After multiple broken screens in the past personally and friends and family, I wanted to share this trick for getting your data back off of a broken Android phone. In this example, I use a USB-C to HDMI and Hub.

We connect the Hub to the phone and then connect via HDMI to a monitor and also connect a keyboard (and mouse optional). Then we power on the phone and press the space twice if you could see the screen now you would be looking at the enter PIN screen. Type your PIN and then you should see your screen on the monitor, from here you can use the keyboard or mouse to navigate the phone. The easiest place to go from here is to settings and then create a could backup of the phone on with google that you can retrieve on a new phone. Otherwise, you could enable USB Debugging, with some tools you could then plug the phone into a computer and download your files without having to unlock the phone and give the USB permission.

If you’re wondering why you cannot see the enter PIN page on your monitor, its a security feature. If you were, for example, projecting your display to a room of people and you turned the screen on and typed your PIN, anyone seeing the screen could see your keypresses and by that your PIN, so for safety that screen never shows on a monitor.

I’ve tested this on multiple Android phones including Huawei, OnePlus and Samsung and has always worked. The other benefit of the USB to HDMI hub is you can always use it again on a working phone and have a mini-computer on the go! Especially if the phone has a Desktop mode like my Huawei Mate 20 Pro.