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I have a Moto X (Lollipop 5.1) whose display is broken. I have some files and photos in it which are very important. Unfortunately, I didn't use Dropbox or Google Drive to backup my content. I tried the following ways to recover the data but with no help:

  • Control a device with a broken screen but unfortunately USB debugging is not enabled. Also, the pc doesn't recoganize the device (I figured that out with lsusb on my linux).
  • The phone doesn't have any apps like AirDroid installed to allow it to be accessed remotely on a PC.

The phone works and I was able to locate and ring it via Android Device Manager. Is there a way to get access to the phone's data in my current situation?

Firelord
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Archit Verma
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  • Good research already I see. Have you checked with our broken-screen tag-wiki also? Some useful links there. – Izzy Jul 27 '15 at 15:36
  • Look at this answer you may find this helpful to atleast enabling the USB-debugging. – Lucky Jul 27 '15 at 15:39
  • @Lucky quote: "the pc doesn't recoganize the device (I figured that out with lsusb on my linux)" – fat chance if it's not even detected by lsusb. – Izzy Jul 27 '15 at 15:44
  • @Izzy I'm guessing the OP hasn't installed the driver software for Moto X on his Linux PC. On my Windows sometimes I need to install the Motorola device manager software to get my Moto G2 detected. But here I can only find device manager for Windows and Mac. So I guess OP has to install the drivers for either Windows/Mac and then enable usb-debugging for further progress. – Lucky Jul 27 '15 at 15:58
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    @Lucky no need for "drivers" on Linux (though one would need some special software to deal with MTP). And think of lsusb here in terms of "device manager" on Windows: even without drivers installed, the device would show up there – and if it doesn't, installing drivers doesn't help (as those drivers wouldn't find a device to "drive"). – Izzy Jul 27 '15 at 16:01
  • Archit: does the Moto-X support OTG, and does it have an HDMI port? – Izzy Jul 27 '15 at 16:29
  • @Izzy It does support OTG, doesn't have an HDMI port though. – Archit Verma Jul 27 '15 at 16:33
  • Yuck. With half a bridge one can't cross the big river. Thought about attaching it to a TV via HDMI, and controlling it with a mouse attached via OTG. Is the display totally broken, or just not reacting on touch events – i.e. can you still use it to "see what's going on"? – Izzy Jul 27 '15 at 16:38
  • Nope I can't see whats happening. The display is totally gone. But that's a nice idea. Would it be possible if I connect it via a USB to HDMI adapter? – Archit Verma Jul 27 '15 at 16:57
  • If the device supports that (e.g. via MHL – but I didn't see that in the specs; though an AndroidCentral thread suggests it does), yes. But then, where to put the mouse? I doubt it would work via some USB hub (though it can't hurt to try). – Izzy Jul 27 '15 at 17:00
  • I just tested connecting USB Hub via OTG and then connecting mouse to it. That works. But I couldn't find any USB to HDMI cable for Moto X. This reddit thread more or less confirms it. Does MotoX support output via USB at all? If that's possible then I could even try out USB to VGA. – Archit Verma Jul 27 '15 at 17:24
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    From what I've read so far, I'm afraid there's no way attaching an external display to the Moto-X via USB, sorry :( – Izzy Jul 28 '15 at 15:45

4 Answers4

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Most if not all Android phones will connect via USB cable to a computer (Windows, Mac, or Linux) as a mass storage device or media device; either should let you use your computer's file manager to copy the files from the device to the computer's storage.

The device needs to be powered up to do this, but you don't (in my experience) need to make any settings changes in the device, so it shouldn't matter that the display is destroyed -- that is, if it works well enough to ring, you should be able to access and copy your files.

If the device won't mount as mass storage or media on a USB cable, you may still be able to recover files if they're stored on an SD card -- you'll just need to power down the phone and pull the SD card, then insert it in a compatible reader connected to your computer.

Zeiss Ikon
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  • A quote for you as well: "the pc doesn't recoganize the device (I figured that out with lsusb on my linux)" If lsusb doesn't show the device, no MTP/UMS/whatever will pop up: the computer doesn't see it at all. – Izzy Jul 27 '15 at 15:45
  • Hence the third paragraph of my answer. If it won't mount on USB, that's the only way to recover files, short of hacking the phone hardware to read out its internal storage. – Zeiss Ikon Jul 27 '15 at 16:25
  • As @Izzy pointed out the computer doesn't see the device at all. Also, Moto X doesn't support an external SD card. – Archit Verma Jul 27 '15 at 16:25
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I would install AirDroid or something similar via the Google Play website, you can select which device you want to install on.

Alternatively, I would connect it to a PC, copy everything and if there's still something missing I would connect it to a new Samsung Galaxy S7 phone and use that phones transfer features, http://www.samsung.com/us/smart-switch/

Jakob
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I was in a similar situation, find a USB OTG online and connect a USB mouse to it. If you can at least see your screen, you're in luck. If it's a dead screen you'll have to use your muscle memory and guess work to figure out where to click. Good luck!

harpratap
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follow these approaches

  • PC does not recognize device ? device drivers are missing. Install 'em

  • 3rd party software Easus or fonepaw might do the trick - they install the drivers under the covers

user1874594
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