The scale of the disaster when a phone is dropped or broken often exceeds the mere loss of the device itself, and the loss of data stored inside it becomes the largest and most complex problem. But with the continuous development of Android phones and their complete reliance on internal storage units instead of external memory cards (SD), accessing photos, files, and applications has become almost impossible when the screen malfunctions or the touch stops responding.

However, recent technical reports provided an innovative solution to this dilemma, as they revealed the existence of an effective method that allows users to recover all their files and data accurately by using the famous developer tool known as “Android Debug Bridge – ADB”, which opens a secure software bridge to transfer contents from the affected phone to the computer directly without the need to use the screen.

Free and effective solution
The free Android Debug Bridge tool allows you to control your Android phone through your computer using commands.

According to a recent technical report, the tool can be used to withdraw files from the phone even if the screen is broken or unusable, provided that the phone is still working and the “USB Debugging” mode has been activated previously.

This method does not require paid applications or complex data recovery services, and works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it a widely used option.

prerequisite

Despite the power of this method, it depends on an important condition, as the “USB Debugging” option must be previously activated on the phone. If it is not enabled, or if the phone is asking for permission on the broken screen, the process becomes more complicated and may require the use of additional tools or temporary screen repair.

Extract files
When connecting the phone to the computer and making sure that the system recognizes it, you can use simple commands such as viewing the connected devices “adb devices” or copying files from the phone to the computer “adb pull /sdcard/”. These commands allow the transfer of images, videos, documents, and even some application data, as long as they are not protected by a special permissions system.

Important limitations
Although USB Debugging is effective, it is not a magic solution. Not all internal system files can be accessed without Root privileges, and encrypted or protected data may not be recoverable. In addition, if the phone does not turn on or is not recognized via “USB Debugging”, this method will not work.

A powerful tool, but with conditions
Technical experience confirms that “USB Debugging” is one of the best free solutions for retrieving files from Android phones with broken screens. However, its success depends entirely on the phone’s presets and its operational status. Therefore, it is always advisable to enable backup and “USB Debugging” before any problem occurs, to avoid data loss in the future.