Formatted a DJI Drone Card: Recover the Footage and Matching SRT Files Before Reuse
TL;DR:
To safely recover usable footage and matching SRT telemetry files from a formatted DJI drone card like the Mavic 2, immediately stop writing to the media and extract the complete shoot set to a separate drive.
● Extract original MP4 or MOV camera files alongside DNG photos and matching SRT sidecars by filename and recording time if Video Captions were enabled.
● Scan the stable microSD card using Recoverit DJI File Recovery without recording test flights, reformatting, or saving data back to the original source.
● Preserve the untouched card and perform video repair exclusively on recovered copies if clips freeze or open partially, as overwritten card blocks cannot be recreated.
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In this DJI formatted-card case, the user formatted the microSD card in a Mavic 2 and later reported that recovered files were too degraded to use. The safest response is to stop using the card, preserve the source, and recover the complete shoot set rather than only the largest video files.
Recover the Drone Video and Sidecars Together
If your DJI model and settings created Video Captions, DJI's developer documentation says position, time, and camera information is written to a .srt file on the SD card. That telemetry file is separate from the video, so recover matching SRT files by filename and recording time when they matter to your workflow.
Recovery Set
- MP4 or MOV footage: Recover the original camera files before transcoding or repair.
- SRT telemetry: Preserve matching sidecars only if Video Captions were enabled and your model generated them.
- Photos and DNG files: Keep the entire shoot together so date and folder context survive where possible.
Use the Original Card as the Recovery Source
If the card remains stable and detectable, Recoverit DJI File Recovery can scan formatted or deleted DJI media on a microSD card and recover results to another drive. Do not record a test flight, reformat the card again, or save recovered files back to it.
Degraded Recovered Video Means the Job Is Not Finished
If recovered clips open only partially, freeze, or contain obvious corruption, preserve both the untouched card and the first recovery set. The next decision is whether a different recovery pass can reconstruct a more complete source file; video repair should be performed only on copies after recovery. Overwritten card blocks cannot be recreated by either recovery or repair software.