How to recover deleted voice recordings from Android phone without PC?

Recovering deleted voice recordings can be extremely important in many situations. Voice memos often contain valuable information such as interviews, lectures, music ideas, and more that cannot be easily recreated if accidentally deleted. According to Systweak [1], audio files such as voice recordings contain recoverable data even after deletion, so with the right tools and techniques, recovering lost recordings is often possible.
Some common scenarios where users may accidentally delete voice recordings they want to recover include: deleting the wrong recording, having storage space run out causing automatic deletion, a phone malfunction or glitch, restoring your phone to factory settings, or even theft or damage to your device. Whatever the cause, permanently losing meaningful audio content can be devastating.
Thankfully, by taking quick action after deletion and using specialized recovery software and methods, recovering those lost Android voice recordings is usually achievable, as we’ll explore in this guide.
Sources:
[1] https://www.systweak.com/blogs/research-on-file-recovery/
Check Recycle Bin
Android devices have a Recycle Bin where recently deleted files are stored temporarily before being permanently erased. Voice recordings that have been recently deleted may still be recoverable from the Recycle Bin.
To access the Recycle Bin on your Android device, open the Files app and look for the Recycle Bin folder. You may need to enable the Recycle Bin first in your phone’s settings. Open the Recycle Bin folder and browse for any recently deleted voice recordings.
If you find your deleted voice recordings in the Recycle Bin, long press on them to select them, then tap Restore to recover them back to their original location. However, keep in mind that items in the Recycle Bin are automatically deleted after a certain number of days, so recover them as soon as possible.
If unable to find your deleted recordings in the Recycle Bin, they may have been permanently deleted already. In that case, you will need to attempt other recovery methods. But first always check the Recycle Bin, as voice recordings deleted recently may still be there and recoverable. https://recoverit.wondershare.com/phone-recovery/recover-deleted-files-from-android-recycle-bin.html
Use File Recovery Apps
There are several file recovery apps designed specifically to scan an Android phone’s storage and find deleted voice recordings. These apps can often recover voice recordings even if they were not saved to the recycle bin.
Some top recommended file recovery apps include:
Audio Recovery – This app scans your phone’s internal and external storage to find deleted audio files. It can recover multiple audio formats including voice recordings. The app also lets you preview files before recovering them.
MiniTool Mobile Recovery – This data recovery app for Android can dig deep to find deleted or lost files. It has a high voice recording recovery success rate. The app also has different scan modes for more customized searches.
DiskDigger – This free recovery app makes it easy to scan your phone and recover lost photos, videos, and audio recordings. It has filters to find just voice recordings. The app lets you star recovered files to save them.
The key advantage of using a file recovery app is it searches your phone thoroughly to find voice recordings, even ones not in the recycle bin. These apps can recover data from internal storage, SD cards, and cloud storage.
Connect to PC
Connecting your Android phone to a PC with data recovery software is an effective way to recover deleted recordings. Here are the steps:
- Download and install data recovery software like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard on your PC.
- Connect your Android phone to the PC using a USB cable.
- Open the data recovery software and select the drive letter for your connected Android device.
- Scan the drive to find all deleted files including audio recordings.
- Preview found recordings and select the ones you want to recover.
- Specify a location on your PC to save the recovered recordings.
Data recovery software provides an easy interface to thoroughly scan your Android device and recover recordings even if you emptied the recycle bin. Software like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard works well for Android file recovery when connected to a PC.
Retrieve from Backups
One of the best ways to recover deleted voice recordings is by restoring them from a backup. Many Android devices automatically back up data like call recordings to the cloud. For example, if you have a Google account linked to your device, recordings may be saved to Google Drive. You can log into Google Drive on a computer or through the Drive app and search for any recordings that may have been automatically backed up.[1]
Another option is to use Android’s built-in Backup & Restore system. This creates local backups on your device that you may be able to restore deleted recordings from. Go to Settings > System > Backup on your phone and look for backups that contain call recordings. Tap on a backup to view the contents and restore any deleted recordings you need.[2]
Checking these backup sources can save you from having to use data recovery software or services if your important voice recordings were backed up before being deleted.
