USB sticks and flash drives generally fail at the connector, the controller or in the NAND: the stick snaps off in the port, stops being recognised, throws ‘please insert a disk’ or says it’s 0 MB. We can recover every one of these failures across all makes, from a broken solder joint to a monolithic drive that we have to read chip-off.
If your USB stick has snapped, is no longer recognised or has come into contact with water, do not keep plugging it back in. Every time you plug in a failing controller or a shorting board, you are putting the NAND at risk, and repeatedly inserting a cracked connector could finish it off. Do not reformat it and do not run repair tools: bag it and send it to us.
From a snapped connector to a stick the system won’t see, these are the most common USB and flash drive failures we work with: broken connectors and pads, failed controllers, corrupt firmware and worn-out NAND.
Every type of USB stick/flash drive is eligible for recovery: Whether they are USB-A or USB-C, whether they are regular or monolithic flash devices, or encrypted using special hardware (regardless of how old or new they may be), we can try to recover your data based upon the condition of the controller and NAND inside. What determines whether we can recover your data is not the outer shell/casing of the device, but rather the internal components.
Spanning USB-A plus USB-C form factors · standard, monolith and chip-on-board builds · TSOP and BGA NAND packages · SanDisk Cruzer and every other line — method follows the controller and flash, never the label.
Recovery of a USB device usually begins at the connector: we repair the broken plug or torn pads, access the memory and then read the data directly from it. Where the board cannot be repaired or the drive is monolithic, we go straight to the NAND.
Please provide details of how it stopped working: snapped, unrecognised, demanding to be formatted or dropped in water. We will pin down the fault and send you a written quote, usually within 48 hours.
Most issues with flash sticks occur when they get snapped (broken) or have a cracked circuit board. In these instances, we re-flow the connector to ensure connection, repair the torn pads, and enable reading functionality to bring the drive back to a readable state.
If the controller on the flash stick fails or the firmware gets corrupted, we can still recover your data. However, we need to take an alternative route to do so. We can bypass the controller to rebuild the flash translation layer (FTL). The FTL maps your files onto the NAND memory on the device.
In cases where there is no way to revive the circuit board (or the flash stick is monolithic, i.e., the controller and NAND chips are sealed together in one chip), we can recover your data using either the test pads of the die (chip) or through direct access to the die. We also remove all ECC (Error Correction Code) and scrambling to reconstruct your image.
Once we gain access to your data, we create a completely read-only image. This process reads each weak page gently, and then re-reads them as well. Error correction can extract as many bits as possible from weakly functioning cells.
The next step involves rebuilding the file system metadata and extracting your files and folders. Therefore, even if some of the cells in your flash memory are no longer functioning properly (i.e., “worn out”), we can still recover your data.
Your data comes back verified, on a new drive or by secure download for jobs up to 75GB.
We support recovery for virtually every type of USB stick/flash drive available today (Integral, SanDisk, Kingston etc.) because regardless of what brand you purchased, our method of fixing broken connectors and accessing the memory head-on works for monolithic designs as well.
Tell us what happened and we’ll get back to you, usually within a working day.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 01483 901310.
There is a single, flat rate for recovering one USB stick/flash drive, after performing a complimentary diagnostic and providing you with a written quote, prior to us commencing any work on your device.
Here are some examples of very recent USB and flash drive recovery projects, including examples involving connector failures, controller failures, firmware failure, and NAND failures. All identifying information has been removed from these and they were verified. Full write-ups: a Kingston USB with a snapped connector and a USB stick stuck on the format prompt.
The connector completely broke away from the PCB. We repaired the damaged pads, installed a new connector, and captured an image of the entire device.
Due to a faulty controller, this device would not be recognised as a valid device on any computer. We bypassed the controller, recreated the translation layer, and pulled data out of the NAND.
It reported 0MB due to corruption within the firmware layers. We fixed the firmware modules, provided access to the device again and produced an image of the flash memory.
Although the corrosion caused by water damaged the board, the NAND chips themselves survived. After cleaning and repairing the board, we successfully recovered the data.
