I thought that while encrypting my phone, the result would be that my data is preserved, just encrypted. So I went through the encryption process only to find that all my data is wiped, so that I have to restore everything from backups, as far as I have them.
Did I overlook something, or is this a bug? I have LineageOS 14.1, installed yesterday, official.
Found that after a reboot, the data was again gone. (after I spent considerable time setting the phone up yet again), now factory reset, running unencrypted, until I know what has been going wrong here. Sigh. Custom roms and encryption continue to be a toxic mix for me.
yahya69 said:
Found that after a reboot, the data was again gone. (after I spent considerable time setting the phone up yet again), now factory reset, running unencrypted, until I know what has been going wrong here. Sigh. Custom roms and encryption continue to be a toxic mix for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I first started playing around with encryption (Samsung Note 3) I discovered that to get encryption to work properly I had to format /data (you lose everything, including internal shared storage) and that it worked better on stock ROM rather than custom ROMs.
Sent from my OnePlus3T using XDA Labs
BillGoss said:
When I first started playing around with encryption (Samsung Note 3) I discovered that to get encryption to work properly I had to format /data (you lose everything, including internal shared storage) and that it worked better on stock ROM rather than custom ROMs.
Sent from my OnePlus3T using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which I kind of accepted after learning it the hard way, but the problem was that after encrypting the device, all data was wiped each time the phone was rebooted, so something is buggy here.
yahya69 said:
which I kind of accepted after learning it the hard way, but the problem was that after encrypting the device, all data was wiped each time the phone was rebooted, so something is buggy here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I resolve this problem using latest official twrp.
dimon2242 said:
I resolve this problem using latest official twrp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you? (What version of TWRP did you install) After all, it is not TWRP that does the encryption, or is it? So I don't see how this could be the cause.
With TWRP, I had the additional issue that it kept asking me for a password to mount /data, but it wouldn't accept the PIN that I had set in Android. I have no idea what other password it might want.
Oh, well, there is just too much fumbling in the dark in this whole mobile devices business. I have been a Linux user for some 20 years, and there, if things go wrong, you can actually view what is happening. On android, this is so much more difficult, even with logcat.
yahya69 said:
How did you? (What version of TWRP did you install) After all, it is not TWRP that does the encryption, or is it? So I don't see how this could be the cause.
With TWRP, I had the additional issue that it kept asking me for a password to mount /data, but it wouldn't accept the PIN that I had set in Android. I have no idea what other password it might want.
Oh, well, there is just too much fumbling in the dark in this whole mobile devices business. I have been a Linux user for some 20 years, and there, if things go wrong, you can actually view what is happening. On android, this is so much more difficult, even with logcat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried default_password as the password in TWRP?
Also, if you can actual log into your system normally, then you can set the password again and require it on boot.
BillGoss said:
Have you tried default_password as the password in TWRP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What "default password"? You mean, literally typing "default_password"? No I did not. What would that have done?
After all, again, it required a password for the /data partition, hence a password with whom it is encrypted. But I had used no password other than the PIN. And again, I can't see how my problem of data disappearing on each boot would be caused by TWRP.
Also, if you can actual log into your system normally, then you can set the password again and require it on boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, what password do you have in mind? The PIN? Yes, the system asked for the PIN at boot, but nonetheless, all data was wiped on each boot.
For the time being,I run the system without encryption, because I have had enough of setting is up again and again anew (had to do this three or four times.)
Again, it looks like this is a bug. Because after initially encrypting the phone, my data should still have been there. But it was gone. The phone was now encrypted, but there was nothing on it. That's something that I am pretty sure is not supposed to happen.
just had the same using Samsung S5 Duos with latest lineage-os (20180427): this is a cluster-f**k, I cannot believe it. I advocate using Lineage-OS whereever I go. Of course, it's my fault, I did trust Lineage-OS too much so I didn't think of backing-up. I didn't believe something like this could happen.
chaos_prevails said:
I did trust Lineage-OS too much so I didn't think of backing-up. I didn't believe something like this could happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You probably already realize this, at this point. But there is no such thing as an OS (on any device) that is so secure or stable, that backing up your data is not necessary. Even regardless of OS, memory corruption and data loss can happen for any number of reasons. Golden rule: If your data is important to you, back it up.
