drfone logo
MobileClean

Free up storage on iPhone in one-tap

How to Fully Wipe Android Phone and Tablet before Selling it?

Feb 29, 2024 • Filed to: Data Wipe Solutions • Proven solutions

With the passage of time, more and more new phones have started being launched in the market. So, people nowadays, usually try to drop their old devices in order to get the new one. The standard procedure before selling an old phone is to restore the device to factory settings, wiping it clean of any personal data. This creates a new-phone feel for the new owner besides offering protection for the original owner.

However, as per the recent reports, just factory resetting the device isn’t enough to permanently wipe Android device whether it's a phone or a tablet. Moreover, many people do not even know how to wipe Android phone.

So, here we are with this article to help you get the best way to wipe Android phone.

Note: - Follow the steps carefully to wipe Android successfully.

Part 1: Why Factory Reset isn’t enough for wiping Android Phone

According to the recent reports by a Security Firm, only Android reset is not enough to clean any Android device completely. Avast purchased twenty used Android phones on eBay. Through extraction methods, they were able to recover old emails, texts, and even photos. In their recovery, they found hundreds of nude selfies of one man, presumably the last owner. Even though they are a sophisticated security firm, Avast didn't have to work too hard to unlock this data. Thus, it is completely proved that factory reset isn’t enough to wipe Android phone and tablet. But don’t worry there is a better alternative available that will help you to wipe Android completely without the fear of any recovery.

Part 2: How to Permanently erase Android phone and tablet with Android Data Eraser?

In order to completely wipe Android, dr. fone has come up with an amazing toolkit called the Android Data Eraser. It is available on the official dr. fone Wondershare website. It is a very trusted application as it comes from one of the genuine developers. Android Data Eraser also has the most simple and friendly user interface. Let us look at some of the features of this toolkit at first, and then learn how to wipe Android phone with it.

style arrow up

Dr.Fone - Data Eraser (Android)

Fully Erase Everything on Android and Protect Your Privacy

  • Simple, click-through process.
  • Wipe your Android completely and permanently.
  • Erase photos, contacts, messages, call logs and all private data.
  • Supports all Android devices available in the market.
Available on: Windows Mac
4,683,556 people have downloaded it

Follow the few following steps very carefully to wipe Android phone completely with the help of Android Data Eraser

Step 1 Install Android Data Eraser on a Computer

You have to install the program before you can do anything about data erasing.  Download it from the official Dr.Fone website. The installation is as simple as you can imagine. Only a few mouse clicks are needed. The main screen of the program is shown as follows. Click on the “Data Eraser”.

launch drfone

Step 2 Connect Android Device to PC and Turn on USB Debugging

Plug your Android phone or tablet to the computer through USB cable. The device will be detected in seconds once it was connected and recognized by the computer. After detection, the program shows name of the device found by it. If nothing happened, please make sure Android USB driver is well installed.

connect android phone

Step 3 Select Erasing Option

Now click "Erase All Data". This brings up the data erasing window. As you can see from the screenshot. It also can erase photos from Android. You will be asked to type 'delete' word to let the program work and click on “Erase Now”.

erase all data

Step 4 Begin to Erase Your Android Device Now

In this step, everything is set up well and the program will start wiping the device once the operation is confirmed. So please make sure all your data is backed up. If not, you can use the program to back up your device first. It will take a while to complete the task depending on how many files are stored on the device.

erasing phone data

Step 3 Finally, Don't Forget to 'Factory Reset' to Erase Your Settings

Finally, after the erased your phone, there is no any data recovery programs can scan and recover your wiped data. But it's necessary for you to perform a Factory reset for your Android device to wipe the system settings completely.

factory data reset

Now, your device is successfully erased. You’ll also be confirmed with a message on screen.

phone erased

Part 3: Traditional way to Encrypt and Wipe data

There are many tools available to safely wipe Android data. But there is also one primitive method that helps to secure all the personal data before performing factory reset. Follow the steps carefully to perform a factory rest and secure all the personal data on your phone

Step 1: Encrypting

I recommend encrypting your device before you are getting ready to wipe it. The encryption process will scramble the data on your device and, even if the wipe doesn't fully delete the data, a special key will be required to unscramble it.

To encrypt your device on stock Android, enter settings, click on Security, and select Encrypt phone. The feature may be located under different options on other devices.

encrypt phone

Step 2: Perform a factory reset

The next thing you will want to do is perform a factory reset. This can be done on stock Android by selecting Factory data reset in the Backup & reset option in the settings menu. You should be aware that this will erase all of the data on your phone and that you should backup anything you don't want to lose.

Step 3: Load dummy data

Following step one and two should be enough for most people, but there's an extra step you can take to add another layer of protection when erasing your personal data. Try loading fake photos and contacts on your device. Why you ask? We will address that in the next step.

Step 4: Perform another factory reset

You should now perform another factory reset, thus erasing the dummy content you loaded onto the device. This will make it even harder for someone to locate your data because it will be buried below the dummy content. This is the most primitive answer to the question how to wipe Android phone.

The last method mentioned above is simple when compared to Android Data Eraser but is very less secure. There have been many reports when the extraction process has been successful even after encrypted factory reset. However, the Android Data Eraser from dr. fone is very secure and till now there has not been a single negative review against them. The user interface is very simple and even if you go wrong there is no chance of any damage to your Android Phone or tablet.  Anybody who does not know how to wipe Android phone must use the Android Data eraser because it's user friendly user interface helps the rookies a lot. So, guys I hope that this article helps you to find the right solution to how to wipe Android phone or tablet permanently.

Other Popular Articles From Wondershare

Alice MJ

staff Editor

Android Erase

Android Diagnostics
Erase Android
Android Reset
Data Erase Apps
Sell Old Android
drfone
Your Complete Mobile Solution
  • ● Manage/transfer/recover data
  • ● Unlock screen/activate/FRP lock
  • ● Fix most iOS and Android issues
Erase Now Erase Now Erase Now
Home > How-to > Data Wipe Solutions > How to Fully Wipe Android Phone and Tablet before Selling it?