Are you searching for a good but free tool to recover your lost or deleted MP4 files? You should know that there is a variety of data recovery software available on the internet. Some of them are freeware while some others offer free trial versions of their tool for evaluation. Follow this article to know about the 10 best MP4 recovery software.
Sometimes, users are unable to find previously saved videos and audio files on their computer systems. Facing this problem can be very frustrating especially when those files are not even in the recycle bin. But this issue is inevitable in today’s digital world and can happen to anyone; that too, due to several unpredictable reasons. Thus, the only remedy is to take timely backups of critical data.
If, however, you have faced video or audio file loss before taking a backup, this article holds the answers to your problem. It is possible to recover lost or deleted audio and video files in MP4 format using specially designed photo recovery software.
There are several premium photo recovery software available in the market, but in this article, we will introduce you to 10 best MP4 recovery software that are either totally free or have a free version available. You can try them to get back your lost MP4 files without any glitches. So without wasting any more time, let’s dive deep into it.
Reasons for MP4 file loss
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Human errors
Sometimes user actions cause damage to devices accidentally which leads to data loss. Alternatively, some users intentionally delete files in an attempt to free up storage space, without realizing that they have no backup of such files.
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Sudden power loss
If your device loses power supply all of a sudden while you’re performing an activity like recording, playing, or editing MP4 video files, it can result in the loss of codec or header information from such MP4 files.
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Operating system crash
If your computer’s OS crashes, it can lead to damage or destruction of your data, including loss of audio and videos files stored on your hard drive.
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Viruses and malware
Viruses can infect your device and erase all data stored on it. Also, malware can affect the functioning of your system by deleting or stealing critical system files in addition to user data like MP4 audios and videos.
To overcome MP4 file loss resulting from any of the above listed reasons, you can use one of the top 10 best free MP4 recovery software described in the next section.
10 best free MP4 recovery software
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Stellar Photo Recovery
Stellar Photo Recovery is one of the best multimedia recovery software which lets you restore your photos, videos, and audio lost in a multitude of scenarios from a range of storage devices.
Stellar Photo Recovery supports all the major formats including MP4 and can recover your files from hard drives, CDs, SD cards, pen drives, SSDs, etc. It lets you preview your recovered files before saving them to the desired location while working smoothly on both Windows and Mac devices. The software has a user-friendly interface and you can recover up to 10 files easily with its free version.
Software highlights:
- Easy-to-use and clean interface
- It can recover multimedia files from any storage device
- Comes with a Deep Scan option for maximum recovery
- Supports recovery from most of the popular camera brands
- Recovers from action, mirror-less, as well as drone cameras
- Offers flawless recovery from memory cards as well as encrypted drives
- Premium version helps restore deleted photos from storage media having size more than 18TB
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Recuva
Recuva is one of the most used free photo recovery software. It has a simple user interface that looks like Windows file explorer. The preview screen of this software is well organized which shows lost data in a categorized way. Users can decide whether to make a disk image of their recovered mp4 files or want to recover it straight from the drive.
Recuva comes with advanced features like deep scanning, recovery from virtual drives, and secure deletion. You can recover unlimited data with the tool and can also try Recuva Pro, its premium version for more features. In the free version, it is capable of recovering any kind of data including mp4 files from hard drives, SSD, SD cards, pen drives, etc.
Pros:
- Unlimited recovery in the free version.
- Can recover data even from damaged disks.
- A deep scan option is available in the free version.
- Consumes very little amount of processing power.
Cons:
- Not a very user-friendly interface.
- Deep scan speed is slow.
- Only compatible with Windows.
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Disk Drill
Disk Drill is capable of recovering more than 400 types of file formats, including MP4 files, from both Windows and Mac devices. The software recovers lost videos, audios, and photos from different scenarios including formatting, deletion, or partition loss.
Disk Drill can easily recover video and audio of AVI, WMV, MP3, and the MP4 format. With features like deep scan, interactive user interface, preview option, and free recovery vault, this software allows you to recover data of up to 500 MB for free.
Pros:
- Very user-friendly interface.
- Supports more than 400 types of files.
- Free recovery vault for preventing accidental deletion
Cons:
- Very limited free data recovery.
- Doesn’t recovers video files with original names.
- Cannot see the file’s quality before recovering it.
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EaseUs
EaseUs software uses an advanced algorithm to recover photos from different types of devices like PC, laptops, digital cameras, hard drives, USB drives, video players, etc. It is packed with every feature to recover not just image files, but also different types of data.
