest the use of Google Photos, an app that allows you to store photos in an unlimited way without sacrificing the quality of the photo itself. In addition, the application automatically backs up and synchronizes files. Remember that to work you must have a Google account.