Old LG V30 – only recent photos remain, older files seem auto-deleted. Any way to recover?

Recovering Deleted Files from an Old LG V30: Is Restoration Possible?

If you’re an owner of an LG V30 and have recently noticed unexpected data loss, you’re not alone. Many users have experienced situations where older files seem to have vanished from their device without warning. In this article, we’ll explore the causes behind such data disappearance, assess the chances of recovering deleted information, and offer practical steps to maximize your chances of retrieval.

Understanding the Data Loss on Your LG V30

Recently powering on an aging LG V30 and observing that only recent photos and videos remain can be confusing. Often, it appears as though the device has automatically deleted older files, leaving only the most recent media intact. While this can be alarming, understanding potential reasons can help determine whether recovery is feasible.

Common Reasons for Data Disappearance

Automatic cleanup or system optimization: Some devices or apps may delete older media automatically to conserve space, though this is uncommon on stock Android devices unless specific cleanup apps are installed.
Partial storage corruption: Storage issues can cause data corruption or apparent missing files.
Manual or inadvertent deletion: Files might have been accidentally deleted.
File system corruption or overwriting: Overwriting of storage sectors could have caused older files to be overwritten or become inaccessible.

Backup History and Its Role

It’s important to evaluate what backup methods have been employed:

Cloud backups: You’ve mentioned not using LG Cloud, but some photos and videos are stored on Google Photos. Keep in mind that Google Photos only syncs media you’ve uploaded or backed up, not necessarily every file stored locally.
External backups: You manually copied some files to a USB drive years ago. These are your most promising recovery candidates.

Is Recovery of Old Files Possible?

The likelihood of retrieving deleted files depends on several factors:

Have the files been overwritten? When new data is written to the device’s internal storage, older files are overwritten, making recovery impossible.
Are the files still present in the storage? If the data was simply hidden or inaccessible, recovery tools might help.

In general, once data is deleted from an Android device’s internal storage, there’s no straightforward way to recover it unless specific recovery techniques are employed promptly.