How do I recover deleted music from my SD card on my Android phone?

What causes music to be deleted from an SD card?

There are a few common reasons music files may get deleted from an SD card:

Accidental deletion – Users may accidentally delete music files from the SD card, such as when trying to free up space. According to one source, accidental deletion is a leading cause of lost files on SD cards for both Android and iPhone users (https://www.anyrecover.com/storage-device-recovery/recover-deleted-music-from-sd-card-android/).

Formatting the SD card – Formatting or reformatting the SD card will wipe all data, including music files. People may format the card if they want to clear space, fix errors, or prepare the card for a new device.

Corruption of the SD card – SD cards can become corrupted due to physical damage, sudden removal from a device while writing data, malware, or other issues. This can make data on the card inaccessible or deleted.

Stop using the SD card immediately

If you believe files have been accidentally deleted from your Android phone’s SD card, it is crucial to stop using the card right away. As explained by TechChef Madhuri, “If you think your data is lost, don’t use the SD card anymore. Using it might make things worse by writing over the deleted data.” [1] Continued use of the SD card could lead to the deleted files being overwritten by new data, making them essentially unrecoverable. The SD card should be removed from the phone and not used further until an attempt is made to recover the lost files. This gives the best chance of retrieving the deleted music, photos, or other data intact before it is permanently overwritten.

Try a file recovery app

Apps like DiskDigger Photo Recovery can scan and recover deleted files from the phone’s internal memory and SD card. DiskDigger can recover photos, videos, music, documents and some app data without needing root access. For deeper scans that find more files, root access may be required on some phones. Other free recovery apps to try include Minitool Mobile Recovery for Android, Jihosoft Android Phone Recovery, and Xiaoxintong Data Recovery. Paid apps like EaseUS MobiSaver for Android also offer more advanced scanning features.

Recovery apps look for residual traces of deleted files that may still exist in the phone’s storage memory. The sooner you run a scan after deletion, the higher the chance of recovering your files. Avoid adding new data to the device before running the app. And for the best results, apps that require root access can scan more memory locations.

Connect SD card to a computer

Connecting the SD card directly to a computer and using data recovery software offers a more robust way to recover deleted files compared to using the Android phone.

Once the SD card is connected to the computer via a card reader, run data recovery software like Recuva or EaseUS Data Recovery. These programs allow deep scanning of the SD card to find residual traces of deleted files. The software scans the raw data on the card, ignoring the file system structure, making it possible to resurrect data even if the partition was formatted or repartitioned.

The advantage of using data recovery software on a computer over trying to recover files directly on the Android device is that the computer allows a much more detailed scan of the SD card contents. The data recovery apps have more robust capabilities optimized for recovering all types of deleted media files like songs, videos, photos, etc. Connecting directly via a card reader provides faster transfer speeds as well.

As long as the deleted music files have not been overwritten by new data on the SD card, scanning with powerful Windows or Mac data recovery software provides an excellent chance of getting back lost and deleted tracks from the Android device’s removable storage.

Recover from phone internal storage

Deleted files may be recovered from internal storage if they were synced or copied there from the SD card before being deleted. The internal storage acts as a second location where the files may still reside.

Use a file manager app like ES File Explorer to access the internal storage folders on your Android device. Navigate to where music files may have been saved, such as the Music or Ringtones folders. If you locate the deleted files here, you can recover them.

Be careful not to overwrite the deleted files on internal storage or they may be permanently lost. Copy any recovered files to another location like your computer or a backup drive.[1]

Try external SD card readers

If your Android phone doesn’t allow you to directly connect the SD card to a computer, you can use an external SD card reader instead. Card readers provide a USB port that allows you to plug the SD card into your computer.

Once connected via a card reader, the SD card will show up as an external drive on your computer. You can then use data recovery software to scan the drive and recover deleted files.

There are many affordable USB card readers available for both microSD and full-size SD cards. Make sure to get one that is compatible with your computer. USB-C and USB-A versions are common.

Using an external card reader can be more reliable than trying to access files directly from your Android phone. It gives you full access to the SD card just like a USB drive.

Some recommended external SD card readers include:
Best SD Card Reader for Android Phones to Read External

Send to a pro data recovery service

If you’ve exhausted all DIY options for recovering deleted music files from your Android device’s SD card, your last resort may be to send it to a professional data recovery service. Companies like FiveStar Data Recovery and 300 Dollar Data Recovery specialize in salvaging data from damaged drives and cards when all else fails.

The advantage of using a pro service is that they have access to advanced tools and clean room facilities to manually recover data. Where normal users are limited to software scans, pros can safely open up the SD card and repair or bypass any physical damage to extract raw data off the NAND chips. This gives them the best chance of restoring your files when DIY software recovery fails.

The downside is cost. Professional SD card data recovery services typically charge $300-650 depending on the severity of damage. There may also be additional fees if no files can be recovered. Still, for irreplaceable photos, videos, and audio, the high success rate of pro recovery makes it worth considering when you’ve run out of other options.

Restore from a Backup

One way to recover deleted music from an SD card is to restore the files from a backup. Many Android phones automatically back up photos, videos, and files to the cloud using services like Google Photos. According to Google support, Google Photos can recover deleted files if they were backed up to the cloud storage.

To restore deleted media files from a Google Photos backup on an Android device:

  • Open the Google Photos app.
  • At the bottom, tap Library and then Bin.
  • Touch and hold the file you want to restore.
  • Tap Restore at the bottom. The file will be restored from the cloud backup.

As long as the deleted files were backed up, this should restore them to the SD card from Google Photos cloud storage. Just be aware that cloud services like Google Photos may delete backups after a certain time period, such as 60 days. So recovering older deleted files from backup may not always be possible.

Avoid losing files again

It’s frustrating to lose important files, so take steps to avoid it happening again in the future:

Enable the ‘recycle bin’ feature in file manager apps like ES File Explorer to recover deleted files. This works like the Recycle Bin in Windows.

Set up automatic photo and video backups to cloud storage like Google Photos or Dropbox. This ensures your media is saved even if deleted from your SD card.

Before resetting your phone, back up important data and files using Android’s built-in backup features or apps like Helium.

Use the ‘move to trash’ function when deleting files instead of permanently deleting. This gives you a chance to recover them.

Install a file recovery app like DiskDigger ahead of time. This makes it easier to recover deleted files if needed.

Regularly create manual backups of important files to your computer or external drives.

Enable SD card encryption in your phone’s settings to secure your data.

Avoid removing the SD card when the phone is on, as this can lead to corruption.

Accept loss and redownload

If all attempts to recover your deleted music files have failed, you may need to accept that the files are permanently gone. While it can be disappointing to lose your music files, especially if they held sentimental value, there are options to replace what was lost.

Most streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music have millions of songs available to stream and download. If you had purchased the lost music previously, you may be able to re-download it from the service you bought it from. For example, if you bought songs on iTunes in the past, you can go to your iTunes account and download those purchases again.

Alternatively, you can search for the artists and albums you lost and repurchase the music. Digital music stores like iTunes, Amazon Music, and Google Play have millions of songs available for download at reasonable prices (typically $0.69 to $1.29 per track). This is likely cheaper than investing in professional data recovery.

While re-downloading your music collection can take time, it may be the most effective path forward after exhausting all other options. With major advancements in music streaming and distribution, most lost music can be replaced even if local files can’t be recovered.

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