Develop Bugs

Faulty Desire? Safe Mode and button problem

Hi all,
My missus has a UK T-Mobile Desire, it is bog standard, not been updated with a new rom or even Froyo. Today it showed the Android boot loader and then when it eventually decided to boot it seemed to be stuck in Safe Mode and the Home, Menu and Back buttons don't work.
I'm not sure what might have caused this, it's been running fine.... would a hard reset possibly fix the problem?
Thanks

if you havn't done anything to the phone, return it and get a new one just back up all your things to outlook or gmail or whatever you prefer and you are ready for a new Desire
hope this helps! good luck!

Yeah fortunately there is the return option...
Another thing about two weeks ago the Facebook Friends Stream Widget apparently stopped working for no apparent reason, I don't know if this and the bottom problem is linked...
I'll backup all her contacts etc later and try a hard reset then if necessary speak to T-mobile tomorrow.
Thanks

Tried a hard reset tonight and that made no difference. But playing with the buttons on boot and the phone booted normally..... all the buttons fully operational
Didn't last for long though.... the phone locked and I had to remove the battery.... guess what - SAFE MODE
Holding down the four buttons prevents the Safe Mode words displaying but the four buttons still don't work. I am going to call T-mobile tomorrow and see what they say.

Very angry indeed... outcome of me sending the phone to HTC... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=8133471&postcount=32
Any advice would be really welcomed.

omg i just saw the email in the link
****ing outrageous
i had so much trouble with HTC when i had the HD2 but after enough arguing over the phone and threatening them with the sales of goods act they played fair and not only repaired the HD2 but gave me the Desire and a better contract.
how long have you had the phone for?
if you've had it for less than 6 months then phone T-Mobile and demand a new phone because it is covered under that law. That's right, T-Mobile, not HTC, because your contract is with them and it is up to them to supply you with a working phone for the contract agreement and the act states that these goods must last a certain period of time. So phone them up and tell them.
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/the-sale-of-goods-act/
EDIT: read them line by line this:
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/how-long-should-it-last/

To be honest with you I would have sent it to Tmobile and let them deal with HTC. When you bought the handset you entered into a contract with the retailer for the warranty, not the manufacturer. This is not the airtime contract I'm talking about by the way, that is a seperate issue.
I think you should get on to Tmobile about this and tell them you want it sorted asap. You can also contact Consumer Direct by clicking HERE. They will advise you on what your rights are and how to sort your problem out.
You should also look at getting a report from HTC to state exactly what they say the cause of damage was. At least then you will know what you are up against.

I called T-mobile earlier today to tell them what had happened... I was routed through to a call centre in Asia. The person was helpful to an extent... listened... went away... and returned and said that if the Manufacturer said the the phone is damaged and not covered by warranty then there is nothing they can do.
They suggested I take the phone into a T-mobile shop and pay for an exchange (yeah right!). I quoted the SOGA stuff and they have now said that a manager would call me back in 24 hours - the operator could not put me through to a manager nor could my call be re-routed to a UK based agent.
So at this stage I'm no better off really.
I have since heard back from HTC... and a rather abrupt message that I am not happy about... they have also taken two images that I assume shows "damage" there is no explanation with the pictures though...
One image shows a small white stick that half of which has turned red, another shows the motherboard and some circuitry and a small arrow pointing to it.. it looks fine to my untrained eye. Assuming it is damaged in some way is it possible that this is linked to moisture or as there have been issues with Desire motherboards could this be the same thing?
If anyone wants to see the images then I will email them...
Here is the content of the message and my reply however:-
From HTC:
Here are two images of the broken handset there are some more if you want some, as the phone is out of warranty you either pay the quote have the phone returned un-repaired or if you don't respond to the quote the phone will be discarded 30 days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My reply:
I have viewed the images and am unclear what exact "damage" exists, I will need this to be described fully in a report that summarises the exact nature and extent of any damage and repair required. I assume that the red label indicates the existence of moisture however is it not possible that this could have been activated due to ambience or humidity?
Under the Sale Of Goods Act, any fault that develops within the first six months of a product being sold is deemed to have been present at the time of sale. Since owning the phone, no incident that I am aware of has occurred that would give rise to the damage you say has been discovered, so the Sale Of Goods Act would come in to force. T-Mobile provided the phone in a sealed box, so I do not see how the damage could be down to them and as the ultimate supplier of the phone, I would have to hold you responsible for the sale of defective goods. Under the terms of the Act, it IS FOR YOU TO PROVE OTHERWISE or accept the repair or replacement of the phone at your expense.
In addition the handset is not out of warranty, in fact it is only 4 months old. It was also sent to you in a semi functional state - in other words it could be used fully except that just the bottom row of bottoms (excluding the roller) were not working. Can you please confirm that this is still the case should the handset be reassembled and returned.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU, HTC OR ANY PERSON ACTING ON BEHALF OF HTC DISCARD THE HANDSET AS THIS MAY CONSTITUTE A CRIMINAL ACT
I wish to make a formal compliant about the way in which this case has been handled, namely:-
1. I was never told nor did I agree that charges for both repair or return could be charged.
2. I was led to believe that the handset was still within warranty and would be repaired accordingly.
3. I have been told that you must replace items that do not need replacement, such as the LCD screen and the plastic surround which are known to have minor scratches consistent with fair wear and tear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] Sending TP2 to HTC for repair under warranty. Couple questions...

