When a phone or laptop dies, most people aren't worried about the device. They're worried about what's on it: years of photos, work files, messages and videos of their kids.

The good news is that a dead device doesn't always mean lost data. The bad news is that the first few things people try often make recovery harder. This guide explains what can really be recovered, what to avoid, and how to give yourself the best chance.

Stop: what not to do

If your device just died, or you've lost files, avoid these:

What can usually be recovered

Data recovery depends on where the problem is:

Phones are different from laptops

Modern iPhones and Android phones encrypt everything stored on them. That's great for your privacy, but it changes how recovery works:

This is why a dead phone often needs a repair, such as a new battery, charging port or screen, or board-level work, before its data can be saved. Once it boots, we help you back up your photos and files before anything else.

Laptops and MacBooks: it depends on the model

Older laptops and many Windows laptops have a removable drive. If the laptop itself fails but the drive is healthy, the files can often be copied straight off the drive.

Newer MacBooks with Apple chips (M1, M2, M3, M4 and newer), and some thin Windows laptops, have storage built into the main board. For these:

Deleted files: the honest answer

If you've accidentally deleted files, check these places first:

After that, recovering deleted files from modern phones and laptops with SSD storage is often not possible. SSDs clear deleted data quickly as part of their normal operation. Anyone who promises otherwise without seeing your device isn't being straight with you.

Water damage and your data

Water rarely destroys the storage chip itself. The damage usually happens when a wet device is powered on or charged and the circuits short out. If your phone or laptop gets wet:

  1. Power it off straight away and don't turn it back on.

  2. Don't charge it.

  3. Bring it in as soon as possible.

The sooner the device is cleaned and dried, the better the chance of getting it running long enough to save your data.

The backup rule that prevents all of this

After helping customers through lost data, we always give the same advice: keep your important files in three places.

Setting this up takes about ten minutes and means a broken device is just an inconvenience, not a loss.

Quick checks you can do today:

Your privacy during recovery

Your device holds personal information, so ask any shop:

At our shop, we only access what's needed to recover and verify your files, and we're happy to answer these questions before you leave your device.

Questions to ask any data recovery service in Calgary

  1. Is the diagnosis free, and do I pay if nothing can be recovered? (At TechFix Craft, diagnosis is free for most devices, except in cases of severe damage, and if your data cannot be recovered you pay nothing.)

  2. Is the problem the device or the storage itself?

  3. Will you need my passcode or password, and why?

  4. Do you do the work in the shop, or send it to a lab?

  5. How will my recovered data be returned to me?

  6. What happens to any copies of my data afterwards?

Data recovery at TechFix Craft

We're a locally owned repair shop in Inglewood (1420 9 Ave SE #15, Calgary, AB T2G 0T5), inside the plaza beside Tail Blazers, with free parking.

Customers come to us from Inglewood, Ramsay, Forest Lawn, Bridgeland, the Beltline, Downtown and NE Calgary.

Walk in, book online or call 587-585-4032.

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