How do I wipe all of the data from my phone before selling it?

[Paolo Ferrazza]

how to wipe all data from your phone before selling

Hello,
when you sell an android phone you perform device encryption before selling it. There is no such feature on windows phone so how do you perform a reset so you do not risk that someone steals your personal data (I'm planning on buying a 950 if it costs around 500? and sell back my 930 to gather at least 250? ).

I've only found this method and it sucks:

Windows Phone

"
At the time of writing, Windows Phone only offers encryption for business customers. The easiest option to wipe a Windows Phone 8 device is to perform a factory reset and then load dummy data to overwrite traces of the original data.

Step one: Open up Settings from the main apps list. Find About and then tap Reset Your Phone.

Step two: Confirm the action and then wait for the phone to wipe.

Step three: Connect the phone to a PC and open My Computer. If you are connecting via Mac, download the Windows Phone app. Find the phone, which should show up as a removable device, and open it.

Step four: Load dummy data onto the phone by dragging and dropping from another folder. Don't use your personal photos or documents here, instead try with files that contain no identifiable metadata that could be traced back to you, such as video or music files. Try and fill the phone with as much dummy data as possible.

Step five: Reset the phone again using the same method in step one. Repeat the dummy data load a few more times to ensure all your original data is overwritten.

Step six: Perform a final reset.
"


To clarify the question: stopping after step 2 is not enough since personal information and files can be recovered form the storage with bit-to-bit recovery with many PC softwares.

 

[AV2RY]

Re: how to wipe all data from your phone before selling

I would stop after step two. At least right now there no way to recover deleted filed from WP.. So, that dummy files' steps are unnecessary

 

[xandros9]

Re: how to wipe all data from your phone before selling

The typical factory reset, like iOS, should be sufficient for most intents and purposes.

 

[Paolo Ferrazza]

Re: how to wipe all data from your phone before selling

Really NO! do not sell your phone just with a simple reset!

Stopping after step 2 is not enough since personal information and files can be recovered form the storage with bit-to-bit recovery with many PC softwares.

 

[xandros9]

Re: how to wipe all data from your phone before selling

Really NO! do not sell your phone just with a simple reset!

Stopping after step 2 is not enough since personal information and files can be recovered form the storage with bit-to-bit recovery with many PC softwares.

Windows Phones cannot be mounted and used with those recovery software. (unless you count the SD card, but that's something else) We've tried.

Just because Android doesn't do that secure erase properly doesn't mean you have to do it on every other platform.

And after a reset, recovering data would require professional or even governmental resources that a random joe won't try and if someone is willing to try the expense just for the chance of getting at your data, you have bigger problems. (or just a lot of know-how and the right tools and time I suppose)

 

[Paolo Ferrazza]

Re: how to wipe all data from your phone before selling

Windows Phones cannot be mounted and used with those recovery software. (unless you count the SD card, but that's something else) We've tried.

Just because Android doesn't do that secure erase properly doesn't mean you have to do it on every other platform.

And after a reset, recovering data would require professional or even governmental resources that a random joe won't try and if someone is willing to try the expense just for the chance of getting at your data, you have bigger problems. (or just a lot of know-how and the right tools and time I suppose)

Looks pretty easy to me: Windows Phone data recovery software to recover deleted photos video files from Windows phone internal memory and sd card

Or are you telling me that resetting the phone in windows phone 8.1 applies bit scrambling natively?

 

[xandros9]

Re: how to wipe all data from your phone before selling

Looks pretty easy to me: Windows Phone data recovery software to recover deleted photos video files from Windows phone internal memory and sd card

Or are you telling me that resetting the phone in windows phone 8.1 applies bit scrambling natively?

First, that page doesn't look very reputable...

Second, the article also says to remove the memory card and insert into a card reader, indicating its recovering from the SD card, not the internal memory. If its the card we're talking about, all bets are off naturally.
But I was talking about internal memory. It can't be mounted as a normal, lettered drive that kind of software will be able to talk to. (heck, on my 920 it can't do more than one thing at a time annoyingly enough)

I don't know for sure if Windows Phone does a secure erase, but assuming it doesn't, one would have to somehow get direct access to the flash chips. And that's something the typical undelete thing can't do.

 

[Paolo Ferrazza]

Re: how to wipe all data from your phone before selling

First, that page doesn't look very reputable...

