Data Recovery in Charlotte — When the Device Is Gone but the Files Aren't
Photos of people who aren't here anymore. The dissertation. Two years of client work. A phone that won't turn on, a drive that clicks, a laptop that drowned. We recover data in-house at our University City bench — board-level, under a microscope when it takes that — starting at $99. The diagnostic is free, you get the odds and a firm price before you spend anything, and if we can't recover it, you don't pay.
Read this before you do anything else
Stop. Do These Three Things First.
The difference between recoverable and gone often comes down to what happens in the next hour.
- 1
Power it off and leave it off.
Every boot, every spin, every charge attempt on a failing device makes recovery harder — and on a liquid-damaged board, it spreads corrosion.
- 2
Don't run recovery software on a physically failing drive.
Software assumes the hardware works. If a drive clicks, grinds, or isn't recognized, software makes it worse — sometimes permanently.
- 3
Don't let anyone attempt a repair first.
Failed repair attempts are the single biggest cause of permanently unrecoverable data. Bring it to us as-is, even if it looks broken. Especially if it looks broken.
What We Recover From
Every recovery starts with a free diagnostic — we tell you what's recoverable and at what cost before any work begins.
Phones & Tablets
Dead iPhones, Androids, iPads. Your photos live on the board's storage chip; if we can power the board even briefly, we can usually extract everything.
Learn moreComputers & Laptops
Dead laptops, failed SSDs, clicking hard drives. Board-level work when the drive itself has failed. Free diagnostic first.
Learn moreExternal Hard Drives
Clicking, grinding, not mounting. Stop powering it on — every spin costs you. Bring it in as-is.
Learn moreWater-Damaged Devices
Lake, pool, sink. Board-level corrosion treatment, then extraction. Power it off and bring it fast — corrosion spreads by the day.
Learn moreMemory Cards & USB Drives
Corrupted, unreadable, accidentally formatted — including drone and camera SD cards.
Learn moreCrashed Drone Footage
The wedding, the listing, the shot you'll never get again. SD cards, internal storage, and crashed-drone drives.
Learn moreWhy In-House Matters
Most “data recovery” in Charlotte is a middleman: your drive gets boxed up and shipped to a lab in another state, adds two to three weeks, and comes back with a bill that started at $800. We do it here. Your data doesn't travel, doesn't sit in someone's queue, and doesn't get handled by people you'll never speak to. When recovery requires board-level work — a dead phone that needs its power circuit revived just long enough to read the chip — that's the same microscope bench we use for micro-soldering.
| Charlotte Tech Repair | Mail-in recovery labs | Repair chains | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-house (data stays in Charlotte) | Yes | No — ships to a remote lab | Varies |
| Price | From $99 | From $800+ | From $150+ |
| Free diagnostic | Yes | Rarely | Varies |
| Turnaround | 2–5 days | 2–3 weeks | Varies |
| Board-level capability | Yes | Yes | Rarely |
| Talk to the technician | Yes | No | Rarely |
Our Process
From the moment you walk in to the moment you leave with your files — every step.
- 1
Free diagnostic (24–48 hrs)
We assess what's recoverable, what isn't, and give you straight odds before you spend anything.
- 2
Firm quote — you approve first
No work begins until you approve the price. No recovery, no fee — that promise only means something if we're honest at the start.
- 3
Recovery — board-level if required
In-house at our University City bench. When recovery requires board-level work, that's the same microscope we use for micro-soldering.
- 4
You verify your files before you pay
We show you the recovered files. You confirm what you needed is there, then you pay.
- 5
Delivered your way
On a drive we provide, cloud transfer, or back onto your device — your choice.
What We Can't Promise
Some data is genuinely gone: physically shattered NAND chips, drives overwritten many times, devices where a previous repair attempt destroyed the storage. We'll tell you that at the free diagnostic instead of taking your money and delivering bad news later. No recovery, no fee — that promise only means something if we're honest at the start.
What Customers Say
“Amazing Experience! Fast, professional and great customer service! Michael was amazing to work with! Thanks again for helping me save my photos!”
“Cannot speak highly enough of this place. Took my MacBook to two other places before (that both seemed very legit) and there was nothing they could do to recover my data and their customer service was average at best. Called wesavedata before they opened one day expecting to leave a voicemail, and instead got to speak directly to the technician. He was incredibly helpful and managed to restore all my data within a quick turnaround time before I headed out of town. This should be the first place you call if you need data recovered from your damaged device.”
“Went in because my laptop died after plugging in the charger, and Gus helped diagnose the issue to be a power surge and got the data recovered!”
“I found We Save Data after almost being taken advantage of somewhere else! I received an inflated quote from another business & decided to contact We Save Data for a 2nd opinion… Michael thoroughly explained the process, leaving no questions unanswered… He told me ‘I wouldn't recommend anything to you, that I wouldn't recommend to my family.’ I'm sure we've all heard this before, but when Michael said it, I felt it!… he saved me $200.”
“We Save Data saved me :) Michael was amazing, helpful, positive! He explained what was needed to save my flashdrive and a lot of hard work. He was patient while I asked all the questions sometime 2-3 times until I could understand what was being explained. (not a tech person) So grateful I found them and will definitely recommend!”
Some reviews refer to us as We Save Data — our former name. Same team, same bench, same phone number.
Data Recovery FAQs
Related Services
Board-level capability: when recovery requires reviving a dead power circuit or reading a chip directly, that happens at our Charlotte bench — never at a lab you've never heard of. Learn more about micro-soldering & board repair.
Device acting up? Let's fix it today.
Walk in, call, or request a free quote online. Most repairs are completed the same day right here in Charlotte.