This is a review of Wondershare Dr.Fone, a comprehensive tool that can recover lost data from your smartphone (both iPhone and Android).
I’ve offered IT training and support over several decades and written software reviews and how-tos for business users. I’ve taken an in-depth look at Wondershare Dr.Fone to let you know how likely it is to recover your phone’s lost data.
I found Wondershare Dr.Fone to be one of the more effective (and slower) data recovery apps for smartphones. That’s not to say that it rescued all of my data—I haven’t found an app that could. But it offers an above-average chance of recovery if you’re not in a hurry.
In this Dr.Fone review, I’ll explore the types of smartphone data the application can restore, how long this is likely to take, and weigh up your chance of success.
Let’s get started.
Contents
Wondershare Dr.Fone restores lost and deleted information from your iPhone or Android phone. The software runs on your computer and scans your phone once you connect it using a cable.
Versions are available for Windows and Mac, and the software is also included in a Toolkit bundle of phone-related software. Note that only Windows users can recover data from Android devices using Wondershare software.
Applications and bundles for Windows users:
- Dr.Fone Data Recovery (Android): $39.95/year, $49.95 lifetime
- Dr.Fone Data Recovery (iOS): $59.95/year, $69.95 lifetime
- Dr.Fone Android Toolkit: $79.95/year
- Dr.Fone iOS Toolkit: $99.95/year
- Dr.Fone Full Toolkit (Android and iOS): $139.95/year
Applications and bundles for Mac users:
- Dr.Fone Data Recovery (iOS): $69.95/year, $79.95 lifetime
- Dr.Fone Android Toolkit: $59.95/year, does not include data recovery
- Dr.Fone iOS Toolkit: $139.95/year
- Dr.Fone Full Toolkit (Android and iOS): $149.95/year
The Toolkit bundles several products: Data Recovery, Phone Manager, Phone Transfer, WhatsApp Transfer, Screen Unlock, System Repair, Phone Backup, Data Eraser, and iTunes Repair.
The software can be used on one computer to restore data from 1-5 mobile devices. Business licenses that support unlimited devices and multiple computers are also available. A free trial will show you if your files can be recovered before paying for the application. There is a 7-day money-back guarantee on all plans.
In this review, we’ll focus on the Mac version of Data Recovery for iOS and also cover Data Recovery for Android. I found that both versions were able to recover deleted files and scan times are slow. While data recovery is not guaranteed, I was unable to find an alternative that is more effective.
Recovery Features
How is data recovery possible? When information is deleted from your phone, it’s not actually removed, just marked as available space. In time, it will be overwritten by new information, so you have a better chance of recovery if you act as soon as possible.
Methods of data recovery offered:
- Scan for lost files on your phone’s internal storage
- Scan for lost files on your Android phone’s SD card
- Selectively recover data from your iPhone’s iTunes backup
- Selectively recover data from your iPhone’s iCloud backup
Supported devices:
Data Recovery for Android supports 6,000+ phones and tablets from Samsung, HTC, Sony, Motorola, ZTE, Huawei, and more. Some devices require root access to recover data. Wondershare maintains a full list of compatible devices. [1]
Data Recovery for iOS is fully compatible with all models of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
Supported file types:
Dr.Fone Data Recovery for Android:
- Contacts
- Photos
- Videos
- Music and audio
- Documents and app data
- Call history
- Messages and SMS
Dr.Fone Data Recovery for iOS:
- Contacts
- Notes and note attachments
- Calendar
- Reminders
- Photos
- Voice memos
- App documents
- Call history
- Messages and message attachments
- Viber
- Kik
- Safari bookmarks
User Experience
Wondershare Dr.Fone Data Recovery for iOS is simple to install and easy to use. Data recovery is achieved in three steps:
- Launch Dr.Fone and connect your phone
- Select the file types you’re interested in and scan your phone
- Preview the data and choose which files to recover
The Android version requires a little more setup. You have to enable USB debugging and for some phone models also root your phone.
User satisfaction is high. The app was rated 4.2 stars on Trustpilot by 2,020 users. [2]
Performance
Scanning for lost files can be time-consuming. How fast is Wondershare Dr.Fone?
To find out, I deleted a test contact, photo, Apple note, voice memo, calendar event, and Pages document from my personal 256 GB iPhone 7. I then scanned it with Dr.Fone and eight other data recovery applications.
