Help My phone decrypted before factory reset.

[Bungle1]

Hi guys. I've been wanting to sell my lg g3 so wanted to take the right security measures to completely wipe all data on the device. I knew encryption before wiping is the best idea so thats what I done. I ecrypted my phone no problem although once i entered my password to factory reset it said the phone will turn off twice before reset is complete. Then before the phone turned off a message appeared saying "decrypting phone, please wait". Now does that mean my phone then decrypted itself before the reset? If so I presume the whole encryption process was a waste of time? I would love to hear your feedback.

 

[renegad3]

why do you think it was a waste of time?

 

[Bungle1]

Because if the phone decrypted itself before the factory reset took place then that should mean all my old info is no longer in an unreadable state but in the same state as if i never encrypted in the first place. Is that correct?

 

[renegad3]

it was in the process of wiping the phone, after you told it to do so.

Was there ever a point in the process where it stopped and you were able to pull the unencrypted data off it ?

 

[Bungle1]

The process never stopped. What concerns me is the message stating the device is decrypting was the very first thing that happened immediately after i confirmed i wanted factory reset.

 

[renegad3]

well, as the device does not come encrypted from the factory, and you are performing a factory reset, it seems logical that it would present you a device that had no encryption when it finished, as it came from the factory.

If the message was the last thing you saw before it rebooted, would it have been any different for you?
What if you never saw the message at all?

The encryption did its job, until you wished to return to factory specs.

 

[Bungle1]

Yes you are correct, it is logical it would present me a device that had no encryption, as it came from the factory. I wouldn't expect any different. That does not mean i want my past data decrypted to a readable state again before it overwrites to factory conditions. I want my data left in an unreadable state. That was the whole point of encryption in the first place.

"If the message was the last thing you saw before it rebooted, would it have been any different for you?"

I suppose thinking about it, it would depend if it is my past data being decrypted.

 

[quickaudi]

https://source.android.com/devices/tech/security/encryption/

Hope this helps

 

[Bungle1]

https://source.android.com/devices/tech/security/encryption/

Hope this helps

Thank you so much for that. It looks like I was correct. It states:
"Caution: Devices upgraded to Android 5.0 and then encrypted may be returned to an unencrypted state by factory data reset. New Android 5.0 devices encrypted at first boot cannot be returned to an unencrypted state."

Again thank you for understanding my concerns and finding a link.