What Data Recovery Costs in Brisbane (and How to Keep It Down)

You've lost files you need, maybe family photos, work documents or a business spreadsheet, and you want them back without a huge bill. Whether cheap data recovery in Brisbane is possible depends mostly on one thing: is the drive still working, or has it physically failed?

How much does data recovery cost in Brisbane?

Geeks Brisbane charges $125/hour remotely or $205/hour onsite, with a one-hour minimum and no call-out fee. Deleted, synced-away or backed-up files are usually the cheapest to recover. Drives that click, grind or got wet usually need a specialist lab, which costs much more; we check the fault first so you only go to a lab when it's needed.

We cover Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, the Redlands and Moreton Bay as far north as Caboolture. Gold Coast visits are $225/hour to cover travel. See our data recovery in Brisbane service page for what's included.

To be straight about "cheap": the cheapest result is getting files back yourself from a bin or backup. Next is remote recovery on a device that still works. Physical failures are expensive wherever you take them.

If the drive still works and the files were deleted, overwritten or synced away, recovery is usually labour, and some of it can be done remotely. If the drive is physically damaged, the work needs specialist lab equipment, and that is where the cost goes up sharply. Below are which jobs fall into which group, and what you can try yourself first.

Jobs that can be done remotely (and cost less)

When the computer still turns on and connects to the internet, some recovery jobs don't need anyone at your door, and we handle them through remote support. These are the usual ones:

• Cloud recovery: files deleted from OneDrive, iCloud Drive, Google Drive or Dropbox can often be restored from the service's recycle bin or version history.
• Backup recovery: getting files back from File History, Time Machine or an existing cloud backup, and putting them where they belong.
• Sync problems: files that seem to have vanished because a sync service moved them, or an account was signed out.

Files deleted and emptied from the bin on the computer's own drive need an onsite visit (see below).

Check these yourself before you pay anyone

A few minutes here can save you the call altogether. Deleted items are only kept for a limited time, so check soon. For the wider picture, see our full data recovery guide.

Windows 11

1. Open the Recycle Bin on the desktop, right-click the file and choose Restore. Files stay there until the bin is emptied.
2. If you use OneDrive, sign in at onedrive.com and open Recycle bin in the left menu. Personal accounts keep deleted items for about 30 days, and work or school accounts for up to 93 days.
3. Right-click the folder the file was in and choose Properties, then the Previous Versions tab. Earlier copies show up here if File History was turned on.

macOS

1. Open the Trash in the Dock, then right-click the file and choose Put Back.
2. If you use Time Machine, open the folder in Finder, then open Time Machine from Spotlight or the Applications folder (or the menu bar icon) and browse back to an earlier copy.
3. For iCloud Drive, sign in at icloud.com, open Drive and check Recently Deleted. Items stay there for 30 days.

If you're stuck on a Mac, our Apple Mac support page covers what else we help with.

iPhone and iPad

Open Photos, scroll down to Utilities and tap Recently Deleted. You'll need Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode to open it. In the Files app, tap Browse and check Recently Deleted. Both keep items for 30 days.

If iCloud Photos, Contacts or Notes were syncing, sign in at icloud.com to see what's there without touching the phone.

Android

In Google Photos, tap Collections, then Bin. Backed-up photos stay there for 60 days, while items that weren't backed up stay for 30 days on Android 11 and later. For files, open Google Drive and check Bin from the menu, where items are kept for 30 days. Some phone makers also put a separate recently deleted folder in their own gallery app.

If backup to your Google account was on, photos may already be in Google Photos on the web and contacts at contacts.google.com.

Don't factory-reset a phone to "fix" it. A reset wipes everything on the phone, including files that could otherwise have been recovered, and anything that wasn't in a backup is usually gone for good.

Why physical failures cost more

If a drive clicks or grinds, or the computer has been dropped or got wet, the problem is physical. Software can't fix that, and running recovery software on a failing drive can make things worse because every attempt puts more strain on it.

