Can the phone data be recovered after a factory reset? Learn how to perform a factory reset on Android and related questions and answers in this article.
If you have serious problems with your Android phone or you want to sell it, you may need to reset it.
Here, we will teach you how to factory reset android phones and also discuss how to recover data afterward.
What does factory reset mean?
Factory reset is a process that you perform on devices such as a phone or tablet. This will delete all your personal data stored on the device and return the device to its original state when it left the factory. For this reason, it is called “factory reset” (factory settings).
You may also see factory settings called “master reset” or “system restore” in your phone settings. Sometimes people use the word “clean up” instead of factory settings.
Why do we have to factory reset?
There are several reasons that force a person to factory reset their Android phone:
1- When you want to sell your device and you do not want the buyer to have access to your data. Therefore, you should always reset your phone to factory settings before transferring the device to another person.
2- After a while, your phone is full of applications that are no longer useful to you and its performance has slowed down. With a factory reset, everything is cleared and returned to its original state, making your device perform faster. You can then reinstall the programs you need.
3- If your device has some kind of software problem that you can not fix, resetting to factory settings can help solve the problem.
How to factory reset your Android phone?
Android has an option to do a factory reset in its settings, so it’s easy to do.
Before factory resetting, make sure you have a backup of all important data on your phone. You may also want to back up your app settings (list of your favorite apps), and make sure files such as photos, movies, and music is stored in the cloud.
To perform a factory reset on Pixel series phones or other Android devices, do the following:
1- On your phone, go to the Settings section from the applications drawer.
2. Go to the bottom of the menu and select System.
3. Here, you will see a number of options and you will also see an option under Advanced under Show for more. Click Advanced.
4. Now select the Reset options option.
5. In this menu, you will see an option called Erase all data ( factory reset). This is the option you want, so tap on it.
6- You will see the confirmation page with the title Erase all data ( factory reset). This page warns you that continuing to do so will clear your phone data such as your Google Account, system and application settings, downloaded applications, music, photos, and other data.
- The page also shows which accounts you have logged in to, including Google Accounts and other accounts such as Telegram, Microsoft and WhatsApp.
7. If you are sure you want to perform a factory reset, click the Delete all button at the bottom of this page.
8. The device asks you to enter your PIN or password. After doing this, tap Next.
9- Tap Delete all to confirm the deletion.
10. With this, the factory reset process begins. After resetting the device, you can set it to look like a new phone.
Perform factory reset on Samsung phones
The factory reset process is slightly different on Samsung devices. On Samsung smartphones running Android 11, do the following:
1- Go to your Samsung device settings.
2. Go to a section called General management or System (in older versions of Android).
3. Here, tap Reset.
4. You will now see a number of Reset options. Tap ” Factory data reset ” to perform a factory reset on your Samsung device.
5. Before resetting the phone, you will see a confirmation screen that shows the data that will be erased during the reset process. You will also see a list of programs that will be removed from your device and a list of accounts that you have already signed in to.
6- If you are sure that you want to perform a factory reset, scroll down and then click Reset.
7. With this, the factory reset process begins. After resetting the device, you can set it to look like a new device.
Is it possible to factory reset the phone unintentionally?
Factory reset can have serious consequences. Because of this, software developers have tried to ensure that factory reset is not possible unintentionally. To do this and clear your data, you will have to go through several steps and you may even need to enter your password before starting the deletion operation.
But it can be said that if you have made a mistake in your settings or you are not aware of 100% of what you do, it is possible that your phone will be factory reset by accident.
If you have just reset your phone, you may think you have lost everything because you can no longer undo the settings. But you will be happy to hear that you may be able to recover some data.
Can the data be recovered after a factory reset?
After factory reset, is your data recoverable? The answer is yes. People often think that as soon as they do this, their data will be completely removed from the device and will no longer be accessible. But, this is not necessarily the case.
Data recovery is possible after factory reset. This can be useful if you have done this unintentionally and want to recover your data. But if you do a factory reset to protect your data, it can be a problem.
Android has built-in encryption to protect your data
Years ago, Android devices were not encrypted by default. This means that even after a factory reset, some data can be accessed through the device’s internal storage.
Tools are available that can connect to the reset device and extract deleted files. These files can contain personal information such as contacts, texts or photos. To protect your data, you must encrypt your device before factory reset.
However, since Android 6 Marshmallow, Android devices have been shipped encrypted from the factory door by default. This means that you no longer have to worry about people accessing your deleted data using legal tools. Even if tools can extract deleted files from your device, these files are encrypted so they cannot be read by others. This is one of the many reasons why you might want to enable end-to-end encryption.
Cloud backups can be a good thing or a bad thing
However, encryption cannot completely erase your information. Most services now have some form of cloud backup, where your user information is stored online. For example, your Google Account syncs data from your Android device.
This data can include application data, calendar data, browser data (if using Chrome), contacts, documents and other files stored in Google Drive or Docs, and your Gmail email data. If your data in cyberspace is automatically stored in the cloud, then it is easier to recover photos after a factory reset. If you need to recover this data, you can do so after the reset, during the startup process.
Although cloud storage is a secure network, there are still security concerns. Cloud security has improved dramatically in recent years, but there are still steps you can take to keep your cloud storage secure.
Even so, owning one is still beyond the reach of the average cloud backup. To completely erase your data, you must close all your accounts that use cloud backup.
How to delete data on your Android device?
If you want to make sure that your data is not accessible after a factory reset, there are tools available that can overwrite your device data with useless data. This ensures that your personal files are completely inaccessible. You can use programs like Shreddit to do this. This program will erase data from both your device’s internal storage and external storage.
To use these apps, make sure your device is encrypted. Then download and run it, then factory reset the phone. This will completely erase all data on your device. This is the best way if you want to sell your device.
Factory reset your Android device
Using these steps, you can factory reset your Android device to clear all data from it. This can help your device run faster or fix annoying software issues. However, a factory reset does not necessarily erase all your personal data.
If you plan to sell your device, you need to take extra steps to protect your data before transferring it to someone else. Apps like Shreddit can erase your data before resetting your device to make sure no one can recover it.
Factory reset can be a useful way to deal with software problems on your phone. But before you reset your device, make sure you check all the other options first. If you unknowingly perform a factory reset, it is possible to recover data such as images and files from the cloud.
