S3 How to fully delete to sell it

[Dave3d]

Hello all.
My wife just upgraded here phone.
Now, we have a VERY good condition Samsung S3 phone, with a couple cases, and we want to sell them all.
I just dont know how to FULLY delete EVERYTHING off of it so that the person that buys it cant get any info from it, ever.
I know the 'reset phone' thing, but I have heard people can get around that and get info.

So, can you please tell me how to get rid of everything off it so we can sell it and be sure no one gets our bank info, or anything else?

Thanks.

 

[Mikestony]

I'd first start by removing your google account from the device.
Then from within the OS, factory reset.
Then from recovery, wipe and reset then boot into the OS.
Double check the phone info to see if your phone number was wiped.

 

[Mikestony]

Oh, don't forget to remove your sd card if applicable, and your sim card too!

 

[Dave3d]

Thanks.
The wife took the number to another phone, so the phone only works on the network now.
Will that make things harder?
Especially since removing the google account, there will be no way to get back into the phone?
Also, she had another account on there, yahoo, and amazon kindle, and amazon regular.

I am new to this, so can you kind of guide me on how to do some of this stuff?
I know how to remove and app, and clear its cache and stuff before removing it, and doing a factory reset, but the recovery, wipe, reset, etc? I have no idea how to do that. Also, wouldnt going back into the phone MAKE me have to have a google account, with nothing available but the network to log into (and then they have my network also)?

Thanks a lot.
I am a noob at this stuff, so thanks very much.

 

[svim]

-- As already mentioned, remove her Google account. Go into the Settings >> Accounts menu.
And double-check you've pulled the SIM card and the microSD card if there was one.
-- You might also want to encrypt the internal storage. Go into the Settings >> More >> Security menu and there should be a 'Encrypt device' option. Encrypting the device will prevent a casual user from being able to use any kind of recovery utility to pull data off the storage media (and make it really, really involved for a skilled hacker to do so). Once encrypted even if there is any random files left behind, they only appear as random, scrambled data. Note this is more of a 'maybe' thing to do as most people when getting a previously owned phone don't spend any time at all trying to 'hack' it for previous data, they just want to use it.
-- To do a Factory Reset, you need to boot into the S3's Recovery Mode. Power it off, and then while simultaneously holding down the Volume Up, the Home, and Power buttons, it should boot up into Recovery Mode. You'll notice that this is a text-only interface and you need to use the buttons indicated at the bottom to navigate through the different options. Select the 'wipe data/factory reset' option, and then just reboot it. It should start up with that 'first-time-use' appearance. After a Factory Reset, all her data should be gone, along with any installed apps.
http://www.hardreset.info/devices/samsung/samsung-i9300-galaxy-s-iii/recovery-mode/

 

[Mikestony]

The wife took the number to another phone, so the phone only works on the network now.
Will that make things harder?

No, not at all.

Especially since removing the google account, there will be no way to get back into the phone?

Yes you can get into it, but like @svim stated, it will be like a "first time use" look

Also, wouldnt going back into the phone MAKE me have to have a google account, with nothing available but the network to log into (and then they have my network also)?

It won't "make" you have an account, you can skip that so no need to log into your wifi.

And @svim posted how to get into the recovery menu. Sometimes it's finicky (the button combo) to get into, but it is possible.

 

[Dave3d]

Thanks everyone.
Got it cleared out and sold in 1 day.
Only got $55 for it, with 3 cases and a clear protective shield and car charger, and it was almost new still, but Tmobile would have only given me like $5 or $10, so I think I did well enough.

 

[Unforgiven]

And guess what?
2 days after I posted this, my Note 4 phone screen amoled broke.

I was wondering if there is ANY way I can get my info off of my phone without using the screen?
I installed the Samsung software to my computer, but when I tried to connect the phone, it said that some usb setting was not on, and it cant connect.
I dont ever remember backing anything up to google drive, or anything else backup wise.

I have months of notes from my disability, phone numbers that I can NOT loose, and some other data like pictures and stuff.

So, the phone is not rooted, I can NOT see the screen to use it at all.

Can ANYONE help me to get my data back?
I still have the sim card, and the microsd card (which I just put in my new phone, so I hope some of that is stored on there), but other than the sd card, I need the data thats still on the phone.

Thanks.

I moved this post to it's own thread in the Note 4 area, but wanted to leave a post here for the folks that previously offered help.

New thread here.
https://androidforums.com/threads/retrieve-info-off-of-note-4.1269434/