I bought my TouchPro2 through Mobile Phones Direct.co.uk, back in June '09. Just recently it started giving me problems with the ExtUSB. Have to fiddle with it just to make it take a charge, and I've given up trying to get to to connect to PC via USB.
Today it has got to the point where sliding the screen up or down too fast turns the phone off. Then I have to press power button to turn it on again.
I understand HTC supply a 24 month warranty. At least that's what my warranty card leaflet says. I already check the water indicators on the bottom of battery and next to MicroSD slot, they are both good (white with red crosshatchings.)
I have two concerns thought.
1) Is there a way for me to confirm that the Rom/SPL etc that I am using are the official ones that won't validate my warranty. I am pretty sure I never did any modding to this phone, only to my old Kaiser. But to be sure I would like to double check. ANy advice on how to do this?
2) My major worry is that my phone has loads of scratches on the screen, on the corners where paint is chipped. The battery cover is in a bad way too, the top left corner has a small crack and the metal strip in the middle of it has broken off around the camera lens.
So I am worried that HTC will tell me that whatever my problems are are because of normal wear and tear and therefore wont fix my phone. The thing is though all these problems are merely aesthetic which is why they never bothered me too much (at least once the first scratch is out the way anyway). My phone worked fine for ages despite these superficial defects (I never used a screen protector or case, phone used to go in my pocket along with coins, keys etc., and of course it did sustain the occasional drop).
Can anyone advise me as to whether this will be a problem? If HTC refused to fix/replace it then I would rather not send it in, to avoid the fee for returning it.
P.S. Also I don't know if I still have the paper invoice to prove purchase, will the emailed invoice be proof of purchase if I can't find the paper copy?
Oh yeh and finally, I don't have any insurance, so I am completely dependent on this warranty being honoured.l

I returned my Pro2 to the UK centre earlier this year. They don't need proof of purchase believe it or not, they never asked me once for mine, however, the electronic one will be fine as say you bought it on eBay, you wouldn't have a paper copy necessarily.
Also, I was using using a different stylus, had many programs like HD Walls and REStart and so on packed in there. Changed the home screen, even edited the files in the Windows directory that mailla used, altering them to say "Kev's Messages" and so on, and they never said a thing to me. My reason for returning is that the hard keys weren't working, they repaired it and flashed a new ROM on it and they never once had an issue with the "state" (if you will) that my Pro2 was in. Also I had many scratches on the battery pack and so on so I think you'll be fine! I hope this helps!

Thanks for your reply, salemfox. I'm going to give HTC a call tomorrow to arrange for them to collect the device.
In the mean time if anyone has any other advice than please let me know before I arrange for it to be sent in tomorrow.

