Why did my file break?

The most common causes

• The battery died or the device switched off while recording.
• A drone crashed, the camera fell or got wet, or the car had an accident.
• The card was removed while recording, or the card was full.
• The connection dropped or the copy stopped while the file was copied.
• The card or disk is faulty; some parts cannot be read.
• The NAND memory chips inside the memory card may have reached the end of their service life.
• A video editor crashed while saving the file.
• A program or ransomware encrypted the file.

How do I know the file is broken?

• The folder shows no thumbnail for the file.
• Its length shows 0 seconds or nothing at all.
• It is big, but no player opens it or players show an error.
• The picture freezes at some point, frames are broken or there is no sound.

Do this now

• If you use an SD card, set its write protection (WP) switch and keep it.
• Do not record on the card or disk again.
• Upload the original file to our site, not a converted copy.

Do not

• Do not format the card.
• If the camera offers a repair when the card goes back in, say no; the broken file can be deleted. Copy the card first.
• Do not try to repair the file again and again with different programs; each try can damage it more.

Questions

The file shows 0 bytes. This file holds no picture. But the picture may still be on the card; bring the card to our lab.

Part of the file is filled with zeros. That part cannot come back; the result page shows how much came back.