US-12625699-B2 - Apparatus and methods for automatically removing data of mobile devices

US12625699B2US 12625699 B2US12625699 B2US 12625699B2US-12625699-B2

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for automatically removing customer data of a mobile device are disclosed according to various embodiments. In one example, a disclosed method comprises: detecting a mobile device connected to a slot; automatically determining whether the mobile device is valid based on data in a file system; upon determining that the mobile device is valid, automatically determining an operating system managing the mobile device; and automatically removing customer data of the mobile device based on the operating system.

Inventors

Sean Parsons
Jitendra Jain
Brian Parsons
Mark Parsons
Austin GUNTER
Nidhin Davis
Krissy Durkin
Mario HUBER
Martin Fiedler
Annedore BACH

Assignees

COMMUNICATIONS TEST DESIGN, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240808

Claims (11)

1 . A method for automatically removing customer data of a mobile device, comprising: detecting a mobile device connected to a slot, by searching in the file system for a folder mapped to the slot; automatically determining whether the mobile device is valid based on data in a file system; upon determining that the mobile device is valid, automatically determining an operating system managing the mobile device; and automatically removing customer data of the mobile device based on the operating system; wherein the method is performed for a plurality of mobile devices positioned in respective slots of a rack, and the customer data of the plurality of mobile devices is removed in parallel by a plurality of computers associated with subsets of the slots.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein automatically determining whether the mobile device is valid comprises: obtaining a logical path of the folder; and determining whether the mobile device is valid based on the logical path and a property display command.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device comprises: determining that the operating system managing the mobile device is a first operating system; and determining a device mode of the mobile device based on the first operating system.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device further comprises: upon determining that the device mode of the mobile device is a recovery mode, flashing a firmware of the mobile device.
5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device further comprises: upon determining that the device mode of the mobile device is a normal mode, determining whether the mobile device is activated or not.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device further comprises: upon determining that the mobile device is activated, performing a factory reset on the mobile device; and flashing a firmware of the mobile device when the factory reset fails.
7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device further comprises: upon determining that the mobile device is not activated, determining whether the mobile device has been wiped and whether the mobile device is able to be activated.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device further comprises: upon determining that the mobile device has not been wiped and that the mobile device is able to be activated, performing a factory reset on the mobile device.
9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device further comprises: upon determining that the mobile device has not been wiped and that the mobile device is not able to be activated, flashing a firmware of the mobile device.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device comprises: determining that the operating system managing the mobile device is a second operating system; installing a data removal application on the mobile device based on the second operating system; determining a profile type of the mobile device; and performing a factory reset on the mobile device based on the profile type.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device further comprises: upon determining that the profile type of the mobile device is a first profile type, overwriting the mobile device with random data and performing a factory reset on the mobile device; upon determining that the profile type of the mobile device is a second profile type, overwriting the mobile device with all zero data and performing a factory reset on the mobile device; and upon determining that the profile type of the mobile device is a third profile type, performing a factory reset on the mobile device without overwriting the mobile device.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/007,103 filed on Aug. 31, 2020, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/893,427 filed on Aug. 29, 2019, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. FIELD The present disclosure generally relates to apparatus and methods for data removal, and more specifically, to apparatus and methods for automatically removing customer data of mobile devices. BACKGROUND Mobile devices, including tablets and phones, have become sophisticated, widespread and pervasive. With the increasing usage of computer network services all over the world, these mobile devices are in great demand. As a result, the cost of used mobile devices has increased. As with any used device, the customer data of the used mobile device needs to be cleaned before resale. As the number of used mobile devices increases, and the data on the used mobile devices increases, removing customer data of various mobile devices is not only complicated, but also time consuming and expensive. SUMMARY The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for testing mobile devices. More specifically, some embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to apparatus and methods for automatically removing customer data of one or more mobile devices. The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are directed to solving the issues relating to one or more of the problems presented in the prior art, as well as providing additional features that will become readily apparent by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In accordance with various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, devices and computer program products are disclosed herein. It is understood, however, that these embodiments are presented by way of example and not limitation, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art who read the present disclosure that various modifications to the disclosed embodiments can be made while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, a method is disclosed for automatically removing customer data of a mobile device. The method includes: detecting a mobile device connected to a slot; automatically determining whether the mobile device is valid based on data in a file system; upon determining that the mobile device is valid, automatically determining an operating system managing the mobile device; and automatically removing customer data of the mobile device based on the operating system. In another embodiment, a method is disclosed for automatic data removal. The method includes: scanning, using a scanner, a first slot number of a first slot on a rack including a plurality of slots; scanning, using the scanner, a first serial number attached on a first mobile device; associating the first serial number with the first slot number; plugging a first connector associated with the first slot into the first mobile device; loading the first mobile device onto the first slot; and automatically performing a removal of customer data of the first mobile device via the first connector and a first computer associated with the first slot. In yet another embodiment, an apparatus is disclosed for automatic data removal. The apparatus includes: a rack comprising a plurality of slots each of which is configured for holding a mobile device; a plurality of connectors each of which is associated with a respective one of the plurality of slots; at least one computer coupled to the rack, wherein each of the at least one computer corresponds to a subset of the plurality of connectors, and has a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing software for automatically removing customer data of each mobile device connected to the computer via a corresponding one of the subset of the plurality of connectors; and a user monitor electrically connected to the at least one computer and configured for displaying information related to data removal performed by the at least one computer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the following Figures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure to facilitate the reader's understanding of the present disclosure. Therefore, the drawings should not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the present disclosure. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mobile device handling apparatus, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 2A-2C show a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for automatically removing customer data of mobile devi