How It Works: From First Call to Your Data Back
Handing over a device that holds your photos, your business or your family history takes trust - and trust is built on knowing exactly what happens next. This page is the whole process, honestly told: what we do, what it costs, where you make the decisions, and what happens when the news isn't good. No mystery, no pressure, no surprise invoices.
- Auckland lab - work done in-house
- Specialists since 2016
- Assessment from $230
- Firm quote before any recovery work
- Overnight courier, NZ-wide
- Recovery from an image - not your original drive
From first call to your data back
Five steps, no mystery. This is exactly what happens to your device, who decides what, and where the money goes.
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Get in touch
Call, WhatsApp, or book online - whichever suits. Tell us what the device is, what happened, and what it's doing now. Detail genuinely matters: "it clicks twice then stops" or "it went in the sea on Saturday" changes how we handle the device the moment it arrives, and sometimes changes the advice entirely.
This first conversation is free, and it is honest triage. Sometimes the right answer is "stop - power it off and get it to us today". Sometimes it is "check your cloud backup first - you may not need us at all", and we'd rather say so before you spend a cent. If your situation is one we can't help with - a properly factory-reset phone, data overwritten beyond reach - we'll tell you on the phone, not after a courier trip and an assessment fee.
- The device's make and model
- The story of what happened - drops, water, power cuts, error messages, sounds
- What the data is: photos, a business's files, one crucial folder
- Whether anyone has already had a go at recovery - no judgement, but it changes the approach
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Get it to the lab
In Auckland: drop your device at our lab at 213 Dominion Road, Mount Eden - we're available 9am to 9pm.
Everywhere else in NZ: overnight courier reaches us from anywhere in the country. Pack the device padded in a rigid box - bubble wrap and a snug fit, nothing rattling. For failed hard drives, an anti-static bag first if you have one. Include the charger or cable if it has one, and any broken-off pieces, and skip the accessories, boxes and bags.
When your device arrives, it is logged, labelled and stored securely - it is never worked on, powered on or opened until assessment begins, and dropped or failing drives are never casually spun up "to see". First power-on happens under controlled conditions, where a problem can be caught immediately.
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The assessment
This is where the diagnosis happens, and it is real work: typically hours of a specialist's time on equipment built for exactly this. Assessment starts from $230, and here is what that actually buys.
We establish what physically failed - not the symptom, the cause. That can mean examining a drive's mechanics and firmware on dedicated imaging hardware, opening a phone or laptop and testing its board under magnification, or tracing a flash device's fault to its controller or memory. Wherever possible we work read-only: the assessment is designed around not making anything worse, and your data is never written to, "repaired" or experimented on during diagnosis.
And sometimes the honest outcome is bad news: the data is beyond recovery, by us or anyone. When that's the verdict, you hear it straight, you pay the assessment fee and nothing more, and you get an honest explanation of why.
- What failed - the cause, not the symptom
- Whether your data is recoverable, and to what likely extent
- Exactly what the recovery will cost, as a firm quote
- A realistic timeframe - and any risk specific to your case, spelled out before you decide
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Your decision
The quote is the fork in the road, and it belongs to you. There's no pressure and no "while it's on the bench" upsell. Take the quote away, think about it, ask us anything.
If you go ahead: the quote is firm - it's what you pay, and it doesn't creep. Recovery starts, and we keep you posted at the milestones that matter.
If you don't: that is a completely legitimate outcome, and plenty of sensible people take it - sometimes the data isn't worth the price of the job, and we'd rather you decide that with real numbers than wonder forever. Your device comes back to you (or is securely disposed of, your choice), and the assessment fee is all you've spent.
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Recovery, verification and return
Approved recoveries happen in our Auckland lab, by us - never subcontracted, never sent offshore. The method depends on the diagnosis: imaging a failing hard drive gently on dedicated hardware, donor parts for failed mechanics, board-level repair for dead electronics, chip-level work for flash devices. Whatever the road, the principle is the same: one complete, careful copy of your data onto healthy storage, with your original device stressed as little as possible.
