It’s bad enough that the display breaks, and then your data is not backed up and you can’t get to your photos or other data on your smartphone anymore. Good thing there are some hidden options, whether on Android and iOS powered devices. It is best to clarify before the repair whether this is feasible without data loss.
Unfortunately, there is no generally valid rule about what to do with which smartphone. There are, however, so a few options that you can try to get back to your data. Do not despair if it does not work at first go or a certain way does not work. This is especially true for Android phones, as Apple is very inflexible in this area. After carefully reading the various tips, you may come up with more ideas and find loopholes to save some things after all.
You have an iPhone?
If you have ever connected the iPhone to a computer, you were asked whether you consider it trustworthy. If this has already been done, you can quickly make a backup via iTunes on your computer. However, if that didn’t work, your chances are pretty slim, unfortunately. If you have not already made a backup in advance, you can only have the display replaced and inform the repair shop that no backup was possible and that data should not be deleted and no updates should be made.
Backing up data on Android smartphones
Not as simple as with iOS devices turns out to be the backup for damaged Android smartphones. If you have stored your files on an external microSD card, you can simply take it out. With the older Android versions, you can still access the internal memory if the phone is not protected by a PIN or other variants. If you actually don’t have a lock screen, you can install your smartphone manufacturer’s PC software and get access to all your data through it. If your Android device was switched off during the accident, it is best to remove the SIM card before attempting to rescue it, otherwise you would have to enter this PIN via the screen.
However, there is a special trick for Android users. Should your device On The Go, short OTG, support, it is possible to connect a keyboard or mouse via a USB adapter. You can buy these adapters online for as little as two euros. How do you know if your device supports OTG?? You can look this up very quickly on the Internet. If you have a fingerprint sensor, you actually have to swipe the display upwards. Since this neither with mouse, nor with keyboard succeeds, you go by double-click on a notification and come over this to the input. Samsung users have it good, they should "Find My Mobile" have set up. With this service, one logs in to the browser and lifts the lock via "Lock my device" on.
The display no longer shows anything
A little trick makes it possible to transfer data from a completely black display. Connect your smartphone to a screen via an interface, for example HDMI. This can be your TV, your notebook or the monitor of your PC. Exclusively on Android smartphones, it is now possible to connect a mouse via USB. For this you need a Adapter from Micro-USB to USB and a mouse that you plug into the USB port. Now the mouse appears on the connected screen. However, so that you can use both at the same time, a USB hub necessary.
Another tool for data backup
You can only use this tool on an Android phone with USB debugging enabled. If you can still access your smartphone via an external mouse, you will find this function in Settings>Developer Options. Connect your Android phone to the computer. There is a function called "Ultimate Touchscreen Control", which can be downloaded on a Windows computer. The tool displays the smartphone screen on your PC, and after pre-selecting some options you are ready to go. According to user reports, this function unfortunately doesn’t always work, but if it works for you, you’ll have access to your data again, despite the display disaster.
Data backup by a professional workshop
For you this is all too complicated? Or you have tried everything and still can’t get the data? Then the WERTGARANTIE repair marketplace, with its over 1.000 workshops, help. Here you can check how much a data recovery would cost. Only when you know the exact costs of data recovery and order the cell phone repair shop, it starts to save the data for you. If you decide against a data recovery only the costs for the diagnosis are incurred. Because the WERTGARANTIE repair marketplace takes over the shipping costs for the outward and return journey.
Switch between iOS and Android? This is also possible
There is software such as iBackup Viewer, which is able to extract data from the saved backup. In order to use this function for free, however, you must urgently note that the associated backup is not created encrypted.
To do this, however, you must first follow one of the previous steps and make a backup.
You can find out more about switching between Android and iOS in our article: How to switch from Android to iOS in 3 steps .