How to fully erase personal data on Nokia Lumia 1520 with a broken screen?

[Jude Ng]

My beloved Nokia bit the dust :'( I accidentally dropped it and the severely cracked touchscreen is no longer responding, although the display is still working. I'm planning to sell it on eBay, so I want to make sure all my personal data is wiped clean.

Will a hard reset do the job?

But in order to perform a hard reset, the phone has to be turned off, and I can't do that because of the dead screen. My phone still has close to full battery though, so I'm waiting for it to drain off slowly... My question is, will the phone turn on automatically when I eventually charge it with a dead battery?

 

[realwarder]

Perhaps use the Nokia Recovery Tool via USB. A clean OS will wipe the data and I don't think you need to see the screen.

 

[RumoredNow]

If you hold that power button down long enough About 10 seconds or so) it should shut down without the screen swipe...

I concur with realwarder though, use the SRT.

 

[Pete]

If you hold that power button down long enough About 10 seconds or so) it should shut down without the screen swipe...

I concur with realwarder though, use the SRT.

This will only restart the device - no data will be wiped. For a button-enabled hard reset, you need to press more buttons in the secret sequence:-

Resetting your Windows Phone 8.1 | Windows Phone How-to (United Kingdom)

If your phone is unresponsive and you can't reach Settings , you may be able to reset your phone using the hardware buttons. On Nokia Lumia phones (and some others), do the following to reset your phone:
1. Press and hold the Volume down and Power buttons at the same time until you feel a vibration (about 10-15 seconds).
2.When you feel the vibration, immediately press and hold the Volume down button until you see a large exclamation mark.
3.Once the exclamation mark appears, press the following four buttons in this order: Volume up , Volume down , Power , Volume down . Your phone should now reset and restart itself. (It might take a while for the reset to finish.)

 

[Jude Ng]

Thanks for the quick replies! I'll try them out in coming days.

 

[RumoredNow]

Right you are, Pete. I was just trying to get him powered down so he could give the "secret handshake."

 

[Hildr]

You can also go to the Windows Phone official website, log in with your MSFT account and remove all data from your phone that is usually used for stolen phones.

 

[RumoredNow]

You can also go to the Windows Phone official website, log in with your MSFT account and remove all data from your phone that is usually used for stolen phones.

That is thinking outside the box!!!

 

[HoosierDaddy]

You can also go to the Windows Phone official website, log in with your MSFT account and remove all data from your phone that is usually used for stolen phones.

I'm waiting for an iPhone user who fell for the "Wave" recharging technology practical joke to seek revenge by suggest throwing a Windows Phone into a microwave for 5 minutes to wipe the data.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

That is thinking outside the box!!!

To avoid possible violation of fine print in terms of service, I would have a friend "steal" it first.

 

[Hildr]

That is thinking outside the box!!!

That's the way to go for everything, particularly in IT stuff

I'm waiting for an iPhone user who fell for the "Wave" recharging technology practical joke to seek revenge by suggest throwing a Windows Phone into a microwave for 5 minutes to wipe the data.

I am sorry, I did not get it, is it sarcasm? (I'm not fluent in English) My post was not a joke, it's just one of the 3 remote things you can do to your phone without accessing it.

 

[Harrie-S]

Dear Hildr.
I found your remark very useful.

 

[Jonathan Davidar]

Thanks so much for the tip. Worked perfectly for me. I was able to reset the phone to its factory default setting.