Are Photos from Text Messages Stored in Cell Phone Memory?

[Fervent Freyja]

Are photos from text messages stored in internal storage in a cell phone, even if not downloaded into the phone?

 

[lekh2003]

If you have viewed the image then the image had been downloaded. It should be on your internal storage.

 

[Fervent Freyja]

If you have viewed the image then the image had been downloaded. It should be on your internal storage.

Cool. How can I retrieve these special photos? I forgot what they look like, silly me!

 

[lekh2003]

Cool. How can I retrieve these special photos? I forgot what they look like, silly me!

Has the phone been factory reset?

 

[Fervent Freyja]

Has the phone been factory reset?

Yep. For some reason 3 weeks ago, I took it upon myself to buy a whole new phone...

Well, I factory reset it. And, oops, I forgot to save all those photos and messages. I give the phone to my daughter, because she adores abcmouse.com her mother set up (and all the other educational and fun apps mommy thinks to buy her) and she prefers a cell over her tablet, and, oh snap, I forgot how good my lover in the "pink shorts" looks!

I really don't want to lose those photos forever; is there anyway I can get them back, even though I factory reset the phone?

 

[jedishrfu]

iOS phones can view images in text files using the Settings app.

There's an option under General>iPhone Storage where you may see a recommendation for removing old text message attachments. The list is a full collection of images and videos sent that you had downloaded when viewing the text.

You might be able to find these on your PC under iTunes storage somewhere if you've backed up your phone to your PC.

 

[lekh2003]

iOS phones can view images in text files using the Settings app.

There's an option under General>iPhone Storage where you may see a recommendation for removing old text message attachments. The list is a full collection of images and videos sent that you had downloaded when viewing the text.

You might be able to find these on your PC under iTunes storage somewhere if you've backed up your phone to your PC.

That would be ideal however the device seems to be an LG device.

If it's really important you can contact a specialist. I don't think you should pay anymore than a hundred dollars for a standard recovery process. It's not like you had the intelligence service wipe your phone.

 

[jedishrfu]

We don't know that either (re intelligence service).

 

[Fervent Freyja]

That would be ideal however the device seems to be an LG device.

If it's really important you can contact a specialist. I don't think you should pay anymore than a hundred dollars for a standard recovery process. It's not like you had the intelligence service wipe your phone.

You're right. There may not be much left after the reset. The guy in my area seems to believe he can deliver me $1000 worth of deleted data. I have been screwed so much recently, that I cannot trust even him...

 

[lekh2003]

You're right. There may not be much left after the reset. The guy in my area seems to believe he can deliver me $1000 worth of deleted data. I have been screwed so much recently, that I cannot trust even him...

Have you tried looking at freelance websites like fiverr or something like that. You should be able to find someone willing to do the job in your area. Be sure not to make it seem like you need the photos too much otherwise they might bump up the price.

However, I am sure you shouldn't pay 1000 dollars to anyone for something routine like this.

 

[Fervent Freyja]

Have you tried looking at freelance websites like fiverr or something like that. You should be able to find someone willing to do the job in your area. Be sure not to make it seem like you need the photos too much otherwise they might bump up the price.

However, I am sure you shouldn't pay 1000 dollars to anyone for something routine like this.

That's what I was thinking, I will call around and see. I don't understand how he can claim to have it available to me within 24 hours for $7000 and force me to wait 30 days for $1000, if it were so hard to recover to begin with!

 

[lekh2003]

That's what I was thinking, I will call around and see. I don't understand how he can claim to have it available to me within 24 hours for $7000 and force me to wait 30 days for $1000, if it were so hard to recover to begin with!

The guy is trying to make some quick cash. And I don't exactly think your photos are worth as much as $1000 let alone $7000. There's no point paying vast sums of money to someone like that.

I wish you good luck in finding someone to help you recover your photos and messages.

 

[Fervent Freyja]

That's what I was thinking. He has been calling me almost daily with quite the promise!

I have no knowledge in cellular technology. I have paid for two services promising recovery already and so far I have recovered nothing from the internal storage of the phone.

It's like, this hidden data, it's sitting there, beckoning me- a challenge. Who looks best in pink shorts?

 

[sysprog]

A normal restore will not reliably erase SMS and MMS data. The images you wish to recover may be overwritten by subsequent activity. If they haven't been overwritten by erasure or other new data overlay they may be recoverable. Recovering whatever is recoverable can be done by a competent professional for a reasonable fee (<$1k). If you have a tech-savvy friend, he or she can probably do it with a free tool, such as is referenced here: https://sleuthkit.org/autopsy/docs/user-docs/3.1/android_page.html

 

[Fervent Freyja]

A normal restore will not reliably erase SMS and MMS data. The images you wish to recover may be overwritten by subsequent activity. If they haven't been overwritten by erasure or other new data overlay they may be recoverable. Recovering whatever is recoverable can be done by a competent professional for a reasonable fee (<$1k). If you have a tech-savvy friend, he or she can probably do it with a free tool, such as is referenced here: https://sleuthkit.org/autopsy/docs/user-docs/3.1/android_page.html

Thank you, I will try this!

 

[Tom.G]

A google search turns up over a quarter million hits on how to retrieve the data. The basic idea is to then save the data to a computer where you have much software available for a detailed look, @sysprog suggested one his earlier post.
https://www.google.com/search?&q=memory+dump+LG+phones