Scanning for most file types with Dr.Fone took around six hours. I can’t tell you exactly because I didn’t stay at my desk waiting for it to finish. That’s slow! Fortunately, scanning for fewer file types is much faster. Once I excluded photos and app files the scan time was reduced to just 54 minutes. That’s a significant improvement.
How does that compare with similar apps? Not well. Six hours was much slower than every other app but one. Five competitors were able to scan my phone in about an hour, and that included photos and app files. Dr.Fone was six times slower!
Phones with less memory will be scanned much faster. Another reviewer scanned a 16 GB iPad 4 for a limited number of data types, and it was completed in about 7 minutes. [3]
How does the Android version compare? A reviewer scanned the internal storage of his 16 GB Samsung Galaxy S3 with Dr.Fone for Android, and the process took 6 minutes. That’s comparable to the 16 GB iPad scan. [4]
Effectiveness
Data recovery can never be guaranteed. How successful is Wondershare Dr.Fone?
Unfortunately, none of the applications I tested were able to recover all six deleted items. Dr.Fone managed to recover three files: the contact, Apple note, and photo. That’s disappointing, but was the best result and was also achieved by four other data recovery applications.
They weren’t the only lost files that were located. Dr.Fone and its competitors were able to locate many hundreds of other lost items that weren’t part of the test.
I concluded that you can’t assume you’ll have 100% success when recovering data from a smartphone and that Wondershare Dr.Fone is one of the better apps.
How does my experience compare with other reviewers? After the scan on the 16 GB iPad 4 (mentioned above), 831 photos were located. The reviewer discovered that not all of these were deleted—the app was combining existing photos with deleted ones. [5]
Other recovery apps do the same. I’m not sure why—it just makes finding the files you want to recover more difficult. Fortunately, there is a useful switch at the top of the list: “Only display deleted items”. This, along with the search and sort features, will help you significantly reduce the number of files you need to check.
Did the Android reviewer have better success at recovery? His scan located around a thousand files and this made it difficult to locate the test files he had deleted. He was unable to recover his text message, call history, and contact. He looked for the photo he deleted, but couldn’t locate it among the huge list that was displayed. In the end, he was unable to recover any of the test files he deleted. [6]
Customer Support
The Dr.Fone Support page provides searchable help for every stage of the recovery process: [7]
- Download & Update
- Install & Uninstall
- Registration & Account
- Purchase & Refund
- Product Inquiry
- Device Connection
- How-to Guides
- Technical Difficulties
Support can be contacted via a chatbot or web form.
FAQs
Is Wondershare Dr.Fone safe?
Yes. I encountered no problems while using the application, and scans by Avast Antivirus on Windows and Malwarebytes and Drive Genius on Mac reported no malware.
Is Wondershare Dr.Fone free?
No. The free trial version will show you the lost files that can be located, but you need to purchase a license to recover them.
Is Wondershare Dr.Fone legit?
A number of users have reported they believe Dr.Fone is a scam, but that’s not true. While you may not achieve 100%, the app is certainly capable of safely recovering lost data on smartphones. However, I encourage you to take advantage of the free trial version before deciding to pay.
Alternatives
If Wondershare Dr.Fone isn’t right for you, here are some alternatives I recommend.
Tenorshare UltData can recover a range of data types from iOS and rooted Android devices and allows you to choose the types of data to recover to minimize the scan time. It runs on your PC or Mac.
Aiseesoft FoneLab scans faster than other programs I tested and can also back up your phone and transfer files from your phone to your computer. The software supports iPhone or rooted Android phones and runs on your computer and Windows and Mac versions are available.
iMobie PhoneRescue is an attractive data recovery app for iOS and Android. It will automatically root and unroot your Android phone during the scan process. Windows and Mac versions are available.
Final Verdict
Data recovery is never guaranteed, and in my experience, you shouldn’t get your hopes up when scanning for lost files on iOS and Android mobile devices. After testing a variety of applications, I didn’t find one that could recover all of the files I deleted.
However, Dr.Fone Data Recovery is one of the better tools, and I recommend it. After scanning your phone, maximize your chances of finding your lost files by enabling “Only display deleted items” and using the search and sort features.
You may also like to test one or more of the alternatives listed above. It will only cost you some time. The free trial of each program will show you which lost files can be located, and you only pay once you decide which one to use to recover your data.
References