EaseUs Recovery Wizard can recover more than 1000 types of files, including MP4 files, from formatted disks, virus attacks, damaged hard drives, empty recycle bins, system crashes, lost partitions, and RAW partitions. It has a clean interface that guides you through every step of the recovery. You can recover up to 2 GB of data for free.
Pros:
- It has a very simple and interactive user interface.
- Can recover more than 1000 file types.
- Allows up to 2 GB of free data recovery.
- The quick scan option is very fast.
Cons:
- Saves recovered files in form of folders without any label.
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iBeeSoft
With its clean and straightforward user interface, iBeesoft charms with its first impression. The photo recovery process of this software involves 4 basic steps – selecting the data type (mp4 in this case), selecting the location to scan, actual scanning, and recovering. You can also preview the found files and save them to the desired location.
The software has separate versions for Windows, Mac, and iPhone to recover video or audio files. It supports several storage devices such as hard drives, SSD USB drives, external disks, SD cards, digital cameras, etc. It comes with two recovery options, Quick Scan for fast recovery and Deep Scan when you’re unable to find your file using Quick Scan mode. You can recover 2 GB of data from this software for free.
Pros:
- Very simple and user-friendly interface.
- The free version allows 2 GB of data recovery.
- Can recover partially destroyed multimedia files.
Cons:
- The deep scan feature works slowly.
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Minitool Photo Recovery
Minitool Photo Recovery is a comprehensive solution that is capable of recovering over 100 different file types, including MP4 format files. The software can restore lost and deleted data from any type of storage device with a simple three-step recovery process.
You can preview your MP4 files before recovery and select specific folders to be scanned for faster performance. It has an intuitive user interface for simplified recovery and allows up to 1 GB of data recovery with its free version.
Pros:
- Simple and easy to use.
- Can scan specific locations.
- The Free version allows 1 GB of data recovery.
Cons:
- The preview function is slow.
- Limited features when compared with other tools.
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PhotoRec
PhotoRec is an open-source application that works smoothly with any file system. This is a command-line application so it doesn’t have a user-friendly interface like other software in this list, but that doesn’t mean it is less in terms of capabilities than any of them.
The tool is capable of recovering photos and other files even when the device’s file system has damaged file headers. It can recover over 480 different file extensions including MP4 multimedia format. This tool is specially designed for users who have a certain degree of computer knowledge.
Pros:
- Supports unlimited file recovery.
- Freeware with regular updates and support.
- Can recover over 480 file types.
- Available on both Windows and Mac.
Cons:
- No preview option is available.
- It does not recover file names.
- Not for average users.
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Glarysoft File Recovery Free
Glarysoft File Recovery is a user-friendly photo recovery program. You will not see a bulk of features compared to the other choices ranked higher in this list, but it does work very well and is easy to use.
You can filter your search by file type, time deleted, size, and keywords. There’s also an option to select which file extensions belong to which categories, such as confirming that MP4s are listed as videos. It is a free yet powerful recovery solution for anyone. You can preview your files before saving them and it supports most storage devices.
Pros:
- Completely free and easy to use.
- Recover from any folder.
Cons:
- Setup tries to install other programs.
- Only available on windows.
- Limited features than other software.
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Undelete 360
Undelete 360 is another freeware application that is capable of recovering files from your computer’s internal disk and other devices like memory cards, external hard drives, etc. This tool does not have technical support so you are on your own.
Its user interface is like Office 2010 but it’s very easy to use. You can recover the most common formats of files using this tool including MP4 files.
Pros:
- Able to recover most of the major file formats.
- Allows you to preview files before recovery.
Cons:
- Average data recovery performance.
- Old-style user interface.
- Only available for Windows.
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Wise Data Recovery
Wise Data Recovery is a free data recovery program that has a straightforward user interface. This program can be installed very quickly and works very fast at scanning different storage devices such as hard disks, USB drives, SD cards, etc.
The tool works smoothly on both Windows and Mac devices. There are two scanning options available – Quick scan for fast process and Full scan for deep recovery.
Pros:
- Simple and easy-to-use user interface.
- Scanning speed is very fast for a free program.
- Deep scan option is available.
Cons:
- The original folder’s structure changes.
- Can’t know the files’ quality before recovery.
To Conclude
If a user accidentally or intentionally deletes MP4 files from storage device, there are ways to recover it even without backup. All the above-mentioned tools are the best MP4 recovery software for deleted files. We hope this article helped you understand the reasons for the loss of your MP4 files and choose the best tool to restore them.