Of course, I know.
I took the loss of all data as opportunity to flash newest modem, CSC, and PDA firmware via latest stock-rom, and then re-flashed latest Lineage OS again. This time, it didn't factory reset my phone with encryption. Don't know if that had anything to do with my old firmware (I had G900FDXXS1CPK2 installed when factory reset-with-encryption happened).
Beside, I was lucky as no other migration method to my new phone worked out except going via a old-school micro-sd card copy. I could undelete almost all pictures on it
Related
4.4 KitKat still has the same bug as previous releases as far as encrypting the phone goes. I had to attempt the process 4 times before the phone would actually encrypt. The first 3 times the Green Android popped up, but the phone didn't reboot to the "Encrypting Phone..." progress screen, it just went back to the lock screen. 4th time was a charm, so keep trying if it doesn't work for you.
Ronaldo Forenucci said:
4.4 KitKat still has the same bug as previous releases as far as encrypting the phone goes. I had to attempt the process 4 times before the phone would actually encrypt. The first 3 times the Green Android popped up, but the phone didn't reboot to the "Encrypting Phone..." progress screen, it just went back to the lock screen. 4th time was a charm, so keep trying if it doesn't work for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You using a custom recovery or stock?
Mine encrypted on the first try ...
Encrypting naturally makes the phone a tad bit slow though no? And to decrypt you have to do factory reset
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
secondclaw said:
Mine encrypted on the first try ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock recovery?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
uh60james said:
Stock recovery?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, rooted only, but no other changes.
I've never had a problem encrypting with any recovery (CWM, TWRP, or stock), probably because it never boots to recovery while encrypting. It's probably a ROM issue.
Hey guys,
did you notice any significant performance impact after encrypting your N5?
How does an (stock) update work on encrypted N5? Do I have to wipe the phone prior to any update?
Just so you guys know there is a bug with kitkat encryption that will wipe your entire phone. Make backups of all the data you're keeping on your phone if you're going to encrypt. There's been a few users that have reported loosing everything due to encryption wiping out their phones. Just a friendly warning to whoever wants to encrypt.
Encryption does not slow down the performance. Only boots up slightly slower. Once you go through the password or pin, everything is decrypted until you lock your phone again.
I remember once you encrypt though...can't decrypt or need to reinstall stock.
Sent from my SM-T320 using xda app-developers app
my n5 was very picky about which cable and charger I was using before it would start the encryption process, with a N7 and a asus T100, it was hard to figure out which charger goes with which device.
Haven't noticed any particular slowdown since encrypting, except at boot.
The only thing I hated was not being able to use pattern unlock, using a PIN sucks. I worked around that by making a twrp backup right before the encryption process, change the security to PIN so encryption will work, then once it's done, boot into TWRP (which makes you enter the PIN to read inside the encrypted container), then restore the backup without wiping. So now I have a good length pin at bootup or entering twrp, pattern unlock for daily use. Maybe trading a little bit of security for convenience, but entering a 10+ character pin multiple times per day just isn't very usable.
I think it's the battery. The os shows another percentage than the recovery calculates. After some additional minutes of charging i hadn't that problem anymore. Thats just my opinion
I know that it is not possible to decrypt the data and that a factory reset is necessary to remove encryption.
I am just wondering if I can still update my system if I encrypt my phone?
What exactly is encrypted? Only /data?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Encryption does not affect the OTA update or any kind of updates that push out offically. Phone itself decrypts once you go through personal lock screen. Since you can only update during unlocked stage, you won't have problem updating. It does encrypt everything except the media files such as videos, music's and etc. Correct me if I'm wrong though...
Sent from my SM-T320 using xda app-developers app
How long do you use the encryption now?
Do OTA updates still work?
Does adb work from TWRP recovery?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
FuMMoD said:
Just so you guys know there is a bug with kitkat encryption that will wipe your entire phone. Make backups of all the data you're keeping on your phone if you're going to encrypt. There's been a few users that have reported loosing everything due to encryption wiping out their phones. Just a friendly warning to whoever wants to encrypt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wish I had seen this!
[email protected] POS wiped EVERYTHING on my phone when I tried to encrypt.....EVERYTHING.
