iOS 5 Restore and Personal Data (iPhone 3GS)

[BC2009]

Last week I upgraded my iPhone 3GS to iOS 5. A few days later I restored that same iPhone 3GS to factory settings and then set it up as a new device. I then sold the device yesterday (actually two of them that were reset in the same way).

I know this question is a bit late, but looking for peace of mind. Did the above steps wipe the hardware encryption key and reset it and therefore clear out all my personal data?

This article seems to indicate the pure restore (rather than restore-and-upgrade) would have cleared out my personal data because it would have activated the hardware encryption on the iPhone 3GS.

However, this article from Apple support seems to indicate I should have erased the data from the phone itself rather than from iTunes.

If the latter is true, then I would say that was a poor decision on Apple's part. The "Erase Everything" feature on the phone is pretty well hidden, while the "Restore" feature in iTunes seems the obvious route for this sort of thing.

Does anybody know for sure?

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NOTE: This article from Apple says:

Restoring your device will delete all data and content, including songs, videos, contacts, photos, and calendar information, and will restore all settings to their factory condition.

 

[dim.jr]

All I can personally say is that I read an article on how to do it. I had to go into the options and click "clear content and data" and it asked me to make sure it was something I wanted to do.


When you reseted your phone, did you turn it back on? Did you see the restart menu as if it was a new phone?

 

[BC2009]

All I can personally say is that I read an article on how to do it. I had to go into the options and click "clear content and data" and it asked me to make sure it was something I wanted to do.


When you reseted your phone, did you turn it back on? Did you see the restart menu as if it was a new phone?

When it started it up it looked just like a new phone -- it even walked me through the iOS 5 setup screens.

 

[dim.jr]

Then in my best opinion, you should be fine. Your data is off the phone. If you're very concerned, you may want to call an apple rep real quick just to make sure....