Please help! Is it still possible to recover photos from my Huawei Nova 3i that has been formatted several times over the past years?

Recovering Deleted Photos from a Huawei Nova 3i: Is Recovery Still Possible After Multiple Formats?

If you’re a Huawei Nova 3i user who has formatted your device multiple times over the years, you might be wondering whether there’s still hope to retrieve valuable photos and videos stored on your phone. This article explores the possibilities of data recovery under such circumstances and provides guidance on the best approaches to attempt retrieval.

Understanding Data Deletion and Formatting on Mobile Devices

When you delete photos or videos from your smartphone, the data isn’t immediately erased. Instead, the space occupied by these files is marked as available for new data. However, once you perform a format—especially multiple times—the chances of recovering the original files diminish significantly. Formatting typically overwrites existing data, making recovery more challenging.

The Challenges Presented by Multiple Formats

Multiple formatting cycles compound the difficulty of data retrieval. Each new formatting operation may overwrite parts of the previous data, reducing the likelihood of successful recovery. Additionally, since your files were not backed up—either to cloud services like Google Photos, external drives, or computers—the data is essentially lost from a standard user’s perspective, especially after several formats.

Is Data Recovery Still Feasible After Several Years?

In general, the chances of recovering photos from a device that has been formatted multiple times over several years are slim. The longer the time elapsed, combined with repeated data overwriting, further decreases the likelihood. Nevertheless, under certain conditions, specialized data recovery methods might still yield some results, although they are not guaranteed.

What You Can Do Next

1. Stop Using the Device Immediately
   To maximize recovery chances, avoid using the phone further. Continued use can overwrite residual data, making recovery impossible.

2. Use Professional Data Recovery Services
   Consider consulting reputable professional data recovery labs. They have specialized equipment and software capable of deep analysis that goes beyond standard recovery methods.

3. Try Data Recovery Software (With Caution)
   While free and paid recovery tools (such as Dr.Fone, DiskDigger, or Stellar Data Recovery) may help recover some files, their success rate diminishes sharply after multiple formats and long durations without backups. Use these tools as a last attempt and ensure you run them on a connected device or memory card, if applicable.

4. Check for Any Remaining Backups or Copies
   Re-examine cloud accounts, SD cards, or external storage to confirm if any copies