How to wipe off all data before selling your phone

 

The smartphone and cell phone, in general, is a mini computer in themselves and does a host of functions. The phone has become a necessary item and does several functions that make it double as a watch, alarm clock, camera, a gaming device, video player and even a mini music system. The cell phone has replaced a large number of devices, and just the one phone is enough. However, many phones have a life of 4 to 5 years, and used phones have a good resale value. This resale value is even better when there are portals in the UAE that not only pay the best prices to sell phone but keep the phones in pristine order.

New models of cell phones come out almost every year, and dedicated phone users change models as soon as new models come out. People who cannot afford new models prefer to use sophisticated phones at an affordable price with good condition. People buying used cell phones from these sites are assured of good quality as well as pristine condition. There are many benefits of buying as well as selling phones through these portals, and the chief benefit is data and file safety.

How cell phone used to be done

Until a few years ago, the second-hand market for cell phones and other devices was largely unorganised and prone to hassles. A person wanting to sell phone would put in an ad for selling a phone with contact details. The following situations were most likely to occur:

There would be repeated calls and enquiries for the phone, and interested buyers would want to see the phone. Many people found the repetitive enquiries and visits bothersome.

There would be negotiation and hard bargaining as most used phone buyers try to get the devices at the lowest price possible.

Once sold, traceability of the used phone would become a problem if the seller wished to buy back the phone.

The biggest hassle was the physical deleting of files, folders and media files before selling the phone. There are many ways to recover deleted files, and there used to be a risk of confidential files and data getting into the wrong hands.

And then efficient wiping of cell phone data was invented

The portals in the UAE that sell phones have software that completely wipe all data in the files. Here are some ways in which people who sell phones should begin with the basic steps

The first is to create a backup for all data and files in the cell phone to another portable storage device. 

The next step is to log out of all email IDs and social media accounts. In addition, users need to remove any google, Samsung or apple accounts active on the phone. This can be done by going to settings option on the phone and deleting these accounts permanently. Apps installed in the old phones should also be uninstalled as some of them are likely to retain data of the user that a data recovery specialist can recover. On average, a normal cell phone user may have anywhere between 60 to 100 apps installed on his or her phone. Most of these apps ask for access to contacts, cameras and other features in a cell phone and are a constant risk for data theft.  

The next step is to remove the SIM card and any other storage cards installed in the phone. The SD card should be destroyed after its data has been copied or transferred to another storage device. This is recommended if this card is not compatible with the new cell phone the user has bought or is going to buy.

The phone's serial number is to be retained in case of any future need. This is especially necessary in case of fraud or cybercrime using the old phone.

The portals conduct a thorough wipe irrespective of whether the above steps have been done by the person wanting to sell the phone.

The portals use military-grade software that does a thorough wipe on the cell phone and restores it to factory settings, and there is no risk of any hidden files being accessed by the new owner at a later stage.

There are different ways to wipe data for different operating systems in cell phones:

The process of android erasure involves overwriting the data with a value three times and then another three times with the inverse of that value. The wipes in one direction pull the magnetic field in one direction, and the reverse wipes cause the magnetic field to pull in the other direction. This activity ensures no remaining residue of the original data field, and this data sanitisation process is very effective.

Cell phones using the IOS operating system can have their data wiped by cryptographic erase. This is done by adding an encrypted file system, and this wiping system permanently removes any existing encryption in the device. Once the encryption-based erasure is complete, connection to the device is regained, and evidence of the erasure is checked. This method of encryption-based wiping is very effective, and recovery of old data from the phone is impossible.

I phones are equipped with a built-in wiping system. This option is available from the settings options and is quite effective though a professional wiping system is recommended.     

Wiping it all away

The necessity of a thorough wipe is a vital ingredient while doing a cell phone deal. The portals that buy used phones pay a lot of attention to the wiping process, and this is one of the most trusted security features of these portals in the UAE.

It is these fair practices that have made these portals so popular. There is a little everything for Users that range from sellers to buyers and also includes dealers who carry out these transactions under the watchful eye of the portal.