How did it turn out?

not good,
arguing on phone to some dude now.
they originally sent me email saying device wasnt in warranty choose 1 of 3 options
1) pay 160ish £ to repair device
2) pay 20 to have device returned to me
3) allow htc to dispose of device
obviously didnt want to choose any of the 3 options, so i rang htc. spoke to someone who repeated options to me, saying if i did nothing then my device would be disposed of. I said i want to escalate matter, he told me theres no point, they'll tell me the same thing. I said i want to escalate anwyay, he told me to fill out service escalation form from htc website. found this at http://www.htc.com/uk/serviceescalation.aspx (even though its not linked to, anywhere in uk htc site)
filled that out on 6/10/10. never got any reply or anything. last friday 22/10/10 i got another email asking which option of the 3 i wanted to choose. rang htc back, told em how come no ones replied to my service escalation form, first person told me that the guy i originally spoke to (6/10/10) WAS the guy who escalated the issue, i was like WTF?? she said hang on, passed me to someone else, who said it had been escalated , i just didnt get the reply, but that he had in writing from the people who the matter was escalated to, that phone wont be fixed under warranty, i started complainign, saying i filled out the escalation form because i wanted to speak to someone who was higher up, and that i gave my contact details so i expected a reply FROM THEM. He then said he'd let me speak to his superior, which i did, and that guy repeated the same, first saying what form did i fill out, calaiming theres only customer care form on the website, but i told him original guy i spoke to told me to fill out the service escalation form, which i found (only by googling and guessing url).
I told him check the phone convo which should have been recorded, and he would see that i was advised to fill out SERVICE ESCALATION form from HTC website, which i did. he said he will check photos to see if the visual damage is minor enough that they will continue to repair anyway, (i doubt it , coz it had one pretty deep scratch in the screen, and back battery cover was cracked in corner). He also said he'll get original guy who i told me to fill out esclation form to call me back tomorrow.
I think theyre lying, noone seems to have done anythign about my escalation form. They say that the matter was escalated and that they have it back, in writing, that phone is not under warranty, but then why didnt anyone tell me anyof this, i wasn't contacted despite leaving contact info in contact fields of escalation form.
GRRRR, i knew this would happen, any excuse to get out of fixing the damn thing, i keep saying that im not bothered about the aesthetic damage (scratched screen, small crack in battery cover) since my phone worked fine for ages WITH these problems. i want them to fix the fact that my phones extUSB connector has gone dodgy, and that phones turns off, when i slide it open.
Not had phone for ages now, using old kaiser, but the touch screen doesnt work on this.
so bascally they are ssaying that due to visual damage (scratch, crack) phone isnt in warranty. I keep saying thats not whats caused problem, so just fix problem then. they say they can't half fix phone. so i say then fix the whole thing, but dont ask me to pay for it.
I mean seriously though, i've had the phone for almost 2 years, ofcourse theirs gonna be scratches and stuff, how can they say that puts my phone out of warranty!! (((
I'll keep u guys posted. sorry for poor grammar etc.

Could tell you woes a plenty,
email me at j-r at watchet.net and I can give direct names and contacts for escalation at HTC UK. When you get the right man, not too bad but not in call centre!
BEWARE unless guaranteed in writing they will flash the device with the latest win 6.5 rom and you will lose everything.
Even if they agree not to touch it, still often hard reset!
I'm fighting them for a LOT of compensation - for time, ignoring written instructions and £80 of telephone calls. Wil sue them if don't get anywhere this week.
JR, UK

salemfox said:
had many programs like HD Walls and REStart and so on packed in there. Changed the home screen, even edited the files in the Windows directory that mailla used, altering them to say "Kev's Messages" and so on, and they never said a thing to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None of those things violate the warranty. Just hard resetting clears all of those. HardSPL and flashing a custom ROM violate the warranty.

redpoint73 said:
None of those things violate the warranty. Just hard resetting clears all of those. HardSPL and flashing a custom ROM violate the warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah but I just assumed if they picky they could refuse on the basis of "you're changing what you're not meant to"...

