You might be here because you have deleted a very important photo from your Samsung Galaxy S21 or you might want to get back a beautiful photo that had been deleted a few days ago.

Unlike on desktops/laptops, recovering deleted files from a smartphone seems like a tough task to do. But here we are, simplifying that process for you!

In this guide, you will learn to recover deleted photos from your Samsung Galaxy S21, easily. Keep reading.

Note: Solutions in this guide will work on any Samsung Galaxy S21 model (S21, S21 Plus, S21 Fe, and S21 Ultra models.)

Editor’s note: We created these instructions using a Samsung Galaxy S21 running Android 12. Depending on your device’s software version, some steps and menu positions may look slightly different.

Things to Know & Do Before Recovering Your Deleted Photos

There are a few things that you should know and for that, you must read this part before recovering your photos. Make sure not to skip this part if you want to successfully recover your deleted photos from Galaxy S21.

How can I recover my photo if it is deleted?

If you do not know, when a file gets deleted from memory, what actually happens is that the file record is the thing that gets deleted.

Now, you might be wondering how you are able to save files if the actual file gets deleted. It is possible because when we save another file, the file gets rewritten, and if that happens, the original file will be wiped out from the memory.

Delete Time (When the file got deleted)

At this point, you know what really happens when we delete a file. The time of deletion of your photos is an important factor that determines whether you will be able to recover them or not.

It is because if the photo you want to recover got deleted a long time ago, chances are, it is overwritten by another file. As you are aware now, you can no longer recover that photo in such a scenario.

That’s it! Now I think you have an idea about the recovery possibility of your photos in your Samsung Galaxy S21. Now, let’s see what methods you can try to recover your lost images. 

How to Recover Deleted Photos from Samsung Galaxy S21

There are two (2) ways you can recover removed photos from your Galaxy S21:

1. By Rooting your device; and
2. Without Rooting your device.

What is Rooting?

Since Android rooting is another topic that needs a separate article, we won’t go into many details here. But if you don’t know what is rooting and what possibilities it gives, here is what Wikipedia says:

Rooting is the process of allowing users of the Android mobile operating system to attain privileged control (known as root access) over various Android subsystems. As Android is based on a modified version of the Linux kernel, rooting an Android device gives similar access to administrative (superuser) permissions as on Linux or any other Unix-like operating system such as FreeBSD or macOS.

Simply put, by rooting your Galaxy S21, you get access to all the possibilities the smartphone can give you. From recovering deleted files to modifying the operating system and many more!

However, it is not always a good idea to root your device. It is because when you root your device, all the apps that execute processes on the root level get access to execute them. And that opens a door for malicious apps to take control of your device.

Not only that, the warranty of your smartphone and the security features that come with your Galaxy S21 will be revoked if you root your device. Keep that in mind as well.

Which way is better? Rooting or Without rooting?

If you choose to recover your photos by rooting your S21, then the chances are much higher that you will be able to recover them. 

On the other hand, if you choose to recover your photos without rooting your device, chances are less likely you will be able to recover them.

It is up to you to decide which method to choose and continue on. Just keep in mind that you can unroot your Galaxy S21 whenever you want, but this won’t restore the security features and the warranty you had before; it will completely revoke access to root privileges only. Every change that has been made to the system will remain.

Choose the way you want to recover your photos and try the given methods accordingly. First, we will explain how to recover deleted photos without rooting your Galaxy S21.

How to Recover photos from Galaxy S21: Without root privileges

There are three (3) ways that you can recover removed/deleted photos from your S21 smartphone (without rooting):

Method 1 – By using the default gallery app

In the latest Android operating systems, there is a trash folder that stores all deleted photos and videos of the gallery. If you do not use any third-party gallery app, the photos you deleted should be in the trash folder.

It is a pretty easy process to recover them from the Gallery, here is what you need to do:

1. Open Gallery app;

2. Tap on the Menu and go to Trash; and

3. Select the photos that you want to recover, then tap on Restore.

Method 2 – From Samsung Cloud

If you have synced all of your data into Samsung Cloud, then there is nothing to worry about. All your images and other media files are stored in Samsung Cloud. All you have to do is retrieve them back to your device.

1. Go to Samsung Cloud from here;
2. Sign in using the email and password;
3. Check for photos that you want to recover; and
4. Select and download them to your Galaxy S21.

Method 3 – By using a third-party app

There are a handful of third-party apps available on the Play Store and Samsung Store to download. But not every app will work on your Galaxy S21.

To overcome this problem, we have listed some of the best recovery apps by user reviews. Check them out here:

• Recover Deleted Photos App (By Zippo Apps)
• File Recovery – Restore Files (By File Recovery)
• DiskDigger photo recovery (By Defiant Technologies, LLC)

Since these apps work differently, we cannot give you exact instructions to follow. But we don’t think it is hard to use these apps. However, if you encounter any issues while using any of the listed apps, feel free to leave a comment and we will be there to help.

How to Recover Deleted photo from your Galaxy S21: By rooting the device

First of all, if you have not yet rooted your Samsung Galaxy S21, follow this guide to root the device (Warning: We are not collaborated or affiliated with this website, therefore, we will not take any responsibility for problems that may arise when you follow the instructions on this webpage.)

Again, to remind you, here are the disadvantages of rooting your Galaxy S21:

• The warranty for your device will be revoked;
• Security features such as Samsung Nox will not work; and
• Various security problems will occur according to the root apps you will use in the future.

If the deleted photos are really important to you, you can root the S21, recover your photos, and un-root the device safely.

1. Download Undelete from the Play Store;
2. Open the app and give root access;
3. Select Volume (location) to scan;
4. Select image file types; and
5. You will see the recoverable photos, select them and tap on Restore.

After you successfully recover the images, un-root the device and remove the app as well.

Conclusion

Hope you are able to recover photos from your Samsung Galaxy S21 without having any problems. Which method worked for you? Don’t forget to tell us by leaving a comment below!

Also, If you have any questions regarding this guide, you can always use the comment section to ask questions and we will be there to help you.

We have more useful resources for your Samsung Galaxy S21. You can read them as well below.

Have a great day!