Storage media · drone exFAT microSDXC card
Recover drone files from an exFAT microSDXC card
How can I recover photos and video from a drone microSDXC card?
Short answer
First land and power down the drone, then remove the microSD card, because later flights overwrite old footage quickly. Check which formats the drone saved, typically MP4 or MOV for video and JPEG or DNG for photos, scan the card read-only for only those and export to a separate drive.
The situation
Flight media is missing after deletion, a crash, or an incomplete transfer.
The card in a drone is removable, which is the decisive advantage here: it can be taken out and treated separately from the aircraft. The risk is time, because a single further flight writes several gigabytes over the material that is being looked for.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Drones record to microSDXC with exFAT and usually write MP4 or MOV video plus JPEG and DNG photos, often with a separate folder for flight logs. After a crash the card may be undamaged while the aircraft is not, and files from an interrupted flight can lack their closing metadata just as a camera clip would.
The removable card can be preserved separately from the aircraft, and later flights can overwrite old extents quickly.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Land the drone, power it down and remove the microSD card before any further flight or firmware update runs.
- 2
Check in the app or manual which formats the aircraft saves, since video, photos and logs sit in different folders.
- 3
Read the card in an adapter and scan the exFAT volume read-only for only those recorded formats.
- 4
Export everything to a separate drive and match the recovered clips against the flight times in the log.
Do not fly again with the same card, and do not let the app cache or download footage back onto it. A few minutes of 4K flight footage fill a large part of the card, and that is enough to end the search for the earlier recordings.
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.
A card that was physically destroyed in a crash is a case for a lab, not for software. File Recovery Hero reads intact microSDXC cards with exFAT read-only and recovers the recorded files; footage that only ever existed in the phone cache is a separate matter.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Use the flight log as the reference: each recovered clip should have a start time and a duration that fit a logged flight. Play the footage to the end, confirm that the resolution matches the drone setting, and open DNG files in the raw converter, not only as previews.
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 drone exFAT microSDXC card be recovered in this situation?+
The card in a drone is removable, which is the decisive advantage here: it can be taken out and treated separately from the aircraft. The risk is time, because a single further flight writes several gigabytes over the material that is being looked for. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not fly again with the same card, and do not let the app cache or download footage back onto it.
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?+
Use the flight log as the reference: each recovered clip should have a start time and a duration that fit a logged flight.