My six-year-old Redmi Note 8 Pro was working normally until I restarted it. It booted up once, then powered off while I was using it, even though the battery was around 60%. Since then, the screen has stayed completely black, button combinations do nothing, but the white charging or laptop-connection LED still turns on. A local technician inspected it and suspects a motherboard or power-management IC failure. He says he needs to source a specific replacement component, which is taking longer than expected. I told him that some of the data on the phone is important and may not be included in my backups. He said the data should remain intact if the phone works after the repair. Is waiting several days for a motherboard component normal? Should I let this technician continue, or take the phone to a specialist in board repair or data recovery? How likely is it that the phone can be repaired without losing the data, and what happens if the NAND storage chip is damaged or replaced?
3 Answers
The phone's data is encrypted, so simply moving the storage chip to another phone usually is not enough to read it. The best outcome is repairing the original board well enough for the phone to boot normally, because that preserves the original processor, storage, and encryption relationship. If the storage chip itself is replaced, erased, or badly damaged, recovery becomes much more difficult or impossible. Since the data matters, a reputable microsoldering or mobile data-recovery specialist is safer than repeatedly trying repairs at a general shop.
The main lesson is to keep several current backups for anything irreplaceable. Since you have a partial backup, first identify exactly what is missing and make sure the technician understands that data recovery is the priority, not just making the phone turn on. Ask what component he plans to replace and whether he has board-level repair experience. If he cannot explain the diagnosis or keeps changing the estimate, collect the phone and get a second opinion before authorizing more work.
If the technician is repairing the power circuit and does not erase, replace, or damage the phone's storage chip, your data should normally remain intact. A power IC or motherboard fault does not automatically mean the storage has been wiped. Taking a few extra days to source a particular board component can be normal, especially for an older phone. Before work continues, clearly tell the technician not to reset the phone, unlock the bootloader, replace the storage, or perform any software flashing without your approval.
What worries me is the possibility that the storage chip could be affected during the repair. Would that mean the data is unrecoverable?
The fact that the charging LED still works is at least consistent with some power reaching the phone, but it does not prove the storage or the rest of the board is healthy.