How to recover permanently deleted voice memos​?

Losing important voice memos whether it’s a meeting recording, personal note, or interview can be extremely frustrating. In today’s world, many people rely on their smartphones to capture voice memos for various reasons, from professional tasks to personal reminders. But what happens when you accidentally delete them, or when they disappear due to an issue like a system crash, app failure, or a storage problem? Even worse, what if you’ve permanently deleted these voice memos, either from your phone or cloud storage?

1. Voice Memo Deletion

Before we dive into recovery methods, it’s important to understand how voice memos are stored on your devices and why they might be deleted.

Storage Locations for Voice Memos

On iOS Devices: Voice memos are typically stored locally on the device and synced with iCloud, if you’ve enabled iCloud for voice memos. Deleting a voice memo may first move it to a “Recently Deleted” folder, where it remains for up to 30 days before being permanently deleted.

On Android Devices: Voice memos are saved either on internal storage or an SD card. Similar to iOS, Android may not have a direct “Recently Deleted” folder for voice memos, but files may be recoverable through recovery apps if they were recently deleted.

Why Voice Memos Get Deleted

Accidental Deletion: The most common reason for losing voice memos is accidental deletion, such as mistakenly tapping the delete button or clearing out old files.

Storage Issues: Sometimes, voice memos are deleted as part of cleaning up storage space on your device.

App Crashes or System Failures: A software issue, app crash, or operating system failure can sometimes result in the loss of voice memos.

Syncing Problems: If there is an issue syncing your device to iCloud or a cloud service, voice memos may be lost if they are not properly backed up.

2. How to Recover Deleted Voice Memos from iPhone (iOS)

iPhones come with a built-in app called Voice Memos, and the recovery process can vary depending on whether you have a backup or if the memo is in the “Recently Deleted” folder.

Method 1: Recovering from the Recently Deleted Folder

iOS devices store deleted files in the “Recently Deleted” folder for up to 30 days. Here’s how to recover from this folder:

Open the Voice Memos app on your iPhone.

Tap on “Recently Deleted” at the bottom of the screen.

Browse through the list of deleted voice memos.

Tap the “Recover” button next to the memo you want to restore.

If the voice memo is within the 30-day window and hasn’t been permanently deleted, it will be restored back to your library.

Method 2: Restoring from iCloud Backup

If your voice memo isn’t in the “Recently Deleted” folder, and you regularly back up your iPhone using iCloud, it may be recoverable through an iCloud backup.

Check if your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi and sign in to your iCloud account.

Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup.

Check if you have a recent backup that includes the deleted voice memo. If so, proceed with restoring the backup.

Perform a factory reset on your iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.

After the reset, during the setup process, select the “Restore from iCloud Backup” option and choose the backup that contains your voice memo.

Method 3: Restoring from iTunes Backup (For Older iPhones)

If you have been using iTunes (or Finder for macOS Catalina and newer) to back up your iPhone, you may be able to recover the deleted voice memo from there.

Connect your iPhone to the computer you used for backup.

Open iTunes (or Finder on newer macOS versions).

Select your device and click on “Restore Backup”.

Choose the backup that was created before the voice memo was deleted.

Follow the on-screen prompts to restore the backup.

This method will restore your entire iPhone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, so be sure to back up any new data first.

3. How to Recover Deleted Voice Memos from Android Devices

Android devices can be more complicated to recover data from since different devices use different operating systems, file systems, and apps. However, there are still ways to recover deleted voice memos.

Method 1: Check the Trash or Recently Deleted Folder

Depending on the voice memo app you use on Android (e.g., Google Recorder, Samsung Voice Recorder, etc.), you might find a “Recently Deleted” folder within the app. If your voice memo was deleted recently, you may be able to restore it from here.

Open your voice memo app (e.g., Samsung Voice Recorder or Google Recorder).

Look for a “Trash” or “Recently Deleted” section.

Browse through the deleted memos and select the one you want to recover.

Tap “Restore” or “Recover” to bring the memo back.

Method 2: Use a File Recovery

Panda Assistant is a versatile and user-friendly data recovery software designed to help individuals and businesses recover lost or deleted files from various storage devices. Whether it’s a hard drive, SSD, USB flash drive, memory card, or even a damaged or formatted drive, Panda Assistant offers an efficient solution to retrieve lost data. The software’s powerful algorithm can scan storage devices deeply to locate files that may have been deleted, lost due to formatting, or corrupted, ensuring that users have the best chance of recovering important documents, images, videos, and more.

Method 3: Check Google Drive or Cloud Backups

If you’ve been syncing your voice memos with a cloud storage service like Google Drive, you can check there for any backups of your deleted files.

Open Google Drive on your Android device.

Look for the “Backup” section or search for your voice memo file by name.

If your voice memo was backed up, tap to restore it.

4. Using Professional Data Recovery Tools

If you’re unable to recover your voice memos using the built-in methods or third-party apps, you might want to consider using professional data recovery tools. These tools are designed to scan your device’s storage in-depth and recover deleted files that are otherwise inaccessible.

For iOS Devices: Dr.Fone – Data Recovery (iOS)

Dr.Fone is a well-known recovery tool for iOS devices, capable of recovering various types of data, including voice memos. Here’s how to use it:

Download and install Dr.Fone – Data Recovery on your computer.

Connect your iPhone to the computer using a USB cable.

Launch the Dr.Fone app and select “Data Recovery”.

Choose the type of data you want to recover (e.g., voice memos).

The tool will scan your iPhone for deleted files, and you can preview the voice memos available for recovery.

Select the memo(s) you wish to recover and click “Recover”.

For Android Devices: iMobie PhoneRescue

PhoneRescue is a popular data recovery tool for Android devices. It’s particularly useful for recovering deleted voice memos.

Download and install PhoneRescue on your computer.

Connect your Android phone to the computer.

Launch the software and select “Recover from Device”.

Scan your phone for deleted files, and browse through the results to find the deleted voice memo.

Select the voice memo and click “Recover” to restore it.

5. Best Practices to Avoid Losing Voice Memos in the Future

While data recovery is possible, it’s always better to prevent data loss in the first place. Here are some tips to avoid losing important voice memos in the future:

Back Up Regularly: Always back up your voice memos to iCloud, Google Drive, or an external storage device. Enable automatic backup features if possible.

Use a File Manager App: Keep your voice memos organized in file manager apps that make it easy to locate and recover them.

Enable Syncing: Ensure your voice memo app syncs with a cloud storage service regularly, especially if you use multiple devices.

Be Careful with Deletions: Double-check before deleting any voice memos to ensure you’re not removing something important.