Is it possible to wipe your phone by accident with it in you pocket

[flipbeats]

So while I was out, my phone decided to erase itself. I was wondering if this is possible and that I wasn't hacked or anything. It just did a clean wipe of my phone. I don't know if I maybe pressed buttons too long and wiped the phone or something. Any guesses here?

 

[teeitupmo#WN]

Are you connected to an Exchange server for work email?


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[Rukbat]

It's possible, but it takes a particular combination of buttons, and the odds of that happening by accident are ... well, the odds of winning any large lottery with a single ticket with numbers chosen at random are probably a lot better. (I don't think Exchange Server can wipe your phone.)

I'd more likely put it to a glitch in the ROM or in the hardware.

 

[doogald]

I do think it's possible for an exchange policy to wipe a phone, bit that seems unlikely on a Sunday maybe?

Another wild guess (and this is scary) is that somebody knows or guessed your Google account password and used Android device manager to wipe the phone remotely. I can't recall, though, if android device manager is automatically set up with a clean setup or if you need to go into settings / security and lock screen / device administrators and activate it first.

 

[dungoyle]

I do think it's possible for an exchange policy to wipe a phone, bit that seems unlikely on a Sunday maybe?

Another wild guess (and this is scary) is that somebody knows or guessed your Google account password and used Android device manager to wipe the phone remotely. I can't recall, though, if android device manager is automatically set up with a clean setup or if you need to go into settings / security and lock screen / device administrators and activate it first.

This seems far more likely than the phone buttons hitting all the right presses in the correct order, including screen buttons to create a factory reset condition. A phone malfunction might cause this; that is also a more likely (though seemingly unlikely) possibility. Finally, if your company provides or reimburses you for your phone, and requires management software to be installed for the purpose of reading corporate e-mail, and remote troubleshooting, then they have the ability to remote wipe it without your consent or interaction. No matter what happened, that sucks.

 

[flipbeats]

Well I do have 2 step authentication so I would know if someone tried to log in I believe. this is not a work phone it is my personal. Now I"m a bit worried. Maybe I should change my password again.

 

[flipbeats]

I"m hoping its a glitch and nothing else. I just picked up my phone and it said erasing and I was like What the heck!

 

[flipbeats]

also my wallpaper was the same as well.. I"m not sure if that means anything

 

[doogald]

When you go through the initial set up of the Turbo, one of the questions asked is if you want to restore data from your Google account. If you say yes, then your wallpaper is restored, as well as a number of settings (display timeout, WiFi access points), though many others are not. So, seeing your wallpaper is not unusual.

Another reason that could potentially explain a wipe in your pocket is if you had a security and lockscreen unlock method set to pattern, PIN or password and the setting was set to wipe the phone after 10 unsuccessful unlock attempts. Actually, that may be a permanent choice for PIN and password unlock (the wipe after 10 tries - I can't find a setting for it myself). Anyway, I suppose I could see a scenario where the phone powered on to the lock screen in your pocket and somehow sensed touches to the screen as attempts to enter the pattern, PIN or password (especially a pattern, as PIN and password requires that you tap the on screen enter key), and then wiped the phone after 10 such tries.

 

[doogald]

Well I do have 2 step authentication so I would know if someone tried to log in I believe.

If you have two step turned on (I do as well), the likelihood of Android Device Manager remote wipe by guessing your password is as close to nothing as possible. I suppose if somebody went on to a computer where you've set a permanent pass from two step they could have done that, but I'd say the chances of you being struck by lightning at the exact moment that the earth is being hit by an asteroid are much higher than that.

 

[flipbeats]

ahh this is very likely, I do have a pin and I might massed some buttons maybe while it was in my pocket especially with the moto voice and it waiting for you to speak the password.

 

[dungoyle]

...
Another reason that could potentially explain a wipe in your pocket is if you had a security and lockscreen unlock method set to pattern, PIN or password and the setting was set to wipe the phone after 10 unsuccessful unlock attempts...

I think you nailed it.