A Mac that won’t boot, a flashing question mark, a failed drive or files you’ve lost? We recover MacBook, iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro data — APFS, FileVault and Fusion Drives — wherever the drive can still be read, and we give you an honest answer either way.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/disk2 → Device: MacBook Pro (2015) · 512 GB SSD → Status: WILL NOT BOOT — question-mark folder → Client: confidential · Wallsend NE1 3DY $ bdr engineer-working → Drive removed: imaged read-only → APFS container: rebuilt from image → FileVault: unlocked with your key $ bdr verify → ✓ documents — 31,200 files → ✓ photos — 18,400 files → ✓ Mac recovered — data back
If your Mac won’t boot, keeps showing a question-mark folder, or Disk Utility offers to erase or repair the drive, stop. Reinstalling macOS, erasing the disk or running First Aid can overwrite the files we need. Don’t reset the Mac, and if it has a soldered drive, don’t keep forcing it to restart. Power it down and talk to us — and if you have your FileVault recovery key, keep it safe.
From a Mac that won’t boot to a failed Fusion Drive, these are the Mac and MacBook failures we recover from most — startup, logical, hardware and encrypted.
We work on every Mac and MacBook — Intel and Apple Silicon, MacBook, iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro. The model and the fault decide what’s possible, and we always tell you straight.
MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac mini, Mac Studio and Mac Pro · Intel, T2 and Apple Silicon (M1 to M4) · APFS and HFS+ · Fusion Drives, FileVault and Time Machine. On 2018-and-later Macs the storage is soldered to the board and locked to the Secure Enclave. Board-level recovery on these machines is not a service we offer, at any price. Where the Mac still powers on we can image the data off it; where the board is dead, the data is gone — for every laboratory in the world, not just ours.
Mac recovery starts with reaching the drive safely. Where it’s removable we take it out and image it; where it’s soldered and the Mac still powers on, we image it in place — and where the board is dead, we tell you honestly that it can’t be done. Then we rebuild your APFS or HFS+ volume and recover your files.
Tell us the Mac, the year and what happened — won’t boot, deleted files, spilled a drink. We diagnose it and send a written quote, usually inside 48 hours, with an honest view of what’s possible.
We take a read-only image of the drive on specialist hardware, so your original is never written to and a failing drive is read gently.
Where FileVault is on and you have the password or key, we unlock the volume; then we rebuild the APFS or HFS+ structure, or the Fusion Drive, from the image.
We recover your files and folders intact, and where the structure’s damaged we carve documents, photos and videos straight out of the data.
We check the recovered files actually open and the folders are complete before any of it comes back to you.
We return your data on a fresh drive, or you can download it free for recoveries up to 75GB.
MacBook, iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro — Intel and Apple Silicon alike — recovered by rebuilding APFS, HFS+ and Fusion Drives and reading the storage wherever the Mac still lets us.
Tell us what happened and we’ll get back to you, usually within a working day.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 0191 406 1051.
One fixed price to recover a single Mac or drive — with a free diagnostic and a quote in writing before any work starts.
A handful of recent Mac and MacBook recoveries across won’t-boot, failed drives, Fusion Drives and liquid damage. Identifying details removed, every result verified.
The drive had a failing file system. We removed the SSD, imaged it, unlocked FileVault with the owner’s key and recovered everything.
The HDD half had failed. We recovered both halves separately and rebuilt the Fusion volume to get the data back.
The board was damaged but the SSD was removable and intact. We pulled it, imaged it and recovered the lot.
The drive had a head fault. We replaced the heads, imaged it and recovered the family’s photos and documents.
Nothing had overwritten the data yet. We imaged the drive and carved back the documents and photos in full.
The drive was healthy and readable. We imaged it and recovered the deleted folders straight away.
Real client stories from our two-decade testimonial archive.
Our iMac crashed, the only data we needed on iMac was our Baby’s photos. We took iMac to the Apple store in Eldon Square but they could not do anything. We searched online and came across yourselves. Service was honest, helpful and you delivered what you said you could deliver which was all my photos, Thanks You.
Send the device in for its free diagnostic and tell us briefly what happened; an engineer reviews it and confirms your exact quote in writing before anything starts.
Getting your data back begins with getting the device to us. Pack it up safely, pop your contact details inside, and send it over — once we’ve run the free diagnostic, we’ll confirm your exact price in writing before any work starts.
Posting it? A tracked, insured service is what we’d recommend. Rather drop it in? You’re welcome Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm — just package the device up as above first.
Want a bit more detail first? Fill in the form with more about your issue and an engineer will review it and send you a custom quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 0191 406 1051.
The things people most often ask us about recovering a Mac or MacBook.
Usually, yes, as long as the drive itself can be read. A Mac that won’t start, hangs on the Apple logo or shows a question-mark folder normally has a failing or corrupt drive, not lost data. Where the drive is removable or the Mac still powers on, we image it and recover your files.
Board-level recovery of soldered T2 and Apple Silicon storage isn’t a service we offer — the flash is soldered to the board and locked to the Secure Enclave, so there’s no route in once the board is gone. If the Mac still powers on and you have the password, we can image the data off it (a copy) — but if the board is dead, the data can’t be recovered by anyone.
Often, yes. A disk that won’t mount, or that macOS calls not readable, usually has a corrupt APFS or HFS+ volume rather than lost data. We image the drive read-only and rebuild the file system to recover your files. Don’t let Disk Utility erase or repair it first.
Probably not, if you act quickly. On a readable Mac drive, deleted and Trashed files usually stay on the disk until something overwrites them. Stop saving to the Mac and contact us — the sooner we image it, the better the chance of getting it all back.
Recovering a single Mac drive is a fixed £300 + VAT, with a free diagnostic and a written quote first. A Fusion Drive (two devices in one volume) is £550 + VAT flat. Where the drive is failing or has a hardware fault we take 50% of the fee upfront, so most jobs are no fix, no fee.
On most jobs, yes. For a failing drive or hardware work we take a 50% deposit upfront and the rest is only due if we recover your data — so if we can’t, you’re not left with the full bill. On soldered Macs, where recovery isn’t possible, there’s nothing to pay beyond the free diagnostic.
Every Mac and MacBook — MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac mini, Mac Studio and Mac Pro, Intel and Apple Silicon, right back to the old SATA and Fusion Drive models. The year and the fault decide the method.
Yes, where you have the login password or the FileVault recovery key and the drive can be read — we unlock the volume with your key and recover the files. Without the password or recovery key, though, FileVault can’t be unlocked; the encryption is designed so that not even we can get past it.
Turn it off, don’t plug it in, and don’t try to power it on or dry it with rice. On older MacBooks the drive is removable and usually fine, so we can recover it. On soldered models, board-level recovery is not a service we offer.
Most logical recoveries — deleted files, corrupt volumes, won’t-boot Macs with a readable drive — are done within 2 to 3 working days. Failing drives and Fusion Drives that need more work usually take a little longer, 3 to 4 working days. The free diagnostic is normally finished within 48 hours.
Drop the drive off at our Newcastle location Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, or post it to us fully insured. Include your name, address, phone number and email — and your FileVault recovery key if the Mac is encrypted — so we can book it in and quote before any work begins.
A free diagnostic, a fixed £300 + VAT per Mac, and no fix no fee on most jobs — MacBook, iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro recovered, with an honest answer either way. Begin your recovery today.