Smartphone data recovery: repaired until the device decrypts itself.
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 board swap, technically a component transplantation: depending on the device architecture, the data- and crypto-relevant original components are transferred together onto a prepared carrier board of the same model. The device then starts, and with your code 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 firmware restore — either can discard the key material. On a damaged device even an update attempt can end in a restore.
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
Do not guess: the number of failed attempts is limited and works against you. A forgotten passcode does not automatically mean that the data can no longer be accessed — ask us first.
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.
Why this takes so much effort.
No jargon for its own sake — the reasons from which price, duration and prospects of success follow.
When the passcode is missing
Current iPhones and Android devices encrypt by default, and the code goes into the derivation of the key — it is not a doorman but part of the lock. With the code the route is short: the device decrypts itself as soon as it runs again. If the code is missing, that does not automatically mean the data can no longer be accessed. Which options exist depends on model, operating system version and condition of the device — we check that for the specific case before anything is charged. A lawful right of access is always a precondition.
Why chip-off on current smartphones usually yields only encrypted raw data
On current iPhones and many modern Android smartphones the data is cryptographically bound to the security architecture of the original device — depending on the platform, to a security area in the processor (the Secure Enclave on Apple devices) or to a separate security chip. If the memory chip is desoldered and read externally, this therefore usually yields no directly usable data. The route goes through repairing the original board; in a board swap the data- and crypto-relevant components are transferred together, depending on the architecture. On older devices, unencrypted memory and memory cards, by contrast, chip-off remains a relevant method.
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.
What the CT scanner reveals
A smartphone board is made of several stacked layers. A crack between two of them is invisible from outside — under the microscope the board looks intact, and still nothing starts. The CT scanner sees through the board and shows the inner layers: broken vias, torn traces under components, displaced solder balls beneath the processor. All of that without desoldering anything, which matters because every desoldering pushes heat into an already damaged board. Only after that image is it clear whether the board can be repaired or whether the memory-bearing components have to move to a donor board.
The board swap
Board swap, or component transplantation: if the board is too badly damaged to be repaired, the data- and crypto-relevant original components are transferred together — depending on the device architecture — 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.
No firmware restore.
A restore wipes the device and discards the key material. On a damaged device even an update attempt can fail and end in a restore.
Do not guess the passcode.
The number and speed of unlock attempts are limited by the security architecture of the device. Depending on device, operating system and settings, increasing lock-out times or a wipe follow. Guessing uses up exactly the room that would otherwise remain.
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
Checking and working on a device without a known passcode, at system and firmware level. Whether the data can be accessed depends on model, software level and condition. The amount is only charged if access succeeds; the diagnosis follows the tariff you choose.
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 data- and crypto-relevant original components move together — depending on the device architecture — onto a prepared carrier 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.
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 can be technically restored far enough for the data to be accessed. With a known passcode it then decrypts its data as normal; without a known code, the options depend on model, operating system version and condition of the device.
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?
If you have it, enclose it. It is part of the key derivation, and with it recovery is the shortest and cheapest route — the device decrypts itself once it runs again. If you no longer have it, the case is not automatically closed: which options exist depends on model, operating system version and condition of the device — we check that for the specific case. A lawful right of access is a precondition — it must be your device, or you must be entitled to access it.
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