Best way to erase all your data if your returning your iPhone 4?

[UCF-ENG]

Sadly, I am returning my iPhone 4. Do you guys know the best way to erase all your data but still keep your back-up?

If you restore a phone does it overwrite your back-up?

What about just putting the password in wrong 10 times? Is that a good way to remove sensitive data?

 

[tjwaggoner]

Sadly, I am returning my iPhone 4. Do you guys know the best way to erase all your data but still keep your back-up?

If you restore a phone does it overwrite your back-up?

What about just putting the password in wrong 10 times? Is that a good way to remove sensitive data?

Restore it through itunes. Why you keeping the back up if you dont mind me asking?

 

[McGiord]

in your iPhone go to settings:
General -> Reset -> Erase All Content and Settings

All inside your iPhone will be gone, no need to hassle with iTunes.

 

[UCF-ENG]

Restore it through itunes. Why you keeping the back up if you dont mind me asking?

I really love the phone, and I like the way my Apps are layed out. I'm only returning it because the proximity sensor is driving me crazy and my 30 days are almost up. I'm just going to wait till Apple releases their software patch and see what kind of luck people have. At that point, if they fix the problem I'll probrably repurchase and restore from back-up.

So if I do a restore then it will leave the backup alone as long as I don't re-sync, is that correct?

 

[tjwaggoner]

in your iPhone go to settings:
General -> Reset -> Erase All Content and Settings

All inside your iPhone will be gone, no need to hassle with iTunes.

On the 3gs and iphone 4 the erase all content and settings doesnt remove the data from the phone (overwriting it with junk) but only removes the encryption key used to access it. I dont know if that is a more secure way than the original phone and 3g (actually overwrites all the data with gibberish)or if itunes restore even does it differently. Just thought I would toss it out there, in case you or the op didnt know.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2110

 

[tjwaggoner]

I really love the phone, and I like the way my Apps are layed out. I'm only returning it because the proximity sensor is driving me crazy and my 30 days are almost up. I'm just going to wait till Apple releases their software patch and see what kind of luck people have. At that point, if they fix the problem I'll probrably repurchase and restore from back-up.

So if I do a restore then it will leave the backup alone as long as I don't re-sync, is that correct?

Yes your backups will be there.

 

[UCF-ENG]

in your iPhone go to settings:
General -> Reset -> Erase All Content and Settings

All inside your iPhone will be gone, no need to hassle with iTunes.

Thanks, that worked perfect.

 

[UCF-ENG]

On the 3gs and iphone 4 the erase all content and settings doesnt remove the data from the phone (overwriting it with junk) but only removes the encryption key used to access it. I dont know if that is a more secure way than the original phone and 3g (actually overwrites all the data with gibberish)or if itunes restore even does it differently. Just thought I would toss it out there, in case you or the op didnt know.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2110

That's pretty interesting. So what do you do if you want to actually overwrite?

Do you have to go in and manually erase caches, erase pictures, and enter false account data...

 

[McGiord]

What does the hardware encryption removal does? Is it better than the overwrite?

 

[bushbaby]

I really love the phone, and I like the way my Apps are layed out. I'm only returning it because the proximity sensor is driving me crazy and my 30 days are almost up. I'm just going to wait till Apple releases their software patch and see what kind of luck people have. At that point, if they fix the problem I'll probrably repurchase and restore from back-up.

So if I do a restore then it will leave the backup alone as long as I don't re-sync, is that correct?

That's what I did. Even though I then did an erase from the settings menu, the store will do their own erase in front of you (at least mine did).

 

[tjwaggoner]

What does the hardware encryption removal does? Is it better than the overwrite?

Like i said, Im not sure of the actual difference in the case of security. I just know that the 3gs and 4 are different. I have done both of my old 3g phones with the erase all content and it took a long time, just left them plugged in over night. One worked and the other errored out and had to restore it on itunes. Just wanted the op to know that the difference is there. Also Im not sure if doing it through itunes is any different, I know it takes considerably less time to restore a 3g through itunes as it does using the erase content and settings menu command. A LOT less time.

 

[mlts22]

What I prefer is doing the erase all option, then a DFU restore after that. This way, unless someone goes in with a dedicated flash analyzing tool pin by pin, my data is history on that device.

 

[CJayC]

You can't try 10 wrong guesses immediately. You got five guesses, then you have to wait 1, then 5, 15 minutes, then 1 hour, then another hour, then another hour, and that's when you must restore.