Question Data recovery support needed - Galaxy S10+

[phunky24]

Hi All,

I'm looking for some support to access my data in my Samsung Galaxy S10+ which has a broken screen. The screen shows some tints of color at some points during the boot process, but I am not 100% sure if the touchscreen functionality still works or not. The phone does not have USB Debugging enabled, my data is not backed up to any cloud provider, and I did not enable the Find My Mobile Samsung service. I have gone through countless guides, and this one from this forum -

A quick guide to accessing a locked phone with a cracked screen

I have seen many many posts in the various sub forums here and on other sites with people having pass code protected phones with cracked screens and no backups of the precious pictures on the phone. I feel so bad and have always wanted to help.I have been meaning to write this for almost a year...

forums.androidcentral.com

without success. I am looking for suggestions to try, or for any corrections in the attempts I have made.

What I have tried:​

1) Connecting the phone directly to my PC with a cable​

When attempting this method, I am not able to see anything connected under "My PC" in Windows 11. I suspect this is because I need to click on the "allow data transfer" popup from the phone, and also have it unlocked.

2) Connecting the phone directly to my PC with a cable and using - scrcpy​

For this method I downloaded the software from here - https://scrcpy.org/ but was not able to view the phone screen on my PC. I suspect due to USB debugging being turned off.

3) Using a USB-C hub to connect a screen/mouse/keyboard to the phone​

For this method, I purchased this - USB-C Hub

3.1) Booting up the phone normally​

When attempting this method, I am only able to see the lock screen displayed on the screen, but I cannot interact with it (with either the mouse/keyboard or touch screen). Here is a picture of the setup showing the lock screen on the monitor:



I have tried pressing all keyboard/mouse buttons, but I am not able to trigger the lock screen to enter my PIN.

3.2) Booting into recovery mode​

To attempt this method, I boot the device into recovery mode by pressing the volume up, Bixby button and the power button. (Based on this guide)

But when doing this I am not getting any output on the monitor which is attached to the USB-C hub. The screen gets a red tint, instead of the completely black screen. I was hoping to turn on USB debugging via this mode to try method 2 again.

Possible Next Steps:​

My best-case scenario is that I am doing something wrong in the methods I have already tried and can recover my data with the existing equipment/setup I have. I am also willing to purchase any recommended equipment.

If there is no way to recover the data without fixing the screen, I was thinking if it would be possible to get an incompatible (meaning the screen wouldn't properly attach to the phone, but would still provide the necessary functionality) cheap screen, just to enable USB debugging so that I can recover my data, and then I can throw out the phone. Would this be a valid approach? And if yes, what screen would you recommend?

I want to avoid replacing the screen because it will cost me around 260-300£, which is more than the phone is worth. Plus, I have a new phone and I am only interested in the data. But if this is the only way to recover the data then I will do it.

Lastly, is there a way to get a CLI to the phone and enable USB debugging from there somehow? I am not very experienced with this type of troubleshooting, so any support will be greatly appreciated. I will post updates with screenshots (if needed) of any suggestions that I receive.

Thank you,
Tom

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Sorry you're in this situation, but the problem is that in order for a phone's data to be read via USB connection to a PC, the phone's screen has to be unlocked -- this is a security measure. You could try this old method, but I'm not sure how successful it is on current phones: A quick guide to accessing a locked phone with a cracked screen - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

 

[phunky24]

Welcome to Android Central! Sorry you're in this situation, but the problem is that in order for a phone's data to be read via USB connection to a PC, the phone's screen has to be unlocked -- this is a security measure. You could try this old method, but I'm not sure how successful it is on current phones: A quick guide to accessing a locked phone with a cracked screen - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

Thanks for your reply! The guide you posted is one of the first ones I tried when browsing this forum, but without any success, unfortunately. I will probably give it another attempt, just in case I am doing the pattern incorrectly.