Was on latest TWRP, KangaKat and ElementalX
FAck U GOOGLE!
Globespy said:
Wish I had seen this!
[email protected] POS wiped EVERYTHING on my phone when I tried to encrypt.....EVERYTHING.
Was on latest TWRP, KangaKat and ElementalX
FAck U GOOGLE!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ye when your phone running custom recovery, rom and kernel doesn't behave as intended, it's obviously Google's fault...
Seriously, if you change anything software related, you lose the right to blame the manufacturer.
I've heard of random passwords being generated so the user has to factory reset. Is this true????
# 47386
And this morning the phone was acting weird. I rebooted the phone and did not get the screen to unlock before the phone boots. Now I see the phone is no longer encrypted. Anybody else have this happen?
I'm stock with with faux kernal.
Larzzzz82 said:
And this morning the phone was acting weird. I rebooted the phone and did not get the screen to unlock before the phone boots. Now I see the phone is no longer encrypted. Anybody else have this happen?
I'm stock with with faux kernal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mines encrypted, and mine doesn't have an unlock code, as i didnt set one up. how do you know your device in unencrypted? or are you just assuming it is? you have to format your data before ypu can decrypt it btw. if you gobinto your main settings, security, itll tell you if your phone is encrypted or decrypted.
I looked in the settings/security and saw this... If I'm reading this correctly, the phone is no longer encrypted.
Larzzzz82 said:
I looked in the settings/security and saw this... If I'm reading this correctly, the phone is no longer encrypted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup, looks like its decrypted. as heres my encryoted n6..
and how does a phone decrypt itself?
Larzzzz82 said:
and how does a phone decrypt itself?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good question! maybe a derp somewhere.. have you rebooted since?
I did reboot because chrome and messaging would not open up. The icon would get a white halo around them yet nothing would happen. Upon rebooting I was not asked for my pattern lock before Android fully booted
Larzzzz82 said:
I did reboot because chrome and messaging would not open up. The icon would get a white halo around them yet nothing would happen. Upon rebooting I was not asked for my pattern lock before Android fully booted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did u factory reset the phone from recovery?
Nikos2k said:
did u factory reset the phone from recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Through twrp, yes, last night. Just what was recommended. I did not do anything in the advanced settings
Larzzzz82 said:
Through twrp, yes, last night. Just what was recommended. I did not do anything in the advanced settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reset probably disabled the encryption
Re-encrypt it through Security settings
Nikos2k said:
The reset probably disabled the encryption
Re-encrypt it through Security settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone was decrypted before I reset. It was never decrypted to begin with until yesterday when I was having issues with a couple of apps. I rebooted and I decided to check if it was because it didn't ask for my pattern lock as it used to when booting up.
Larzzzz82 said:
The phone was decrypted before I reset. It was never decrypted to begin with until yesterday when I was having issues with a couple of apps. I rebooted and I decided to check if it was because it didn't ask for my pattern lock as it used to when booting up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, there is no way to decrypt the contents of an encrypted nexus6 (which is not the same as disabling encryption, as an actual decryption of the device would preserve the contents of the device)
Since you now have an unencrypted device, the contents of your device must have been erased during the disabling of the encryption
Nikos2k said:
Since you now have an unencrypted device, the contents of your device must have been erased during the disabling of the encryption
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, they weren't. Everything was intact.
Larzzzz82 said:
No, they weren't. Everything was intact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that android5 has a function to decrypt the whole content of the device.
In this page about how encryption works its says "New Android 5.0 devices encrypted at first boot cannot be returned to an unencrypted state."
And obviously it should be so.
Anyway, maybe it's better that you factory reset the device and encrypt it afterwards so that you set a pin yourserf
(android5 devices are encrypted on first boot, and there is no password)
When you had the pattern security option set, did TWRP ask for any password?
And if yes, how did you input the pattern?
TWRP does not ask me for a password. I broke the seal on the box of this phone came in. It was set up before I had a sim card in it.the phone was encrypted. I did look within the first week or two of my owning it. aside from unlocking, rooting, and a couple of mods, it is stock. I am NOT using a custom ROM. I have installed faux kernel within the last couple of weeks and the request for a pattern unlock in the middle of booting Android remained until the other day. To say I am perplexed as an understatement.
