Smartphone data recovery We get it back.
A smartphone that no longer starts is rarely a smartphone with destroyed memory. Usually only the route to it is missing — and that is what we restore on the logic board.
- In-house clean room
- Never outsourced
- Our lab
- Transparent & fair
Recovery at chip level
If a device no longer starts, we look for the culprit among thousands of microscopic components, isolate it and replace it. If that does not work there is a second route: the memory-bearing components are transferred from the faulty logic board onto a prepared donor board. The device then starts, you enter your code — and it decrypts its own data.
Smartphone & tablet
Whether logical or physical — in most cases the memory is still intact. The diagnosis shows what exactly is wrong.
Liquid damage
The most common cause. What matters is not the moisture but the corrosion it sets off — and that keeps going.
Drop & breakage
Cracked solder joints, torn traces, a snapped board. The memory usually survives all of it.
No power, no reaction
A short on one of the supply rails or a failed charging IC. The device is dead, the data is not.
Boot loop
The system does not get through start-up — a software fault, or a solder joint under the processor that has come loose thermally.
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
Dropped in water
Likely cause
Corrosion on contacts and underneath components. It starts immediately and keeps working even when everything looks dry on the outside.
What to do now
Do not switch on, do not charge, do not use a hairdryer, do not put it in rice. Bring it in for cleaning as quickly as possible.
Symptom
No longer charges, stays black
Likely cause
A failed charging IC or a short on one of the supply rails.
What to do now
Do not work through different chargers — that only moves the fault around.
Symptom
Restarts over and over
Likely cause
A software fault or a thermally loosened solder joint under the processor.
What to do now
No reset and no reflashing of the firmware. Both destroy key material.
Symptom
Display broken but the device runs
Likely cause
Purely mechanical. The data is untouched.
What to do now
No need to rush — often replacing the display is enough for you to back it up yourself.
Symptom
No reaction at all after a drop
Likely cause
Cracked solder joints or a crack in the board.
What to do now
Do not shake it, do not take it apart. Send in the complete device.
Symptom
Passcode forgotten
Likely cause
The code goes into the derivation of the key — it is not a doorman but part of the lock.
What to do now
No guessing. The number of failed attempts is limited, and after that it is over for good.
Why software does not help here
Every well-known recovery program assumes the device is running, unlocked and talking to a computer. A phone with liquid damage meets none of those conditions — there is nothing for the software to talk to. The route therefore always goes through the hardware: find the fault on the board, fix it, start the device. Only after that is it a question of data at all.
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.
Why the passcode cannot be bypassed
Current iPhones and Android devices encrypt by default, and your code goes into the derivation of the key. It cannot be removed and cannot be brute-forced: the number of attempts is limited in hardware, with growing waiting times and an absolute ceiling. This is not a question of effort or equipment but of how the system is built. Without the code there is no access — not even on a device that runs perfectly again.
Why desoldering the memory achieves nothing
On modern devices, memory and main processor are cryptographically bound to each other. If the memory chip is removed and read externally, what you get is ciphertext and nothing else — the key sits in the secure part of the processor and never leaves it. That is exactly why repairing the original board is the only route, and why a board swap always moves processor, memory and secure element together.
Liquid damage is a chemical process
Liquid on an energised board acts as an electrolyte: metal dissolves in one place and is deposited in another. Conductive bridges form where none should be. That is why switching on is the worst idea and cleaning the first measure — mechanically and ultrasonically, under the microscope, before any diagnosis is even possible.
The board swap
If the board is too badly damaged to be repaired, the memory-bearing components are transferred onto a prepared board of the same model. This is fine work under the microscope and not routine — but it is the route that remains when traces underneath the processor are torn.
What happens to the device afterwards
We say it in advance so there is no disappointment: in a data recovery, preserving the data takes precedence over the device working. A phone whose memory-bearing components have moved onto a lab board is no longer an everyday device afterwards. You always get it back regardless, with loose parts enclosed on request.
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 contact with liquid, do not switch on and do not charge.
Voltage on a wet board drives the corrosion. Every attempt to switch on costs substance.
No rice, no hairdryer, no radiator.
Drying does not reach the places where the corrosion sits — underneath components and shielding.
No factory reset.
It destroys the key material. Afterwards the data is still physically present and unreadable for good.
Do not reflash the firmware.
Reflashing writes, it does not read. Under file-based encryption that is the same as deleting.
Do not guess the passcode.
The number of failed attempts is limited in hardware. Reaching the ceiling discards the key material.
Do not trigger a remote wipe.
Anyone who remotely wipes a lost device and later finds it again has deleted the data themselves.
What this roughly costs.
What a smartphone recovery costs depends on how deeply we have to intervene in the board. Four cases from everyday practice — in every case the amount is fixed in writing before the work.
Your case
Display broken, the device still runs
What it becomes
Usually not a case for data recovery at all: replace the display, then you back it up yourself. We tell you that even when you come to us with a recovery enquiry.
Guide value
from €99
Your case
Passcode forgotten, the device starts normally
What it becomes
Work at system and firmware level. On current devices the limits are narrow — the diagnosis says what is possible.
Guide value
from €299
Your case
Dropped in water, no longer starts
What it becomes
Clean the board, remove corrosion, replace faulty components under the microscope, start the device, secure the data.
Guide value
from €499
Your case
Board snapped, memory intact
What it becomes
Board swap: the memory-bearing components move together onto a prepared donor board.
Guide value
after diagnosis
Examples are guide values, not an offer. What your case costs is fixed in writing after the diagnosis — only then do you decide whether we continue. Where it says “after diagnosis” above, our price list does not know the case as a flat rate; it is calculated individually and itemised in the quote.
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 smartphones the limit is almost never the hardware but the encryption. That is intentional — it is the same protection that applies if the device is stolen.
Passcode unknown
Without the code there is no access. The number of attempts is limited in hardware; systematic guessing is ruled out.
Factory reset already performed
The key material is destroyed. No procedure brings it back.
Destroyed processor
If the chip that holds the key is destroyed, the key is gone — even with intact memory.
Device already opened several times
Previous work by other workshops, in particular heat and soldering marks around the processor, considerably reduces the room for manoeuvre.
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.
Which data can be recovered?
Everything the device itself holds: photos and videos, messages and chat histories, contacts, notes, voice memos and the data of installed apps. The prerequisite is that the device starts and that you have the code.
Will my phone work afterwards?
Not guaranteed. Preserving the data has priority over the device working — if components are transferred onto a lab board, the device is no longer an everyday phone afterwards. You always get it back on request.
Do you need my passcode?
Yes, without exception. It is part of the key derivation. Enclose it with the job — otherwise the hardware ends up repaired and the data still out of reach.
Do you handle tablets as well?
Yes, technically it is the same work. Describe the model and the damage in your enquiry.
My display is broken but the device still runs.
Then it is not a case for data recovery but for a repair — afterwards you back it up yourself. That is the cheaper route, and we tell you so even when you come to us with a recovery enquiry.
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