Most important rule: Stop recording new videos and saving files to the device immediately. Every new file recorded or saved can permanently overwrite deleted video data.
This guide covers all of these searches:
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Can You Recover Deleted Videos?
Yes — in most cases deleted videos can be recovered if you act quickly. When a video is deleted, the file system marks the storage space as available but does not immediately erase the video data from the storage sectors. The actual MP4, MOV, or AVI data remains physically on the storage until new recordings or files overwrite those sectors.
How quickly you act matters differently depending on the device:
Device / Storage
Deleted Video Status
Time Window
Success Rate
iPhone / iPad
Kept in Recently Deleted for 30 days
30 days (no software needed)
100% within 30 days
Android phone
Kept in Gallery Trash for 30 days
30 days (no software needed)
95–100% within 30 days
SD card (camera / phone)
Data intact until overwritten
Days to weeks if unused
75–92%
Windows HDD / external drive
Data intact until overwritten, no TRIM
Days to weeks
80–95%
Windows internal SSD
TRIM may wipe data within minutes
Minutes to hours
20–60%
Mac internal SSD (APFS)
TRIM may wipe data within minutes
Minutes to hours
15–55%
USB flash drive
Data intact until overwritten
Days to weeks if unused
70–88%
Best Video Recovery Software — Quick Comparison
For recovering deleted videos with software, these three tools cover all scenarios:
Grant Full Disk Access in System Settings ? Privacy & Security ? Full Disk Access
Select the Mac drive where videos were deleted and run Deep Scan
Filter results by video file types (MP4, MOV, MTS) to narrow down results
Preview and save recovered videos to a different drive — not the same Mac drive
How to Recover Deleted Videos from SD Card
SD cards are the most common source of deleted video recovery requests — camera SD cards, dashcam cards, drone microSD cards, and phone microSD cards. The good news: SD card video recovery has some of the highest success rates because SD cards have no TRIM and the data persists until overwritten.
Step 1 — Stop Recording Immediately
The single most important step. Remove the SD card from the camera, drone, or phone immediately. Every new video recorded overwrites the deleted data.
Step 2 — Set the Write-Protect Switch to Locked
Standard SD cards have a small plastic write-protect switch on the left side of the card. Slide it down to the Locked position before connecting to any computer. This prevents accidental writes to the card during recovery.
Step 3 — Connect via USB Card Reader (Not Camera USB)
Connect the SD card to your computer using a dedicated USB card reader — not the camera's USB cable. Using the camera's USB connection goes through the camera's firmware, which can write metadata to the card and reduce recovery chances.
Step 4 — Scan and Recover with Stellar Data Recovery
Select the SD card from the drive list — it may show as a removable drive
Select Audio & Video filter or All Files for the most comprehensive scan
Run Deep Scan — always use Deep Scan for SD card video recovery
Preview recovered MP4, MOV, MTS, AVI files and save to your computer
SD card formatted in-camera? A quick format in-camera only clears the file directory — the actual video data remains. Use Deep Scan with Stellar or EaseUS to recover formatted SD card videos. See our full guide: How to Recover Data from Formatted Drive.
Sign in to icloud.com on a browser with your Apple ID
Click Photos ? Recently Deleted in the left sidebar
Select deleted videos and click Recover — they return to your iCloud Photo Library
Method 3 — Restore from iTunes or Finder Backup
Connect your iPhone to the computer where you last backed up
On Mac: open Finder, select your iPhone, click Restore Backup — choose a backup from before the deletion
On Windows: open iTunes, click the iPhone icon, click Restore Backup
Warning: Restoring from backup replaces all current phone data with the backup version
How to Recover Deleted Videos from Android
Method 1 — Android Gallery Trash (Free, 30 Days)
Open your phone's Gallery or Photos app
Tap the menu icon (three lines or three dots) ? Trash or Recently Deleted
Select the deleted videos and tap Restore — videos return to your gallery
Available on Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo and most Android 10+ phones
Method 2 — Google Photos Bin (Free, 60 Days)
Open the Google Photos app on your Android phone
Tap the Library tab ? Bin
Videos are kept in the Google Photos Bin for 60 days if backed up to Google Photos
Select videos and tap Restore
Method 3 — Android SD Card Recovery (No Backup)
If the videos were on an Android phone's SD card and the Trash is empty:
Power off the phone and remove the SD card from the SIM/SD card tray
Use a microSD-to-USB adapter or card reader to connect to your computer
Download Stellar Data Recovery and scan the SD card directly
SD card video recovery on Android is much more successful than trying to recover from phone internal storage
How to Recover Deleted Videos from a Camera
Recovering deleted videos from digital cameras (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic) follows the same SD card recovery process above. Key tips specific to camera video recovery:
Do not reformat the card in-camera after deletion — this does a quick format and makes recovery slightly harder (though still usually possible)
Some cameras have a protected folder or lock function — check if the video is just hidden or locked rather than deleted
Check the camera manufacturer's companion app (Canon Camera Connect, Nikon SnapBridge, Sony Imaging Edge) — some apps automatically sync photos and videos to your phone
MTS and AVCHD format videos (used by Sony, Panasonic camcorders) may be stored in complex folder structures — Stellar Data Recovery and Disk Drill both support MTS/AVCHD video recovery
How to Recover Deleted GoPro and Drone Videos (Fragmented Recovery)
GoPro cameras, DJI drones, and many action cameras record video in multiple chapter fragments across the SD card. When these videos are deleted, standard recovery tools find the individual chapter fragments but reassemble them incorrectly — producing short clips of a few seconds instead of the full video.
