---
title: "How Data Recovery Works – A Step-by-Step Guide - EXALAB"
description: "How does professional data recovery work? Diagnostics, analysis, recovery, data handover. What to expect, timelines and pricing. Free consultation."
url: "https://www.exalab.cz/en/media-faq/data-recovery"
date: "2026-06-19T22:56:49+00:00"
language: "en-GB"
---

# How Data Recovery Works – A Step-by-Step Guide

How does professional data recovery actually work? From the initial contact through diagnostics to handing over your recovered files. In this guide you'll find answers to the most common questions about the process, pricing and success rates for different types of media.

 [ Consultation with a technician ](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=200#contactnumbers)  [ Consultation with a technician ](tel:+420608177773)  [ Free diagnostic evaluation ](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=200#contactnumbers) [ Data recovery price list ](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=198)

![](https://www.exalab.cz/images/svg/diag-cta.svg)**Free diagnostics**free consultation, diagnostics, pick-up

![](https://www.exalab.cz/images/svg/success-dollar-cta.svg)**You pay only for success**no data – no fee

![](https://www.exalab.cz/images/svg/express-cta.svg)**Express recovery 24/7**priority service available

![](https://www.exalab.cz/images/svg/success-rate-cta.svg)**Success rate > 95%**own EXALAB laboratory

**→ Full service overview:** [Data recovery from all media types](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=201)

## Data recovery step by step

#### 1. Initial consultation

Call us or fill in the contact form. A technician will discuss the circumstances of your data loss – media type, symptoms and urgency. Based on this information we'll estimate the probability of successful recovery and provide a ballpark price. The consultation is free and non-binding.

#### 2. Media intake and diagnostics

You can bring the media to our lab in person or use our free pickup service – available across the Czech Republic and by arrangement from other EU countries. For urgent cases, same-day diagnostics is possible; standard turnaround is within a few business days. The result is a precise fault identification, success estimate and a binding price quote – we only begin recovery after your approval.

#### 3. Data recovery

Recovery time depends on the media type, extent of damage and chosen priority level. We offer express service for urgent cases. Our lab uses ACELab PC-3000 technology alongside a range of other specialized tools – from an ISO Class 5 cleanroom for [hard drives](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=711), through soldering and BGA rework stations for [mobile devices](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=835), to proprietary software tools for file system reconstruction.

#### 4. Data handover

We verify the recovered data and prepare it on new media. You can pick it up in person or we'll ship it via courier. You only pay for successfully recovered data – if recovery isn't possible, you pay nothing.

#### How much does data recovery cost?

Pricing depends on the media type and severity of damage. We always provide the exact price after diagnostics, before starting recovery. Details are available in our [data recovery price list](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=198).

#### What media do we recover data from?

The recovery process differs depending on the type of damaged media. Detailed information about procedures, pricing and success rates can be found on the individual service pages:

- [HDD data recovery](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=711) – internal and external hard drives of all brands
- [SSD data recovery](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=750) – SATA, NVMe, M.2, USB drives
- [RAID data recovery](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=825) – server disk arrays RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10
- [NAS data recovery](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=826) – Synology, QNAP, WD My Cloud and more
- [Phone data recovery](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=835) – Android, iPhone and more
- [Memory card data recovery](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=834) – SD, microSD, CF and more
- [USB flash drive data recovery](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=751) – all brands
- [Apple data recovery](https://www.exalab.cz/index.php?Itemid=832) – MacBook, iMac, iPhone, iPad

## Schema

```json
{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://www.exalab.cz/en" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "FAQ", "item": "https://www.exalab.cz/en/media-faq" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "How Data Recovery Works – A Step-by-Step Guide", "item": "https://www.exalab.cz/en/media-faq/data-recovery.md" } ] }
```

```json
{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://www.exalab.cz/en/media-faq/data-recovery.md" }, "headline": "How Data Recovery Works – A Step-by-Step Guide", "description": "How does professional data recovery work? Diagnostics, analysis, recovery, data handover. What to expect, timelines and pricing. Free consultation.", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://www.exalab.cz/images/products_services/hdd-ssd-flash-sd-white-bakc-w1200-fw.jpg" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "EXALAB Data Recovery", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://www.exalab.cz/images/logo/logo_600x600.png" } }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frantisek Fridrich", "url": "https://www.exalab.cz/en/media-faq/data-recovery" }, "datePublished": "2025-09-16T14:47:22+00:00", "dateCreated": "2025-09-16T14:47:22+00:00", "dateModified": "2026-03-29T21:05:46+00:00" }
```