Recover Deleted Videos from a Smartphone

Smartphones have, over time, turned into mini-computers we carry in our pockets everywhere we go. It also became natural to store gigabytes of data – contacts, photos, videos, music, documents, and more. But we tend not to think too hard about it until things go wrong, and we curse ourselves for not thinking ahead. Whether you are in a tough spot, scrambling to salvage your videos or you intend to keep them safe in case of a disaster, you’re in the right place. Let’s not waste time – here’s how to recover deleted videos from your Phone.

How to recover videos from a backup

We’ll first cover the most pleasant situation to be in. You want to prepare for a disastrous event that might or might not come. Luckily, Google has thought of that and prepared a solution. Also, we’re outlining the steps for users of Android 10.

How to make a backup of videos in Google Photos

1. Download and install Google Photos if you don’t have it installed by default.
2. Make sure you’re signed in to your Google account inside the app.
3. You’ll get a prompt asking you whether you want to Turn on Backup or Do not back up.
4. If the prompt didn’t appear, tap on the three parallel lines in the top left corner.
5. Tap on Back up & sync, and change it to enabled.
6. The videos are automatically uploaded to the cloud in the background when connected to Wi-Fi.

Alternative. If you cannot see your videos despite automatic backup, you have to back them up manually.

1. Launch Google Photos.
2. Hold your finger over a video you want to back up until it becomes marked. You can then mark more videos and/or photos.
3. Tap on the three dots in the right-hand corner at the top of the app.
4. Choose Back up now.

How to create a Google Drive backup for videos

This is a second alternative to try, although photos and videos will still be backed up to Google Photos instead of Google Drive.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Go to Google.
3. Tap on Backup.
4. Make sure Back up to Google Drive is enabled.

Restoring videos from a Google Photos backup

The videos deleted inside Google Photos are kept for up to 60 days inside a Trash. For that reason, it is best to look there first.

1. Open Google Photos.
2. Tap on the three parallel lines in the top left-hand corner.
3. Tap on Trash.
4. Touch and hold your finger on the file(s) you want to recover.
5. Tap Restore.

I don’t see a video in the Trash

This could be for multiple reasons, such as:

• More than 60 days passed since you deleted it
• You emptied your Trash
• You permanently deleted photos before they were backed up to Google Photos
• You forgot to save the video. Look at recovering unsaved videos.

How to delete videos permanently in Google Photos

Although you can back up videos that have a resolution up to 1080p without limits, sometimes you don’t want certain videos to be uploaded to the cloud. In that case, you have two options.

Option 1. The most common reason for permanently deleting files is that your Trash is full. To clarify, it can only hold up to 1.5 GB of data.

1. Open Google Photos.
2. Spot three parallel lines in the top left corner and tap on them.
3. Choose Trash.
4. Choose Empty Trash, then Delete.

Option 2. If you don’t want your videos to go to Trash in the first place, do this.

1. Launch Google Photos.
2. Tap and hold your finger over a video to mark it. You can also mark multiple videos.
3. Tap on the three dots in the top right corner.
4. Choose Delete from device.

How to recover videos without a backup

If you do not have a backup, it is going to be hard to recover the videos. We are going to try some methods that could possibly help you.

Is rooting/jailbreaking required for recovering videos on Android/iOS?

The answer is not a definitive one. As we mentioned in our list of the best data recovery software for Android and iOS, restoring files without a rooted phone is possible. But, the scan will be severely limited to the temporary files in the internal memory. For the best results, it is recommended to root/jailbreak your smartphone.

This might void your warranty, depending on the manufacturer. But, if it gets you your videos back, it should be worth it. Only do this if you cannot live without those videos that you are trying to recover.

Restoring videos from the phone using EaseUS MobiSaver

This is an easier option, as it only requires downloading an Android/iOS application and running a scan. But, even though you can get a preview of the videos it discovered, you might be forced to pay for the Full version to recover them. Also, try running a scan before you root your smartphone, and see if the results are sufficient.

1. Download and launch EaseUS MobiSaver for Android or iOS.
2. You’ll be met with a screen with multiple options. In your case, you need to tap on Photo & Video.
3. Wait for the scan to complete. The results will be split into two categories on top, Photos, and Videos. You can tap to switch between them.
4. Optional. You can tap on Settings (the gear icon in the top right-hand corner). This allows you to filter results by file size, date, and extensions such as 3GP, AVI, MP4, and MOV.
5. Put a checkmark on the videos you want to restore.
6. Tap Recover in the top right corner.
7. Choose an output folder for the files.

Restoring videos from phone SD card using EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

This is a much better option for multiple reasons. First of all, instead of being severely limited, the computer version of the software allows you to restore up to 2 GB of files. Second of all, the search doesn’t require you to perform the root of your Android phone.

The only problem – unless your computer has a card reader built-in, you’ll have to buy an SD card to USB adapter. Luckily, it will only cost you a few bucks and is widely available.

1. Remove the SD card from your phone, and plug it into a card reader/USB adapter.
2. Download, install, and run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard.
3. You will see a screen resembling This PC/My Computer.
4. Click on the drive that correlates to the drive letter of your SD card.
5. Unfortunately, you cannot filter your search beforehand. For that reason, you have to wait for the scan of the entire SD card to finish.
6. Once the scan is complete, click on Filter in the top right corner.
7. From the drop-down list, click on Videos.
8. Browse through the videos the software recovered, and mark them with a check mark. You can also preview videos by double-clicking on them.
9. Click on Recover in the bottom right corner.
10. Choose an output folder.

FAQs