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I broke my Samsung Galaxy S5 and the insurance company wants me to return it or pay $75. I'd like to keep the cash, but I don't really have it to waste at the moment.
Any experience here with wiping the data? There is/was info on the phone I would much prefer was not shared. I have 2 days to get the envelope in the mail. I'm considering the microwave treatment.
I hadn't thought of the nuclear option! Good idea!
Seriously, why do you put all that personal crap on your phone? This is just an insurance company, but what if the phone were lost or stolen? And even if nothing ever happened to it, the NSA and who knows who else, already has everything that's on it. O ye of great trust! The time for OP SEC has long passed!
I broke my Samsung Galaxy S5 and the insurance company wants me to return it or pay $75. I'd like to keep the cash, but I don't really have it to waste at the moment.
Any experience here with wiping the data? There is/was info on the phone I would much prefer was not shared. I have 2 days to get the envelope in the mail. I'm considering the microwave treatment.
Thanks much.
For sure if you are using an Android phone and have a goggle account activated, all you information has long been copied and stored. However, many carriers will wipe the phone clean if they can access the internal memory. It's not to DOD specs but its pretty good for all but the best retrieval nerds. As an alternate if you can access external apps, you can run a Prime Number searcher. This will write and rewrite memory so often the old information will be long gone. (I'm also assuming you remove your memory cards and SIM (if gsm) as that's where much of your date is stored.)
The poor man's version is to just go in and delete all apps, files, etc. default to factory settings, remove SIM and memory and just take pictures/videos after pictures/videos of something until it says memory is full. Erase that memory and repeat. Do this a few time.
Be careful about suing some destructive method as it could void the insurance as they claim you abused it. A phone fried via microwaves is something they do catch and is a common excuse they use to deny a claim. For some reason, dropping a phone off the Empire State building is a acceptable accident but forgetting it's on the cover of a Healthy Choice Chicken and Rice Pilaf dinner as it goes round and round for 3 minutes 30 seconds on high is willful destruction and not covered. Dang insurance companies!
My phone looks like it was dropped from the ESB, so no worries. The claim was a neighbor grabbed the wrong phone and spiked it while pissed during a football game. Seems I might go nuclear.
All that aside, the screen shows nothing but the phone will turn on. I can hear the start-up sound. The home button works and it will intermittently read my fingerprint, as evidenced by the "accept" sound.
The data isn't really that sensitive to me. My wife might think otherwise. Actually, I know she will think otherwise.
Physically, the phone is useless. The screen and case look more like a taco than a phone. Damn things are tough if it will still boot up in that condition.
The SIM and SD cards are out. There is little data I have not been able to copy. My concern, errm, my wife's concern, is the pictures aren't seen by some service tech and added to his personal collection.
On second thought...I'm just going to keep it. $75 is worth not taking a chance. Thanks for the input, anyway. The G5 is good for a lot, but I doubt it swims well, especially a mile or 12 off shore.
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