How to factory reset android-TechyJagat
You need to get your old Android ready for recycling or selling without jeopardising your security before you become too enthused about your new phone.
Finally, the time has arrived! The new phone you’ve been anticipating has finally arrived, and you’re eager to start exploring all the exciting new features it offers. (You’ll want to look at these Android capabilities that aren’t widely known and learn how to block spam SMS.) However, you must first get your old phone ready for recycling or selling. To prevent unauthorised access to your personal information, you must conduct a factory reset on your Android phone, which will erase all of your data.
Why is it crucial to remove all personal information from your phone?
Simply put: Someone else will have access to it if you don’t. At best, it may be unsightly and bothersome; at worst, it can be very deadly. TechTastes.com co-founder and editor Rickey Cyr says, “If you don’t factory reset your phone before selling it to someone, they can look at all of your images and documents, as well as locate your address and have all of your passwords. Even deleted text messages may be recovered by them.
The dangers to security don’t end there, though. Anyone who gets their hands on your phone may conceivably spend your money and pass themselves off as you if you have Google Pay, Samsung Pay, your bank account, or other financial service applications open. The chief Android writer at UpPhone, Liam Shotwell, asserts that “the danger of identity theft is extremely serious.” Giving someone your Android phone without properly doing a factory reset is similar to giving them access to every significant aspect of your life. This is particularly true if your smartphone contains sensitive data like your social security number, bank account information, passwords, addresses, and other pieces of personal information. In relation to that, you should not keep these 8 items on your smartphone. On an Android phone, you may also discover how to disable Google Assistant since it is always listening.
What actions must to be taken before doing a factory reset?
You should back up all of your data before doing a factory reset. According to Shotwell, “wiping all the data from your phone offers a danger of permanently destroying anything you care about.” “This may consist of private information, images, recordings, files, or other material. Users should make a backup of all the data they want to save. Technically, it is possible to recover data after a factory reset, but doing so is challenging and by no means certain. Better to just avoid taking that risk.
Just be cautious not to choose “Erase SIM Card Memory” since doing so will reset your SIM card as well. If not, the reset just affects your phone and not the information on your SIM card.
Concerned about the stored payment methods on your phone? Never be. You don’t need to take any more actions before the factory reset since they will be removed when it occurs. Here’s everything you need to know about Google Pay’s overall security when it comes to mobile payments.
Cleaning your Android phone
You may start the procedures for doing a factory reset and wiping your Android phone after all of your data has been backed up.
Turn off the factory reset safety
According to Shotwell, “factory reset protection is a feature that prevents anybody other than the device’s owner from wiping the phone clean.” The Google account that is currently logged onto the device determines this. According to Shotwell, the new owner of your phone won’t be able to get beyond the first setup phase if you don’t log out of your Google account before executing a factory reset on your handset.
Is it a major issue? Simply said, absolutely. If you overlook this step, you may need to provide the new owner your Google login or sign in on their behalf, he warns. Before disposing of your Android smartphone, disable factory reset protection to try to prevent this issue as much as possible.
Simply sign out of all of your Google accounts to achieve this (which might include Gmail, Google Docs, GSuite, and Google Play). Depending on the kind of phone you have, you may do this under the device settings under Accounts or Google, according to Shotwell.
Secure data
Everything should be erased with a factory reset, however that doesn’t always happen. Even after a factory reset, data often stays hidden in the background, and if you don’t take a few additional precautions, determined hackers may still be able to access it. One of the things hackers don’t want you to know is precisely that.
Solid-state drives, or SSDs, are a kind of flash storage that is used by Android phones, according to Shotwell. “How much data may be rewritten to the disc limits flash memory.” Too much overwriting might render the disc useless. When you erase data from your phone, it is often tagged as being open for new data to take its place rather than being completely wiped to assist avoid this. Therefore, a hacker may restore the altered data using specialised software.
One of your alternatives is to encrypt the phone, advises Shotwell, in order to stop the new owner of the phone from accessing your data. “Previously, you had to do this manually. The majority of recent smartphones, however, no longer offer this option, and I guess that’s because starting the factory data wipe can do it for you automatically.
To be cautious, examine whether data encryption is an option on your phone. On phones that still enable manual encryption, you can do that by navigating to Settings > Security > Encrypt Phone.
If you have expandable storage installed, you can manually encrypt an SD card, says Shotwell. But this has nothing to do with the factory reset procedure. Nevertheless, he continues, it is crucial to remove your memory card before handing your phone to someone else. Generally speaking, you can save this and utilise it in your next phone. The best way to make sure your Android phone is as secure as it can be is to learn how to remove spyware from it, even while encrypting your data may help keep your personal information out of thieves’ hands. Additionally, keep yourself informed on the finest Android cloud storage options.
Steps for a factory reset
Regardless of the manufacturer of your Android phone, there is one thing everyone should do before executing a factory reset. Make sure your gadget is charged before you start, advises Shotwell. “Resets might take a while, so it’s crucial that your phone’s battery doesn’t run out during this time.”
He advises doing a factory reset by following these procedures when you have a full charge:
your settings, please.
Reset the phone by going to System > Advanced > Reset Options > Erase All Data (Factory Reset).
You may have to enter a PIN or password.
Tap Erase Everything to finish.
One crucial point: These instructions are only applicable to Google Pixel devices. Although they will probably be comparable for other Android devices, it is best to verify the instructions provided by your manufacturer just to be cautious. Other phones may also be reset in a similar manner, albeit the choices may be placed in a different location in your settings, says Shotwell.
By the way, doing a factory reset may aid in virus removal. Here is further information on how to clean an Android phone of a virus.
Fill the phone with unnecessary data
According to Shotwell, there is an additional step you can take to ensure your personal data is secure: make sure all of your data is wiped before handing your phone to someone else. Theoretically, he continues, you could load the phone with all the data you can after doing a factory reset and then carry out another factory data reset. “This would erase every sector on the disc and make it difficult to retrieve your previous data.”
Remember that newer phones that automatically encrypt your data upon factory reset usually don’t need this step. Shotwell also cautions that a phone’s SSD can only handle a certain number of overwrites. The hard drive’s lifespan may be shortened by “filling the Android smartphone with trash data and then resetting it again,” the author warns. Therefore, you should generally only do this if you have an older phone about which you are worried. The top mobile security risks for 2021, however, remain the same regardless of the device you choose.
What a factory reset will bring about
When an Android phone is factory reset, everything on it is totally erased, giving it a new start as if it had just been purchased, according to Cyr. All programmes, files, texts, images, and videos should be deleted, along with all other data.
However, as Shotwell points out, a factory reset doesn’t always erase everything. The credentials for the Google account that was logged into the phone before to being reset are preserved, he says. “After the reset is finished, you will need to login in to continue configuring the phone backup if you do not log out of your Google account.” For this reason, it’s crucial that you log out of your account before doing the reset and before discarding the phone.
You’re prepared to say goodbye to your old phone and start using your new one once your reset is finished. Start by taking use of these features that Android offers over iPhones.
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