Device and method for restoring application removed by factory data reset function

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12314101-B2
Application number	US-201917250509-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 23, 2019
Priority date	Jul 31, 2018
Publication date	May 27, 2025
Grant date	May 27, 2025

Abstract

In electronic devices according to various embodiments, after a partition in which one or more applications are installed is reset by a factory data reset function, the one or more applications installed in the partition can be installed on the basis of a backup file. When the factory data reset function is not requested by a user who has purchased an electronic device, for example, when an inspector of the electronic device requests the factory data reset function or the factory data reset function is requested on the basis of the SIM card that was first inserted into the electronic device, the restoration of the one or more applications using the backup file can be performed by the electronic device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a user interface;
a plurality of switches each respectively assigned a function and provided as a plurality of hardware buttons;
a memory including at least one application, a first partition including a backup file obtained by compressing the application, and a second partition distinguished from the first partition; and
a processor electrically connected to the user interface and the memory,
wherein the memory stores instructions that allow the processor to:
while the electronic device is in a power-on state, receive a first input requesting a factory data reset through the plurality of switches, wherein the first input is a simultaneous input to designated buttons among the plurality of hardware buttons;
move the backup file to the second partition in response to the simultaneous input for the designated buttons;
delete data in the first partition after the movement; and
install the at least one application on the first partition by using the backup file, while the electronic device is rebooting.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions allow the processor to:
receive a second input via the user interface while the electronic device is rebooting; and
prohibit reading and writing of the backup file in response to the second input.

3. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the user interface further includes at least one hardware button.

4. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the instructions allow the processor to release the read and write prohibition of the backup file after receiving the first input.

5. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the user interface further includes a display, and wherein the instructions allow the processor to delete the backup file after a home screen is displayed on the display.

6. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the user interface further includes a touch screen display, and wherein the instructions allow the processor to receive the second input through the touch screen display.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions allow the processor to delete data by formatting the first partition when the factory data reset is in progress.

8. A method of an electronic device including a plurality of switches each assigned a function and provided as a plurality of hardware buttons, the method comprising:
while the electronic device is in a power-on state, receiving an input requesting a factory data reset through the plurality of switches, wherein the input is a simultaneous input to designated buttons among the plurality of hardware buttons;
performing factory data reset while at least one application and a first file are stored in a memory of the electronic device in response to the simultaneous input for the designated buttons, the first file being maintained in the memory independently of the factory data reset, and the at least one application being discarded in the memory in response to performing the factory data reset;
restoring the at least one application by using the first file maintained in the memory after completion of the factory data reset; and
discarding the first file in the memory in response to detection of a designated input after restoration of the at least one application is completed.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the designated input is obtained from a user of the electronic device and is an input for registering the user with an operating system running on the electronic device.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
providing a first user interface for obtaining the designated input to the user in response to restoration of the at least one application; and
providing the user with a second user interface for executing at least a portion of the restored at least one application, based on the designated input and the user's selection in response to detection of the designated input through the first user interface.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first file is a file in which the at least one application stored in the memory is merged, and is stored in a first partition in which the at least one application is installed among a plurality of partitions defined in the memory.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the performing the factory data reset comprises storing a second file corresponding to the first file in a second partition distinguished from the first partition before the first partition is formatted in response to performing the factory data reset, and
wherein the second partition is configured to maintain a second file stored in the second partition independent of the factory data reset.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the restoring of the at least one application further comprises restoring the first file in the first partition based on the second file stored in the second partition after restoration of the at least one application is completed.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the electronic device further comprises a slot capable of accommodating a subscriber identification module (SIM) card and a communication circuit configured to connect the electronic device to a network based on a SIM card inserted into the slot, and
wherein the performing the factory data reset is performed in response to first inserting a SIM card into the slot.

15. The method of claim 8 , wherein the electronic device further comprises a communication circuit configured to connect the electronic device to a network, and
wherein the performing the factory data reset is performed in response to detection of an input for identifying a network to be connected by the communication circuit.

16. The method of claim 8 , wherein the memory configured to preserving data stored in the memory in response to the electronic device not receiving power.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Eunsung
• Shin Changhoon
• Kim Hakryoul
• An Jinwan

Classifications

• G06F9/4401

  Bootstrapping (security arrangements therefor G06F21/57) · CPC title

• G06F8/61

  Installation · CPC title

• G06F3/0673

  Single storage device · CPC title

• G06F3/0659

  Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling · CPC title

• G06F3/0652

  Erasing, e.g. deleting, data cleaning, moving of data to a wastebasket · CPC title