Larzzzz82 said:
And this morning the phone was acting weird. I rebooted the phone and did not get the screen to unlock before the phone boots. Now I see the phone is no longer encrypted. Anybody else have this happen?
I'm stock with with faux kernal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When did you install the kernel and had you done a TWRP factory wipe prior to the install?
Your post made me double check my phone - I am now unencrypted
Earlier this week I had had done a TWRP (2.8.4.0) factory wipe to do a clean install of CleanROM 1.4 and I think TWRP did a full decrypt wipe without me wanting to do so when it was supposed to do a simple reset
SP_Kenny said:
When did you install the kernel and had you done a TWRP factory wipe prior to the install?
Your post made me double check my phone - I am now unencrypted
Earlier this week I had had done a TWRP (2.8.4.0) factory wipe to do a clean install of CleanROM 1.4 and I think TWRP did a full decrypt wipe without me wanting to do so when it was supposed to do a simple reset
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The factory wipe in TWRP, besides wiping everything, it disabled the forced encryption, so you have to select encrypt yourself if you want it to be encrypted.
And "CleanROM is decrypted by default. This means if you are encrypted or are decrypted you will stay that way! It wont change you crypto settings!"
---------- Post added at 02:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:24 AM ----------
Larzzzz82 said:
TWRP does not ask me for a password. I broke the seal on the box of this phone came in. It was set up before I had a sim card in it.the phone was encrypted. I did look within the first week or two of my owning it. aside from unlocking, rooting, and a couple of mods, it is stock. I am NOT using a custom ROM. I have installed faux kernel within the last couple of weeks and the request for a pattern unlock in the middle of booting Android remained until the other day. To say I am perplexed as an understatement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyway, you can encrypt it yourself, but if you select a pattern instead of pin/password in the security settings, i do not think that you will be able to access the data in TWRP as it seems there is no way to input the pattern in TWRP
So b4 entering recovery, u will have to change the security setting
In the past when I had done a factory rest / wipe via TWRP it had not changed my encryption. This only happened with the current version and gave no indication that it was going to be in an unencrypted state
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
I like my security so I guess I'll just leave my device encrypted. I believe if I decrypted, it wouldn't really make it that much faster than this?
Apologies if this was suggested further in the thread, and that I'm replying to an old post. But I recently had this problem and figured out a solution.
- Accessibility was enabled and for some reason this cached the boot password. So- when I removed the app (rights) and turned off accessibility, and changed (reset/reentered) the password in security settings... On next boot the phone correctly asked me for password.
I have installed Avast AntiTheft today on my Nexus6 and after Simulation test I can't access my phone.
It says to enter PIN to access Android Device.
Any of my PINs are not working.
I'm unlocked, rooted with TWRP.
What can I do to access my device?
I have installed CM12 today so I have no problem with loosing any data if wipe is the only solutions.
But I'm not sure if I can do this.
Surely you'll have some sort of admin panel on an avast website where you set a pin.
rootSU said:
Surely you'll have some sort of admin panel on an avast website where you set a pin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already done that. Didn't help.
maturb said:
I've already done that. Didn't help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Contact Avast and I'm sure they can help then.
rootSU said:
Contact Avast and I'm sure they can help then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already done this but no help at the moment.
Other people have same problem.
I can't also find anything about wiping encrypted phone.
maturb said:
I've already done this but no help at the moment.
Other people have same problem.
I can't also find anything about wiping encrypted phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its the same as wiping an unencrypted phone.
There are changes in 5.1 though
rootSU said:
Its the same as wiping an unencrypted phone.
There are changes in 5.1 though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean I can do the Factory Reset in TWRP and then re-install CM12?
maturb said:
You mean I can do the Factory Reset in TWRP and then re-install CM12?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can factory reset via twrp.
Not sure why you'd need to reflash the ROM though.
rootSU said:
You can factory reset via twrp.
Not sure why you'd need to reflash the ROM though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP can't mount DATA without password (i've never set this password) So how can I wipe it?
maturb said:
TWRP can't mount DATA without password (i've never set this password) So how can I wipe it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you've not set a pin/pattern in android, use the default twrp one which I imagine is in the twrp thread somewhere. If you have set an android pin/pattern, use that.
rootSU said:
If you've not set a pin/pattern in android, use the default twrp one which I imagine is in the twrp thread somewhere. If you have set an android pin/pattern, use that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did flash stock image.
