• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Help Can I recover data? Got no backup, and small fortune in bitcoin on phone

norweger

norweger

Well-Known Member
I don't know what to do.

I've got no backup of my bitcoin app, and my Nokia 7.1 has crashed.

This is the story:

On Friday I went kayaking, and got some salt water on the phone.

I have no idea if the salt water has anything to do with it, because the phone worked just fine until late in the day, when it just wouldn't charge anymore.


The battery sank and sank, and when the battery was close to being dead, I got a message about that "Android system" couldn't load.

See attachment.

No matter how many times I restart I get the same message. That's where I am at today. Stuck there.
 

Attachments

  • IMAG0042.jpg
    IMAG0042.jpg
    322.6 KB · Views: 366
mikedt said:
Immersion in salt water probably corroded something. Repair or replacement required, not much else you can do with it.
Click to expand...

Do you think a corroded battery plug, and thus running out of power could cause the "Android system" error message?

I don't remember what bitcoin app I used; I have had it on my to-do list for years to move the coins to a cold wallet I have, but I've never come round to it. It could be I could salvage the coins somehow, but no matter what I'd really like to get the data of my Nokia back.
 
Android data corrupt means just that. Your installation is gone. Even if you could get the phone to boot again, you would have to either reset or reflash it, which will generate a new encryption key rendering any data unusable. My guess would be that the salt water gradually made it's way into the phone through the charging port until it shorted out just enough to corrupt your data. I'd look for an online backup as your only possibility. Sorry

FYI, the worst thing you can do to a wet phone is continue to use it.
 
lunatic59 said:
Android data corrupt means just that. Your installation is gone. Even if you could get the phone to boot again, you would have to either reset or reflash it, which will generate a new encryption key rendering any data unusable. My guess would be that the salt water gradually made it's way into the phone through the charging port until it shorted out just enough to corrupt your data. I'd look for an online backup as your only possibility. Sorry

FYI, the worst thing you can do to a wet phone is continue to use it.
Click to expand...

Appreciated.

If the Android data is corrupt, could it be that doing this funny thing could get the os going again?

I was thinking perhaps vital parts of the os is corrupt, enough to make it un-bootable, but perhaps only parts of the media is corrupt, so some of it might be salvageable? Just as long as I get a os update thru cable.

The strange thing is that the phone worked perfectly fine from 18.00 (when it got wet) until 03.00. So everything worked for nine hours after getting wet, only problem was that I couldn't charge it. I couldn't charge it, and when the battery got flat the funny "Android system" couldn't load message came. And I'm stuck there.
 
Unfortunately the partitions are virtual so as soon as the os is restored the data partitions are rebuilt. Even if you could get the os restored the system would generate a new encryption key so any data found would not be recoverable.
 
I have to click like on that, lunatic59, even though it's sad. I was hoping it would be easier to fix this than what's discussed on XDA, cuz it could be corrotion related, but sadly it's not.
 
The XDA thread is speaking directly to an error that happens following an update. I suspect the update confused the system as to which was actually the user data partition. Yours I believe to be real physical damage to the chips/circuits, so this 'fix' won't help you. The fact that the error message was the same is just coincidental. It's where the Android bootloader takes you when there is a problem with the file/partition structure. It would be analogous to having a car that will crank but won't start. It could be that you are out of gas, a spark plug wire came off or your head was blown. But, if your head was blown, putting gas in it won't make it go.

I'm not sure I would reset or trust the phone in it's current condition.

But before you take a hammer to it, you might want to consider a third party repair service. I don't know if Jessa (ipadrehab.com) works on Nokia's but she'd probably be able to point you to someone who can let you know if there is any hope, or it's hammer time.
 
FYI a main premise for Android in having AES256 encrypted storage, is for security. Like storing bitcoin, if the phone did fall into the wrong hands, it may stop undesirables having access to the bitcoin. And this is why backups are very important for anything valuable like this.
 
One tiny hope, my last hope, which might be nothing.

Every time I boot, before getting the Android system error, it says the phone has zero power. That's even though I charged it for eight hours, using two chargers.

slett-powersymbol.jpg

Some say never ever let your battery get completely flat. I got my battery completely flat. I know the phone's charge port malfunctioned shortly after salt water exposure, I know the phone worked fine until the battery was flat, so ... could it be replacing the battery would be of any help?

I dunno if complete power shortage theoretically can cause the 'Android system' booting problems.
 
norweger said:
I dunno if complete power shortage theoretically can cause the 'Android system' booting problems.
Click to expand...
Yes, that could be a valid scenario. If the battery is damaged and falsely reports it's output voltage it "could" cause a boot problem like this, but it's not guarantee. I see replacement batteries for Nokia 7.1 phones on eBay for around $20 so it's worth a shot. I'm not sure what's involved in replacing a battery on this phone, but if it's anything like recent Samsungs, take your time and be VERY gentle or you could cause additional damage.
 
I know you got your phone wet, you didn't say immersed or splashed.

Some Nokia phones like my Nokia 7 Plus develop charging port connection issues because of bad design/materials etc ref Nokia forums.

If a loss of bitcoin money is at stake, have you asked Nokia for a quote to look at the phone (I guess they would wipe the phone though)

I have seen on You Tube someone replacing a Charging Board on the 7 Plus, which is a small rectangular circuit board between the port and the motherboard. You might find someone who can do this.

I agree about not using a wet phone but you may not have realised.

I think it is probably a lost cause but if say there were a lot at stake, I wouldn't give up. Of course you could well be throwing good money after bad.


 
Last edited by a moderator:
The Nokia phone is dead and thrashed.

Where there's a will. I had an old beat up phone which had Google Authenticator, but the app wasn't updated, and the old version of GA didn't sync with the cloud, but after updating that app it synced and on my tablet I downloaded GA and managed to get access to my coins, and now, I've got them safe and secure in a crypto app. I haven't printed my private keys yet through. Maybe I should.

Thanks to everyone who contributed here. You guys are amazing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom