A couple of days ago I received an email from a friend who wanted to sell her old phone to trade up to a new cooler model and that got me thinking what about all the information she has her cell phone? Is she going to go through and delete all her contacts and information before selling her cell phone, knowing her, the answer is yes but I am sure other people aren’t so diligent.
That got me thinking even further, cell phones have become the de facto personal information managers for people and with the rise in newer smart phones that trend is sure to continue. If you use a cell phone you know what I am talking about getting all the information off your old cell phone is often a daunting task requiring patience, steady hands, and a whole weekend if done manually. But what if you want to delete said information there isn’t to my knowledge any button or procedure that is universal to delete the data from your cell phone so how do people remove that info. The simple truth is they probably don’t, with the continuing fall in cell phone prices they have become a disposable item. When they are done they toss it out with trash or give it away but rarely do people give a thought to the information stored on their old cell phone.
Stories abound on the internet about people who have traded in their old cell phones for refurbished ones and received cell phones replete with phone numbers, emails, contacts, passwords, and even pin numbers. Do people really take the time to figure out how to remove all call logs, clear the address books, contacts, emails, and personal data stores from their cell phone? No, and with good reason it is not well documented. Luckily there is hope if you go to http://www.wirelessrecycling.com/ they have a intuitive application designed to walk you through this process.
For example I have a Motorola T193 entering my manufacturer name and model of my cell phone I see that to erase all my data from my cell phone I need to do the following:
Master Reset:
1) Press MENU
2) Press down to Settings, press OK
3) Press (Phone Setup) OK
4) Press up to Phone Status, press
OK
5) Press down to Master Reset,
press OK
6) Enter 6 digit security code
(default is 000000)
Master Cear:
1) Press MENU
2) Press down to Settings, press OK
3) Press (Phone Setup) OK
4) Press up to Phone Status, press
OK
5) Press down to Master Reset,
press OK
6) Enter 6 digit security code (default is 000000)
So if you are getting rid of your
old cell phone do yourself a favor and visit http://www.wirelessrecycling.com/
and use their tool to ensure that your data is cleared out.
Cell Phone Eraser Direct Link: http://www.wirelessrecycling.com/home/data_eraser/default.asp