Any of these solutions you wrote or I found on xda didn't help.
Anyway thank you for your time.
Regardless, you're still going to need to learn how to use twrp properly. Unless you're planning in staying stock.
rootSU said:
Regardless, you're still going to need to learn how to use twrp properly. Unless you're planning in staying stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm learning sth new every day. Every problem I have is a new lesson.
Maybe I'm not so good at the moment but trying to be better...
maturb said:
I'm learning sth new every day. Every problem I have is a new lesson.
Maybe I'm not so good at the moment but trying to be better...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll get there.
maturb said:
TWRP can't mount DATA without password (i've never set this password) So how can I wipe it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Better to use FACTORY recovery for this. TWRP doesn't just "wipe" the userdata partition, it wants to do a selective clear of it.
Basically, there is a directory in the userdata partition called "media" that it tries to regard as a separate device.
The problem is in the backup functions implemented on custom recoveries. They create a backup of the userdata partition to the absolute STUPIDEST place in the entire world -- the userdata partition ITSELF.
So they have a hack separation, they leave out the media subdirectory from the backup source, and set the backup target to within that directory, then instead of performing a proper mkfs on the partition to clear it, they mount the partition (requires the pass code) and *erase* everything besides the media subdirectory.
Pretty stupid, isn't it?
** THE ONLY SANE PLACE TO BACK DATA UP TO, IS A SEPARATE DEVICE. Or in the very least, a different PARTITION.
Alternative is to clear the userdata partition with fastboot. Boot into bootloader/fastboot, and type (on your computer with the fastboot binary installed) "fastboot format userdata".
As far as the password goes, did you ever set a lockscreen security code? Maybe a pattern or pin unlock? That is what it is asking for. Its possible that the program you installed forced that down your throat with some random junk.
FYI: Google has this feature built in already, there is no need to install potentially dangerous 3rd party software. You can enable it in the program "google settings" --> security, under "android device manager". You can then go here https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager and log in with your google account to locate, lock, erase, ring, etc.
I'm new to the 6 and I haven't really read too much into the whole encryption thing, so I don't know the pros/cons of having it that way, or not.
During my first boot of this thing, I started the unlock/root process, then I quickly remembered about encryption...and what the whole thing was about. Well I'm curious, are these custom ROM's built without the encryption? In the security menu of Chroma, encryption is enabled. In another ROM which specifically stated encryption was off...it was actually on.
So I'm confused.
Thanks.
Some ROMs do not force encryption. They can still be encrypted. It depends on the kernel. You will need to perform a wipe to unencrypt
stevew84 said:
I'm new to the 6 and I haven't really read too much into the whole encryption thing, so I don't know the pros/cons of having it that way, or not.
During my first boot of this thing, I started the unlock/root process, then I quickly remembered about encryption...and what the whole thing was about. Well I'm curious, are these custom ROM's built without the encryption? In the security menu of Chroma, encryption is enabled. In another ROM which specifically stated encryption was off...it was actually on.
So I'm confused.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on the state of your device before you flash the ROM. If you are unencrypted prior to flashing the ROM, you will stay unencrypted. And if encrypted, you will stay encrypted. For most ROMs. Read the fine print in the OP.
cam30era said:
It depends on the state of your device before you flash the ROM. If you are unencrypted prior to flashing the ROM, you will stay unencrypted. And if encrypted, you will stay encrypted. For most ROMs. Read the fine print in the OP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've also read about long "encrypting now" screens during first boot of fresh ROM's, I've never seen those.
Encryption depends on the kernel or more accurately the fstab, so it depends what kernel is supplied with the ROM or which kernel you plan on flashing with the ROM.
There are 2 types of ROM. Stock based and AOSP based. I find it hard to believe any AOSP ROM dev would turn on force encryption, but with a stock ROM, it could be on or off - depending. Read each thread to find out.