This is why GoPro and drone video recovery requires a specialist approach:
Disk Drill ACR Module — Best for Action Camera Video
Advanced Camera Recovery (ACR) specifically designed for fragmented video
Supports 150+ camera models including GoPro Hero (all versions), DJI Mini, DJI Mavic, DJI Phantom
Automatically detects all chapter fragments and stitches in correct sequence
Recovers GoPro .MP4 and .LRV files intact — not as short 4-second clips
Also supports Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic RAW video formats
Standard Recovery — Limitations for GoPro
Finds video fragments but reassembles incorrectly
GoPro chapters typically 4 GB each — joins produce unplayable files
Deep scan alone finds .MP4 signatures but misses GoPro chapter structure
Recovered files may play only a few seconds then cut off
How to Use Disk Drill ACR for GoPro / Drone Video Recovery
Remove the GoPro or drone SD card — stop recording immediately
Connect via a USB card reader — not the GoPro USB cable
Download Disk Drill free and install on your computer
Select the SD card and choose Advanced Camera Recovery scan (not Universal Scan)
Disk Drill scans for camera-specific video signatures and automatically identifies all chapter fragments
Preview recovered videos to confirm full-length recovery, then save to your computer
How to Fix Corrupted or Unplayable Recovered Videos
Sometimes recovered videos play for only a few seconds, show a black screen, or cannot be opened at all. This happens when part of the video file was overwritten before recovery. Video repair software can often fix these issues:
Problem
Likely Cause
Best Repair Tool
MP4 plays only 1–2 seconds then stops
Video header partially overwritten or fragmented chapter
Recoverit video repair — rebuilds codec from reference file
Video plays but scrambled / garbled
Partial sector overwrite mid-file
VLC player — sometimes plays corrupted files others cannot
GoPro recovery shows many short clips
Chapter fragments not reassembled correctly
Disk Drill Advanced Camera Recovery (ACR)
VLC tip: Before using paid repair software, try opening recovered videos in VLC Media Player (free). VLC can play many partially corrupted MP4 and MOV files that other players refuse to open. Go to Tools ? Preferences ? Input / Codecs ? change "Always fix" for damaged or incomplete AVI files.
Recover Deleted Videos — All Devices at a Glance
Device
Free Method First
Software Method
Key Tip
Windows PC / Laptop
Recycle Bin ? File History
Stellar Data Recovery
Note: SD card deletions do NOT go to Recycle Bin
Mac
Trash ? Time Machine
Disk Drill for Mac or Stellar for Mac
Grant Full Disk Access before scanning
Camera SD card
Set write-protect switch
Stellar Data Recovery — Deep Scan
Use card reader, not camera USB
iPhone
Recently Deleted (30 days)
iTunes / Finder backup restore
Check iCloud Recently Deleted too
Android phone
Gallery Trash (30 days)
Remove SD card ? scan with Stellar
Google Photos Bin keeps 60 days
GoPro / Drone
—
Disk Drill Advanced Camera Recovery
Do not use standard scan — use ACR only
USB flash drive
Check Recycle Bin on Windows
Stellar or Recuva
Deletions from USB on Windows do NOT go to Recycle Bin
Yes — in most cases you can recover permanently deleted videos if you act quickly. When a video is deleted and the Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac) is emptied, the video data is not immediately erased. The file system marks the space as available, but the actual video data remains on the storage sectors until new data overwrites it. Data recovery software like Stellar Data Recovery or Disk Drill can scan the raw storage sectors and recover deleted video files (MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, and others) as long as nothing has been recorded or saved over them since deletion. The longer you wait and the more you use the device, the lower the chance of recovery.
To recover deleted videos from Android: (1) Open the Gallery or Google Photos app. (2) Tap the menu (three lines or dots) and look for Trash or Recently Deleted — deleted videos are kept here for 30 days. (3) Select the videos and tap Restore. If the Trash is empty, connect your Android phone to a computer and use data recovery software to scan the phone's internal storage. Note: Android internal storage recovery success rates vary significantly by manufacturer. If your phone has a removable SD card, remove it and scan it directly via a card reader for much higher recovery success rates.
