How to Fix a Hacked Android Phone Fast

With great popularity comes a great risk…Holding over an 80% share of the global smartphone market, Android powers lots of phones today. This makes it an attractive aim for hackers — 98% of mobile banking attacks target Android devices. If your phone does fall victim, you should know how to fix your hacked Android-powered buddy. In this article, we’ll show you how. 

How can a phone be hacked? 

Why do cybercriminals hack phones in the first place? They do this to exploit your personal or sensitive information like bank account details, social security numbers, or online account passwords. All to make a profit, of course. But how do they hack? The most common ways are: 

• Accessing your phone via an unsecured Wi-Fi network
• Tricking people with social engineering techniques, like getting personal information out of you after you click on links in phishing messages 
• Using tracking software 

How do I know if my Android is hacked? 

Cybercriminals always improve their methods and make their attacks hard to spot. But there are a few clear indicators of a hacked Android. Among the most common signs your phone might be hacked are: 

1. You receive unrecognized texts or calls 
2. Lots of spammy pop-ups appear 
3. Battery drains quickly out of the blue  
4. Sudden spike in data usage
5. Your phone gets suddenly hot while in use  
6. The device runs more slowly than usual 
7. There are apps you don’t remember installing 
8. Changes in call forwarding 
9. Your Android turns itself on and off 

Codes to check if your Android is hacked 

There are also a few useful codes. 

Code *#06# for IMEI Check

IMEI number stands for a unique identifier of your phone. Knowing this number won’t be superfluous if your phone was stolen. After you discover your phone was hacked, you can take this number and file a police report. Just enter *#06# code via the dialer pad, and the IMEI number will appear. 

Code to  verify if your phone is being tracked

Hackers can easily track the location of your phone. Use these codes if you suspect cybercriminals are tapping or tracking your Android — enter *#*#4636#*#* or *#*#197328640#*#* via the dialer pad.

Call redirection code 

Call diversion redirects our calls and messages to other numbers. But a hacker can misuse it to direct messages and calls to their own device. Enter *#62* in the dialer, and the 10-digit phone number will appear —- the phone number to which your mobile calls and messages are being forwarded. 

Hacked Android: How to fix it? 

Suspicious that someone hacked your phone? Learn how to remove a hacker from Android with the following solutions. 

Note: the process might be a bit different depending on your phone manufacturer. 

Run an antivirus scan

Do a security check on your device with an antivirus. But make sure the app you download is licensed and not pirated. A good antimalware will prevent any virus-infected files from infecting your phone and clear it of viruses. It will also block all the connections when an identified device tries to log in or access your account. 

Clear your device cache

Unnecessary files and apps installed on your device and low storage space may lead to relentless pop-ups or poor performance of your phone. Clearing your Android phone cache can fix the issue. Here’s how to do it without losing any data:

1. Turn off your phone
2. Press and hold the Power and Volume Up button at once up until the Android logo comes up
3. Once you see the Recovery screen, use ‘Volume’ controls to navigate and move down to select ‘Wipe device cache’ 
4. Wait for your phone to reset
5. Once the cache is wiped clean, restart your Android

The process may take a few minutes depending on the cache size. 

Remove administrator access

Another option is checking what apps have administrator access to your phone – there may be some unusual (read malicious) presence. 

1. Go to Settings 
2. Scroll down to Fingerprint & Security (also Lock Screen & Security on other models) 

3. Click Administrators & credentials 

4. Select Device administrators 

5. Check if all apps that have access are legitimate

If you see that suspicious apps have administrator access — time to deny them it. And remove those apps at the same time! 

Delete suspicious apps and files 

An app that you haven’t installed on your phone or an old app not supported by the developer anymore will provide space for hackers to insert malware or adware (ad-supported malicious software) into your device. Suspicious apps often have names that include the words “spy,” “monitor,” and other obvious stuff. To check if your phone have any, do the following: 

1. Go to Settings 
2. Scroll down and tap Apps 

3. Check if there are any suspicious apps 

Not sure if the app you found is suspicious? Google it! 

Disable call redirection and diversion

We usually use call diversion to redirect our calls and messages to other numbers. But a hacker can misuse this feature to direct messages, calls, or other data to his own device. To avoid such a risk, disable call diversion/forwarding on your phone altogether:

1. Open the phone’s dialer and dial ##002#. 
2. Or go to dialer > Tap the vertical dots (Menu) > Call settings > Call forwarding settings > Turn off all call forwarding options (Always forward, When busy, When unanswered and When unreachable).

