How to recover lost data without root?

[AC Question]

I accidentally deleted my whole photo collection on my Nexus 5 and had to realize I made a very serious error - I didn't root (won't happen again, I swear!).

Here's what I found out and tried already:

- I can't access the file system directly because I neither have an SD card on my Nexus 5 nor Mass Storage access, only MTP.

- I tried to gain root access with Towelroot, but it won't work anymore.

- I tried several Windows tools that all didn't live up to their noisy SEO marketing: Dr. Fone, Android Data Recovery Pro, FonePaw. None of these found anything on the device.

Has anybody an idea? Are there any current tricks to root without wiping on Android 5.1? Do I have a chance to recover something after wiping and rooting? Any magic tools I've been missing?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Try using Kingo: http://forums.androidcentral.com/ne...kingo-android-root-one-click.html#post4210551

Then see if this guide helps: http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...-s/500142-guide-recovering-deleted-files.html

Be aware that recovering deleted files from Internal Storage can be very difficult, if not impossible.

 

[wortwart]

Thanks for your help, B. Diddy. I tried Kingo, but it could not root without wiping. As expected, there was nothing left to save afterwards (said GT Data Recovery). At least it shouldn't happen again.

 

[B. Diddy]

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure you've heard this before, but going forward, I'd strongly consider doing regular backups of your photos to your computer (if you don't like the cloud), or turning on Google Photos Auto-Backup.