Security options needed

Mooncatt

Ambassador
Feb 23, 2011
10,716
274
83
Visit site
I'm getting ready to turn in my phone to upgrade, but the problem I'm now having is it won't encrypt so I can then factory reset it. The phone requires 80% battery power before it'll initiate encryption, but the USB port is bad and may not be able to get it to charge that high. It's a non-removable battery, so replacing it or an external charger isn't an option.

Is there any other way to effectively wipe the data? Or is this even much of a concern when turning in directly to a carrier store?
 
Last edited:

hyfurd2112

Member
Dec 10, 2013
22
0
0
Visit site
I honestly don't think you need to encrypt a phone to factory reset it... But anyways another option would be to use Google Device Manager. Set it up from your phone or computer and on your computer you can set it to "Wipe" your entire device "remotely" lol. If you have any questions please reply.
 

Mooncatt

Ambassador
Feb 23, 2011
10,716
274
83
Visit site
It's recommended practice to encrypt before resetting when turning over your device to anyone else. Yes, you can reset without encrypting first, but like a basic reformatting of a PC, it can leave information in storage that is recoverable. This can pose a privacy and identity theft risk depending on what's on your phone. The reason for encrypting first is so it scrambles all the data to prevent any recovery. When you follow up with a reset, it deletes the encryption key to make any recovery nearly impossible.
 

hyfurd2112

Member
Dec 10, 2013
22
0
0
Visit site
Thank you for clearing up your problem. Onto my next solution. Since you want to encrypt your device and you need 80% battery at least, there are two ways I know to go through this problem. The first one would be to try a different usb cable. If this dose not work and you have extremely sensitive information on your phone, you would need to get the battery and charging port replaced. You can do this process by yourself by ordering the parts on ebay or amazon and looking up youtube videos on how to do it. The second way would be to send it in to get it fixed, whether it is a third party company or the manufacturer itself. Hope this helps.
 

Mooncatt

Ambassador
Feb 23, 2011
10,716
274
83
Visit site
Thanks for the help, but all already options I've tried. I called Verizon earlier and may have an offer on the table to allow me to early upgrade without turning in the phone. That way I could physically destroy it if need be. I couldn't take it right away because I needed to check a couple things and they were supposed to call me back. That hasn't happened, though. :(
 

Trending Posts

Forum statistics

Threads
942,379
Messages
6,913,751
Members
3,158,382
Latest member
gkapidis