Mysterious i9190

Hello everyone! This is my first thread and I know it's the right site to ask this. (sorry for my english)
I bought this "suspicious" i9190 in Budapest 2 years ago. Since then it has been impossible to use it regulary.
Constant rebooting and freezes are part of its daily routine. As well as stopped apps and processes messages in a ridiculous way.
I have tried millions of ROMs, officials and customs, all kind of wipes and restores. I have even tried the eMMC brickbug apps looking for damaged chips or internal memory: Nothing, the phone is perfectly fine.
But here are some facts that may be relevant to find the problem:
- The phone came with the IMEI number scrached in the back of the battery.
- I've been using the phone for hours and hours perfectly fine as long as no update is performed and the Sync option is off.
- Doing the above I have even downloaded and used some little apps with no problems.
- When the major apps are installed, like Facebook and Instagram the phone begins to die, popping more and more "stoppped working" errors.
- The processes that fail the most are the google type but, in general, every single existing process has failed in this 2 years.
- I have noticed that when you start the phone for the first time after a wipe or a new ROM, it is better to create a new google account than using an existing one because the existing one, I think, will start updating everything while the new one will not. Anyway, using a new google account collapses the phone sooner or later.
Sorry for the long post, fellas. But I wanted to give you all the possible info I have about this phone.
Hoping for you can help me fix this issue... Have a good day.
Galaxy S4 mini GT-I9190

I'd guess at a hardware issue in the radio and related circuitry as you seem to get the issues when apps that send/receive data frequently are in use. Though it could be anything. You probably need to get it checked by an authorised Samsung repair centre ......... if your phone is not too "suspicious!"

IronRoo said:
I'd guess at a hardware issue in the radio and related circuitry as you seem to get the issues when apps that send/receive data frequently are in use. Though it could be anything. You probably need to get it checked by an authorised Samsung repair centre ......... if your phone is not too "suspicious!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply! Do you have an idea why they scratched the IMEI number? Maybe that could take me to where the exact problem is. Here is a photo of the back
http :// imgur. com/Sa0ptSm
Sorry for the link, my account still cannot post outside links

I was going to say they scratched the IMEI number probably because it was stolen so that it could not be tracked, but it is quite easy to see the number so that is probably not the reason. One place I used to work at the test department used to scratch the bar codes on faulty PCB's so that they cannot be scanned back into the system by mistake (if the fault tag comes off, etc) as that computer system did not prevent scrapped boards from being re-entered. So I would guess this may be the case with your phone, but of course we can't know for certain! But based on this and all tests of different ROMs etc you did I suspect it is quite likely the explanation.
What I would do is look for the same model that has a cracked screen on ebay etc so it's cheap to buy then swap the PCB's from the cracked phone to your good screen (swap everything to prevent the possibility of the boards not working due to different revision numbers, as has been reported when replacing the power boards on our phone). You can also buy a repair kit for a few dollars on ebay with screwdrivers, pry tool etc
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-In1-Repa...et-for-Mobile-Phone-iPhone-6-5s-/281869038536
If the PCB on your phone was scratched to show it was faulty then taking to a repair shop is probably a waste of money, unless then run an assessment for free before they repair it.
Hope you can fix it for a few dollars!

not sure if this helps but that I actually managed read off the IMEI code correctly and it turns out its a turkish registered phone, I can PM you IMEI code if you want, also its not reported stolen (but i am guessing its most likely is), anyways thats all I was here to say, good luck.

Galaxy S9 can definitely be BRICKED

Hi all,
I am not sure if this is better in a different Thread, so admin please move if so..
BE CAREFULL !!!! If you plan to root you S9, do NEVER do the following:
Switch on your S9 for the very first time and once you are forced to set-up a new google account, REMEMBER the data you enter !!!!!!!
Even if you (like me) do not want a google account, do not enter anything stupid, a password that you dont remember...
BECAUSE, if you now do a factory-reset from the bootloder, the phone will be lost forever!!!!!
You will have to send your phone to a SAMSUNG Service-center for unlock...
Thanks to Google and Samsung, this "feature" is very close to be illegal...

