Is a factory reset enough when selling a phone? Many used phones on websites like craigslist.
I wonder how much these people care about data?
I have been able to retrieve data that is years old from hard drives with very simple programs. Most enthusiasts will tell you reformatting is not enough. A 3 pass method is what will do the trick.
But what about on a smartphone? Is there such a way to write over the storage with 0's ?
How many here believe a factory reset is enough?
no way
factory reset
format your sd card if any
And also full format your Internal card also...dats it.
I'd like to hear what others have to say. I really don't think that's a very secure method.
If you have a ClockworkMod recovery for your device, try flashing a custom rom + wipe the cache and Dalvik cache.
Sent from my Grand X Pro using xda premium
Stock ROM + erase all data = new phone :
RaZ0R4334 said:
Stock ROM + erase all data = new phone :
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it isn't. Any data on the internal system can be recovered as it is not possible to carry out a multi write on it. There was a puritan around a while ago that claimed to do multi pass wipe of files but it disappeared about a year ago, can't even remember what it was called now.
Your average user won't be able to recover anything after a full wrote and reinstall - factory reset is no good - but a forensics expert can do so easily.
if the original soft it is better to delete yourself what you can do then wipe with recovery and check because it's important.
Related
A few questions:
1. Are they the same? Hard reset / reformatting Nexus S?
2. Settings -> Privacy -> Factory Data Reset (this is only to erase the usb storage / revert settings back to its original default, right? is there like.. any way to "reformat" Nexus S? just like windows )
I know it's probably a weird question, but I'm just wondering. Or will locking and unlocking the bootloader = same as reformatting?
Also, I read somewhere that to "reformat" we need to wipe cache, dalvik cache, wipe data (factory reset) from the Recovery option. Is this true? Will this remove google apps (youtube, mail, gtalk, etc) as well?
And will "reformatting" affect the speed of the phone? Since in Windows, a reformatted pc would be much faster than an old one
Some clarification would be nice
if you know how to use fastboot, then
doing a fastboot oem unlock will wipe everything and even format ur sd card completely.
after that u can fastboot oem lock back.
1. Hard reset is like restarting your phone from scratch.
2. Wipes your settings / apps but doesn't delete your sdcard.
3. Reformat... not sure why you would do that. Only reason to do that is to flash ROMs. ROMs will put your gapps back, only exception is CM7.. you have to flash a additional flashable zip afterwards to get gapps back.
if the phone starts to become sluggish.. wipe cache and dalvik (only those two) and it'll be fine. nothing will be lost, just the cache but it'll rebuild it when android is starting up for the first time
Thanks for the replies.
A little off topic but I figured instead of creating a new thread I'd just ask here:
If my phone has 2.3.4 version already and I reflashed the 2.3.4 update from google manually, what'll happen? is it like the same as reformatting?
I have N8000 and using redemption ROM which is 4.1.2 and is rooted,i want to sale my tablet but cant seem to get rid of many folders in the internal SD-Card,i am not using any other memory card... Previously on ICS i used commands like *2767*3855# and this used to delete everything,but now this command is not working,i tried factory reset from settings,i tried going into recovery and wiping data and cache,but that didnt work either,wat shud i do now? Please help.... folders like whatsapp,viber etc are still being shown,i wanna get rid of all this.... Thank You
baz00ka said:
I have N8000 and using redemption ROM which is 4.1.2 and is rooted,i want to sale my tablet but cant seem to get rid of many folders in the internal SD-Card,i am not using any other memory card... Previously on ICS i used commands like *2767*3855# and this used to delete everything,but now this command is not working,i tried factory reset from settings,i tried going into recovery and wiping data and cache,but that didnt work either,wat shud i do now? Please help.... folders like whatsapp,viber etc are still being shown,i wanna get rid of all this.... Thank You
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know which recovery you're using, but you'll need to pick the wipe internal storage option. As you've found out the factory reset doesn't touch your internal storage partiton. (even though one might expect it to)
darksabre_x said:
I don't know which recovery you're using, but you'll need to pick the wipe internal storage option. As you've found out the factory reset doesn't touch your internal storage partiton. (even though one might expect it to)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using CWM recovery 6.something,and therez only one option to wipe data and system,i chose that and still didnt work?
