Is it Possible to Recover Data After a Factory Reset?
No, it is not possible to recover data after a factory reset using MOBILedit Forensic. A factory reset is designed to erase all user data from a device and restore it to its original system state, typically making data recovery unfeasible with standard forensic tools like MOBILedit Forensic. Below, we explain how this process works on the two major mobile operating systems—Android and iOS—and why data recovery becomes impractical after a factory reset.
How Data is Deleted on Android Devices
On Android devices, a factory reset wipes the user data partition, which includes contacts, messages, photos, app data, and other personal information. This process involves resetting the file system pointers that locate data on the device’s storage, effectively marking the space as "free" for new data to overwrite it. While the data itself isn’t immediately erased at a physical level, modern Android devices (since Android 6.0 Marshmallow and later) often employ full-disk encryption by default. When a factory reset is performed, the encryption keys stored in a secure area (such as the Trusted Execution Environment or hardware-backed keystore) are deleted. Without these keys, the encrypted data—stored as unreadable, scrambled bits—cannot be decrypted or accessed, even if remnants remain on the storage.
Additionally, Android’s use of wear-levelling algorithms in flash memory (common in eMMC or UFS storage) further complicates recovery. wear-levelling distributes data across the memory to extend the device’s lifespan, meaning that even forensic tools capable of low-level access cannot reliably reconstruct overwritten or encrypted data post-reset. With MOBILedit Forensic, which excels in logical and physical data extraction from accessible devices, the absence of encryption keys and the reset file system render data recovery impossible after a factory reset.
How Data is Deleted on iOS Devices
For iOS devices, a factory reset similarly erases all user data and settings, returning the device to its initial state. Apple’s approach integrates robust security features that make post-reset recovery exceptionally difficult. When an iPhone or iPad undergoes a factory reset, iOS deletes the encryption keys stored in the device’s Secure Enclave—a dedicated hardware component that manages cryptographic operations. These keys are used to encrypt the device’s storage (using AES-256 encryption), which has been mandatory since iOS 8. Without the keys, the data on the flash storage becomes cryptographically inaccessible, appearing as random, undecipherable noise.
Furthermore, iOS employs a process called "effaceable storage" within the Secure Enclave, where critical metadata and keys are securely wiped during a reset. Combined with the lack of a traditional file system exposing raw data (iOS uses a sandboxed architecture), this ensures that even physical extraction methods cannot retrieve meaningful information. MOBILedit Forensic, while highly effective for extracting data from iOS devices with known credentials or backups, cannot bypass these security measures to recover data after a factory reset.
Why Recovery is Not Feasible with MOBILedit Forensic
MOBILedit Forensic is designed to extract data using logical acquisition (live data from an unlocked device), physical acquisition (full memory dumps where possible), and advanced techniques like security bypassing in its Ultra edition. However, these methods rely on the presence of intact data and, in encrypted environments, access to decryption keys. A factory reset eliminates both: it clears the file system structure and destroys the keys needed to unlock encrypted storage. Even if low-level forensic tools could theoretically access residual data on the storage medium, the lack of context (file system metadata) and encryption renders it unusable.
In summary, while MOBILedit Forensic offers powerful capabilities for data extraction and analysis, a factory reset on modern Android and iOS devices effectively prevents recovery due to encryption and secure erasure mechanisms. To maximize data recovery potential, forensic investigators should aim to acquire data before a reset occurs, leveraging MOBILedit Forensic’s features on an intact device.