Move motherboard to another Pixel 6A to recover data

LIi7ISg

Hello, thanks for this amazing OS.
My Pixel 6a was running GrapheneOS when it was broken under the wheels of a car. I have no more screen, no more battery and I now only have the back of it with the motherboard. I don't know if the motherboard is working, but I would like to believe it.

I really want to recover the data on it so I asked a mobile phone forensic company (chronodisk in Paris), they ask 2000€ to recover the data (you pay 25% upfront and the remaining depends on the success of the attempt). 2000€ is too much for me so I'm thinking about buying an second-hand Pixel 6a and transfer my motherboard on it. My (noobie) questions are :

Is a forensic company able to retrieve data on a memory chip where GrapheneOS is installed ? Let assume I give them the pin. I mean is it technically possible to use the chip-off technique and read it from a reader, with GrapheneOS enhanced encryption ?
Supposing that all others component are working, will the second-hand Pixel 6a boot normally if I put my motherboard on it ? Or there is some security stuff I am overlooking
Has anyone else tried something similar ? I read this thread but the OP finally only changed the screen. Somebody is evoking the chip-off technique but with little details.

Thanks a lot !

secrec

LIi7ISg You can swap mainboards and it should mostly work. A few things may not work without calibration or registration, such as the fingerprint reader and perhaps the camera.

Ammako

Doesn't work that way, the actual decryption key is in the secure element. Your PIN only decrypts the key to allow it to be used.

I couldn't tell you about the rest, but one would hope that hardware components on Pixel phones can be swapped around without needing to use some kind of certified repair shop (as in, that the parts aren't cryptographically tied to one another and would refuse to work if the IDs don't match.)

Either way you can't just extract the data from the chip. I mean, you can, but it'll be encrypted with a key you'd have a hard time prying from the secure element. It's part of why Pixel phones are so strong against forensic analysis.

Murcielago

I'm no expert, but can't you try to have the battery, screen and (if necessary) USB-C port replaced at a repair store? This should let you recover your data.

Apart from the fact that extracting the data from the chip as described above doesn't seem to work, this is probably still cheaper than the chronodisk solution you mentioned.

LIi7ISg

Thanks @Ammako for your reply from which I conclude that swapping the whole motherboard with the memory chip on it should work well in another Pixel 6A. Assuming it's not broken of course. I think I'll give it a try.

Thanks @Murcielago for your reply. Indeed trying to fix the phone might be cheaper than the chronodisk solution. But because all these components will be expensive as spare parts, I think it might be cheaper to buy a second-hand Pixel 6A around 100€. And then either take everything from it or put my motherboard inside. I will tell you if i do it.

de0u

LIi7ISg If your motherboard mostly works, I believe it would be much easier to get data out that way as opposed to from the flash storage. Personally I would have a friendly repair shop do it instead of trying it myself -- unless I had previously taken five or so phones apart and gotten them back together. Laptops are hard enough...!