What Does App Data Mean On Android

Claghorn Android Enthusiast
Thread Starter

So, for those of us who are skittish when it comes to rooting via the unlock bootloader technique, can anyone clarify what it means when the various guides on the subject talk about the factory reset wiping out "all user data"?
I feel sure in assuming it means any account info you previously setup.

Does it also wipe the /sdcard (another reason to wish for a removable sdcard if it does .

What about any preloaded apps? Does the chrome browser disappear? Does google now disappear? How much does "all" actually include?

(I rooted my old samsung phone via z4root, so no resets or unlocking were required, my Motorola Triumph was essentially already rooted, coming with a sudo program preinstalled, so if I want to root my Nexus 7, this will be the first time I've tried the bootloader magic - I don't want to change roms or anything, I just want a working su on the thing).

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Atma Extreme Android User

I'm not real clear on that either. From what I've read, it returns it to its factory settings. I assume that to mean anything new you have put on it will be wiped but it will have everything it came with.
Unlocking the boot loader will wipe every thing off the phone. It will be like it came out of the box with the exception that the boatload is unlocked. This is for security. A factory reset will leave the sdcard partition alone.
Claghorn Android Enthusiast
Thread Starter

Now you see, there's that inexact language that confuses the computer programmer in me .
"Wipe everything off the phone" sounds like it will be bare hardware, but when it comes out of the box, it has Jelly Bean, transformers movies, magazines, etc.
Fair point, think of it like using a restore CD on your pc wrt what will be on the phone when you reboot after unlocking the boot loader
Moderator

Actually, it's not quite the same as that. A restore CD wipes everything, and loads on a factory image of the internal memory. It is truely the same as when it left the factory.
Android's factory reset (a.k.a. wiping all user data), is a bit different. 'Factory reset' is actually a misleading term.

If you have a non-rooted android phone, and you do a factory reset, it removes all of your apps, accounts, contacts, texts, emails, etc. You're left behind with only the preinstalled firmware and any preinstalled apps. It is, in practise, the same as when it left the factory.

But that term is misleading once you take the sdcard into account. That isn't wiped to its factory state. You need to do that separately. Of course the N7 doesn't have an sdcard, so I'm not yet sure if the equivalent storage space on the internal memory is wiped or not. Then there are firmware upgrades - you won't be reverted back to the original firmware if you factory reset, you'll just have a fresh install of the newer firmware.

Once you root, it's even more conufisng. If you uninstall any pre-installed apps, e.g. the browser, a factory reset won't restore them. Custom recoveries, roms and bootloader tweaks are not removed and replaced by their stock equivalents with a factory reset.

So, to sum it up, an android factory reset removes everything you have added to the phone, all of your data. But it cannot restore any stock items that you have removed.

For that, you need to reflash the factory image that you posted Atmazzz, or you'll need to reflash your custom ROM, if you're using one.

jmar and Claghorn like this.
Atma Extreme Android User

Maybe I'm thinking of something different than you're explaining, but in the past I have deleted stock bloat apps on my Galaxy S2. When I do a factory reset, everything is restored, just like it came from the factory.
Moderator

That's not typically the case with many devices. I know on the two I've owned, things aren't restored during a factory reset - it's not like there is a backup of the stock ROM on the phone. I remember when it was popular in the Huawei Ascend forum to uninstall the stock launcher and replace it. Sounds great, but anyone who factory reset suddenly had no launcher on their phone and had to manually push it to their phone via ADB.
I'm not saying you're wrong - maybe the S2 did have a ROM backup on it, or some other feature I'm not aware of. But with the particular devices I've owned that hasn't been the case. I can't say for sure how the N7 will behave until I use it though,
Atma Extreme Android User

Hang in there buddy. I've seen a lot of posts saying they will be shipping Monday in the UK.