What happens when you delete a Session Medal recording
When you delete a Session Medal recording from your device, the file does not disappear when ready. The space it occupied on your drive is marked as available for new data, but the recording itself remains on the disk until something else writes over that location. This window — sometimes hours, sometimes days — is when recovery is possible. The sooner you stop using the device after deletion, the better your chances.
Session Medal stores recordings in a specific folder on your computer or phone. Knowing where that folder is located makes recovery faster, because you can check whether the file is still there before trying more complex methods. If you deleted the file by accident and have not restarted your device or installed new software since, the simplest recovery path often works.
Key Takeaways
- Stop using your device when ready after deleting a recording, because new files written to disk can overwrite the deleted recording permanently.
- Check your device's trash or recycle bin first — the file may still be there and can be restored with one click.
- If the trash is empty, third-party recovery software can scan your disk for deleted Session Medal files, but success depends on how much new data has been written since deletion.
- Session Medal recordings are large files, so recovery software may take several minutes to scan your entire drive.
- If recovery software finds the file but cannot open it, the file may be partially overwritten and unrecoverable.
Check your trash or recycle bin first
On Windows, deleted files go to the Recycle Bin. On Mac, they go to the Trash. On phones running iOS or Android, deleted files may be held in a Recently Deleted folder within the Session Medal app itself. Check these locations before trying anything else, because if the file is still there, you can restore it when ready without any risk.
Open your Recycle Bin or Trash, search for the Session Medal recording by name or date, and if you find it, right-click and select Restore (Windows) or Put Back (Mac). On a phone, open Session Medal, look for a Trash or Recently Deleted section in the app menu, find the recording, and tap Restore. The file will return to its original location.
Use recovery software on Windows or Mac
If your trash is empty, a disk recovery tool can scan your drive for deleted Session Medal files. The most widely used free options are Recuva (Windows) and EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard (Windows and Mac). Both scan your disk for file signatures — patterns that identify a Session Medal recording even if the file name is gone — and show you what can be recovered.
read and install the recovery software on your device. Open it and select the drive where Session Medal recordings are normally stored (usually your main C: drive on Windows or Macintosh HD on Mac). Start a scan. The software will take several minutes to examine every sector of the disk. When the scan finishes, look for your recording by name, date, or file size. If you find it, select it and click Recover, then choose a different drive or external disk to save it to. Do not save it back to the same drive where it was deleted, because that can overwrite the recovery data.
If recovery software finds multiple versions of the same file, choose the one with the largest file size — that is usually the complete, uncorrupted version. Smaller versions may be fragments or partially overwritten copies.
Recover from cloud backup if you use one
If you have Session Medal set to back up recordings to cloud storage — Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or iCloud — the deleted recording may still exist in your cloud account. Log into your cloud service and check the trash or bin there. Cloud services usually hold deleted files for 30 days before permanently removing them.
If you find the recording in your cloud trash, restore it. The file will reappear in your Session Medal app or in the cloud folder where it was originally stored. This method works even if your local device has been restarted or new files have been written to disk, because the cloud copy is separate from your device storage.
Restore from a local backup on an external drive
If you regularly back up your device to an external hard drive or USB stick — through Windows Backup, Mac Time Machine, or a third-party backup tool — you may be able to restore the recording from that backup. Connect the external drive to your computer and open your backup software.
In Windows Backup, go to Settings > System > Backup and click Restore Files from a Backup. In Mac Time Machine, click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and select Enter Time Machine. Browse to the date before you deleted the recording, find the Session Medal folder, and restore the file. The recording will be copied back to your device.
What to do if recovery fails
If recovery software scans your drive but does not find the recording, or finds it but cannot open it, the file has likely been overwritten by new data. Once a deleted file is overwritten, it cannot be recovered. This is why stopping device use when ready after deletion is critical — every file you create, every app you update, and every system process that writes to disk reduces the chance of recovery.
If you have a second device that syncs with Session Medal — a phone and a computer, for example — check whether the recording exists on the other device. Some apps sync deletions across devices, but some do not, and the recording may still be there.
Prevent future loss by setting up regular backups
The most reliable way to recover a deleted Session Medal recording is to have a backup made before the deletion happened. Set up automatic backups now so that future recordings are protected. On Windows, enable File History (Settings > System > Storage > Advanced Storage Options > Backup Options). On Mac, turn on Time Machine (System Settings > General > Time Machine). Both create hourly snapshots of your files.
If Session Medal offers cloud backup as a feature, enable it in the app settings. Cloud backups protect against device failure, accidental deletion, and device loss, because the recording exists in two places — your device and the cloud service.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to recover a deleted Session Medal recording?
The window depends on how much you use your device after deletion. If you delete a file and when ready stop using the device, you may have days or weeks before new data overwrites it. If you continue working normally, the window may be only hours. The sooner you attempt recovery, the better.
Will recovery software damage my device or other files?
No. Recovery software only reads data from your disk; it does not write to your main drive during the scan. Always save recovered files to a different drive to avoid overwriting other data. The recovery process itself is safe.
Can I recover a Session Medal recording if I have restarted my device?
Yes, restarting does not overwrite deleted files. However, the longer you use the device after restarting, the more likely new data will overwrite the deleted recording. Run recovery software as soon as possible after you realize the file is missing.
What if the recovered file will not open in Session Medal?
The file may be partially overwritten or corrupted. Try opening it with a media player to see if any portion is playable. If recovery software found multiple versions of the file, try recovering a different version. If none of the versions open, the file is likely unrecoverable.
Is there a way to recover a recording deleted more than a month ago?
If the recording was deleted more than a month ago and you have been using your device normally, the file has almost certainly been overwritten. Your best option is to check cloud backups or external drive backups from around the time the recording was made. If no backup exists, recovery is unlikely.