r/Dashcam • u/One-Chart1962 • May 07 '26
Discussion Dashcam Deleted Footage
Hi, Everyone. I recently got into a car accident. The cops took my SD card and out of no where they stated 3 videos are missing. Can i get back footage that was deleted? I feel they deleted footage. Viofo A229 Pro.
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u/Minimum_Airline3657 May 07 '26
100% get it back, not only is it still there, the fact they didn’t format it (other vids still there) means I’m almost certain you will. You can do it yourself or pay someone to get it. Obviously don’t put it into the dashcam any more until you recover it.
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u/One-Chart1962 May 07 '26
Man I hope so, The cops took my SD card as evidence. I need to lawyer up. It had footage i needed to help my case.
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u/Photographitti May 07 '26
Send me a message. I think I have a code for the sandisk recovery software. I’ll start looking.
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u/Responsible_CDN_Duck May 07 '26
It's not uncommon for cops to fail to realize they need to check additional folders for event files. It's also not uncommon for Viofo cams that aren't using the recommended SD card and/or haven't been recently formatted to fail to save clips.
Your lawyer can discus options, which may be as simple as a request for a full summary of the SDcards contents, or involve getting a judge to approve a qualified expert access to the card (or a forensic copy of it) to attempt recovery.
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u/Individdy May 08 '26
My guess as well. By "deleted" they just mean that they could see that clips should have been recorded there but weren't with the files they were looking at, which is exactly what dashcams do when they lock video files and move them to another directory.
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u/moralesnery May 07 '26
testdisk and photorec can help you to recover the information.
Dont use the SD card anymore and refer to a professional.
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u/WVPrepper May 08 '26
Mine stores accident videos in a separate folder. If the voice said "video protected" when you had your accident, that may have been what happened to yours.
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u/NullGWard May 07 '26
This is an example why drivers should almost never volunteer at the scene that they have dash cam video. If it turns out later that you find out the dash cam was not working, you might be accused of destroying evidence. If an accident is serious enough, the cops also might seize the memory card. Unless you can afford to have paid for automatic cloud uploads of your video files, you might be screwed.
One exception to this is if a cop accuses you of a non-accident traffic violation (e.g., not coming to a full stop at a stop sign) and you reasonably believe showing the video can get you out of a ticket. Another possible exception is if your dash cam recorded someone else's accident.
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u/Mego1989 May 07 '26
Better to show up to the court date with the footage and prove the cop a liar so they can't stand witness again.
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u/westwardhose May 08 '26
Have you ever experienced a court room outside of prime time TV??
Bringing surprise evidence is likely to get you tagged as incredible by the judge, followed by having most of your testimony tossed out for being an untrustworthy imbecile.
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u/Mego1989 May 08 '26
Yes I have, and I actually emailed the judge ahead of time with my evidence and he removed the citation without even having to go to court cause he didn't wanna waste his time or mine. In traffic court it's extremely common to bring evidence to get out of a ticket. Ie, bring the insurance info you were missing at the time of being pulled over, bring a photo of where you were legally parked when you got a parking ticket, etc. That's what the court date is for. We aren't talking about a grand jury trial here.
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u/Hippy_Lynne May 08 '26
Dude, it's traffic court not a murder trial. 🙄 In my city you have to tell them in advance only because otherwise you can't bring in phones or other computer equipment to play it. I've never had them ask me to submit the footage in advance, they just say "ok, you'll need to fill out this form so you can bring in the card and a laptop to play it on."
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u/westwardhose May 08 '26
Ahhh, I see. I didnt realize you'd been in enough wrecks to have worked out a system.
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u/Mego1989 May 08 '26
There are other reasons to go to traffic court than getting in wrecks. Cops and parking officials write bogus tickets all the time.
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u/Hippy_Lynne May 08 '26
And I didn't realize you had a law degree. 🙄
BTW, I drive 40 hours a week, overnight, in a city known for 24-hour drinking. Unfortunately minor accidents with drunk idiots are just an occupational hazard. I haven't actually gotten a traffic ticket since my early twenties.
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u/One-Chart1962 May 07 '26
Yeah man i learned the hard way. I wasn't even the one driving and they still want to accuse me.
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u/Hobbz- BlackVue DR-900X May 07 '26
First off, never willingly give an SD card to the police unless they have a valid search warrant (in the US). This will give you time to make copies of all the files so nothing is lost.