Factory reset your Android phone 

We saved the most radical option on our “how to fix a hacked Android phone” list for last. It will wipe your phone and restore it to the settings it had when it was new. So, turn to this solution if none of the others worked. But you can (and should, for that matter) back up all essential data of your phone before performing factory reset. So, here’s how to do make your phone new again: 

1. Charge your phone
2. Go to Settings
3. Tap Storage & backup 

4. Select Factory data reset

5. Tap two options — Reset phone to factory default and Format internal storage 
6. Continue with Start resetting 

7. Wait until the process is complete — your Android’s OS will be as good as new! 

10 ways to prevent Android hacking 

So here’s how to fix a hacked Android. But are there any precautions you can take not to need any of the abovementioned solutions again? Sure thing! 

1. Never leave your phone unattended 

Keeping your phone with you at all times while in a public place is the first and best (although obvious) rule to follow. 

2. Keep your phone locked

If you don’t have one yet, set a security lock on your Android. And don’t share these lock details with third parties (yeah, duh). It will prevent unauthorized people from accessing your device. 

3. Use two-factor authentication and biometrics 

Double security measures means double protection. Use biometrics, such as fingerprint scanning or facial ID, along with a password. Some individual apps on your Android, like WhatsApp, have this security feature built-in. You can also add a biometric authentication method to protect privacy of separate apps via the settings on your phone.

4. Download apps from official app stores

Downloading a rogue app is the easiest way to infect your Android with malware. Especially if you download it from a third-party source. Your best bet? Stick to the Google Play store. It features countless apps, so you don’t really need to get Android apps from any other location. 

5. Update your operating system

Your OS is constantly updated. These updates carry recent changes to prevent hackers from stealing and exploiting your information. That’s why you should always keep your phone up-to-date to get the most out of Android experience.

6. Avoid jailbreaking your phone

Jailbreaking, also known as rooting, is changing core software to avoid restrictions the developer set up. While it lets you make root modifications to your device, it also makes you more vulnerable since you don’t have the built-in security of the original OS. So, hackers have a better chance to hack your phone.

7. Enable remote wiping of your device

Remote data deletion is essential if your device is lost or stolen. You can wipe the data via Google’s Android Device Manager: 

1. Go to android.com/find and sign in to your Google Account
2. Get info about where your phone is on the map
3. Pick what you want to do. If needed, first tap Enable lock & erase: 

• Secure device: If you don’t have a lock, you can set one.
• Erase device: Permanently delete all the data on your phone if your phone gets stolen. Note: If you find your phone after erasing, you’ll likely need your Google Account password to use it again.

8. Log out of sites when you’re through with them

Logging out helps prevent someone from accessing your account via an active logon. This is crucial when you go to financial and retail websites and use a public computer, say, in a library. 

9. Be careful on public Wi-Fi 

Public Wi-Fi can be a lifesaver. We get it. But it can also endanger your data. Some of the “neighbors” on the network you’re connected to can really spoil your online experience. Yeah, many dangers lurk on public Wi-Fi — from man-in-the-middle attacks to session hijacking. So, be careful not to share any confidential information while using public networks. 

10. Encrypt your data 

Finally, if you want to ensure your privacy online and protect your data, the best bet is to encrypt it using a VPN. A VPN uses end-to-end encryption and routes your data through an encrypted tunnel to a remote VPN server. This way, nobody can see what you’re doing online and expose your identity. Even if hackers intercepted your encrypted traffic, all they’ll see is indecipherable content.

No extra configuration is needed on your part — just install VeePN and get the best online security. It guards your data with next-generation AES-256 encryption. It’s the strongest encryption standard to date, unbreakable by brute force attacks. Always use VeePN when using public networks and protect your data from snoopers and hackers. Secure your phone before it’s too late!

FAQs

Can you fix a hacked phone?

Some of the ways to remove a hacker from your Android is running an antivirus scan, clearing your device’s cache, removing administrator access of suspicious apps (and deleting them), as well as factory resetting your phone. Learn more in this article.  

What are the symptoms of a hacked Android phone?

The most common signs your phone might be hacked include:

1. Unrecognized texts or calls 
2. Lots of pop-ups appear 
3. Battery drains quickly out of the blue  
4. Sudden spike in data usage
5. Hot phone while in use  
6. Poorer phone performance 
7. Unrecognized apps  
8. Your Android turns itself on and off 

What happens if your Android phone is hacked?

Cybercriminals can exploit your personal or sensitive information like bank account details, social security numbers, or online account passwords. And make a profit out of it. 

Does factory reset remove hackers?

Resetting the Android phone is the best way to remove malware from your device. But keep in mind that it’ll wipe out all of your data. Turn to this solution if nothing else has worked. Find out more in our article.