Android newbie help needed!

[elliottucker]

Hi all

I recently switched from Apple to Android with the Huawei P30. Great phone and great camera. However last week i dropped it and totally smashed the screen. I can feel the device turn on ok but can't see anything on screen.

USB Debugging wasn't enabled when the phone was 'alive' and now because i can't get into the screen i can't turn it on to extract photos, videos and other files.

An insurance claim is accepted to repair or replace but they will wipe the phone first so, before i send it off and lose everything, is there any way of enabling debug in this scenario? Is there anyway of simply mirroring the phone on a laptop screen for example?

I'm not techy enough to try some of the more advanced solutions i've seen so just wanted to explore a simpler and more direct route to extract photos and videos off a phone with no screen access and no debug enabled. I've seen loads of different bits of software that do the first bit but they always need debug enabled. And i can't enable it as i can't see the screen.

I suspect that there's no way of me doing this really but figured i should ask some more experienced users first.

Any help would be massively appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Deleted User]

Just wondering why would the phone need to be wiped for a screen replacement?

 

[elliottucker]

Apparently it’s down to data protection. The insurers 3rd party repair handler won’t take liability for lost data so they wipe all phones. Ridiculous really but it is what it is.

 

[Hadron]

And I assume that if you get the repair done yourself by someone who won't wipe it the insurers won't pay.

I don't know myself what mirroring options the P30 has, though this article claims it can do wired mirroring via a USB-C to HDMI adapter (wireless is no use because you would need to be able to turn that on). How helpful it will be will depend on whether the touch layer is working or whether that's dead too (unfortunately quite likely). If the touch layer is working you can mirror and then try to control from the phone. If not then in order to control anything you need to unplug the adapter (in order to connect a keyboard or mouse via a USB-C adapter), which results in a process or "look, judge next move, swap, attempt, swap back & see whether it worked". I have recovered data from a phone that way but it requires both time and patience in serious quantities. Getting to the point where you can sync a bluetooth mouse or keyboard makes it a lot easier.

Of course if you have Google Photos installed you can get that to back up everything to your GMail account (and if you do have Photos installed you may have this already).

Otherwise if you can get mirroring and a means of controlling it then copying to microSD or copying over WiFi to a computer are your best bets, or wired copy if you can set up wireless mirroring, or of course enabling USB debugging. Unless your touchscreen is still working the tricky bit will be getting to the point where you can control the device and see what you are doing at the same time.

 

[Deleted User]

On the repair side of things, is a DIY job possible? I successfully replaced the screen + digitiser on my Nexus 5. Don't know how feasible this is with your phone though.

 

[elliottucker]

And I assume that if you get the repair done yourself by someone who won't wipe it the insurers won't pay.

I don't know myself what mirroring options the P30 has, though this article claims it can do wired mirroring via a USB-C to HDMI adapter (wireless is no use because you would need to be able to turn that on). How helpful it will be will depend on whether the touch layer is working or whether that's dead too (unfortunately quite likely). If the touch layer is working you can mirror and then try to control from the phone. If not then in order to control anything you need to unplug the adapter (in order to connect a keyboard or mouse via a USB-C adapter), which results in a process or "look, judge next move, swap, attempt, swap back & see whether it worked". I have recovered data from a phone that way but it requires both time and patience in serious quantities. Getting to the point where you can sync a bluetooth mouse or keyboard makes it a lot easier.

Of course if you have Google Photos installed you can get that to back up everything to your GMail account (and if you do have Photos installed you may have this already).

Otherwise if you can get mirroring and a means of controlling it then copying to microSD or copying over WiFi to a computer are your best bets, or wired copy if you can set up wireless mirroring, or of course enabling USB debugging. Unless your touchscreen is still working the tricky bit will be getting to the point where you can control the device and see what you are doing at the same time.

Well i can get it done by a 'phone kiosk' guy near my office in central London for £200 without needing to wipe it but i'm a bit hesitant. I might be paying £200 to end up with a bricked phone and no recourse. Insurance is only £100 excess and they'll replace the phone if it's beyond repair.

Didnt set up google photos as i was so new to Android although auto back up was enabled so i'll at least get messages, apps etc but will have lost all photos and videos.

Thanks for the link to the hardwired mirroring but, as you say, the touch screen is gone. It turns on but i can't see a thing. And my lack of in depth knowledge of the phone means i could spend hours on the 'look judge next move' method! Realistically i'm losing about 3 months worth of photos so it's not the end of the world. And i instagrammed a lot of them. but this whole debugging thing is annoying. The phone is sound but the debug means i cant look at the files. Thanks for your help.

 

[elliottucker]

On the repair side of things, is a DIY job possible? I successfully replaced the screen + digitiser on my Nexus 5. Don't know how feasible this is with your phone though.

I'm honestly not sure. I contemplated buying a replacement screen and giving it a go but, as said above, insurance offer to repair or replace. I'm a bit worried they might reject a claim if i play around with the screen, fail and then send it in! Then i'm left with a bricked phone and have to pay £269 to nearest repair place in London. Or risk a kiosk repair. Pain in the arse situation! Thanks for your help dude.