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Any way to pull a local file from an Android 12 device stuck in Recovery before factory reset? (Unlocked bootloader)
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lipen reddthat.com lipen@reddthat.com
Joined: 2025-07-26

My Tecno Spark 10 Pro (MediaTek Helio G88, Android 12) bootlooped after a banking app froze. Now it boots straight into stock recovery with the message that Android cannot be loaded and data may be corrupt.
The bootloader is unlocked. I hooked it up to an Android tablet via OTG with Bugjaeger. The device uses A/B partitioning and was running on slot b. I switched it to slot a via fastboot, but slot a gives the exact same recovery loop, so the issue is clearly a corrupted userdata partition failing to mount during early init.
All I need is my local KeePass database file from internal storage. I know modern Android uses File-Based Encryption with keys sealed in the TEE, but since my bootloader is unlocked, is there any known way via fastboot, MTK tools, or custom boot images to extract or decrypt that single file before I wipe the device? Or is it completely unrecoverable once the filesystem fails to mount?

26   Original
printf("%s", name); piefed.blahaj.zone akunohana@piefed.blahaj.zone
Joined: 2026-03-30
#2 · (edited)

Probably not a solution, but at the very least, is there any point in maybe dd-ing the whole device, just to have the data and then take your time to figure out decryption? I know nothing about Android, so I'm just spitballing.

9
newton feddit.online newton@feddit.online
Joined: 2026-04-12
#3 ·

If data is important ,go to expert, don't ask advice here

-1
Bluetreefrog Moderator Bluetreefrog@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-12
#4 · (edited)

Rule 5. Locking.

2  [mod]

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