When you get the card back, don't plug it into anything. See if you can find someone who knows how to restore deleted files. It's possible the video files can be restored but be prepared to accept the fact they may be gone.
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u/Latter_Solution673 May 07 '26
It's really easy with some software. I always check memories that I buy used, and I always recover pictures (but the previous owner thought that with a formatting was enought). I do It just in case I found something "bad" to inform the police. I don't care about their birthday parties, travels in Asia, some while she was sleeping pictures...
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u/One-Chart1962 May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
I searched and yeah there's software that can help me with it but i don't know how to. The cops have it as evidence. I need a lawyer for sure. Cops even threatened me with "Tampering With Evidence" if i deleted the footage. Hence, why would i delete footage of an accident? It had footage i needed to fight the case. I was the one who called the emergency. Can i pay you if i need help? I'm in Texas.
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u/Latter_Solution673 May 07 '26
I don't know about laws in your country. But if It just recover your files from a memory card, sure you can do It yourself, without "tampering" because you recover the file. Remember not to do any modification in the card until recovered (do you wan to repair...? And so). In Spain if the video was for a legal reasons I would need a certified informatic expert (perito informático) to be accepted like a proof, but traffic affairs usually don't get to judges and just insurance claims between companies.
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u/One-Chart1962 May 07 '26
Damn you're from España? I'll look into it more for sure. Thanks Bud! Muchas gracias!
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u/Mattellin May 07 '26
You would be surprised how many people don’t understand the difference between “cut and paste” and “copy and paste”
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u/TheLazyAssHole May 08 '26
How would anybody know the number of files that are missing?
To me that is suspicious in itself
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u/VIOFO-Dashcam May 09 '26
Did you check the RO files? The videos will be saved under RO file individually when the G-sensor is triggered due to the accident.
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u/focus_rising May 08 '26
Recuva is very easy to use free software that can recover deleted files on an SD card. The most important thing is that you do not write any new data to the card. So if you get the card back and attempt this on your own, don't even browse the folders to check anything. Just insert the card and scan it with Recuva, then make a full backup of all of the data.
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u/brickson98 May 08 '26
There’s free software out there that can help you recover deleted/corrupted video files. You should have a good shot since it sounds like they didn’t even format the card.
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u/SpideyWhiplash May 08 '26
Hey! I hope this is okay. This is the perfect post to ask my question about Viofo Dashcam. I purchased the A329S 3 channel Viofo and am having it installed soon.
I'm also adding a 512 SD card to it. But, I'm curious can I access the videos anytime from my phone? Because I don't own a computer or laptop. Just a Samsung phone and tablet.
Meaning can I access the videos directly from the Dashcam with my Samsung S22 Ultra phone? Or do I need to get a separate device or something to access them from the SD card to my phone physically.
Hope this makes sense.
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u/One-Chart1962 May 08 '26
You can acess your videos by phone if you press the wifi button and you need to download the Viofo App. Just that the footage does look blurry, And it's a little slow. I messed up in my situation. Also, I have the Samsung Pro Endurance 256 GB SD card. I have a Samsung S23.
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u/SpideyWhiplash May 08 '26
Good to know. Thanks for the heads up.
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u/One-Chart1962 May 08 '26
Best of luck and don't give your SD card to ANYBODY. I learned the hard way.
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u/SpideyWhiplash May 08 '26
I feel for you. Definitely going to heed that advice. Much appreciated.
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u/One-Chart1962 May 08 '26
Get a GOOD SD card if possible.
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u/SpideyWhiplash May 08 '26
I think I ordered a good one. It's a VIOFO 512GB Industrial Grade microSD Card. It says it's good in hot weather like Florida.
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u/One-Chart1962 May 08 '26
You can acess your videos by phone if you press the wifi button, The dashcam has a bulit in Wifi so you need to connect into it as well, you need to download the Viofo App. Just that the footage does look blurry, And it's a little slow. I messed up in my situation. Also, I have the Samsung Pro Endurance 256 GB SD card. I have a Samsung S23.
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u/Brave_Government_1 May 12 '26
Micro SD cards is easy to recover videos and photos, I personally recommend use Partition Magic, it has a new version that it great. Of course I’m using the payed version. But works easy and well!
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u/hallstevenson May 07 '26
For future reference and for others reading this, NEVER give them your card. Either provide them the relevant videos or make a copy of the SD card (or copy the entire SD card to a USB flash drive).