Physically failed drives go to specialist data recovery labs. They cost much more than software recovery for a few reasons:

• Hard drives have to be opened in a cleanroom, because dust on the platters can destroy the data.
• Failed parts are swapped using matching donor parts, which have to be sourced for that exact model.
• Solid-state drives (SSDs) and phones store data differently and often need specialised equipment to read the memory chips.

We don't do this lab work ourselves. What we can do is check whether the problem really is physical before you pay for a lab, because sometimes the fault is the cable, the enclosure or the computer rather than the drive. For more, see what to do about a clicking hard drive and external hard drive not showing up. If it is physical, we'll confirm the fault and explain in plain terms what a lab will do and what to ask before you send the drive. When your data comes back, we can set the computer up again, with a new drive if it needs one, put your files back where they belong and set up backups.

What to ask a data recovery lab

• Is the evaluation charged, and is that cost taken off the job if you go ahead?
• Is the price fixed and agreed before any recovery work starts?
• What do I pay if nothing can be recovered?
• Will my drive be opened in a cleanroom or on a clean bench?
• How will my data be returned to me, and how is the old drive disposed of?

If a device has been in water

If a device has been in water (a common problem after Brisbane's summer storms and floods), switch it off, unplug it and don't try to charge it or turn it on to check. Don't dry it with heat from a hairdryer, oven or direct sun, as that can do more damage. Then book an onsite visit so we can check it and tell you whether the data needs a specialist lab. We don't repair water-damaged circuit boards. For more, see our guides on water-damaged phone data recovery and MacBook water damage.

What to do straight after losing files

What you do in the first few minutes affects both your chances and the cost:

• Stop using the drive. New files, updates and even web browsing can overwrite the space where deleted files still sit.
• Don't install recovery software onto the same drive you're trying to recover from.
• If the drive is making noises, turn it off and leave it off.
• Don't open the drive or put it in the freezer. Those old tricks cause damage.
• On an SSD with TRIM enabled, deleted files are often unrecoverable soon after deletion, so stop using the computer immediately.

The cheapest data recovery is a backup

Most recovery bills are avoidable with a backup that works. Our data backup and transfer services can set one up for you. A sound setup for a home or small business looks like this:

• Two copies at least: one in the cloud (OneDrive, iCloud or Google Drive) and one on an external drive using File History or Time Machine.
• Automatic: backups you have to remember to run usually stop happening.
• Tested: restore a file every now and then to check it actually works.
• Protected from ransomware: keep one copy disconnected or versioned, so an infection can't encrypt your backup too. Our guide to ransomware removal in Australia explains what to do if it happens.

A cloud copy can matter even when a drive has failed completely. Boyd's hard drive crashed outright: "Sadly, my data couldn't be saved as a result of a hard drive crash, but Vinnie determined most of the data was saved in One Drive." (verified Google review)

For businesses, regular backups are one of the controls in the Essential Eight, published by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). Our Essential Eight checklist for small business explains how to set them up properly. Setting up backups is booked at the same hourly rates.

Remote or onsite: which should you book?

Book remote if the computer starts and connects to the internet, and the files are in the cloud, synced away or in a backup. Book onsite if the files were deleted and emptied from the bin on the computer's own drive, the computer won't start, the drive isn't showing up, or you're not sure what's wrong. We'll tell you plainly if the drive needs a specialist lab, so you can decide before spending more.

For deleted files, an onsite visit means we boot the computer from external media and run recovery software from a separate drive, so nothing is written to yours. What comes back depends on how much the computer has been used since the deletion and on whether it's an SSD with TRIM. We can't promise an outcome or a total cost up front.

We come to you across Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, the Redlands and Moreton Bay as far north as Caboolture, so the computer doesn't have to be dropped off. If a lab is needed, we explain the hand-off before you decide.

Book a data recovery check

If you've tried the steps above and still can't find your files, call Geeks Brisbane on 1300 600 004 or book online.