Pricing

Prices and Potential Fees


Data Recovery

Our rate is $1250 per device, regardless of the type of device or complexity of the recovery.

All data recovery services are included in our rate, including any labor costs for cleanroom repairs, a transfer drive to move your recovered data to, and return shipping.

99% Recovery Rule:

  • If we recover 99% or more of the sectors on your device, full payment of our $1250 data recovery rate is required.
  • If less than 99% is recovered, we will send you a file listing (if possible) and you can decide if you want the data or not.
  • If you want the data, and a head swap is not needed, your full $250 deposit will be applied to your $1250 total.
  • If you *don’t* want the data back, our $250 labor fee is due, which will be covered by your $250 deposit.

Deposit

A $250 deposit is required to start the recovery process.

Your deposit will be used to cover the cost of a donor drive, if necessary, and/or our labor fee, if necessary. If neither is required, your full deposit will be applied to your $1250 rate.

If we are unable to recover *any* data from your device, we will fully refund your deposit, minus a $25 return shipping fee, if you want your device returned.

*Your deposit cannot be applied to our Removal Fee, Open Cover Fee, or $150 upfront Priority Service Fee. These fees must be paid separately and upfront. They are non-refundable if no data is recovered, but will be credited toward your $1250 total if the recovery is successful.

Expedited Service

For faster recovery, we offer Expedited Service for an additional $400. This includes a non-refundable upfront fee of $150, with the remaining $250 due at the end of a successful recovery.

Typical turnaround time for Expedited Service is 1-3 business days, but it largely depends on the condition of your device. Most Expedited recoveries are finished within 3 business days. However, if your device requires cleanroom work, it will likely add 3-5 business days to the recovery, depending on the condition of the drive and where the seller is located.

*Expedited Service is in addition to the required $250 deposit. If you choose to upgrade to Expedited Service, you will pay $400 upfront, which includes the $250 deposit + $150 non-refundable upfront fee for Expedited Service. The remaining $250 for Expedited Service will still be due at the end of a successful recovery.

Deleted/Formatted/Overwritten Files Recoveries

*Our full $1250 rate is due upfront and is non-refundable with these types of recoveries*

If we are unable to recover *any working files*, we will refund you the full amount, minus our $250 labor fee because of the time and effort spent recovering the data.

We charge our rate upfront because we will almost certainly be able to recover some data, but we won’t know what the data is or what condition it will be in until our recovery is finished (some data might be partially recovered or corrupt).

Because we can’t know if we’ll be able to get the specific data you’re looking for back, we charge our full rate upfront since we will be recovering more than 99% of your device.

While sometimes it's possible to recover some or all of the original folder structure and filenames, most often, the data is recovered as "raw" data, which does not have the original filenames and folder structure.

With deleted files recoveries, there is no real way to find any specific file besides opening each one individually. Because of this, there is no way of us knowing what files have been recovered because the file structure is not retained. Instead, after our recovery, we'll know that we recovered all possible data that still exists on the device (including folder structure/filenames, if possible).

If your hard drive requires a donor drive, you will have to pay for the donor drive in addition to our full data recovery rate. Since we do not collect a deposit for this type recovery, you will need to pay for the donor drive separately. We will always email you a link to the donor drive we’re going to buy before ordering it.


Clone: Additional $250, not covered by deposit.

While replicating your failed device's content, commonly referred to as "cloning," might seem feasible, there are several drawbacks to consider:

  1. Even if we successfully clone 100% of the sectors, the partition could still be corrupt, making the clone unable to boot up the computer.
  1. Applications installed on the original hard drive are often tied to its serial number. After cloning to a new drive, applications requiring a serial number may need re-registration to function properly.
  1. On Windows machines, even with a flawless clone and an intact partition, the computer may not boot from the new hard drive. While a PC technician might resolve this issue, we do not provide support for ensuring the cloned drive's functionality.
  1. For Mac users, a 100% clone should typically boot up (assuming an uncorrupted partition), but applications may need to be reinstalled. Instead, we recommend installing a new hard drive and operating system before using "Migration Assistant" to transfer applications and user data. This approach ensures a cleaner and more reliable solution, with the OS fully intact.

For these reasons, we prefer to transfer recovered files onto a "transfer drive." However, if you wish, we can clone your drive to a bare SATA drive. Please note that we offer no support or guarantee regarding the cloned drive's booting or application functionality. In case of booting issues, you can still access all recovered files via the "transfer drive" when connected to a functioning computer.

Chip-off Recoveries: $1250 *PER CHIP*

  • Mostly required for Microsoft Surface devices that have an EMMC chip.
  • You can think of the chips like the hard drives within a RAID configuration, each chip holds individual data that requires cloning. Then, we must locate and reconstruct the sequence of data across the chips.
  • Some chip-off recoveries require us charge our $150 Removal fee.
  • We will let you know if we need to do a chip-off recovery before we attempt it since the cost will be per chip and we won't know how many chips there are until we inspect the device. Most chip-off recoveries only have one chip.

Potential Fees

Open Cover Fee: $150

Recoveries are often less successful when a drive has been previously opened, and we often have to spend significantly more time cleaning and preparing the drive before we can attempt to recover any data from it.

If your hard drive has been previously opened, we charge a $150 non-refundable fee upfront. This fee is in addition to your $250 deposit, but it will be applied towards your total for a successful recovery. This fee will not be put towards our $250 labor fee, if you decide you don't want the data we recovered.

A hard drive is considered an “Open Cover” if the stickers that cover the hard drive cover screws have been removed, or on certain models, if the hard drive's label sticker has been removed.

Please note: this fee does NOT apply to your hard drive’s enclosure, which is often a plastic casing that holds the hard drive inside it. This fee only applies to the actual cover of the hard drive, which is metal and held down by several screws around the edge.

If we find that your drive has been previously opened, we will let you know, and send you a payment link before we continue.

Donor Drive Fee: $25-$250

If we are unable to get your hard drive to work, your drive likely needs a head swap because the original heads can no longer read the drive. The "heads" are what read the data magnetically off the platters. If the heads become bad, often due to the hard drive being dropped, we'll need to find a compatible donor drive to swap the heads with.

Your deposit will help cover the cost of this drive, as we cannot guarantee data recovery through the head swap. We will send you a link to the donor drive that we plan to purchase so that you can see the cost of the donor. If you decide the cost of the donor is too expensive, we will fully refund your deposit, minus a $25 return shipping fee, if you'd like your drive returned.

If we are able to recover some data (less than 99%) after the head swap, we will send you a list of all the recovered files so that you to decide if you want the data or not. If you want the data, we will send you a payment link, with your remaining deposit applied to the total.

If you decide you don't want the recovery, then our $250 labor fee is due, with your remaining deposit being applied to this fee.

Your $250 deposit covers the donor drive cost up to that amount. If the donor drive costs more than $250, we will cover the difference. For example, if the donor drive costs $275, your deposit will be used to cover the $250, and we will cover the remaining $25. Most donors cost $75-$150, but newer models tend to be closer to $250 because there are so few of them in circulation.

Removal Fee: $150

A $150 removal fee is required and non-refundable for all Microsoft Surface Pro 5, Pro 6, or Pro 7 and any tablet or laptop that has an eMMC or UFS chip that necessitates a chip-off recovery and full disassembly.

This fee is in addition to your $250 deposit, but it will be applied towards your total for a successful recovery. It is only non-refundable if we are unable to recover any data. This fee does not get applied to the $250 labor fee.