Step-by-Step Guide: How to Recover Deleted Videos from DJI

DJI is undeniably one of the top names in aerial photography. Its users often ask how to recover deleted videos from DJI. If you use such a video device, you surely enjoy the unparalleled video quality that comes with a camera-equipped drone. However, you may encounter file and video issues, such as not knowing how to recover deleted videos from DJI. The answer lies here. You will learn how the recording works on a DJI drone camera and how to get your videos back.

What You Need to Know About DJI Deleted Files

Though DJI does not have any safety mechanism, users can use suitable data recovery software to recover lost DJI photos and videos. As long as the data blocks are not overwritten with new data, there is a possibility of retrieving deleted photos and videos. Additionally, before you proceed with recovering deleted files, there are two things you need to know.

Regarding the video/photo storage format

First, we need to understand the format of the images and video that DJI collects.

• Unlike iOS and macOS devices that use H.265 video encoding, DJI uses H.264 video encoding and the 10-bit D-CineLike format.
• DJI cameras store photo files in both JPEG and DNG RAW formats.
• DJI drones store video files in both MP4 and MOV formats (with equivalent quality).

This could be one reason why some recovery programs are able to retrieve files with incorrectly encoded video.

2. Type of memory card

Next, we should learn about the memory card used by DJI drones because they save deleted photos and videos. Typically, a DJI drone has an external memory card and 8 GB of internal storage.

Storage cards below 32GB use the ExFat file system, while those above 32GB use Fat32. We need to recover deleted photos and videos from a DJI drone's memory card.

[Step-by-Step Guide] 3 Ways to Recover Deleted Videos from DJI (UTF-8)

Here, we provide you with some feasible options to recover the lost or deleted photos and videos from your DJI device.

Method 1: Recover Deleted Files from DJI SD Card with Data Recovery Wizard

As we all know, DJI drones and cameras always store videos and photos on the inserted SD card. When it comes to DJI file recovery, SD card recovery is always the first thing to consider.

To recover files from an SD card, you can use a third-party tool like tools Data Recovery Wizard. This software specializes in retrieving deleted or lost files from various digital data storage media, including CDs/DVDs, memory cards, SD cards, and computer hard drives.

Here are the steps to recover deleted videos from an SD card using the tool Data Recovery Wizard:

Step 1: Select the SD card which you want to scan

• Download and install the tools Data Recovery Wizard on your Windows computer.
• Connect your SanDisk/Lexar/Transcend SD card to the computer using the appropriate method.
• Launch the tools SD Card Recovery software. On the left side, select "SD Card Recovery." All connected drives will be displayed here. Choose your SD card and click "Scan."

Step 2: Review the scan results

Wait for the scan to finish. Select one or more file types to display, like pictures or videos. Click "Preview" to check if they're the files you need.

Step 3: Recover Data from SD Card

• Preview the recovered files and then click "Recover."
• Choose a location different from the original SD card to save the recovered files.

Method 2: Recover Deleted Photos from DJI via the DJI Go App

DJI Go is an app for Android phones and tablets, as well as iPhones and iPads, that's used to record and distribute DJI flight logs. Photos and videos shot with the drone's camera are immediately transmitted to the Go app on your mobile device. So this may help if your DJI drone crashes and you lose all of its recorded content.

(DJI Go app image)

Step 1: In the DJI Go app, open the Settings menu and select Video Cache.

Step 2: Click on “Editor” at the bottom of the app display.

All your recent videos are now visible to you. They're just one click away.

Method 3: Recover Deleted Photos and Videos from DJI using CHKDSK

SFC and CHKDSK are essential system utility tools to ensure the integrity of the volume file system. CHKDSK is mainly used to repair corrupted external drives.

When your DJI drone's SD card gets corrupted, you might see the following message: "SD card damaged. Format if needed." You can use the CHKDSK utility to fix the issue and recover deleted videos and photos by following these steps.

Step 1. Connect your DJI device's USB drive or SD card.

Step 2: In the search bar of the Start menu, type "cmd," and then press Enter.

Step 3. Right-click on "cmd.exe" to open a Command Prompt window and fix the corrupted files.

Then you can access the photos and videos on the DJI drive.

Matters to Pay Attention to and Prevention of File Loss

Data loss can strike unexpectedly. There are steps you can take to lower the risk of losing your files.

Don't cut the data, copy it into the computer.

When transferring data from the SD card to the computer, it's best to copy the data rather than cut it to the destination. That way, you'll always have a set of files on your device. If something happens to one device, the other will still have the records.

Use the DJI Go app to record flight logs.

Furthermore, if you want to log your flights, you should do so using the DJI Go app, which can provide an additional layer of security for your recorded footage and photos.

Regularly back up files on the SD card

Regularly back up your DJI media files. Since you've copied the contents of the memory card, you can format the card to reset it. A reliable Windows backup software will come in handy.

Final Thoughts

In this article, we discussed deleting files on DJI and some precautions for file recovery. More importantly, you can use the methods provided to restore any deleted photos or videos from your DJI device. Among the methods mentioned, the third-party tool, Data Recovery Wizard, might be the simplest and most effective.

More information about DJI Video Recovery

Here, we've also listed three questions you might be interested in. Check them out and find the answers here.

< strong > 1. Where does DJI store its videos?

There are several ways to save your drone videos. You can find your DJI videos at the following location:

• Built-in drone storage
• External hard drive
• SD card
• Cloud storage

How to Repair Damaged DJI Video Files?

The solutions enlisted below make it easy to fix corrupted video files.

• Use CHKDSK through the Command Prompt to fix it.
• Use DJI's repair software.
• Use a video repair tool to fix DJI videos.

How do I recover my DJI videos?

You might lose DJI app videos intentionally or unintentionally. If you have saved the footage on your computer, retrieving the files could be easier. However, if you didn't make any backups, tools like Data Recovery Wizard are among the popular software options that can help you get your data back.

**4. How do I recover deleted videos from the DJI app?**

If you have an Android smartphone, you can transfer the flight logs to your computer by connecting the drone via USB.

If you are using an iOS device, connect it to your computer, open iTunes, click on the device icon, and navigate to “File Sharing” – “DJI Go” to locate and download the flight logs.