Avoid Overwriting Data
It’s crucial to avoid recording new audio or installing new apps after accidental deletion occurs. Doing so can overwrite the deleted files and make them unrecoverable. Once space is overwritten, recovery becomes much more difficult if not impossible.
As soon as you realize voice recordings have been deleted, stop using the phone. Don’t record any new audio, take photos, download apps or files, or otherwise write new data to the device’s storage. Any new data has the potential to overwrite deleted files.
According to a Reddit user, “The more you use the device and save new data, the more likely something will overwrite the deleted data, making it unrecoverable.” They recommend immediately turning on Airplane mode to stop syncing data and minimize overwriting [1].
Basically, freeze all activity on the device once you realize files were deleted. This gives you the best chance of recovering the lost voice recordings intact before they get overwritten.
Stop Using the Phone
When you delete files on an Android phone, the files are not completely erased from the device right away. Instead, the space they occupied is marked as available to be overwritten by new data. So if you continue using your phone normally after accidentally deleting files, there is a good chance new data will be written over the deleted files, making them much harder or impossible to recover.
For this reason, it is highly recommended to stop using your Android phone immediately after realizing important files have been deleted. The less you use the phone and generate new data, the better the chances the deleted files are still intact for recovery software or data recovery services to resurrect them. Continuing normal use like installing apps, taking pictures, downloading files etc. increases the risk of permanent data loss.
As soon as you notice the accidental deletion, turn off the phone if possible and avoid turning it back on or charging it until you can attempt file recovery. This gives you the best shot at getting those deleted items back intact.
Try a Data Recovery Service
If you’ve exhausted all DIY options for recovering deleted voice recordings and still haven’t had success, a professional data recovery service may be able to help as a last resort. According to Geek Squad, there is typically a $49.99 charge for an initial evaluation. If the recovery is straightforward, they can perform it in-store for an additional $200 fee. For more complex cases, the price may be higher.
According to 300 Dollar Data Recovery, hard drive data recovery costs range from $300 to $1000 on average depending on the device and complexity. SD card recovery is more affordable, with prices starting around $100. Keep in mind that data recovery services charge per storage device, not per file, so recovering multiple deleted recordings won’t necessarily increase the price.
When using a professional service, store the device securely to avoid overwriting deleted data until it can be examined. The success rate and cost for recovering deleted Android recordings will vary, but data recovery services can retrieve lost data in many cases when DIY options have failed.
Recover from SD Card
If you had saved your voice recordings to an external SD card rather than internal storage, it may be possible to recover them by connecting the SD card directly to a computer. Removing the SD card prevents the phone from overwriting the deleted files.
To recover deleted recordings from an Android SD card:
- Remove the SD card from your Android phone.
- Use a card reader to connect the SD card to a Windows or Mac computer.
- Download and install a free data recovery tool like Disk Drill on your computer.
- Run the data recovery tool and select the SD card drive.
- The tool will scan the drive and allow you to preview and recover deleted recordings.
Connecting the SD card directly to a computer makes it easier for data recovery software to find and restore deleted files. Just be sure not to save anything new to the SD card before recovering the deleted recordings, as this could overwrite them.
Prevent Future Deletion
To avoid accidentally deleting important voice recordings in the future, there are some steps you can take:
Enable the Recycle Bin on your Android device if it is not already on. The Recycle Bin will store deleted files for a certain period of time before permanently deleting them, allowing you a chance to recover them. You can find the Recycle Bin in your device’s Settings.
Back up your voice recordings regularly either to cloud storage or an external SD card. That way if you do accidentally delete a recording, you can retrieve it from your backup. Services like Google Drive or Dropbox make it easy to automatically back up files.
Use file lock apps like AppLock to lock your important voice recording files and prevent them from being deleted. These apps require a password/pattern to delete locked files.
Consider saving particularly important recordings separately on an SD card or other external storage. This adds an extra layer of protection against accidental deletion.
Overall being proactive about backups and using file lock features can help avoid permanent data loss from accidental deletions in the future.