Hidden gallery folders - broken screen (read on)

[VanBCguy]

Hello all.

I have tried asking this question on two other Android forums and received no response . I'm hoping I have better luck here. Below is a synopsis of my situation:

- I use my phone for work and document many items into a folder which I then keep hidden via the privacy feature in the Setting menu. I have three folders of that type.
- My s7 Edge screen broke making the Settings menu inaccessible.
- Talked to the tech gurus at my provider and they instructed me to copy both the phone and SD card memory to a computer and then reinstall them onto the fixed phone when I got it back (I did this)
- I got the phone back, copied all the folders to each directory (phone and SD card) and let them overwrite what was a duplicate as instructed by the tech gurus.
- I can now see the folders, but there's no content to them.
- Called my provider to clarify that I'd done things properly and I was informed that my phone wasn't fixed, it was replaced with a refurb (this was guaranteed to me not to happen since it was only a broken screen).

Without access to the contents of these hidden folders, my business is "damaged". Does anyone know of a way to retrieve the contents of these folders, especially since I can see the folders but not the contents?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[mountainbikermark]

Welcome to the forum
If you've ever plugged your phone to a computer before and changed the default setting from charge only the computer should see all content as external drives when you plug it in to a usb port. I'm not familiar with how deeply Samsung Kies will be able to dig into the phone without a working screen but that Windows program is an often referred to tool for phones needing help should the above not work.
Hope that helps.

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[VanBCguy]

Welcome to the forum
If you've ever plugged your phone to a computer before and changed the default setting from charge only the computer should see all content as external drives when you plug it in to a usb port. I'm not familiar with how deeply Samsung Kies will be able to dig into the phone without a working screen but that Windows program is an often referred to tool for phones needing help should the above not work.
Hope that helps.

Support Our Troops!!!
Beast Mode 4

<><

Samsung Kies wasn't an option with the broken screen. That's why I couldn't access the Settings menu to deactivate the Privacy settings that hide the Gallery photos.

As it stands now, I can view the hidden folders but there's no content to them (and these are the only folders that show this way). I had the folders stored to my SD card, so I'm stumped as to why I can't access them.

Could it be that the Privacy setting stores the folder contents on the phone memory and is only accessible with the PIN # used to open it up? If so, my guess is that the phone replacement being a refurb instead of the original phone being repaired as promised) has wiped that info away. But if so, why do the empty Gallery folders still show?

Help???

 

[VanBCguy]

Bump?

 

[Miller6386]

Can you open the files/ folders on PC to see if they are actually empty or if the phone just isn't displaying the data?

Sent from my SM-N930V using Tapatalk

 

[VanBCguy]

Can you open the files/ folders on PC to see if they are actually empty or if the phone just isn't displaying the data?

Sent from my SM-N930V using Tapatalk

I can see the folders on both the phone and on the PC but there's no contents to the folders.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Miller6386]

If there is nothing showing on the PC either I would have to say the photos were not copied..

Check the properties of the folders on PC and see what it shows for details as far as size.

Sent from my SM-N930V using Tapatalk

 

[VanBCguy]

If there is nothing showing on the PC either I would have to say the photos were not copied..

Check the properties of the folders on PC and see what it shows for details as far as size.

Sent from my SM-N930V using Tapatalk

Folder size via properties....heck of a good idea. I'll check that when I get home tonight.
I'll post my findings.

 

[VanBCguy]

Update: there's nothing stored in the folders. No space is being used. Flat zeros in the three folders affected.

 

[Miller6386]

Unfortunately that means that they did not transfer over from the phone. Samsung must have some code in there that prevents Windows from either seeing or copying those files from the phones...

Samsung Note 7.5

 

[VanBCguy]

I can understand Samsung limiting what's available to see via Windows but if I copied all the phone and SD card folders to my computer and then to my new to me phone, there must be way of seeing them. I'mean calling Samsung Support tomorrow. Hopefully they know how. I can't be the only one.
Will update.