That sounds like FRP lock. If you know what you're doing (and you didn't steal the phone) there are ways around it.

joe535 said:
Hi all,
I am not sure if this is better in a different Thread, so admin please move if so..
BE CAREFULL !!!! If you plan to root you S9, do NEVER do the following:
Switch on your S9 for the very first time and once you are forced to set-up a new google account, REMEMBER the data you enter !!!!!!!
Even if you (like me) do not want a google account, do not enter anything stupid, a password that you dont remember...
BECAUSE, if you now do a factory-reset from the bootloder, the phone will be lost forever!!!!!
You will have to send your phone to a SAMSUNG Service-center for unlock...
Thanks to Google and Samsung, this "feature" is very close to be illegal...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has been the case for a long time, and the same with iPhones, don't forget your login, make sure you have a recovery for your email password and don't steal phones
Not sure why it should be illegal to protect people's personal info

joe535 said:
Thanks to Google and Samsung, this "feature" is very close to be illegal...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's actually illegal is people "forgetting" their password for "their" (newly acquired) phone.
So yeah. Let's totally make it easier to bypass you forgetting your password. While we're at it, let's just get rid of all security measures because they can be inconvenient at times.

FRP is a Documented Feature
The online Samsung S9 documentation does document the Factory Data Reset process. While this is surprising if it happens to you the feature is designed to help make stolen phone less valuable. At least in theory.
Note: When you sign in to a Google Account on your device, Factory Reset Protection is activated. This protects your device in the event it is lost or stolen. If you reset your device to factory default settings with the Factory Reset Protection (FRP) feature activated, you must enter the user name and password for a registered Google Account to regain access to the
device. You will not be able to access the device without the correct credentials.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

joe535 said:
Hi all,
I am not sure if this is better in a different Thread, so admin please move if so..
BE CAREFULL !!!! If you plan to root you S9, do NEVER do the following:
Switch on your S9 for the very first time and once you are forced to set-up a new google account, REMEMBER the data you enter !!!!!!!
Even if you (like me) do not want a google account, do not enter anything stupid, a password that you dont remember...
BECAUSE, if you now do a factory-reset from the bootloder, the phone will be lost forever!!!!!
You will have to send your phone to a SAMSUNG Service-center for unlock...
Thanks to Google and Samsung, this "feature" is very close to be illegal...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, that's why they call them smart phones, you need to be smart to use them.

Well, I do have the invoice from MY NOT STOLEN Phone.......
And an "anti-theft-feature" basically does not protect the phone from being stolen. It is simply not usable, but nevertheless the victim has a certain damage...
So, how can this kind of feature by advanced? VERY easy: In case of theft, the owner of a phone may log into his accoount from any other Computer and he ACTIVELY (!!!) has to quote his phone was stolen. NOW it can be locked.
I will send my phone to Samsung this week. I will expect thay RESET it for free...
Or maybe contact google... I remember the password but not the account... So maybe they can tell me the account-name if I gave the IMEA number...

oildale said:
What's actually illegal is people "forgetting" their password for "their" (newly acquired) phone.
So yeah. Let's totally make it easier to bypass you forgetting your password. While we're at it, let's just get rid of all security measures because they can be inconvenient at times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Especially since I do have the invoice, a proof that I BOUGHT the phone !!!!

oildale said:
What's actually illegal is people "forgetting" their password for "their" (newly acquired) phone.
So yeah. Let's totally make it easier to bypass you forgetting your password. While we're at it, let's just get rid of all security measures because they can be inconvenient at times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tomiga said:
That sounds like FRP lock. If you know what you're doing (and you didn't steal the phone) there are ways around it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already tried a lot of workarounds, so far with no success. Off course it is not stolen, I will make an image of the invoice later today if everybody mistrust me...
I will try that google give me the account-name I have created, because I do remember the password. I assume, that the account is tied to the IMEI of the phone...
If this does not help me out, I will se how far I will get using ADB. Luckily I activated USB debugging before I did the big mistake.
As last Option I will have to send the phone to a Samsung Service center...
Lets see...

