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Meizu M2 Note - erasing all data before selling

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(@guarana)
Posts: 6
Active Member
Topic starter
 

I am planning to sell my device. For privacy reasons you should encrypt your device before wiping it to ensure noone can restore it. But Meizu M2 Note is running Flyme OS which doesn't allow encryption. How can I safely erase it before selling?

 
Posted : 03/03/2017 8:33 pm
jaclaz
(@jaclaz)
Posts: 5133
Illustrious Member
 

For privacy reasons you should encrypt your device before wiping it to ensure noone can restore it.

Only if you are really-really paranoid, otherwise doing a factory reset, then filling all the available space on /data with random images of meerkats and then do another factory reset might do.

However specifically it seems like some form of encryption (to be performed before the last Factory Reset), is available, see
https://forum.meizufans.eu/topic/2702/device-encryption

Of course, if you are really-really-really paranoid, smashing it is much safer.

jaclaz

 
Posted : 04/03/2017 12:20 am
(@guarana)
Posts: 6
Active Member
Topic starter
 

Thanks for your answer. I am not super-paranoid ) But I just want to minimize risk as much as possible. So, factory reset and then filling all avaliable space - is there any app/method that could help me doing it?

Thanks for the information about encryption. I will definitely encrypt as much data as I can before factory reset.

Also I heard about avast! anti-theft module having the option to erase the whole phone with random data. What do you think about it?

I don't want to smash it, I don't have national secrets here lol.

 
Posted : 04/03/2017 2:48 am
jaclaz
(@jaclaz)
Posts: 5133
Illustrious Member
 

No idea about the AVAST thingie, though at least in the (known) related paper
https://arstechnica.com/security/2015/05/flawed-android-factory-reset-leaves-crypto-and-login-keys-ripe-for-picking/
http//www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/Papers/mav_most15.pdf
the Authors did not seem to verify it as working as expected in all conditions.

More generally when it comes to Android it is difficult to suggest *anything* as there are so many versions of it (often modified by the phone manufacturer in strange ways) that you never really know if something applies/works (or works properly) on a given phone make/model. (

Moreover (still generally speaking), the "quality" and the "tested status" of Android apps is generally very poor or scarce, all we have about them are usually some blogs mentioning them (written by people that often have no idea what they are taking of) or the "raring" on GooglePlay (written by end users that definitely have little idea of how the tool/app behaves and just report their anecdotal experience).

Personally if I had to test a tool I would try with
https://apparillos.com/welcome/androshredder/
but no warranty implied.

jaclaz

 
Posted : 04/03/2017 3:24 pm
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