How To Fix A Hacked Android Phone? A Must-Read Guide [2024]
Hacking has always been a security concern for people with different operating systems. However, the incidents of smartphones getting hacked have increased a lot in the past years. This is why people have the same question in their minds: how to fix a hacked Android phone?
Many people are asking this question because smartphones have become a necessary part of our lifestyle. From payments to personal data, everything is stored in smartphones. Therefore, your sensitive data might get compromised if someone gets their hands on the device.
The question “how to fix a hacked android phone” has become very common. Unfortunately, if it is too late for you to avoid hackers, you must take the last resort.
However, don’t worry; there are plenty of ways available that you can try to fix your Android phone and protect your personal data. We will talk about all the methods in detail to help you out.
How To Find Out Your Phone Is Hacked?
Before getting into the fixes, you need to know the symptoms you need to look for. Along with the advancement of security measures, the techniques of hackers are also evolving. They are taking new ways to target users and get their hands on personal data.
Among all the other questions, “Is my phone hacked” is the most common question by the users. To find out the answer, you will need to look out for these indications given below. Knowing them will help you a lot to stay one step ahead and fix your phone immediately before it’s too late. This is as important to know as “how to fix a hacked android phone.”
1. High RAM And CPU usage
If you are getting slower performance than usual from your smartphone, the chances are that your device has been hacked. High RAM and CPU usage are classic symptoms of your device being infected with malware.
Additionally, apart from slower performance, you will also get to notice freezing, lagging, heating issues, etc. Both malicious services and apps can cause this.
The best way to check the performance of your phone is by using an app called MSI Afterburner on your computer. With just a few clicks, you will understand whether your RAM and CPU consumption is higher than average or not.
2. High Data Usage
If you use cellular data for the internet, you might have an idea about your monthly use average.
If you see a sudden high data usage without turning on hotspot sharing, then the chances are high that your data is being used by someone else. Malware can allow hackers to steal your data easily. If you face this issue, you need to find out “how to fix a hacked android phone” as soon as possible.
In addition, having malware in your system forces your internet speed to become slower. Therefore, use the internet speed testing website Ookla. This platform will show you your current internet speed. However, if you see your upload speed is higher than your download speed, be aware that something is fishy.
3. Third-Party Apps
Although third-party apps are not recommended to keep in your smartphone, most people install them anyway. While downloading these apps, some unwanted apps might get downloaded. Also, you might end up downloading unwanted apps through spam mail, links, pop-ups, and more.
Before giving permission to apps, take your time to read the details. Being lazy and allowing permissions can cause you your personal data. These permissions include the camera, storage, and others.
One of the most common ways for malware to enter your Android smartphone is by downloading apps from third-party websites. Since Android smartphones allow you to download and install apps and games from any website, they become an easy target for hackers.
4. Higher Battery Consumption
Do you feel like your smartphone battery has been draining a bit too fast suddenly? If yes, then your smartphone might have malware in it.
Having malware in your system will affect your battery life. Since the malware runs on your phone’s background, it keeps draining RAM memory and battery charge. Therefore, if you notice that your Android smartphone suddenly got slower and the battery Is draining faster, this guide on how to fix a hacked Android smartphone is for you.
Apart from these, there are many other symptoms available that indicate that your phone is hacked. Some of the other ones include apps crashing constantly, increased battery consumption, pop-up ads, unfamiliar messages or calls, automatic reboots, and many more. Now that you have learned how to know if your phone is hacked, you must now find out how to fix a hacked Android phone in easy ways.
How To Fix A Hacked Andoird Phone
If you are someone who wants to find out, “my phone was hacked how do i fix it” then here are some of the ways that can help you a lot. However, before you learn all the ways to fix the hacked Andoird phone, here are some of the things that you must do. First, make sure to take a backup of all your important files, contacts, and other data after scanning them using an antivirus.
Reboot The Device
If the attack happened for one time only, then a reboot can help you force out the attacker. However, if the device is hacked, rebooting the phone will not work. After the mobile is booted, the hacked program will start again. It is the easiest process of how to fix a hacked Andoird phone but rarely works.
Factory Reset Your Device
If all the other ways do not work to fix the phone and you think the phone is still hacked, you have to use factory reset as a last resort. Factory resetting your mobile will erase all data, apps, files and start the mobile as a new. It will help to eliminate the access of hackers from your phone and fix it. However, you will lose all the files, apps, and data as well. Here are the steps that you need to follow.
- Switch off the phone, press the power button, and volume up button together to start it again
- When the logo appears, leave the power button and keep pressing the volume up.
- The Android recovery screen will be available on your screen, navigate using volume buttons, and choose using the power button.
- Select “wipe cache partition” and click yes to the pop-up “delete all user data.” The process will begin shortly.
This is mostly used as a last resort as how to fix a hacked Android phone. However, it is also the answer to “how to fix a hacked android phone somone changed my ip address accidentally.”
Use Antiviruses
Another very easy way to fix your phone from a hacker is by installing a reputed antivirus on your mobile. Some of the popular ones include McAfee, Quick Heal, Norton, Kaspersky, and others. They will detect all the malware or unwanted files and eliminate them from your device.
Apart from these fixes, there are many other small fixes available that might be helpful to you. You can try clearing your cache memory, change account passwords, uninstall unwanted apps, delete suspicious messages or links. You can check other forums to find out more ways and quote on Reddit posts or comment to learn details.
It is not possible for ordinary people to know how to hack a phone; trained hackers perform these activities. So, make sure to fix your device as soon as possible to save your data and personal information.
Conclusion
The smartphone is one of the most crucial parts of our lifestyle now. However, if you want to ensure that all of your personal data and files are safe, you need to know how to fix a hacked Android phone.
Here are some of the most popular and effective ways that you can try to fix your phone easily. Make sure to go through the symptoms as well to learn how to identify any hacking activities. If you like this article, make sure to comment and share it with others who might find it helpful.
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