I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, 32 GB, Verizon model. Precious pictures and videos of my son's first five months were saved to the internal storage of the phone. One day my son entered the incorrect swipe pattern too many times, triggering an ominous message: "Incorrect PIN. You have ten incorrect attempts remaining before your phone will automatically launch a factory data reset. All data will be lost."
Anyway, I didn't know my backup PIN and didn't want to risk resetting my phone, so I Googled potential workarounds. In my case, there was absolutely no possible way to access the files remotely (my phone was stock, not rooted, so I couldn't sideload a password wipe; and USB debugging was disabled on the phone before my son locked it, so the ADB method was also out). I was extremely frustrated and nearly had panic attacks at the thought of losing those memories that were literally locked in my phone.
Fortunately I found FileRetrieval after Googling "mobile forensics." I browsed their website and was quickly contacted by one of those "Chat Now" dialog boxes. Don't know if this was a real person or a bot, but I was assured that my problem could be fixed, and that a technician could call me right away. The dialog box made it clear upfront that my cell phone service was not eligible for the free diagnostic, which was unfortunate but nonetheless appreciated from a transparency standpoint.
The technician called me at my requested time, and after describing in detail my exact situation, I was told there was a chance I could get my files back. Recovery wasn't guaranteed, but confidence was expressed that the company had handled this exact issue in the past. This was a relief, but I still wanted to do some research before committing to large fees, so I didn't commit just yet. After checking with competitors who (i) admitted they likely couldn't get around the PIN problem, (ii) would have charged more in the event of successful data recovery, or (iii) a combination of both, I went back to FileRetrieval. The case manager I had, Tyler Diamond, was very patient with my several questions and emails (I literally had 5+ separate calls and 10+ emails that day, which covered specific questions and requested particular assurances). I opted for the $299 Premium service, understanding that this didn't guarantee anything except an expedited diagnosis.
Because FileRetrieval had an office in Los Angeles that was close to my own place of work, I was able to drop off my cell phone instead of FedExing it. The dropoff process on a Wednesday went smoothly, and I eagerly awaited the diagnostic results (6 hours per the Premium Service). The very next day, Tyler called with the great news that the data could be retrieved. Pricing, although pretty steep, was carefully explained to me: a $285 deposit to start the data retrieval attempt, a $719 balance in the event of successful data recovery, and separate charges for (i) transferring the data onto another media device and (ii) returning my original hardware. While I wish the charges would have been less expensive, given my despair earlier in the week, I ultimately didn't mind the high cost for saving my data. So after agreeing to all the charges, work began immediately. I expected an update by Wednesday of the following week, at the earliest (4-6 business days for data recovery, not including weekends, was what the Premium service promised). Again my expectations were surpassed when I was called the following Monday with the news I wanted to hear: all of my pictures and videos were saved, and I'd soon be getting everything returned to me by the end of the week.
Of course you know how the rest of this goes: I got everything back on Wednesday, instead of Friday, and was able to transfer everything from the USB stick that housed the recovered files onto my computer. My phone was returned in the same FedEx package, which had several layers of separate envelopes to cushion the contents. The phone itself looked as if it was carefully handled throughout the process (no damages or scratches anywhere), and turned on just fine when I tested it.
I can't recommend this company strongly enough to anyone who is facing a devastating data loss like I did last week. Was it pricey? Sure. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Were they professional, responsive, transparent, and accommodating? Yes to all of these, and at every stage of the way. While I hope to never encounter this problem again, I know that FileRetrieval is an available resource that can get the job done. I repeat: my problem had no do-it-yourself solution, couldn't be fixed by Samsung OR Verizon OR Google (attempts with all of these companies, whether via website or in-store or over the phone, got me nowhere), and couldn't be fixed by some of FileRetrieval's competitors --- but FileRetrieval was able to live up to all its promises. Can't thank this company enough for all that they were able to do. read more
