SSD data recovery We get it back.
We recover data from logically and physically damaged SSDs of all kinds — using techniques that go far beyond ordinary data recovery software.
- In-house clean room
- Never outsourced
- Our lab
- Transparent & fair
SSD
Whether logical or physical — in most cases the memory is still intact. The diagnosis shows what exactly is wrong.
Deleted or formatted
The data is usually still on the memory chips — the reference to it is missing.
Controller defect
The drive is not recognised. We read the memory chips directly, bypassing the controller.
Electronics & short circuit
Overvoltage, water or a short circuit on the board — repaired at component level.
Firmware & sectors
Firmware errors or defective sectors that make the drive unusable.
From symptom to cause.
Nobody searches for a fault pattern. You hear a noise or read a message — and the most pressing question is: may I switch the device on one more time?
Symptom
No longer recognised at all
Likely cause
Usually electronics: a component in the power supply or the controller itself. The memory is as a rule untouched by it.
What to do now
Do not plug it in again. Every attempt drives current through the faulty component.
Symptom
Reports 0 bytes or the wrong capacity
Likely cause
The internal translation table is damaged. The controller can no longer find its own administration and reports a factory identity.
What to do now
Do not initialise, do not format. The memory content is there.
Symptom
Reports an unfamiliar model name
Likely cause
The same picture: the controller has fallen into an emergency mode and gives out a default identity because it cannot load its firmware.
What to do now
Switch off and send it in. Do not attempt firmware updates.
Symptom
Gets very warm at once and disappears after seconds
Likely cause
A short on the board. The drive registers briefly and then drops off.
What to do now
Disconnect immediately. Further attempts can take neighbouring traces with them.
Symptom
Freezes in use, individual files will not open
Likely cause
Worn memory cells whose errors the internal correction can no longer absorb.
What to do now
Stop using it immediately. What is still readable is retrieved by controlled imaging — not by continued use.
Symptom
File deleted by accident, the SSD runs normally
Likely cause
The most critical scenario of all: the controller clears deleted areas by itself as soon as the drive has power.
What to do now
Switch off immediately. Do not restart, do not “just have a quick look”.
Bypassing the controller, reading the memory directly
If the controller has failed, we tap into the memory directly with specialist hardware and bypass the controller. The data is then reassembled — work that ordinary recovery software cannot do.
Equipment we use
In Frankfurt. Never outsourced.
Why this takes so much effort.
No jargon for its own sake — the reasons from which price, duration and prospects of success follow.
The translation table is the actual drive
An SSD cannot overwrite. It is written page by page but erased only in much larger blocks. Instead of changing four kilobytes it writes the new version to a free location and notes in an internal table where the valid version sits. That table translates between the addresses the operating system uses and the physical positions in the memory. If it is damaged, the content of the memory chips is nothing but an unsorted heap of fragments — it has to be reconstructed before anything can be read at all.
TRIM: why deleting is final here
When you delete, the operating system tells the drive which areas it no longer needs. The SSD marks them as invalid and returns nothing but zeros on reading — immediately. In the background the blocks are then physically cleared so they can be written again. That happens on its own as soon as the device has power, regardless of whether anyone is accessing it. Which is why the widespread assumption “deleted is never really deleted” is usually wrong on SSDs.
Encryption in the controller
Many SSDs encrypt everything they store — even when nobody switched encryption on. The key is created in the controller and never leaves it. For data recovery that has an unpleasant consequence: desoldering the memory chips and reading them externally yields nothing but ciphertext. There is no way around bringing the original electronics back to work.
Electronics instead of a clean room
An SSD has no moving parts and no exposed surfaces. Its memory sits in sealed chip packages. The work therefore does not happen under filtered air but under the microscope: replacing components in the power supply, restoring traces, reconditioning contact pads — microsoldering.
Wear is normal but limited
Every memory cell tolerates a limited number of write operations. So they do not age unevenly, the controller distributes the write load across the whole memory — another reason why a file physically sits somewhere entirely different from where the operating system assumes. As the supply of spare cells nears its end, read errors accumulate, and then it usually goes quickly.
SATA, NVMe, M.2 — and suddenly gone
NVMe drives in M.2 format are more compact, considerably faster and thermally more stressed. A typical picture is disappearing mid-operation because the controller signs off. For the diagnosis the form factor is secondary — what matters is whether the controller can still be addressed.
Before you do anything.
Bring the medium in or send it to us. The Economy diagnosis is free — you find out what is possible before anything costs money.
Take the medium out of service immediately — every further use can accelerate the loss.
No recovery attempts with tools from the internet.
Do not open the device or medium yourself.
Take it to a reliable data recovery specialist — analysis first, then a quote.
The mistakes that make it expensive.
Almost every well-meant reflex makes the damage worse. That is why you find not only the rule here but also the reason — nobody follows an instruction without one.
After accidental deletion, do not keep using it and do not restart.
The controller clears deleted areas in the background as soon as power is applied. Every minute works against you.
Do not install recovery software — least of all onto the same drive.
