# Accidental factory reset on Android **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2018, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-factory-reset-on-android/824232 "2018-11-09T07:57:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asreay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Asreay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asreay)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-factory-reset-on-android/824232/1 "2018-11-09T07:57:59Z")
I know all the thing on Android can be removed after factory reset ,it’s really bad,i hope they can still be recovered ,or that is a pipe dream . ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-factory-reset-on-android/824232/2 "2018-11-09T11:46:09Z")
I’m not sure if this is a legitimate question, but I think it’s possible to give it a legitimate answer. Android is designed to operate in sync with Cloud services. In many cases, if the settings were configured correctly to begin with, and if the user remembers their own Google / GMail credentials, most elements can be recovered: [ul][li]Any apps you had installed: go to Google Play Store, open the menu and select “My apps and games” (not sure about the English wording).[/li][li]The list of contacts.[/li][li]E-mail from GMail and most other providers, although you may lose some mail if you’re using a POP3 account.[/li][li]Pictures, if Google Photos synchronisation was activated.[/li][li]Any Google Docs.[/li][li]Anything that is stored in a Cloud account, for instance your playlists on Spotify or the files you keep in DropBox, OneDrive, etc.[/ul][/li] Some manufacturers, such as Samsung, offer an additional Cloud backup system that covers some content that Google doesn’t. Things you would probably lose unless you took some active steps to preserve them: [ul][li]Most cryptocurrency wallets (Bitcoin, etc.).[/li][li]SMS history in most cases.[/li][li]Call history in most cases.[/ul][/li] If your phone or tablet has an add-on flash memory card, its contents should still be there after a factory reset. ---
**Author:** ![Asreay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Asreay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asreay)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-factory-reset-on-android/824232/3 "2018-11-12T02:00:54Z")
I am wodering if i can restore something back after reset phone ,it the Android doesn’t sync with the Cloud services (Or without backup),is there any possible? ---
**Author:** ![uncle\_squeegee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b5e925/32.png) [@uncle\_squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uncle_squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-factory-reset-on-android/824232/4 "2018-11-12T22:19:33Z")
If it hasn’t synched, then no. Some carriers have the call and SMS history saved, so that might be retrievable. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-factory-reset-on-android/824232/5 "2018-11-13T23:39:43Z")
There are programs that claim to recover data from Android phones. [Here’s one](http://7thshare.com/android-data-recovery/) at random, I haven’t tried it personally. Presumably, the longer you use the phone after a reset, the less data will be recoverable because the flash memory space gets overwritten. ---
**Author:** ![Asreay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Asreay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asreay)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2018, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-factory-reset-on-android/824232/6 "2018-11-14T09:50:43Z")
> [@uncle\_squeegee](#): > > If it hasn’t synched, then no. > > Some carriers have the call and SMS history saved, so that might be retrievable. OMG ,I’m going to hell :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Asreay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Asreay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asreay)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2018, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-factory-reset-on-android/824232/7 "2018-11-14T09:53:22Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > There are programs that claim to recover data from Android phones. [Here’s one](http://7thshare.com/android-data-recovery/) at random, I haven’t tried it personally. Presumably, the longer you use the phone after a reset, the less data will be recoverable because the flash memory space gets overwritten. Ok , thank you guys ,i will install and teast it on my computer . ---
**Author:** ![Uooker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Uooker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uooker)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-factory-reset-on-android/824232/9 "2018-12-03T07:11:23Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > There are programs that claim to recover data from Android phones. [Here’s one](http://www.mobiledic.com/android-data-rescuer.html) at random, I haven’t tried it personally. Presumably, the longer you use the phone after a reset, the less data will be recoverable because the flash memory space gets overwritten. I have test , the deleted data can be restoed back within 10 days. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-factory-reset-on-android/824232/10 "2018-12-03T07:35:59Z")
Does this mean it’s not safe to resell my Android tablet/phone after a simple factory reset? Is there a way to wipe the memory completely?