Undo Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich) Full Disk Encryption

Question

Just upgraded my Nexus S to Android 4 aka Ice Cream Sandwich. Was looking through all the new features, and decided to enable encryption, which worked (and is working) just fine. Now I'm wondering if I can undo that and revert to an un-encrypted filesystem.

There does not seem to be an option in the settings area, and while I'm not fussed about doing a factory reset, I just wonder if I'm missing an obvious option somewhere. Can anyone help? Or even confirm that the factory reset is the only way out?

I just got my Galaxy Nexus, and was thinking about turning on full disk encryption... until I saw your question. Why do you want to undo it? Have you encountered any issues with it? — Daniel Liuzzi, Dec 27 '11 at 04:12
No issues at all. This was just a result of my "Hey, I didn't read the warning screens properly and now I'm curious that there is no undo button" attitude :D — scuzzy-delta, Jan 09 '12 at 21:32

eldarerathis · Accepted Answer · 2011-12-20T21:54:02.100

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There should have been a warning when you begin the encryption that you had to agree to. The only way to unencrypt it is to perform a factory reset, thereby wiping your data partition completely.

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edited Dec 20 '11 at 21:54

answered Dec 20 '11 at 21:41

eldarerathis

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Ah, so there is. Thanks! PS Isn't the new screenshot shortcut awesome! – scuzzy-delta Dec 21 '11 at 20:32
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@scuzzy-delta: It's great for posting answers on this site, definitely :) – eldarerathis Dec 21 '11 at 20:35
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A description of how to perform that factory reset would be helpful. I tried the the "factory reset" option in my custom recovery image, TWRP, and that did not seem to do the trick. – Jesse Hallett Feb 11 '13 at 07:08

score 8 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 25 '12 at 10:07

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I'm using Samsung Galaxy Note Android 4.0.3. and I've tried Encrypting and Decrypting several times successfully.

Samsung Note ICS Decryption

edited Jun 25 '12 at 10:07

ce4

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answered Jun 02 '12 at 02:24

JonC PH

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That's a Samsung add-on. – Jun 02 '12 at 04:09
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A downvote for sharing my knowledge/experience :( if only i could post my screenshots on how I Undo my Disk Encryptions. – JonC PH Jun 13 '12 at 04:57
Wasn't me :) I just pointed out that it's not part of AOSP. That's why I hate it that downvotes are anon. – Jun 13 '12 at 08:03
@richard im not saying you gave me a downvote :) no problem :) im just expressing how some people votes without considerations :) – JonC PH Jun 14 '12 at 13:13
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I added a screenshot on how I decrypt or undo encrypt my device. thanks for the upvote that lifted my restriction for posting pictures. sorry guys i dont know how to make the image smaller. – JonC PH Jun 14 '12 at 13:33

Undo Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich) Full Disk Encryption

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