Preparing to Sell iPad 2

[rustyosaurus]

So I just did a quick search on preparing to sell an ipad and wiping your ipad and it seems that it's fine to just do the "erase all settings and content" option. A few questions though:

- does plugging it into itunes and doing a restore, wipe it any better than the above option?

- i've read that i should remove the sim card. This is a 32gb 3G ATT module that has been used in the US. why do i need to remove the sim? doesn't the person i'm selling it to need that?

Thanks for your help.

 

[deeddawg]

I don't believe doing the restore does anything to make it more secure, but if you're wondering just do it anyway and never have to wonder. Not like it takes any real time or effort.

Leave the SIM in. If I were selling a phone that had been on my contract I'd take it out. Since the ipad is prepaid only and I cancelled my account / cleared the info, there's no reason not to leave it in place. Perhaps someone else knows something I don't.

 

[donnaw]

I would remove the sim. It has a number tied to your name and account. Even if you cancel the account it might have repercussions. Better safe than sorry.

 

[ixodes]

I would remove the sim. It has a number tied to your name and account. Even if you cancel the account it might have repercussions. Better safe than sorry.

The sim doesn't use a number, it uses real time data that spells out everything about your account. It contains your name, address & all personal data your carrier has for you. The only safe method is to remove & destroy the sim. The new user will require a new personalized sim for themselves anyway. Leaving yours in, is asking for problems.

 

[donnaw]

Well, my AT&T sim has a phone number tied to it. I can see it on my iPad and it shows on my account as another line. If I change the sim the number changes. If I put this sim into another iPad, that iPad has my account and number. So however you want to clarify it, the sim carries specific account info with it.

 

[rustyosaurus]

i must be stupid because i don't understand. when i bought the ipad new, it had a new, unused sim. then i activated the 3G for a single month by entering in some information in a form. are you saying that information somehow got permanently hard coded to the sim?

 

[deeddawg]

The sim doesn't use a number, it uses real time data that spells out everything about your account. It contains your name, address & all personal data your carrier has for you.

Please substantiate this. It goes a bit beyond what I've seen, so I'm skeptical but open to learning something new.

 

[RelentlessFruit]

Please substantiate this. It goes a bit beyond what I've seen, so I'm skeptical but open to learning something new.

He won't be able to as its technically inaccurate.

The only thing a SIM card contains is limited storage for dialled numbers, calls received, calls made, text messages etc.....and these days most phones don't use that storage at all as it's all handled in RAM (for speed & storage reasons). An iPad certainly doesn't use it.

Your number will only appear on the SIM if it has been entered on there manually. From a network point of view you aren't ID'd by your number.....it's the ICCID that ID's an associated account and thus a phone number. If you change your carrier and transfer your number it's an entry in a database that changes....that's all.

The account linking being talked about is all based on the ICCID of the SIM card - that DOES relate to an account which itself will contain the details mentioned.

However, unless you're the network operator to whom the SIM corresponds you have no way to access that data!

So from a resale point of view you can leave the SIM in there if you want.....it's not a treasure trove of your personal info in of itself.

 

[ZipZap]

If the SIM has never been used/activated....is there any issue with including it?

 

[ixodes]

Please substantiate this. It goes a bit beyond what I've seen, so I'm skeptical but open to learning something new.

Simply call the tech support line of your carrier for the facts about this. Sales people in the carriers store are not trained on the technical side.

The last thing anyone wants is to leave a complete file of your cellular account & personal data out in the wild for others. Unfortunately in today's environment, people are all too quick to live in denial about exposing their privacy.

 

[glen e]

He won't be able to as its technically inaccurate.

The only thing a SIM card contains is limited storage for dialled numbers, calls received, calls made, text messages etc.....and these days most phones don't use that storage at all as it's all handled in RAM (for speed & storage reasons). An iPad certainly doesn't use it.

Your number will only appear on the SIM if it has been entered on there manually. From a network point of view you aren't ID'd by your number.....it's the ICCID that ID's an associated account and thus a phone number. If you change your carrier and transfer your number it's an entry in a database that changes....that's all.

The account linking being talked about is all based on the ICCID of the SIM card - that DOES relate to an account which itself will contain the details mentioned.

However, unless you're the network operator to whom the SIM corresponds you have no way to access that data!

So from a resale point of view you can leave the SIM in there if you want.....it's not a treasure trove of your personal info in of itself.

exactly what att told me..wipe it and walk.....

 

[deeddawg]

Simply call the tech support line of your carrier for the facts about this

I was hoping you could point to a written, verifiable information source such as a list of standard data fields or documentation from a forensic software program listing the data it can retrieve. I know all about recent calls and texts and contacts if the phone uses the SIM for storage (rare today) but have yet to see anything where the additional info you claim is stored on the care.


Thanks for suggesting tech support, but you appear to have a higher opinion of the knowledge level of the tech support people than I do. I wouldn't consider their statements regarding what data is stored on a SIM as authoritative.

 

[ixodes]

I was hoping you could point to a written, verifiable information source such as a list of standard data fields or documentation from a forensic software program listing the data it can retrieve. I know all about recent calls and texts and contacts if the phone uses the SIM for storage (rare today) but have yet to see anything where the additional info you claim is stored on the care.


Thanks for suggesting tech support, but you appear to have a higher opinion of the knowledge level of the tech support people than I do. I wouldn't consider their statements regarding what data is stored on a SIM as authoritative.

Since you didn't seem willing to accept what I know as fact, I pointed you towards tech support so you could get it from someone else.

I have no reason to mislead you or anyone else, nor anything to gain, yet for some reason you are suspicious.

I'm not sure what your hesitancy is towards doing the research for yourself.

 

[deeddawg]

I pointed you towards tech support so you could get it from someone else. [...] I'm not sure what your hesitancy is towards doing the research for yourself.

With all due respect, calling tech support is hardly what I would call research. I have the utmost respect for the people manning the phones, but I do not consider them to be authoritative sources for deep technical matters.

You stated that the SIM contains "your name, address & all personal data your carrier has for you" and I find that difficult to believe. Why would the carrier adopt the liability of sending all the personal data they have on you to be embedded in the SIM in a form someone else could read?

I *have* performed some limited research on SIM forensics and have yet to find anything that substantiates your claim. Thus my open-minded request for documentation. I accept at face value that you believe it to be fact, but am hoping for something more than it being something you were told over the phone. I am not so much suspicious as skeptical as it doesn't seem logical for the carrier to download that info the the SIM when they can simply maintain it on their internal systems indexed by ICCID.