Where is Recycle Bin on Samsung Phone and How to Recover Files

So you just tapped the delete option on your Samsung phone and sent some pictures or videos to the Recycle Bin? Now you tried to look up the Recycle Bin to restore the items, but where is the Recycle Bin on a Samsung phone?

In this article, I’ll show you how to recover your deleted videos and photos from a Samsung phone, and even if you’ve emptied the Recycle Bin, it’s still possible to get back your deleted items.

Read on for more.

Where is the Recycle Bin on Samsung Phone?

Just like a computer, a Samsung phone has a Recycle Bin to recycle deleted items. More precisely, the current Android OS (your phone is running under) provides this feature.

Here’s how to find it:

1. Tap on the Gallery app.
2. On the top right corner, tap on the three-dot Settings icon.
3. From the dropdown menu, tap Recycle Bin.
4. Now you’ll see all your recently deleted photos and videos here.

Note: The Recycle Bin in your Samsung phone only keeps files here for up to 15 days. From day 16, items here will be erased automatically. This video has more:

How to Recover Deleted Videos or Photos from Samsung?

Now that you know where to find the Recycle Bin on your Samsung phone, it’s easy to restore your videos or photos that are there. Just select these items and tap on Recover.

However, if you also emptied Recycle Bin or the files have been automatically deleted because it’s been there for more than 15 days, try the following methods to recover them.

What You’ll Need:

• Your Samsung phone/tablet
• A computer
• Backup files (optional)
• Android data recovery software (optional)
• Access to the Internet

First Things First: stop writing new data to your phone — DO NOT take more photos or videos. If your pictures were stored in a mass memory card, remove the card out of your phone and put it in a safe place.

Method 1: Restore from Backups

• When to use: you’ve backed up the media files using Samsung Cloud or Samsung Smart Switch.

Samsung Cloud allows you to back up and restore your device content, so you don’t panic if you accidentally delete a file on your phone. You can even restore files and sync data on other devices when you are logged into your Samsung account.

Samsung Smart Switch is an app that makes it easy to sync data between your device and your computer. If you’ve used the app to back up your media files (pictures, videos, songs, etc.), it’s very easy to restore them. This video has more:

Method 2: Android Data Recovery Software

• When to use: your pictures and videos were saved on your Samsung phone’s internal memory (instead of a memory card).

We’ve reviewed the best Android data recovery software to use for this situation. Besides photos and videos, these programs are also able to recover SMS messages, Contacts, and other types of data from Samsung and other Android phones.

Here’s a quick tutorial:

• Connect your Samsung phone to a computer.
• Download and install one of the recovery software on your computer.
• Follow the instruction until it scans your Samsung phone.
• Preview and recover the media files it finds.

Method 3: Photo Recovery Tools

• When to use: the lost media files were stored on an SD card attached to your Samsung phone.

We also covered a list of photo recovery software that are worth trying. You can use one of the software to quickly restore lost images, videos, and audio files from almost any storage media including Samsung phones and tablets.

Here’s a quick step-by-step tutorial:

• Load the microSD card to a card reader/adapter first, then plug it into your computer.
• Get a photo recovery program and follow the instructions as shown on the app’s interface and install the program on your computer.
• Select the drive your Samsung SD card stands for, define the file types you wish to retrieve.
• A scan will be conducted to search for your deleted photos.
• Once the scan is complete, see if your files are there and save them.

Last Resort: Send Your Phone for Data Recovery Services

Warning: do this only when the above methods fail to retrieve your files. Also, you’ll probably need to spend a lot of time finding a reliable service provider and pay fees that are probably much higher than your expectations.

We highly recommend you contact Samsung customer support first and see what advice they would give for your situation. Then do your own research and evaluate which data recovery company to work with.

Don’t send your device right away to a remote center, unless you know what you’re doing. Ideally, you should go to a local one that is close to your area.

Final Words

Samsung phones and tablets are great for capturing high-quality photos and videos. But due to accidental deletion and other human errors, these precious files can disappear.

When that happens, it can be really frustrating. Fortunately, it’s still possible to retrieve the files as long as you act quickly and take the right steps.

I hope you find this guide helpful and that you’ve managed to restore the deleted or missing photos. Remember to use Samsung Smart Switch or Samsung Cloud to make backups of all your media items from now on.