Nevermind got it! I had to go to Mount and whatever setting in the recovery and manually choose the "Format Sdcard" option to completely erase all the folders etc , Thanks!
Non-critical, just an observation that I am looking for additional information on.
I purchased a 32g S3 phone from someone that already updated to CM10.2. It looked like the seller reset something (no apps, data, phone started in initial setup mode), but there was obviously a lot of trash left over on internal storage that I wanted to clear away.
After clearing everything away, and downloading several apps to help remove more, I found that the internal storage was still >50% utilized. Even digging around in the root file system, I was still at a loss to figure out where more than 12gb was being consumed.
I tried a factory reset in clockworkmod, clear cache, etc. I did not dive into formatting partitions. On restart, I still see >50% consumed space and temp folders left around in the user data /sdcard area.
Out of curiosity I tried the factory reset from the CM10 system menu. After rebooting phone, it seems like all storage was properly cleaned up with about 26gb of 32g free; significant improvement.
So, there is clearly something different between a CWM factory reset and a CM10 factory reset. For the latter, it looks like the whole user-data area was formatted and repopulated with necessary folders/files. I suspect my “lost” space was somewhere in root….
I am just curious to know what more the CM10 system factory reset is doing above what the bootloader is trying to do.
Thanks!
When you do a Factory Reset in recovery (I use TWRP so it may be phrased different in CWM) it is intentional that this option does not wipe /sdcard (internal storage). You have to choose to wipe internal storage (in TWRP it's called Formatting data") by going into that Format menu to wipe all of your data from the phone. If a factory reset wiped internal storage, then there would be an incredible amount of angry people who lost important files like pics and videos. The option is there in custom recovery, it's just buried so that when you find it, you intend to use it on purpose and not by accident.
Edit: Factory reset is literally clearing cache, dalvik cache, and the rom from your phone. If you boot it up without installing a rom then your phone won't do anything cuz it's without an OS.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4
SlimSnoopOS said:
Edit: Factory reset is literally clearing cache, dalvik cache, and the rom from your phone. If you boot it up without installing a rom then your phone won't do anything cuz it's without an OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And the 'system' partition in 'data'.
But all that other crap apps plunk on your internal memory remains, unless you do a 'system wipe' from TWRP or CWM. But that will delete everything on the internal memory. That's what I'd do if I were giving my device away... though I tend to just Odin/RSD/CAB back to stock (depending on the device) for best results.
Hello Sensationalists,
After 3 years I have upgraded my phone to an HTC One and would like to sell my old phone.
It is currently running ICS Android Revolution HD 7.3.
What I would like to do is wipe all data from my SD drive and sell the phone with a pre-installed latest version of Android Revolution. I have found several tools for erasing but do not want to brick my phone or do anything rash, so here I am asking the pro's :
What would be the best way to erase all data from my HTC Sensation (full erase, non recoverable) and provide the buyer with a clean installation of the phone?
I believe the factory reset is no longer possible due to the custom ROM installation etc. (been a while since I have worked with the phone so not sure).
Please be easy on me with the technical terms and abbreviations, I'm a little rusty :angel:.
Many thanks in advance!
just use the full wipe option from recovery and then install ARHD ROM again
rzr86 said:
just use the full wipe option from recovery and then install ARHD ROM again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wipe data/Factory reset?
It asks me 'About to wipe data, cache and sd-ext partitions.. Wipe all Userdata?'. This is what you mean right? It's in the recovery EXT4 program.
And if I have done that then the entire thing is unrecoverable? So no private data can be found by using recovery programs?
Slickzor said:
Wipe data/Factory reset?
It asks me 'About to wipe data, cache and sd-ext partitions.. Wipe all Userdata?'. This is what you mean right? It's in the recovery EXT4 program.
And if I have done that then the entire thing is unrecoverable? So no private data can be found by using recovery programs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you have 4ext recovery use the format all partitions except sdcard option
i assume it is unrecoverable
rzr86 said:
if you have 4ext recovery use the format all partitions except sdcard option
i assume it is unrecoverable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But I want to wipe the SD card as well. Should I do 'Format all partitions (except SDcard)' and after that 'Format sdcard'? I read that people use special programs to completely wipe all data from SD cards with programs like 'RoadKill's diskwipe'. But if this program does the same thing then I'm good, I doubt it though, that's why I ask .