Although the damage to the device’s file system prevented normal access to data stored upon it, the physical media remained intact. We created a read-only copy of the stick, repaired the file system and extracted the user’s files.
Since this is a monolithic design (no separate processor), there was no external chip to remove or repair. Instead we identified the test points for accessing the flash memory directly via those points and reconstructed the original data.
To start evaluating whether we can recover your data from a defective USB stick, please ship the stick to us along with a brief description of how it stopped working. Upon receiving your stick, one of our engineers will perform a complimentary evaluation and send you an exact written quote for the full cost of recovery before beginning any actual recovery process.
Once you decide to proceed with recovery, shipping your stick to us is easy: simply pack it securely with sufficient padding and include your contact information. Once we complete our complimentary diagnostic evaluation, we’ll provide you with an exact written quote for the full cost of recovery prior to proceeding with recovering your lost data.
Sending it by post? We’d recommend a tracked, insured service. Dropping it in? No problem: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm. Please package the device as described above first.
Do you wish to get a priced quote for this before sending it in? Simply fill out the form describing the stick & what the problem is, and one of our engineers will look at it and reply back with a customised price quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 01483 901310.
These are some of the commonest technical questions that we have received regarding failed USB sticks.
Usually. A snapped USB stick typically indicates that there is damage to the connector or that the circuit board is cracked. However, the majority of the time the information is still on the stick and the information will not be lost. Once the connector is re-soldered and/or the pads are rebuilt, access to the memory is made and an image of it is created. If the damaged area is too extensive to save, a chip off method can be used to retrieve the information from the NAND directly.
A dead controller or corrupted firmware would prevent the stick from presenting its capacity to your computer. In many cases, however, the NAND itself remains intact and no harm was done to it. By bypassing/repairing the controller and rebuilding the translation layer, we can usually successfully recover your files.
Often. There could be several reasons why a stick will not show up on your computer’s file system. It may be due to faulty connectors, failed controllers or even corrupt firmware. We will check each of these potential problems individually and once we know which part(s) were faulty, we will make an image of the NAND.
Yes, frequently. Water seldom damages the NAND itself but rather causes corrosion to the circuit board and connections. Leave it alone and do not turn it on. Send it in and we will clean/dry it, repair/rebuild the board and read the flash.
The fee for recovering a single USB stick or flash drive costs a flat £250 + VAT. This includes a free diagnosis and a written quote. When doing chip-off or board level repairs, we take a 50% deposit when service begins. Payment for the balance is only due upon successful recovery of your data, so in most cases you only pay if we recover your data.
Yes, in most cases. Both chip-off & board-level recoveries are paid as follows: 50% deposit with remainder due upon successful completion of recovery. Therefore, you will not pay full cost for recovery when your stick cannot be retrieved.
Often. If the stick has not been rewritten after the loss of data (e.g. deleted files, quick format), then the file system has simply lost its references to the files, and the underlying data remains. As long as you do not continue to use the stick until our team can rebuild the data, we can likely rebuild it.
All brands: Kingston, SanDisk, Samsung, Integral, PNY, Lexar, Verbatim, etc., including both standard & monolithic drives. Since we operate at the controller and NAND levels, which is where we perform the recovery operations, typically brand does not affect recoverability.
No, either way. Software that attempts to read your drive will fail because the drive will not register. Additionally, gluing together the broken pieces of plastic (the connector) makes the repair process much more difficult. Simply leave it alone and ship it in; for us, replacing the connector is a simple soldering operation.
Monolithic sticks integrate both the controller and NAND memory into one single sealed chip. This means there is no separate board that needs to be replaced. In such cases, we attach probes to each test pad of the chip to read out the flash memory and build back the lost data. Such is common practice in our lab.
Bring it to our unit at Guildford Business Park, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, or post it to us fully insured, well packaged and with your contact details enclosed.
Diagnostic free: flat fee of £250 + VAT for every recovery. And in most cases you only pay if we recover your data. We recover all types of USB sticks & flash drives including those with broken snapped off connectors. Begin your recovery today.