Does a factory reset delete everything permanently?

It depends which option was used. “Keep my files” preserves personal folders; “remove everything” without cleaning deletes the index and leaves data recoverable on a hard drive; cleaning the drive overwrites it and does not.

How do I tell which type of reset was performed?

By how long it took. A quick reset completes in minutes because it only rewrites structures. A full clean takes hours because it writes across the whole volume. If the machine was usable again within half an hour, it was the quick version.

Can data be recovered after a factory reset on an SSD?

Usually not, and time matters more than the option chosen. TRIM erases the freed blocks physically within minutes of the reset, and that erasure is genuine. A machine powered on since is unlikely to hold much.

I reset my PC by mistake. What should I do first?

Shut it down. A freshly reset machine downloads updates, installs applications and creates profiles — all writing into the space your old files occupy. Every minute powered on reduces what remains.

Will resetting again undo it?

No, and it makes things worse. Each pass writes more over the areas holding your old data. If the first reset was the recoverable kind, a second one substantially reduces what is left.

What can be recovered after a reset?

On a hard drive after a quick reset, frequently a great deal — though usually carved without original filenames or folder structure, since the index was replaced. Check your cloud accounts first; they often hold more than people remember.

Factory reset · what it does

Some resets delete the index. Others erase the drive.

The options are presented as near-identical choices in the same dialogue, and they produce completely different outcomes. On an SSD the difference between them is the difference between recoverable and gone.

Deleted file recovery →01223 655015

Key destruction vs marking

Device by device

Free 48-hour diagnostic

// the short version

It depends entirely on the encryption.

Where a device encrypts by default — every recent phone and Mac — a reset throws away the key and that is genuinely the end of it. Where it does not, the reset simply marks the space reusable.

Key

Destroyed if encrypted

Marked

If not encrypted

48 hr

Free diagnostic

£300

From, +VAT

×If you reset a device by mistake, stop using it immediately. Where data is still physically present, every subsequent action — setup, app installs, photos, updates — writes into the space it occupies. The first hour matters more than anything you do afterwards.

// it depends on the device

and the answer matters in both directions.

People ask this for two opposite reasons: because they want data gone before selling a device, or because they reset something by mistake and want it back. The answer differs by device and by year, and getting it wrong is costly either way.

On any modern phone, a factory reset is effectively cryptographic erasure — the device discards the encryption key and everything becomes unreadable at once. That is genuinely secure, and it also means recovery is not possible.

On a Windows PC the picture is more varied, and on an older mechanical drive a reset may leave a great deal behind.

// by device

Four cases, four answers.

Modern phones, iOS and Android. Cryptographic erase. Secure for disposal, and unrecoverable if it was a mistake. Check your cloud backup instead.

Windows PC, keep my files. Reinstalls Windows and preserves personal data. Applications go, documents generally stay.

Windows PC, remove everything. Offers a quick option and a thorough one. The quick option leaves data physically present on a mechanical drive; the thorough one overwrites.

Older devices and mechanical drives. Frequently just a file system rewrite. Data remains until overwritten, which matters both for recovery and for anyone selling a machine.

// questions

Answered.

Almost certainly not, and we would rather say so. Modern phone resets discard the encryption key. Check iCloud or Google backup instead.

On an SSD with encryption enabled, effectively yes. On an older mechanical drive, use the thorough option or have the drive erased properly.

If the drive is mechanical and little has been written since, frequently recoverable. Stop using the machine now.

From £300 +VAT for a drive, fixed after the free diagnostic. If the answer is that nothing is recoverable, there is nothing to pay.