Slickzor said:
But I want to wipe the SD card as well. Should I do 'Format all partitions (except SDcard)' and after that 'Format sdcard'? I read that people use special programs to completely wipe all data from SD cards with programs like 'RoadKill's diskwipe'. But if this program does the same thing then I'm good, I doubt it though, that's why I ask .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now i see
you want to wipe the sdcard too
hmm,
i don't know if from 4ext will be unrecoverable but it would be better to use a program to wipe it from pc
rzr86 said:
now i see
you want to wipe the sdcard too
hmm,
i don't know if from 4ext will be unrecoverable but it would be better to use a program to wipe it from pc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is, I'm afraid that if I do this, reinstalling my phone will be a pain since EXT4 is put on the SDcard as far as I know. So if EXT4 doesn't wipe the data completely, and I have to use a PC program, I want to make sure I don't brick the device or delete crucial content for a clean installation.
So let me rephrase: How to wipe (unrecoverable) all data from my HTC Sensation including the SDcard, without losing the possibility of reinstalling the phone whilst avoiding the possibility of bricking the device/losing the possibility of a clean installation
I don't want the person that buys my phone to have access to files formerly stored on the SDcard or the phone itself.
Slickzor said:
The thing is, I'm afraid that if I do this, reinstalling my phone will be a pain since EXT4 is put on the SDcard as far as I know. So if EXT4 doesn't wipe the data completely, and I have to use a PC program, I want to make sure I don't brick the device or delete crucial content for a clean installation.
So let me rephrase: How to wipe (unrecoverable) all data from my HTC Sensation including the SDcard, without losing the possibility of reinstalling the phone whilst avoiding the possibility of bricking the device/losing the possibility of a clean installation
I don't want the person that buys my phone to have access to files formerly stored on the SDcard or the phone itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
by formating anything from 4ext won't brick the device at all
by the way 4ext is not on sdcard
it has its own partition in emmc
rzr86 said:
by formating anything from 4ext won't brick the device at all
by the way 4ext is not on sdcard
it has its own partition in emmc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not know that, thanks! I'll just use a program from my PC then to wipe all data, then do a format all partitions (except SDcard) and do a clean installation of Android Revolution 7.3 ICS for the new buyer. This should suffice then right? Will this also wipe the data on my phone, numbers etc.? (I will destroy my simcard since I won't need it any more).
Slickzor said:
I did not know that, thanks! I'll just use a program from my PC then to wipe all data, then do a format all partitions (except SDcard) and do a clean installation of Android Revolution 7.3 ICS for the new buyer. This should suffice then right? Will this also wipe the data on my phone, numbers etc.? (I will destroy my simcard since I won't need it any more).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it will wipe everything
rzr86 said:
it will wipe everything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfect, that's what I need. I'll start... ehh.. wiping then... :laugh:
It worked btw, a full format from windows 7 made it impossible to recover data by using recovery programs. All data was wiped and new OS is running . Thanks a lot!
Hi everyone. so my android phone is a midrange oppo. so I recently saw I was getting really bad performance . so I did a reset. and out of habit I remove my SIM and SD card
now when I restarted back to my clean UI. I was sent an SMS asking me to pickup my package and had a .IR country. which is wrong for me.
so I concluded I was infected with some pretty full on malware. because without a sim it still sent me a fake SMS. which means its in there.
So how can I do a full format to get rid of it? I tried the encrypt and reset to all factory but it still did it.
Any ideas. ?
can I d/l the full OS from Oppo and do a full wipe manually. or do I restart to the root mode and clear the delvic cache etc and try that?
interested on your thoughts... or should I burn the phone LOL
Clearing Dalvik Cache will only help you if you have serious problems with an app and all other solutions have failed. Take note that if Dalvik Cache gets wiped then when the Android smartphone is restarted, the Dalvik Cache is rebuilt.
FYI:
The Dalvik Cache contains - simply put - the directory tree of all installed apps on your Android.
This is comparable to the MFT (Master File Table) of Windows.
In addition, the Dalvik Cache serves as a temporary buffer for apps that require a lot of resources.
so what should I do. is there a way I can wipe the phone to nothing then reinstall it from my PC via a program or something?