iPod Touch (2nd Generation): Erase and Reset all contents before selling

Question

Level 1

3 points

iPod Touch (2nd Generation): Erase and Reset all contents before selling

Dear all,

I have an iPod Touch sencnd generation and I am about to ship it out to someone who has bought it online. I want to delete *all* the important info I have on this piece of hardware and reset it to the default settings. I have gone through the following steps so far: settings > general > reset > "erase all settings and contents."

But I wonder if with a sophisticated software someone can still recover my previously stored passwords and private materials on this iPod Touch. How is it possible to completely zero out the hard drive just like you'd do on a computer? How reliable is "erase all settings and contents" by the way?

Many thanks,

Ron

Posted on Jul 13, 2011 5:25 AM

Reply

Answer 1

JimHdk

Level 7

28,880 points

Jul 13, 2011 5:30 AM in response to Ron_9

Your data is gone. Read this for more information: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2110

Reply

Answer 2

lllaass

Level 10

210,417 points

Jul 13, 2011 5:31 AM in response to Ron_9

I would be satisfied with what you did. The iPod touches use Flash storage so there is no hard drive. You can tr erasing all contents amd setting a few times since that overwrites existing data. From the Users Guide:

Erase all content and settings: Connect iPod touch to your computer or a power

adapter. Choose General > Reset and tap “Erase All Content and Settings.”

This resets all settings to their defaults and erases all your information and media:

ÂOn iPod touch 3rd generation or later: by removing the encryption key to the data

(which is encrypted using 256-bit AES encryption)

ÂOn iPod touch 2nd generation: by overwriting the data

Important: You can’t use iPod touch while data is being overwritten. This can take

up to four hours or more, depending on the model and storage capacity of your

iPod touch. (On iPod touch 3rd generation or later, the encryption key is removed

immediately.)

Reply