All ROMs and kernels are encryption enabled by the way. Turning off force encryption inky prevents first boot from encrypting your data partition. You can still turn on encryption yourself in settings and if you're already encrypted, turning off force encryption will not unencrypt your data, so it will still be on. Once force encryption has been turned off, you must then format /userdata to remove encryption
stevew84 said:
I've also read about long "encrypting now" screens during first boot of fresh ROM's, I've never seen those.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. If you are unsure of your kernel status go to Settings/Security/Encryption. If it says "Encrypt phone", then you are unencrypted.
cam30era said:
Correct. If you are unsure of your kernel status go to Settings/Security/Encryption. If it says "Encrypt phone", then you are unencrypted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah alright, well each and every time I flash something new, I'm encrypted. I'm interested in getting rid of that, but not sure exactly how to do it.
stevew84 said:
Ah alright, well each and every time I flash something new, I'm encrypted. I'm interested in getting rid of that, but not sure exactly how to do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It says in my post
Encryption will stay on unless you completely wipe the device and have a kernel installed that doesn't force you to encrypt. So you'll never see an option for decrypting your device. This comes with a huge warning that ANYTHING on the internal storage will be lost, that goes for the ROM and your files, including your ROM zip files for flashing. If you want to decrypt the device I suggest you first practice by flashing a ROM that you copy into your phone while in recovery so you know you can do it.
Guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/development/disable-forced-encryption-gain-root-t2946715
This will get you to a clean slate, make sure you test MTP (file transfer over usb from computer) in recovery and verify that you can move files over to your device in recovery. You should already have a custom recovery installed such as TWRP. If you are considering disabling make sure you know exactly what is going on first, its not as straight forward as it seems. Goodluck
stevew84 said:
Ah alright, well each and every time I flash something new, I'm encrypted. I'm interested in getting rid of that, but not sure exactly how to do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are on stock, rooted, or a non-CM12 based ROM, one way is to go here > http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/development/disable-forced-encryption-gain-root-t2946715
Remember, after flashing the boot.img, you need to "fastboot format userdata" to unencrypt. This will wipe your SDcard.
rootSU said:
It says in my post
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I didn't see you posted.
Right now with Chroma + Vindicator kernel...Encryption states Enabled in the security menu.
stevew84 said:
Sorry, I didn't see you posted.
Right now with Chroma + Vindicator kernel...Encryption states Enabled in the security menu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because you were already encrypted.
stevew84 said:
I don't know the pros/cons of having it that way, or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pros for encryption;
- security. This is pretty obvious, if somebody hostile gets their hands on your phone, your data will not be obtained by them.
Cons;
- performance and battery life. There is indication in AOSP that google *intends* to activate hardware crypto, but as of yet, have not. That means that the crypto function is done on your main CPU, which is (a) not as fast as the hwcrypto block, and (b) takes up valuable CPU cycles from other software that is running, and (c) anything that uses CPU heavily will consume battery.
Another con with encryption that I have (which I admit is extremely unlikely - but has happened in the past) is that files that are backed up off the device may not get decrypted correctly, leaving them corrupt. That is my main hate of encryption. That and the fact that I cannot automate my TWRP backups
rootSU said:
Another con with encryption that I have (which I admit is extremely unlikely - but has happened in the past) is that files that are backed up off the device may not get decrypted correctly, leaving them corrupt. That is my main hate of encryption. That and the fact that I cannot automate my TWRP backups
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That isn't a con of encryption. That's a con of using broken software to perform your backup.
doitright said:
That isn't a con of encryption. That's a con of using broken software to perform your backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The con of encrypting data is that it may not always decrypt-able. Regardless of the root cause being Android, Windows, Linux or "broken software". If doing something to your data leads to it being useless via whatever means, then there is a negative effect of doing that something to your data
Hi,
I have a Nexus 6 with a shattered screen, and just bought another one to replace it (exact same model, XT1103 32GB).
I want to make a Nandroid dump of the old device by booting into TWRP temporarily, then restoring the backup to the new phone using the same method. Both phones are bootloader unlocked and totally stock (latest Android update).
Is there anything in particular that I should watch out for? Which partitions should I not touch - a friend on another forum suggested that I should not touch EFS?