Then we verify. Recovered data is checked before you're told the job is done - files open, photos display, folder structures make sense. You'll know what came back and, just as importantly, whether anything didn't.
Your data comes back to you on a new drive or by secure transfer, alongside your original device. Once you've confirmed you have everything, the working copies from your recovery are securely erased from our systems. We can sign an NDA if your situation calls for it.
Where you're protected at every step
A firm quote, before any work
The number you approve is the number you pay. No recovery work of any kind starts without your explicit go-ahead.
Read-only by design
Assessment never writes to your device. Nothing is "repaired", modified or experimented on before you've seen a diagnosis and said yes.
Your data stays here
Worked on in-house in Auckland by our own specialists, never offshore, never subcontracted - and securely erased from our systems after you've confirmed the return.
Honesty when it's not good news
If your data can't be recovered - or if an option like a cloud backup makes us unnecessary - you hear it at the earliest point we know it.
The short version
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Get in touch
Call, WhatsApp or book online. Honest triage on the phone, before you spend anything.
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Get it to the lab
Drop in at Mount Eden, or courier overnight from anywhere in NZ.
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Assessment and firm quote
From $230. What failed, what recovery costs, and a realistic timeframe.
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Your decision, then recovery
You approve or you walk away. Approved jobs are recovered, verified and returned.
- Specialists since
- 2016
- Before any recovery
- Firm quote
- NZ-wide
- Overnight courier
- Auckland lab
- Work done in-house
Process and pricing questions
The practical things people want settled before they hand over a device.
How much does the assessment cost?
Assessment starts from $230, depending on the device and what diagnosis involves. You'll be told the exact assessment cost before you commit to anything - upfront, when you book or call. The assessment produces your diagnosis and a firm quote for the recovery itself.
Is the assessment fee deducted from the recovery price?
The assessment and the recovery are quoted separately: the assessment fee covers the diagnostic work itself, and the firm quote you receive is the full price of the recovery. You'll always know both numbers before anything proceeds, and nothing is charged without your approval.
What if you can't recover my data?
Then you'll hear exactly that, with the reasons - and you've spent the assessment fee, nothing more. We don't charge for recoveries that don't happen, and we don't take on work we've diagnosed as hopeless just because a customer is willing to pay. The assessment fee buys the truth, whichever way it falls.
How long does the whole process take?
It depends on the device, the fault and the queue - a firmware fault, a donor-part mechanical job and a corroded phone board are different timescales, and failing devices must be worked at whatever pace protects the data. What we commit to: a realistic timeframe with your quote, updates when the milestones happen, and straight talk if there's a genuine deadline.
Do I need an appointment to drop my device in?
No appointment needed - we're at 213 Dominion Road, Mount Eden, Auckland, available 9am to 9pm. If you'd rather book a time or talk first, the Book Now button or a WhatsApp message does it.
Is my data kept confidential?
Yes. Your device is handled only by our own specialists in our Auckland lab, recovered data is used only to verify the recovery and return it to you, and working copies are securely erased once you've confirmed receipt. We regularly handle commercially sensitive and legal material, and we can sign an NDA if you need one.
Can I courier my device from outside Auckland?
Yes - overnight courier reaches us from anywhere in New Zealand. Pack the device padded in a rigid box, include cables and any broken-off pieces, and follow the packing notes we give you when you book. If you're unsure how to pack a failed drive safely, call us first and we'll walk you through it.
What should I do before sending my device?
Mostly: nothing - that's the point. Don't run repair utilities, don't reinstall anything, don't keep power-cycling it, and don't open it up. Power it off, pack it well, and let its next power-on happen in the lab. One exception worth doing: note down relevant passwords - a phone PIN stays with you, and an encrypted drive's password or BitLocker recovery key we'll discuss at assessment, since encrypted recoveries need the key to turn recovered data back into your files.
Know exactly where you stand, before you spend a dollar on recovery
Honest triage on the phone, a real diagnosis with a firm quote, your decision with no pressure, and a verified return - or the plain truth that recovery isn't possible, at the earliest moment we know it. Auckland locals can drop in; everyone else is one overnight courier away.