# Sony XAVC Recovery Sony XAVC Recovery is a free, local recovery and reconstruction tool from iCube Development (Calgary) Ltd. for supported Sony XAVC MP4 recordings. ## Current release - Version: 2.2.28 - Price: Free - Windows: Windows 10/11 x64, portable - Mac: native Apple Silicon app - Source access: read-only - Processing: local ## What it recovers - Sony XAVC S using AVC/H.264 on supported Sony MP4 layouts - Sony XAVC HS using HEVC/H.265 on supported Sony MP4 layouts - Surviving picture and audio are reconstructed from source-backed recording data - A proven usable portion may be preserved as `.partial.mp4` when a later extent cannot be established safely ## What it does not do - It is not a generic file carver - It is not a general broken-MP4 repair tool - It does not recover MXF-wrapped professional XAVC or X-OCN - It is not intended for GoPro, Nikon or Canon recording structures ## Input Use a full-sector image of the entire physical card, not a partition or mounted volume. Supported image extensions are `.img`, `.dd` and `.dsk`. The card can be SD, microSD or CFexpress if a readable full-sector image can be created. ## Output - Reconstructed MP4 recordings - `.partial.mp4` when only a proven portion can be preserved - CSV mapping report showing where recovered pieces came from ## Important recovery limits Formatting can remove filesystem bookkeeping while leaving recording data behind. It can also lead a card controller to unmap or erase blocks. If required source data was overwritten or the NAND blocks were actually erased, no software can reconstruct bytes that no longer exist. The tool accepts reconstructed pieces only when Sony recording metadata, expected sample structure and source bytes agree. A file merely playing is not enough to prove an ambiguous physical mapping. ## Downloads - Windows: https://sonyvideorecovery.com/download/iCube_Sony_XAVC_Recovery_2.2.28.zip - Mac Apple Silicon: https://sonyvideorecovery.com/download/iCube_Sony_XAVC_Recovery_2.2.28-mac.zip ## FAQ ### How do I make an image of my Sony SD card or CFexpress card? There are many free disk-imaging tools and step-by-step guides available for Windows and macOS. Search Google for how to create a full-sector image of an SD card or CFexpress card and use a tool you are comfortable with. The important part for Sony XAVC Recovery is that you image the entire physical card , not just a partition or mounted volume. ### Why do I need to make an image instead of recovering directly from the card? Because recovery is much less exciting when the source stops changing underneath you. A fixed copy is the safer target. The program reads the image without writing to it, and you can analyze it again without repeatedly touching the original card. The card gets one job: give us the best copy of its sectors it can. ### Why is Sony XAVC Recovery free? Because the software grew out of real Sony recovery cases and the reverse-engineering work needed to solve them. Publishing the tool also gives unusual cards a chance to expose layouts we have not seen yet. iCube Development does paid data recovery work, but the software itself is free. No licence key, subscription or paid unlock. ### Does Sony XAVC Recovery upload my video or card image? No. Analysis and recovery run on your computer. The recovery program does not upload your card image or recovered video to iCube Development. ### Does this software recover recordings from GoPro, Nikon or Canon cameras? No. Sony XAVC Recovery is built specifically around Sony XAVC recording structures. For GoPro, Nikon, Canon and other camera formats, search Google for recovery software for that camera or recording format. There are plenty of free recovery tools for other camera formats. Use one built for that job rather than asking a Sony-specific tool to pretend. ### Will it work with my Sony camera? The tool does not use a camera-model whitelist. It looks for supported Sony XAVC recording structures in the card image. That means a body does not have to appear on a compatibility list to work, but the recording still needs to use a supported Sony XAVC MP4 layout. ### Does it work with SD, microSD and CFexpress cards? Yes, provided you can make a readable full-sector image and the card contains a supported Sony XAVC MP4 recording layout. The recovery logic cares about the surviving recording structures, not the logo printed on the memory card. ### Can Sony video still be recovered after the card was formatted? Sometimes. A format can remove filesystem bookkeeping while leaving recording data behind, but an in-camera erase may also cause the card controller to unmap or erase blocks. The menu option alone does not tell you which happened. See Deleted or formatted? ### Why is my 256 GB card image only about 238 GiB? That is normal. Card manufacturers advertise capacity in decimal gigabytes, while many operating systems and recovery tools display binary gibibytes. A nominal 256 GB card is roughly 238 GiB. Nothing went missing in the conversion. ### What does a .partial.mp4 file mean? It means the program could prove and preserve a usable portion of the recording, but a later video or audio extent could not be established safely. Rather than invent the missing part or throw away everything, Version 2.2 can keep the proven portion as .partial.mp4 . ### Do I need an unformatted reference image? No, not normally. It is optional. A reference image from a similar Sony recording setup can help when the damaged card uses a recording layout the engine does not yet understand well enough on its own. ### Why can normal recovery software find video pieces but still produce broken MP4 files? Finding Sony video bytes is only part of the problem. A recording can be split across the card, and the pieces still need the correct sizes, order, timing and association. Sony XAVC Recovery uses surviving Sony recording structures to prove how those pieces fit back together. The boxes-and-packing-list explanation shows why. ### Is this a general broken-MP4 repair tool? No. It is designed to reconstruct supported Sony XAVC recordings from a full-sector card image. If you already have an ordinary damaged MP4 file and no card image, this is probably the wrong tool. ### What if the program finds nothing useful? It can mean the recording data was overwritten, the controller is returning an empty or unmapped view, the flash was actually erased, or the surviving Sony layout is not supported yet. Those are very different problems. The read-only Hex Viewer and diagnostic bundle can help separate them. See the SD erase explanation. ### Can I use it commercially? Yes. The tool is free to use on your own recovery work or client recovery work. ### What if the card is physically damaged or cannot be imaged? This tool needs a readable full-sector image. If the card is hot, unstable, showing the wrong capacity or producing repeated I/O errors, stop and address the hardware problem first. Software cannot reconstruct sectors the computer cannot read. ## Recovery cases - Sony ZV-E1 wedding recovery: https://sonyvideorecovery.com/sony-zv-e1-wedding-video-recovery/ - Sony FX3 HEVC recovery: https://sonyvideorecovery.com/sony-fx3-hevc-recovery/ ## Canonical site https://sonyvideorecovery.com/