The installation writes. And on an SSD every write can additionally trigger the clean-up.
No firmware update on a drive that already reports itself incorrectly.
An update writes into exactly the area that is damaged. What remains afterwards is often less than before.
Do not format and do not initialise.
A wrong capacity does not mean the drive is empty. It means it cannot find its administration.
No secure erase and no reset.
These commands discard the internal key. Afterwards the content is technically still present and unreadable for good.
Fixed prices by fault pattern.
All prices are plus the diagnostic tariff you choose. Before every recovery you receive a written quote.
Logical error
299 €
Deleted data or a formatted SSD.
Physical damage
499 €
up to 960 GB / 1 TB
Not recognised, controller or electronics defect, firmware error.
Total damage
individual
Breakage, fire or water damage, previous third-party intervention or irreparable electronics defects.
Our diagnostic tariffs.
You set the pace. Shipping both ways is included in every tariff — from Standard upwards we collect from you. And you always get a written quote before we start the recovery.
Economy
0 €
free diagnosis
- Diagnosis
- approx. 5 working days
- After approval
- Regular queue
- Updates
- By email
Written quote · free shipping both ways
Standard
99 €
incl. VAT · per medium
- Diagnosis
- within 2 working days
- After approval
- Scheduled with priority
- Updates
- Email and phone call
Written quote · free collection and return
Emergency
249 €
incl. VAT · per medium
- Diagnosis
- next working day
- After approval
- Moved to the front
- Updates
- Named contact
Written quote · express collection and return. Arrives before 12 noon: diagnosis the same working day.
The Economy diagnosis is free of charge. With Standard and Emergency the diagnostic fee applies even if you decline the quote — it is not offset against a later recovery. Either way, you decide freely after the quote whether we continue.
Four steps to your data.
- 01
Send it in or drop it off
Order online or hand it in without an appointment in Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen.
- 02
Diagnosis
We examine the medium and send you a written quote.
- 03
Approval & recovery
We only begin the recovery once you have approved it.
- 04
Your data back
On a storage medium in the parcel or via an encrypted cloud download.
Where even we reach a limit
With SSDs it is often not skill that decides but timing. That is uncomfortable to say, but more honest than a diagnosis that sells hope.
Deleted while in operation
If the controller has already marked the areas as invalid and cleared them, the memory returns nothing but zeros. Then there is nothing left to read — for no lab in the world.
Destroyed controller on an encrypted SSD
If the electronics cannot be revived, the content stays ciphertext. A replacement controller has a different key.
Secure erase or reset
A single command, executed in seconds, makes the entire content unreadable. That cannot be undone.
Worn memory
If too many cells are beyond what the error correction can absorb, areas cannot be cleanly reconstructed even with repeated reading.
Answered briefly.
What does data recovery cost?
We work with transparent fixed prices based on the fault pattern — depending on the medium from €99, €299 or €499; in cases of total damage individually. Before every recovery you receive a written quote and decide freely whether we continue.
Do I pay even if no data is recovered?
The Economy diagnosis is free — if you decline afterwards, no costs arise. With Standard and Emergency the diagnostic fee (€99 or €249) applies even if you decline; it is not offset against a later recovery. The recovery itself is only charged after your approval.
How long does it take?
Depending on the tariff, the diagnosis takes about 5 working days (Economy), 2 working days (Standard) or one working day (Emergency) — with Emergency, the same working day if the medium arrives before 12 noon. How long the recovery itself takes depends on the fault pattern and is stated in the quote.
Is my data safe with you?
Yes. We work in line with the GDPR, pass nothing on to third parties and never outsource. Your data is stored exclusively on our encrypted server and completely deleted after handover.
Can I send the medium in?
Yes. Shipping both ways is included in every diagnosis tariff; with Standard and Emergency we collect the medium from you. Or you come to our lab in Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen without an appointment.
I deleted data on my SSD. How fast do I have to act?
As fast as possible — and above all: switch the device off, stop using it. The controller tidies up by itself as soon as power is applied. Whether anything is left to retrieve is only shown by the diagnosis.
Is it a bad sign if my SSD is no longer recognised at all?
For data recovery, surprisingly not. A controller that no longer works cannot tidy up either. Such cases are technically more demanding, but the data is often still there in full.
Can you not simply desolder the memory chips?
With simple designs, yes. With modern SSDs usually not sensibly: the content is encrypted with a key that is created inside the controller and never leaves it. Without the original controller the chips yield nothing readable.
My SSD is built in and the laptop no longer starts. What now?
Please do not remove it yourself if you are unsure — and certainly do not try to “test” it in another computer. Send in the device and describe what happened.
Data Recovery Professionals
A worldwide group of independent, owner-run data recovery companies. Members share methods from professional data recovery, forensics and software development — so on rare damage patterns the knowledge of the whole group stands behind your medium.
Every hour counts. Let us talk.
Bring the medium in or send it to us. The Economy diagnosis is free of charge.
Wasserweg 8–10 · 60594 Frankfurt am Main