Has anyone encrypted their phone?

[PDX97229]

I'm thinking about encrypting mine, but am afraid that entering the password all the time will become cumbersome. I also wonder if some apps wouldn't work because they wouldn't be able to access the encrypted info. I would feel better about having the contents protected, but this isn't something to be taken lightly because if I change my mind the only way to remove the encryption is by resetting the phone to stock. Then all the settings have to be redone, all apps reloaded and their settings redone, etc. Way too much trouble. Once it's encrypted it's going to have to stay that way. Has anyone had any experience with this?

 

[emanwis]

Mine is encrypted due to getting work email on my phone. All apps work perfectly. The password isn't bad. You have to enter it each time you restart your phone. It hasn't been cumbersome to me.

Sent from my XT1080 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[djousma]

I did this once on my RAZR MAXX HD (the model before the current DROID). I got sick of doing the password thing all the time. Problem was that there was no way to un-encrypt the phone with out doing a FDR. For that reason alone, unless dictated by other reasons, I wont do it.

 

[PDX97229]

I did this once on my RAZR MAXX HD (the model before the current DROID). I got sick of doing the password thing all the time. Problem was that there was no way to un-encrypt the phone with out doing a FDR. For that reason alone, unless dictated by other reasons, I wont do it.

That's my problem. If I decide I don't like it I will have to spend an enormous amount of time resetting up my phone from scratch. I have already spent about 2-1/2 weeks on it and have a long way to go. On the other hand, the results of some of my information getting out would be disastrous. I guess the key is to make a short, but difficult to guess unlock code.

 

[PDX97229]

Mine is encrypted due to getting work email on my phone. All apps work perfectly. The password isn't bad. You have to enter it each time you restart your phone. It hasn't been cumbersome to me.

Sent from my XT1080 using AC Forums mobile app

How did you come up with a password that is secure and at the same time not so long or forgettable that it would become cumbersome?

 

[doogald]

I just encrypted my phone last night *after* doing a planned factory data reset. So far, I see no noticeable decrease in performance at all.

How did you come up with a password that is secure and at the same time not so long or forgettable that it would become cumbersome?

I generally use LastPass to store my passwords, and their password generator has a "memorable" choice. Length would be the key.

Of course, in this case I was under the impression that the encryption had to be protected by a numeric PIN, so that's what I did. In this case I used a random generator on x digits and then fed the result into this site: Word Search to find a phrase that was memorable. (And I have the PIN stored in LastPass as well...)

 

[PDX97229]

I just encrypted my phone last night *after* doing a planned factory data reset. So far, I see no noticeable decrease in performance at all.



I generally use LastPass to store my passwords, and their password generator has a "memorable" choice. Length would be the key.

Of course, in this case I was under the impression that the encryption had to be protected by a numeric PIN, so that's what I did. In this case I used a random generator on x digits and then fed the result into this site: Word Search to find a phrase that was memorable. (And I have the PIN stored in LastPass as well...)

All I can say is WOW!

 

[emanwis]

How did you come up with a password that is secure and at the same time not so long or forgettable that it would become cumbersome?

I guess my password wasn't really that secure. I used a four digit pin. I didn't realize my employer could wip my entire phone so I am now using Touchdown and like it very much. It did take a while to get my phone back to how I like it after doing the factory reset to remove encryption.

Sent from my Droid Maxx.

 

[PDX97229]

I guess my password wasn't really that secure. I used a four digit pin. I didn't realize my employer could wip my entire phone so I am now using Touchdown and like it very much. It did take a while to get my phone back to how I like it after doing the factory reset to remove encryption.

Sent from my Droid Maxx.

Ouch! If I'm no being too personal, why did your employer wipe your phone? I assumed that you were using the phone for business. Now it sounds like they didn't know you had work info on it & objected? Even so, how could they delete everything? Or did they just get their hands on it and after breaking the PIN, change it to a new one?

