Photos & RAW · exFAT camera card
HEIC, HEIF and HIF photos: recover after an interrupted recording
What can I do with deleted HEIC, HEIF or HIF images after a recording interruption?
Short answer
Only files whose container was finished are likely intact: power loss can leave a HIF or HEIC file with image data but an incomplete item table or metadata. Switch the camera off, remove the card and keep an untouched copy. Repair attempts belong on a duplicate, and conversion cannot rebuild missing items.
The situation
deleted HEIC, HEIF or HIF images is missing, too short or unreadable after power loss, a card error or an unsafe stop.
Here the file may exist and still be unusable. If power failed while the container was being closed, picture data can sit on the card while the item table or the metadata that describes it was never committed. A plausible file size proves nothing in that state.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
ISO-BMFF files are usually finished at the end: the boxes listing items, offsets and lengths are written once the picture data is complete. A dead battery, a card error or an unsafe stop can therefore leave a HIF or HEIC file whose payload exists but whose tables point nowhere, which is why a viewer refuses it.
The payload may have been written before duration fields, indexes, directory entries or closing structures were committed. For HEIC, HEIF and HIF photos, this matters because these images use an ISO-BMFF layout with item tables, metadata and encoded image payloads.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Switch the camera off rather than pressing the shutter again, and take the card out before the firmware tidies up the failed file.
- 2
Record when the interruption happened and which picture was being written, then compare that with the last frame the display showed.
- 3
Create an uncompressed image of the card or scan it read-only, and let any repair tool work on that duplicate alone.
- 4
Export the candidates to a second drive and open them from the oldest to the newest to find where the session breaks off.
Do not let the camera recreate its index, and never point a repair tool at the card itself. A container that lost its item table can sometimes be salvaged from a copy, but only while the original blocks stay exactly as the interruption left them.
03 / Choose the method
Match the tool to the source
For stable, readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 or uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW and BIN images.
Unconfirmed exports are marked .UNVERIFIED.
Content that was never written cannot be reconstructed, and converting a damaged file to another format does not replace missing items. File Recovery Hero recovers files from readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 media; mending one container is the job of a dedicated repair tool on a copy.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
The last picture of the session is the one to examine closely. Accept a file when it decodes at full size and its metadata carries a plausible capture time; a container that offers a thumbnail only, or whose dimensions are wrong, was cut short.
Keep the source until two verified copies exist. One working preview is not enough.
Sources and technical references
FAQ
Questions about this recovery case
Can exFAT camera card be recovered in this situation?+
Here the file may exist and still be unusable. If power failed while the container was being closed, picture data can sit on the card while the item table or the metadata that describes it was never committed. A plausible file size proves nothing in that state. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not let the camera recreate its index, and never point a repair tool at the card itself.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.
How do I know whether the result is complete?+
The last picture of the session is the one to examine closely.