To recover deleted videos from iPhone: (1) Open the Photos app and tap Albums. (2) Scroll down to Recently Deleted — deleted videos are kept here for 30 days. (3) Tap the video and tap Recover. If Recently Deleted is empty, check iCloud — sign in at icloud.com, go to Photos, then Recently Deleted. Videos deleted from iCloud are kept for 30 days in the cloud even if deleted from iPhone. If both are empty, videos may be recoverable using iTunes/Finder backup (restore via Finder on Mac, or iTunes on Windows) or iCloud backup (Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase, then Restore from iCloud Backup).
To recover deleted videos from a camera SD card: (1) Remove the SD card from the camera immediately — do not record any more video. (2) Set the SD card's write-protect switch (the small plastic tab on the left side of the SD card) to the locked position to prevent accidental overwriting. (3) Connect the SD card to your computer using a dedicated USB card reader — not the camera's USB cable. (4) Download Stellar Data Recovery free and install on your computer. (5) Select the SD card, run Deep Scan. (6) Preview recovered MP4, MOV, or RAW video files and save to your computer. For GoPro and drone footage, use Disk Drill's Advanced Camera Recovery module which specifically reconstructs fragmented action camera videos.
Recovered videos can be corrupted or unplayable for several reasons. Partial overwrite: new data was saved to the device after deletion, overwriting part of the video file. Fragmented recording: action cameras (GoPro, DJI drones) and some DSLR cameras record video in fragments across the SD card, and standard recovery tools reassemble them incorrectly. File header damage: the first sectors of the video file (containing codec, resolution, and frame rate data) were overwritten. To fix corrupted recovered videos, use Wondershare Recoverit's video repair feature or Stellar Photo Recovery's video repair module — these can reconstruct unplayable MP4, MOV, and AVI files recovered from storage devices.
The best video recovery software can recover all major video formats including: MP4 (most common — iPhone, Android, GoPro, DJI, Canon, Sony), MOV (Apple cameras, iPhone, DSLR), AVI (older camcorders and Windows), MKV (high-quality video files), MTS/M2TS (Sony and Panasonic camcorders), 3GP (older Android and feature phone videos), WMV (Windows Media Video), FLV (older web video), and RAW video formats from professional cameras like R3D (RED), BRAW (Blackmagic), and CinemaDNG. Stellar Data Recovery supports over 1,000 file types, Disk Drill supports 400+ file signatures including RAW video, and Recoverit specifically excels at recovering MP4 and MOV from fragmented recordings.
Recovering deleted videos from a GoPro or DJI drone SD card requires special handling because action cameras record video in multiple fragments (chapters) across the SD card. Standard recovery tools can find the video files but often reassemble them incorrectly, producing short clips instead of full videos. The best approach: (1) Remove the SD card immediately — stop recording. (2) Use a card reader to connect to your computer. (3) Use Disk Drill's Advanced Camera Recovery (ACR) module — specifically designed to reconstruct fragmented GoPro, DJI, Canon, Sony, and Nikon video files by detecting all chapter fragments and stitching them in correct sequence. (4) Alternatively, use Wondershare Recoverit which also has fragmented video reconstruction for action camera footage.
Deleted videos remain recoverable as long as they have not been overwritten by new data. On an SD card or USB drive that has not been used since deletion, videos can theoretically be recovered days, weeks, or months later. On an internal SSD with TRIM enabled (all modern Windows and Mac computers), deleted videos may be permanently wiped within minutes to hours as TRIM proactively clears freed sectors. On an HDD (traditional spinning hard drive), deleted videos can persist for months without TRIM. The practical rule: the less you use the device after deletion, the better the chance of recovery. Stop recording, taking photos, or saving any new data to the device immediately after you notice the deletion.
Conclusion — How to Recover Deleted Videos
Always check the built-in options first — Recycle Bin (Windows), Trash (Mac), or Recently Deleted in Photos (iPhone and Android). These are free, instant, and work for videos deleted in the last 30 days without any software. If those fail, Stellar Data Recovery (1 GB free) is the best all-round choice for recovering deleted videos from SD cards, HDDs, external drives, and USB sticks on both Windows and Mac.
For GoPro, DJI drone, and action camera footage, use Disk Drill's Advanced Camera Recovery module specifically — standard deep scan cannot correctly reconstruct fragmented action camera video files. For corrupted or unplayable recovered videos, Wondershare Recoverit's video repair feature can reconstruct unplayable MP4 and MOV files. See our full comparison: Best Data Recovery Software.
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