 

[PDX97229]

I guess my password wasn't really that secure. I used a four digit pin. I didn't realize my employer could wip my entire phone so I am now using Touchdown and like it very much. It did take a while to get my phone back to how I like it after doing the factory reset to remove encryption.

Sent from my Droid Maxx.

What is Touchdown?

 

[drwtsn32]

He said his employer COULD wipe his phone, which is true if they push the appropriate corp security policy to your device.

Touchdown is a dedicated Exchange app available from Google Play. Personally I don't like Touchdown and would rather use the native email, contacts, calendar, etc., so I use full device encryption. I haven't found any problems with using encryption and I'm not worried about my employer wiping my phone. If I leave the company all I have to do is remove the Exchange account and they no longer have that ability.

 

[PDX97229]

He said his employer COULD wipe his phone, which is true if they push the appropriate corp security policy to your device.

Touchdown is a dedicated Exchange app available from Google Play. Personally I don't like Touchdown and would rather use the native email, contacts, calendar, etc., so I use full device encryption. I haven't found any problems with using encryption and I'm not worried about my employer wiping my phone. If I leave the company all I have to do is remove the Exchange account and they no longer have that ability.

Does Touchdown protect the data from prying eyes? I'm confused. You said that you don't like Touchdown, so you use native apps and full device encryption. Then you said when you leave a company all you have to do is remove the Exchange account, but I thought you don't use an Exchange account and that is why you encrypted your phone.

 

[drwtsn32]

Does Touchdown protect the data from prying eyes? I'm confused. You said that you don't like Touchdown, so you use native apps and full device encryption. Then you said when you leave a company all you have to do is remove the Exchange account, but I thought you don't use an Exchange account and that is why you encrypted your phone.

Exchange is a type of enterprise email system. An Android device supports Exchange for email, calendaring, contacts, etc., either using the native apps or using a 3rd party app like Touchdown. Personally I prefer the native Android apps.

The only reason I use encryption is because it is required by my work's enterprise Exchange device policy. If using the native apps, the entire device must be encrypted. If using Touchdown, only the Touchdown data is encrypted.

Did that help clear things up?

 

[doogald]

I'm thinking about encrypting mine, but am afraid that entering the password all the time will become cumbersome. I also wonder if some apps wouldn't work because they wouldn't be able to access the encrypted info. I would feel better about having the contents protected, but this isn't something to be taken lightly because if I change my mind the only way to remove the encryption is by resetting the phone to stock. Then all the settings have to be redone, all apps reloaded and their settings redone, etc. Way too much trouble. Once it's encrypted it's going to have to stay that way. Has anyone had any experience with this?

I encrypted my phone when I did a factory data reset on December 30, so it's been a few weeks now. You only need to enter the PIN/password when the phone starts. Otherwise the phone is exactly the same. It has the same performance, the same battery life, there are no apps that have problems with the encryption (because that's all handled by the OS.) It means that if I lose my phone that nobody can access storage without entering the PIN after they restart the phone, which they will have to do because they won't be able to get past the lockscreen.

 

[Dianna feliz]

I am having a problem deactivating my encryption security applications. just got phone it is wonderful but this encryption is to much.HELP I NEED IT GONE AND I HAVE TRIED FOR TWO DAYS

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[doogald]

I am having a problem deactivating my encryption security applications. just got phone it is wonderful but this encryption is to much.HELP I NEED IT GONE AND I HAVE TRIED FOR TWO DAYS

Posted via the Android Central App

The only way to decrypt the phone is to do a factory data reset. Start the phone, settings / back up & reset, factory data reset. Make sure that you have backed up all of your photos and videos, etc. - they are erased when you do a reset.

 

[PDX97229]

I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to respond. I WAS getting an email notice when there was a reply to this thread. At some point that stopped happening and I have no idea why. I guess that's a question for another thread.

To answer your question, yes, I get it now. Thanks for your response.