Can I recover photos and videos after inadvertent factory reset?

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Bought a new unlocked Samsung Galaxy S10e in December and have been using without a SIM card to take photos and video - I may also have downloaded some files from email, but I'm not sure, and they wouldn't matter so much anyway.
I decided to insert the SIM card from my old phone to switch over just now, and it appears that there was an automatic factory reset. I had no idea that was going to happen and I wasn't given a chance to decline... I can't believe a simple "Are you sure... " is not part of the process, but I suppose security is the reason behind that. I wasn't fazed until I realized that said photos were saved to the phone's memory as opposed to a micro SD card, and I suddenly wanted to cromit... I always have one, but I dropped the ball this time. I also don't have a backup, physical or in the cloud, because I was so sure I had an SD card. :( Yes, I know, I should have set that up, but I didn't want yet another account with Samsung, and Google makes you pay past 15 GB or the photos are of lesser quality if you go for their unlimited free thing.
I haven't used the phone since, because as soon as I saw the deceptively cheerful "Let's get started!" page and realized what had happened, the adrenaline rush made me turn it off and put the SIM card back in my old phone.
So... can I recover these files myself? If not, can a tech person recover them? If so, not sure if I should even ask this, but any suggestions as to who could do such a thing in Montréal, Québec?
Thanks so much for your input!
 
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Strange, I registered before posting, I must have done something wrong.
I noted in my endless description that I don't have backup set up with Samsung or Google, unfortunately, and I never did. 🙁 Thanks anyway!
 
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CatouLarou said:
Strange, I registered before posting, I must have done something wrong.
I noted in my endless description that I don't have backup set up with Samsung or Google, unfortunately, and I never did. Thanks anyway!
Click to expand...
Hi, welcome!
I'm afraid they not recoverable , sorry:(
 
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mustang7757 said:
Yeah sorry , I'm not sure why your phone automatically factory reset after putting a old sim , but never had that happen on any of my devices.
Click to expand...

I didn't expect the let's get started screen asking me to select my language after I inserted the SIM - that is the first screen after a factory reset, right? Like when you start up a new phone?
 
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B. Diddy said:
Welcome to Android Central! Go to photos.google.com on your computer browser and see if any of the photos are there. If not, then unfortunately you didn't have Google Photos backup turned on.

Here's how you can check your Samsung cloud: www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00060518/

Unfortunately, if your photos didn't get backed up anywhere, then it'll be difficult to recover them. See this guide: [Guide] Recovering Deleted Files - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com
Click to expand...

I'm afraid to use the phone if there's something that can be done some other way, by someone who knows what they're doing, before anything gets overwritten. More research! Thanks for the suggestion, I will most likely need to come back to it!
 
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B. Diddy said:
Ugh, I found this: www.samsung.com/ca/support/mobile-d...et-when-i-insert-sim-card-into-my-new-device/. Would've been nice for them to let you know about this more clearly beforehand.:-\

Specific to Canada, and includes your model.
Click to expand...

OMG, just my luck. I had read this already, but I didn't check the model numbers for a match... I was surely in denial. So when the software environment was reorganized, everything was likely overwritten? The Samsung guy I chatted with last night said it was "for my protection"... not very effective seeing as there was no relevant warning: "We are about to cause you an inordinate amount of distress and at least one sleepless night when we wipe out all your photos and videos from Christmas with your children to your daughter's pre-Metropolitain Orchestra performance just last night. Are you sure you want to proceed?" I need to contact the higher ups at Samsung, how difficult could it possibly be to add one step to the process?
No matter the negative outcome, thanks so much for your help, you guys are great!
Cheers!
 
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Unfortunately, the photos are likely gone. The only thing you could try would be to root the phone and use one of the programs mentioned in the previous link, but I wouldn't recommend it.
 
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B. Diddy said:
Unfortunately, the photos are likely gone. The only thing you could try would be to root the phone and use one of the programs mentioned in the previous link, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Click to expand...

I've read a bit about rooting, but not much. Why wouldn't you recommend it? I have nothing to lose at this point, except if doing that voids the warranty. Could it permanently damage the phone somehow?
I spoke to a Google rep - snuck in on the Pixel support line - and she said that they don't have an automatic factory reset on their phones upon first insertion of SIM, that it must be a Samsung thing. So I called our local Samsung tech support/service line, and she said that it was instituted on all Android phones in 2018 I think. It must not happen a whole lot, otherwise you'd think there would be more threads about it. She also said I'm out of luck, but I really want to try something... anything... this should never have happened.
I'm waiting for a call back from "the appropriate Samsung team" because I want to ask them to correct their shortcoming. Yes, I know I'm at fault for not backing up, but I couldn't have anticipated the SIM wiping my phone. In any case, my no back up stupidity doesn't make it okay that they didn't add a warning. It's not as if I initiated the reset in the first place and now I'm angry there was no "are you sure?"
You know, everyone I asked when I bought the phone said it was fine to just insert the SIM card any time, that I could even switch back and forth - this was new to me, so I made sure I could do it without a problem. Apparently, I found the only problem.
Okay, I'm sorry, I guess I just need to vent... I expect more from these huge companies that make billions.
 
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I think rooting might void your warranty -- you may want to check with Samsung about that. Also, if you mess around and do something wrong with the system, you could potentially brick the phone.

Do you know if the Samsung rep you talked to was specifically referring to Canada variants? That support page specifically says that this is something that happens only with Canadian variants.
 
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B. Diddy said:
I think rooting might void your warranty -- you may want to check with Samsung about that. Also, if you mess around and do something wrong with the system, you could potentially brick the phone.
Click to expand...

I recently found out there's a certification that services like Netflix use for HD content called Widevine that is used on smartphones as a form of DRM. Rooting will break this certification, preventing HD content from those services. You'll be limited to SD resolutions in this case.
 
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Mooncatt said:
I recently found out there's a certification that services like Netflix use for HD content called Widevine that is used on smartphones as a form of DRM. Rooting will break this certification, preventing HD content from those services. You'll be limited to SD resolutions in this case.
Click to expand...

Ah, is that what Widevine is for? I always see that updating on my PC as well.
 
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