How to Recover Deleted Files from an SD Card on Mac

There are many methods we have covered that you can use to recover deleted files from SD card on Mac. However, in most cases, you will have to turn to data recovery software and follow these simple steps:

1. Download and install Disk Drill for Mac.
2. Connect the SD card to your Mac.
3. Launch Disk Drill SD card recovery software for Mac.
4. Choose the SD card from the list of available disks.
5. Click Search for lost data to initiate the scanning process.
6. Preview the files that Disk Drill can retrieve.
7. Select the items to restore and click Recover.

The recovery of corrupted SD cards on Mac is tricky because the corruption can unexpectedly get worse or the card may stop working entirely. That's why it's best to always start with the creation of a complete backup of the card using something like the Byte-to-byte Backup feature in Disk Drill. You can then mount the image in Disk Drill using the Attach disk image option at the bottom of the Storage Devices section. After mounting, you can recover data from the image just like you would from a normal SD card, but without the risk of further damaging the original corrupted card.

To recover deleted files from your SD card without spending any money:

1. Open Finder and display the content of your SD card.
2. Reveal hidden files by pressing CMD + Shift + >.
3. Navigate to the .Trashes folder and open the Trash folder inside.
4. Select the files you want to recover.
5. Move the selected files to a safe location.

If the card hasn't been overwritten during formatting (full format options in many cameras or the secure format options on Mac do overwrite all data), then you can recover it by connecting it to your Mac and scanning it with Disk Drill or another Mac-compatible tool capable of locating and restoring leftover data structures.

Follow this procedure to format an SD card on your Mac.

1. Connect the card to your Mac with an external card reader.
2. Open the Disk Utility application.
3. Locate the SD card in the left window pane. It may appear with no name.
4. Click the ERASE tab in the middle of the window.
5. Click the Format dropdown menu. Select MS-DOS (FAT) if the card is 32 GB or smaller. For larger cards, use the ExFAT format.
6. Respond to the verification prompt by clicking Erase.

Here are some of the signs that indicate your memory card has experienced some form of corruption.

• Missing files.
• Strange error messages.
• Black screen on your camera or mobile device.
• Read and write failures.
• The SD card is not recognized by your computer.
• The card displays no files.

You can use an external card reader or the one built into your Mac. Follow these steps.

1. Carefully insert the card into the card reader. Ensure that the metal tabs on the edge of the card are facing down.
2. The SD card will appear on your Mac’s desktop and in a Finder window.
3. Make sure to eject the card before removing it from your computer to prevent possible corruption.

The process is no different from the recovery of a regular SD card. First, stop writing new data to the card so that the deleted files don't become overwritten. Next, connect the microSD to your Mac using a suitable memory card reader and run a scan with Disk Drill or another Mac-compatible recovery tool. If the card is not recognized, then you should check for physical damage. MicroSD cards are tiny, so it doesn't take much to crack them. If you do notice physical damage, then your best course of action is to send the card to a professional data recovery service for an assessment.

SDHC cards hold only up to 32 GB of data, and that's not much in this day and age. A couple of 4K videos written to your SDHC card after the deletion of your files could easily overwrite most of the available storage space and make their recovery impossible. Except for this urgency, the recovery process is the same: connect to Mac, download recovery software like Disk Drill, and run the recovery scan.

Deleted photos can be restored from an SD card with this procedure:

1. Download and install Disk Drill.
2. Connect the device with the SD card to your Mac.
3. Launch the app and select the SD card.
4. Hit the Search for lost data button to start scanning for deleted pictures.
5. Select the photos from the list of recoverable files.
6. Click Recover to restore your images.

In many cases, all you need to do is perform standard data recovery using software like Disk Drill. Some cameras, however, record multiple streams of data to different parts of the memory card at once, and this fragmentation can make standard data recovery techniques less effective. That's where Disk Drill shines. Its Advanced Camera Recovery feature (available in version 6) can reconstruct fragmented video files from GoPro, DJI, and similar cameras. You can preview recoverable videos at no cost before deciding to upgrade.

In most cases, Disk Drill is the best choice for SD card recovery on Mac, as it combines ease of use with comprehensive functionality for recovering all kinds of data. Tech-savvy users who are willing to sacrifice some usability for granular control over the recovery process should also check out R-Studio because it allows you to edit file signatures and scan specific portions of your SD card.

If you're looking for completely free solutions, then PhotoRec is your best bet on macOS even though it lacks a graphical user interface and recovers files based only on their signatures, so you won't retain original file names or folder structures. 

You have several options to try with an unreadable SD card including:

1. Inserting the card into a different device or slot in a card reader;
2. Using a card reader and attempting to assign it a new drive letter;
3. Running the macOS Disk Utility and performing First Aid on the card;
4. Rebooting your computer and trying to reconnect the SD card.
5. Clean the SD card contacts to free them from dust.

The most effective way to recover lost videos from an SD card is to use the Advanced Camera Recovery (ACR) module in Disk Drill 6. This module is designed to reconstruct fragmented video files (like those from GoPro or drone footage) by automatically detecting file fragments and stitching them together in their correct sequence. For the ACR module to work correctly, make sure you connect the original SD card to your Mac via an external card reader, as opposed to keeping it inserted in the video recording device and connecting the device to your Mac using a USB cable.