Cheers,
Su
If you restore the efs from one to the other you'll loose your imei number on the second one
needleyepoke
---------- Post added at 07:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:47 PM ----------
I've cloned a Nexus 5 but I'm not sure if it's the same way.... P.S. of course your not supposed to do it unless you own both phones... From what I've been told
needleyepoke
Hi,
I don't want to mess about with the IMEI etc - I just want the same system settings, apps etc.
What partitions should I backup/restore? I guess just System, Data, Cache, Boot & Recovery should be enough?
Thanks,
Su
[edit] This seems to suggest just System, Data and Boot is ok - but is that all I need if I am restoring to another device?
Sumanji said:
Hi,
I don't want to mess about with the IMEI etc - I just want the same system settings, apps etc.
What partitions should I backup/restore? I guess just System, Data, Cache, Boot & Recovery should be enough?
Thanks,
Su
[edit] This seems to suggest just System, Data and Boot is ok - but is that all I need if I am restoring to another device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes if they're on the same version. I cloned a 32 into a 64.
Ok I just tried this now, and it is not working...
The restore to the new device worked fine, but when I power up I get the "your device is corrupt screen" (which I think is normal if you use TWRP), but then after that it's just a blank screen...
The phone is still able to boot into bootloader and recovery (stock).
Any ideas what could have gone wrong please?
Thanks,
Suman
I think this might be something to do with encryption... when booting into TWRP the new phone still requires the encryption pin I set up from its original software....
Do I need to start again?
Ok, I flashed the new phone with the factory image and started again... this time, when I restore the backup it just hangs on the white Google logo screen...
Any help appreciated please!
Thanks,
Su
If your firs N6 was encrpted (default) there's no way to clone it. Android will generate different encryption keys etc.
Secure lockscreen is a big no-no too. With it, you can't even properly restore backup on the same device!
Trying to take the lazy way out is just asking for trouble. There are many things that can go wrong.
Also just a side note. Cloning devices is illegal, even if you own both devices. The was set by the cell phone cloning laws set up by the FCC.
Your best bet is just to reset it up from scratch.
zelendel said:
Trying to take the lazy way out is just asking for trouble. There are many things that can go wrong.
Also just a side note. Cloning devices is illegal, even if you own both devices. The was set by the cell phone cloning laws set up by the FCC.
Your best bet is just to reset it up from scratch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh well,
I'm remembering what I did and I did not restore the Nandroid from Device A to Device B, I titanium Backup'd all the apps and moved them to TitaniumBackup folder on the new phone, restored from there.
For /sdcard/ I had to copy and paste it from one phone to the other...
I'm going to reply this to your reddit thread also.
Lawstorant said:
If your firs N6 was encrpted (default) there's no way to clone it. Android will generate different encryption keys etc.
Secure lockscreen is a big no-no too. With it, you can't even properly restore backup on the same device!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah dang, so there is no way for me to do what I want then... that's annoying, I would have bought a different phone in that case!
I believe Google requires encryption to be active in all devices with Android 6.0.1 installed, so any new device you purchase will have this (non-) issue.
Think of the alternative however. You could always be dealing with Samsung and Knox.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
I believe Google requires encryption to be active in all devices with Android 6.0.1 installed, so any new device you purchase will have this (non-) issue.
Think of the alternative however. You could always be dealing with Samsung and Knox.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that is correct. All Nexus devices going forward will have the kernel force encryption. The only way around it is to format data in TWRP (completely wipe the phone) and then when you re setup your ROM (or even the stock image) just make sure you flash a custom kernel that doesn't force encryption (which pretty much all custom kernels don't) before booting into OS for the first time. I run mine unencrypted because nandroid backups are wayyyyy quicker without encryption. I know the security isn't as good but not a deal breaker for me.
I asked this question a while back when I was in the same situation, and was told that it's a bad idea.
TriguyRN said:
I asked this question a while back when I was in the same situation, and was told that it's a bad idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a bad idea. Restoring any system files from one device to another is a risky game. I wouldn't even recommend restoring data from one device to another.
Start fresh, clean. No need to bring junk over, or risk issues. Takes 15 minutes to setup a phone how I like it after a clean rom flash. That's not a long time.
Last year I returned my N6 because of the peeling-back problem. I had a full TWRP backup on my laptop. I loaded it on to the replacement N6, renamed the backup folder to the new device id, and restored it. Worked perfectly, no problems.