Getting Pictures Off Of A Pixel 2 Has A Broken Screen And Doesn't Have USB Debugging Enabled

[edmonddantes18]

Hey everyone! My friend accidentally dropped his Pixel 2 and the screen shattered. He doesn't have any of his data backed up to the cloud and doesn't have USB Debugging turned on. He was wondering if there's any way he can get his pictures off of his phone.Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[lvt]

The Pixel 2's screen is relatively easy to replace (for a trained person) and it's not very expensive. I think a screen replacement is the best solution.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Have him try Google Photos. He got an account when he bought a Pixel phone.

 

[Hadron]

Though he may have declined to let it back his pictures up. Worth a try though in case it's there and he's just not thought about it.

Otherwise screen replacement may be the best chance. But not through an official service center as they'll almost certainly do a factory reset in the process of servicing the phone - you need to be clear to whoever does it that you want the data on it preserved.

If they'd set the default USB connection type to file transfer rather than charge only (via developer options) there would be a chance. But if the phone has been restarted since the accident you'll need a PIN to unlock it, at which point it wouldn't matter whether you'd set that or had USB debugging on even, you'd be stuck anyway.

I don't know whether it's possible to mirror the screen using a cable (hdmi interface) without unlocking and setting up. If that we're possible and if you already had a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard paired it would be possible to transfer via WiFi by installing and setting up an app. But there are two "ifs" there, the second being a big one, so I mention this just in case we're very lucky. I think the answers you've already had are more likely to bear fruit.