If You’re Reading This, You’re Probably Panicking. Don’t.

Photos of your kids growing up. The wedding video. Years of work documents. A whole hard drive full of music you’ve collected since you were 18. The thought of losing it all is genuinely awful — and we see people every week who’ve come dangerously close.

Here’s what we tell every customer who walks in panicked: most of the time, your data isn’t gone. It’s hiding. A drive that “won’t read” usually still has the data physically intact — it’s the controller that’s failed, or the file system that’s corrupted, or a cable that’s broken. The data itself is sitting there, waiting to be retrieved.

The trick is doing the recovery properly, with the right tools, before someone makes things worse. Plugging a failing drive in repeatedly, running disk repair tools that “fix” problems by deleting them, or running CHKDSK on a dying drive can turn a recoverable problem into an unrecoverable one in minutes. If your drive’s making clicking noises, won’t mount, or has dropped a folder full of photos, stop using it and bring it to us.

What We Can Recover Data From

If it stores data, we’ve probably tried to recover from it. Common cases first, harder cases below.

Not sure if your situation is recoverable? Bring it in or give us a call — we’ll tell you honestly within 5 minutes whether it’s worth attempting.

A Quick Honest Note About iPhones

Apple’s modern security architecture means data recovery from damaged iPhones is genuinely difficult — Apple deliberately designed iOS so that even Apple themselves can’t extract data from a locked or damaged device. We can attempt recovery on some iPhones (particularly older models, or working iPhones where you’ve simply deleted something), but if your iPhone won’t power on or you’ve forgotten the passcode, the data is usually lost.

The honest truth is: the only reliable iPhone data recovery is the iCloud backup you set up before something went wrong. If you have an iPhone, please — go check your iCloud Photos and iCloud Backup are both turned on, right now. Don’t wait until something happens.

How Data Recovery Works

Four steps. We’re transparent about what we can and can’t do at every stage so there are no surprises.

How Much Does Data Recovery Cost?

Honest answer: it depends entirely on the problem. A simple deleted-file recovery on a working drive is a different job from a clicking, dying mechanical drive that needs a clean room. We don’t believe in publishing fake “from £49” prices that nobody actually pays — it’s unfair to customers.

Typical Recovery Costs (Beyond the Diagnostic)

• Simple software/logical recoveries (deleted files on a working drive): typically £60-£150
• Corrupted file system recoveries (drive mounts but won’t read): typically £100-£250
• Failed drive recoveries (mechanical issues, drive won’t spin): typically £150-£400 in-house
• Forensic lab recoveries (clean room, head swap, severe damage): typically £300-£900+ depending on complexity
• Dead Android phone recoveries: typically £100-£250 depending on extraction method

Every job gets a fixed quote before work starts. You always know the price before we begin. If a job turns out to need the lab, we’ll let you know what that costs before sending it off — you can choose to proceed or stop there.

For the Hardest Cases: Our Forensic Lab Partner

Most data recoveries can be handled in-house. But some cases — drives with physically damaged read heads, severely water-damaged storage, fire-damaged drives, or specialist enterprise systems — need a clean-room environment and equipment that costs more than a small house.

This matters because most “high street” repair shops simply turn away the hard cases — they tell customers “sorry, your data’s gone.” Often, the data isn’t gone, it just needs a lab. We’re one of very few independent shops in East Yorkshire who can route to a proper forensic facility when needed.

Why Choose Mend My iPhone for Data Recovery?

• 12 years’ experience — recovering data from drives, devices and damaged hardware since 2013
• Honest assessment — we tell you straight whether your data is recoverable, not what you want to hear
• Transparent pricing — fixed quote before work starts, no surprises, no escalating fees
• Local to East Yorkshire — Market Weighton workshop, not a faceless online service. Pop in, ask questions, get answers from a real person
• Privacy first — recovered data goes only to you. We don’t browse, we don’t copy, we don’t share. Recovered data is permanently deleted from our system 30 days after handover
• Forensic lab partnership — for the cases too complex to recover in-house, we route to one of the UK’s leading specialist labs
• 4.9 stars on Google — over 230 reviews from genuine customers across East Yorkshire

If Your Drive Is Failing — Stop Doing These Things Right Now

Most of the unrecoverable cases we see could have been recovered if the customer hadn’t tried to “fix it themselves” first. If your drive is acting up, please:

• Don’t keep plugging it in over and over. Each spin-up of a failing mechanical drive can do more damage. If a drive doesn’t mount on the second try, stop trying.
• Don’t run CHKDSK or “Repair” tools. These tools “repair” drives by deleting bad sectors and the data on them. Sometimes that data is exactly what you needed.
• Don’t install recovery software onto the failing drive. Installing anything onto a drive you’re trying to recover from can overwrite the data you want.
• Don’t open the drive case. Hard drives need clean-room conditions to be opened. Even one dust particle on the platter can destroy the data.
• Don’t put it in rice if it’s a wet drive. Rice doesn’t work, especially for sealed drives. Bring it in damp — we’d rather start with a wet drive than a corroded one.

If in doubt, do nothing — and bring it in. Five minutes of a free diagnostic chat is worth far more than five hours of YouTube troubleshooting that may have already destroyed your only chance.

Common Questions About Data Recovery

How long does data recovery take?

In-house jobs typically take 24-72 hours. Forensic lab cases take 5-10 working days. Emergency expedites available for urgent cases.

Is my data confidential during recovery?

Absolutely. We don’t browse what we recover, we don’t copy it, and we don’t share it. Recovered data is delivered only to you, and our copy is permanently deleted 30 days after you’ve collected.

What if you can’t recover the data?

You only pay the £25 diagnostic. No hidden charges, no “trying” fees. If we can’t recover anything, that’s all you pay.

Can I get my photos back from a phone that won’t turn on?

Sometimes — depends entirely on the phone and what’s wrong with it. Android phones with intact storage chips usually have a chance. iPhones that won’t turn on are much harder. Bring it in for an honest assessment.

Do you recover data from RAID arrays or servers?

Simple RAID 0 and RAID 1 arrays — yes, in-house. More complex configurations (RAID 5, RAID 10, enterprise NAS) we route to the forensic lab. Either way, we’re your single point of contact.

Can I bring it in immediately?

Walk-ins welcome 9am-11am and 3pm-close, Monday to Friday. The 11am-3pm window is for booked work only — please call ahead to book a slot if you’re coming in then.