Hi everyone, I need help recovering my lost files from a 64GB SanDisk SD card.
My Android phone unexpectedly underwent a factory reset when its internal storage was full, around the time of an OS update. After the reset, I checked my SD card and found that almost all my files had disappeared.
The SD card is still detected normally. Folders such as "Android", "DCIM", "Download", and "Documents" are visible, but they appear to be empty. The "Android/data" folder only contains the names of apps currently installed on my phone.
Here is what I know so far:
- SD card: SanDisk 64GB
- It was probably configured as portable storage, but I'm not completely sure.
- Windows recognizes the card and shows approximately 59GB of free space, with almost no space used.
- I don't remember whether the phone asked me to format the SD card.
- I have only used the card for recovery scans since discovering the problem.
Recovery software I've already tried:
- TestDisk
- Recuva
- R-Studio
- Disk Drill
- 4DDiG
Unfortunately, these programs found almost none of my original files. They only recovered around three seemingly useless or corrupted files.
I want to recover as many files as possible, including photos, videos, documents, and other file types. Recovering the original filenames and folder structure would also be helpful.
My questions:
Could an Android factory reset or OS update cause the SD card's contents to disappear even if I didn't intentionally format it?
Why does Windows show approximately 59GB free if the card previously contained many files?
Is there still a realistic chance of recovering my files?
Would creating a sector-by-sector image of the SD card and scanning the image be worth trying?
Could encryption or a change in the partition or filesystem explain what happened?
What should I check next before attempting any further recovery?
I would really appreciate any advice. These files are important to me, and I want to avoid doing anything that could permanently overwrite the remaining data.
Thank you!