Second, the article also says to remove the memory card and insert into a card reader, indicating its recovering from the SD card, not the internal memory. If its the card we're talking about, all bets are off naturally.
But I was talking about internal memory. It can't be mounted as a normal, lettered drive that kind of software will be able to talk to. (heck, on my 920 it can't do more than one thing at a time annoyingly enough)

I don't know for sure if Windows Phone does a secure erase, but assuming it doesn't, one would have to somehow get direct access to the flash chips. And that's something the typical undelete thing can't do.

No, read it again, it talks about both scenarios (internal and sd) with different solutions, anyway there is for sure an easyway to show the internal storage as a normal storage, so I'm not taking the risk, if no better solution comes up, resetting and then filling the storage with useless files looks like a good solution anyway!

 

[xandros9]

Re: how to wipe all data from your phone before selling

No, read it again, it talks about both scenarios (internal and sd) with different solutions, anyway there is for sure an easyway to show the internal storage as a normal storage, so I'm not taking the risk, if no better solution comes up, resetting and then filling the storage with useless files looks like a good solution anyway!

I've read it again.
That mass storage solution appears to apply to WP7 only. (or in the site's words, "widnows" phone)
Meaning WP8 phones still aren't going to give up their internal stuff.

And the site still does not look like a reputable site. Capitalization is odd, repeated Windows Phone Recovery references feels weird, misspellings, and the example photos aren't even from a WP. (and there is no M9 for Windows, 830 is in the list twice, etc.)

But of course, I spend a lot of time restoring phones, so what you do with your time is ultimately your call. I don't think its warranted in most situations, (outright destroy the motherboard, its the only way to be sure) but eh.

 

[mjperry51]

Re: how to wipe all data from your phone before selling

I've read it again.
That mass storage solution appears to apply to WP7 only. (or in the site's words, "widnows" phone)
Meaning WP8 phones still aren't going to give up their internal stuff.

And the site still does not look like a reputable site. Capitalization is odd, repeated Windows Phone Recovery references feels weird, misspellings, and the example photos aren't even from a WP. (and there is no M9 for Windows, 830 is in the list twice, etc.)

But of course, I spend a lot of time restoring phones, so what you do with your time is ultimately your call. I don't think its warranted in most situations, (outright destroy the motherboard, its the only way to be sure) but eh.

When all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail. . .

 

[Paolo Ferrazza]

I'm just saying that even if you do not trust that site, I think it should be very feasable to recover deleted info from internal storage.

And again filling up 32 gigs with videos after a reset won't take that long and will be very effective. I was just asking if there was a more official solution like on androids and iphones.

From your answers I guess my solution is the preferrable one.

 

[jsooney]

I just throw my old phones in the hard drive shredder at work. I never sell them.

 

[RumoredNow]

Check out this app... https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...storage-cleaner%2F9wzdncrfj0x2&token=Nb6wB4mX

It is made to trigger the gag reflex in Windows Phone where it will automatically clear storage if it gets too full. It is based on filling the entire storage of the phone with junk data. Windows Phone: How to free storage memory on Windows Phone

Reset your phone. Install Storage Cleaner (the one in the wiki is no longer published). Fill the internal storage and clear it out 3x. That will overwrite every available byte 3x with garbage.

Good luck recovering that without an expensive electronic forensics lab and an advanced degree or two.

Is that enough?

 

[Paolo Ferrazza]

Yes I like this workaround better than the one proposed by me. Thanks!

 

[Jmilerty]

Oh my god ,before you selling your phone , delete all the phone data is so very important thing , but no matter how we wipe iPhone data , there will be restore tool to restore them back , so complex

 

[xandros9]

Oh my god ,before you selling your phone , delete all the phone data is so very important thing , but no matter how we wipe iPhone data , there will be restore tool to restore them back , so complex

Not really since I believe the data is encrypted to begin with before deletion, etc. If you're selling to a normal person, or even an enthusiast you'll be safe.

 

[Easkkany]

Oh my god ,before you selling your phone , delete all the phone data is so very important thing , but no matter how we erase everything from Android , there will be restore tool to restore them back , so complex

There is no denying that the deleted data could be restored , but it depends on how you delete them from your Android phone ,look at this article. It might help

 

[Easkkany]

Oh my god ,before you selling your phone , delete all the phone data is so very important thing , but no matter how we wipe iPhone data , there will be restore tool to restore them back , so complex

There is no denying that the deleted data could be restored , but it depends on how you delete them from your Android phone ,look at this article. It might help