How to use your broken smartphone from a PC

Chances are you are reading this article because you somehow ended up with a smartphone with a broken screen. Right at the outset, I want to set the right expectations and tell you that there are two ways this story will end.

The first way involves repairing the display and getting the phone back to working condition. The second, more drastic option is to say your final goodbyes to the old comrade and get hold of a new phone! 

But wait! What if you wanted to salvage the data stored in your phone before you throw it away or send it in for repairs? While not impossible, you can still recover data from a phone with a broken screen. However, your results will vary depending on the severity and type of damage the phone has endured. 

Before we take a look at these possible solutions, I wanted to address the set of users who simply do not have the time and energy to perform long, complex troubleshooting steps or even care about salvaging data from the phone. For such users, the easiest way is to send in the phone for repairs. Yes, this option will entail you spending money (often a significant amount) but you might have a working phone back within a matter of days (or even hours!). 

Sometimes the most expensive solution is the best solution

If your phone is fairly new or if you are emotionally attached to the phone, chances are high you would want to get the display replaced and get the phone back in working order as soon as possible. If this is the case, you need not waste any more time and take the phone to either an official service center. This is especially recommended if the phone is in warranty and the warranty has an accidental damage cover included. If the latter is true, you might as well get a replacement display free of charge!

If your phone happens to be out of warranty, it is almost always cheaper to get a screen replacement from a local repair shack. But you will need to read reviews, ask around a little bit just to ensure your repair guy is trustworthy. If you do not mind spending quite a bit more money, it is recommended you take the phone to the official service center and get the screen replaced.

Additionally,  if your phone was locked when it fell, your personal data should remain safe even when you send the phone in for repairs. However, if you do have stuff that you definitely do not want others to see – and your phone was unlocked as well – it is always advisable you have second thoughts about it.

But what if you have other plans? What if all you need to do is to somehow salvage some of the precious data you had in the old phone? Well, that is what we address in the next section.

So, you have decided that you want to salvage the data stored on your phone with a broken/non-functional screen. The steps to do this will change depending on the actual physical condition of your phone and the type of damage the display has endured. Let us take a look at some of the scenarios you may find yourself in.

In the very first scenario, we assume that the display on your phone is cracked/damaged – but it is still somewhat functional. Upon checking, you also realize that the touch function still works miraculously. Let’s see what we can do in this scenario.

1. Verify whether the phone is unlocked. Since the display is partially legible/working, you can easily figure this out.
2. If the phone is locked, check if you can unlock it using biometrics (side and rear-mounted fingerprint scanner). In case you use a passcode or pattern lock, you can try entering the code or drawing the pattern to unlock the device. If this option works for you, go to the third step.
3. Connect your unlocked phone to a PC using a compatible cable (USB-C/MicroUSB depending on your phone).
4. Select file transfer mode from the partially visible screen.
5. Browse the phone on your computer and look for the folders from where you wish to salvage your data.
6. Backup all needed files to your computer/hard drive.

In a bleaker situation, you may find that while the screen is cracked and some of the things on the screen can be seen, the damage has resulted in a non-functional touchscreen. What do you do now? At the outset, please ensure you get hold of these two things. You can borrow them from a friend or buy them yourselves. 

Tools required:

• Another phone running the same OS. (You will know why)

In this scenario, your Android phone seems to be functional – except the display is completely off. You know the phone is working because you can hear the notification sounds and vibration alerts. With a little bit of investigation, you also figure that the touch is functional – it’s just that the screen is completely dark. Oh, and the phone is unlocked as well.

To retrieve data from a device in such a condition, make sure the phone is charged and powered on. You can check this by sending messages and notifications to your phone and checking if you can still hear the alert sounds or vibrations. In case the phone is off and you have a lock code on, things become exponentially difficult because you will need to enter a code on the screen before you can use the phone. And you cannot do that without a working display.

Anyway, since we are assuming that the phone screen is unlocked in this scenario, let us see what can be done here.

The reason we asked you to borrow a phone (preferably the same model or at least running the same UI) is that with such a device handly, you will know where exactly you need to touch so that you can select the ‘File transfer mode’ that appears on the display when you connect the phone to a PC. This loaner phone will also help you figure out exactly what you need to do on the screen to access the option to enable file transfer mode.

1. Borrow a phone of the same make and build (or at least running the same version of the OS) and connect it to your PC.
2. Take note of how it behaves after it is connected.
3. Some Android devices display a pop-up screen that you can tap to select the ‘File Transfer Mode’.
4. Some other devices will need you to access the same via the notifications drop-down menu. (This is more difficult as you can’t see what the notifications are without a working display)
5. Get used to the UI using the loaner phone.
6. Once you know what to do, get hold of your phone.
7. Swipe the screen to go to the home screen (remember, you can’t see this happening!)
8. Connect your phone to the PC.
9. Click the area where you think the ‘file transfer mode” option would be (since the touch functionality is still working).
10. You should hear a sound from your PC after the phone goes into file transfer mode.
11. Once in file transfer mode, you can easily view the contents of your phone and take a backup.

In the next scenario, the Phone is functional (you can hear notification sounds, etc.-  but the display is conked), touch input works, but the phone is locked. In this case, you will need to unlock the phone first and perform the same steps you did above.

In case the rear/side-mounted fingerprint scanner is used to unlock

Let us now come to the worst-case scenario.

Not only is the display completely damaged, but the phone also has physical damage, and as a result, the touch functionality has been lost as well. In such cases, salvaging data is extremely difficult without going to a specialized repair center.

There are several steps online that claim to help you get something out of the phone but having tried it on modern Android smartphones, I figured that there are several roadblocks that lie ahead. Let’s address a few of them.

Does the famous USB Debugging Vysor trick work?

Is it possible to mirror your smartphone’s screen to a TV when the screen itself isn’t working, and the phone is locked?

Another suggestion that I have come across online requires the following things.

Most phones today continue to support the MHL standard. This is a technology that allows smartphones/tablets to connect to an external display using a special HDMI cable. While in normal cases, you can easily do that using a standard USB to HDMI adapter, in our case, since the display isn’t visible/working, we also need to connect a mouse to the smartphone (using a USB Hub) so that we can access and interact with the on-screen menus.

On older Android phones, when you connect the phone to a TV using the HDMI cable, you can see the lock screen (with the numbers) show up immediately after the connection is established. You can then use the mouse cursor to easily unlock the phone by looking at the TV screen, access the menu, and then turn USB debugging on. 

On newer devices that run Android 10/11, however, the phone needs to be unlocked for the screen mirroring to start! And on a device with a non-functional touchscreen, that is impossible to do! I tried doing this with four different smartphones I had with me, and none of them mirrored the display unless I physically touched the screen, unlocked the phone, and accessed the home screen. You can try your luck, however, and do let me know if it did indeed work for you. 

The very reason people are open to trying out a variety of steps and spend long hours researching this topic is to get hold of their data (often pictures and videos). It makes sense, therefore, that you be prepared for such an eventuality beforehand.

This is why you should take a look at our article that deals exclusively with that topic.

Have you recovered data from a smartphone with a broken display? Let us know how in the comments.

This article was refreshed to reflect the situation as of February 2022. Some of the older methods no longer work and have been removed. Older comments may refer to outdated methods or tools.