joe535 said:
Well, I do have the invoice from MY NOT STOLEN Phone.......
And an "anti-theft-feature" basically does not protect the phone from being stolen. It is simply not usable, but nevertheless the victim has a certain damage...
So, how can this kind of feature by advanced? VERY easy: In case of theft, the owner of a phone may log into his accoount from any other Computer and he ACTIVELY (!!!) has to quote his phone was stolen. NOW it can be locked.
I will send my phone to Samsung this week. I will expect thay RESET it for free...
Or maybe contact google... I remember the password but not the account... So maybe they can tell me the account-name if I gave the IMEA number...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So OK let's reverse this scenario, you buy an S9, you secure it with your Google account, someone steals your phone, they use whatever method you are wishing for to unlock the device, and now they have access to all of your info, data, media, and also a brand new S9 for themselves
You are happy about this, right?
Or even if we say they reset the device, so your info is safe, they now have a brand new S9 for themselves. you are also happy about this too right?
Or how about the scenario when people already know it is useless resetting the phone because there is no way to unlock it without the original Google account login (Same as iPhone), now they don't bother stealing your phone because it would be useless to them, so now you get to keep your expensive S9 because they didn't want to steal it
Which scenario makes you happiest?
If you forget absolutely everything about the account you used for your phone, for some reason you do not have any record of it from other reset email accounts you should have added, then you have no-one to shout at other than yourself, you messed up, not Samsung or Google, YOU

*Detection* said:
So OK let's reverse this scenario, you buy an S9, you secure it with your Google account, someone steals your phone, they use whatever method you are wishing for to unlock the device, and now they have access to all of your info, data, media, and also a brand new S9 for themselves
You are happy about this, right?
Or even if we say they reset the device, so your info is safe, they now have a brand new S9 for themselves. you are also happy about this too right?
Or how about the scenario when people already know it is useless resetting the phone because there is no way to unlock it without the original Google account login (Same as iPhone), now they don't bother stealing your phone because it would be useless to them, so now you get to keep your expensive S9 because they didn't want to steal it
Which scenario makes you happiest?
If you forget absolutely everything about the account you used for your phone, for some reason you do not have any record of it from other reset email accounts you should have added, then you have no-one to shout at other than yourself, you messed up, not Samsung or Google, YOU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not fully agree!
If my phone is stolen, I will ACTIVATE the anti-theft-protection after it has been stolen.
Normally someone would recognize very fast that it has been stolen. It does not matter whether the stolen phone is deactivated right now or some hours later. It will be unusable from this moment, the owner deactivates...
No one is happy about a stolen phone, but stolen is stolen, regardless if the thief can use it or not. The damage I have anyway...
Imagine you buy a Windows-PC. But you prefer Linux, format the HDD and try to install linux. But some geniusses decided that your PC will no longer be usable... Really a good idea??

It should go without saying that having an invoice showing the purchase of a phone, if purchased from other than the manufacturer or cellular provider, does not eliminate the possibility that the phone was reported stolen by a previous purchaser/owner. I would much rather have my phone automatically rendered inoperable by anyone not having my password and/or Google account information than give them the opportunity to acccess it during the lag time spanning the period that: 1) I realized my phone is lost; 2) I successfully reported the loss to the carrier or manufacturer having the ability to hard lock the device; and 3) the carrier/manufacturer actually locks the device.

elbee222 said:
It should go without saying that having an invoice showing the purchase of a phone, if purchased from other than the manufacturer or cellular provider, does not eliminate the possibility that the phone was reported stolen by a previous purchaser/owner. I would much rather have my phone automatically rendered inoperable by anyone not having my password and/or Google account information than give them the opportunity to acccess it during the lag time spanning the period that: 1) I realized my phone is lost; 2) I successfully reported the loss to the carrier or manufacturer having the ability to hard lock the device; and 3) the carrier/manufacturer actually locks the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yes and no To me, the probability to "loose" my phone in a way I accitentially did is much higher than it might be stolen...
So do you mean, even I can proove the purchase, I do not have the right that Samsung unlocks it??? See, if it is stolen, I cannot use it. If I do 2 SOFTWARE based steps, I cannot use it. It is lost in both cases, so non of them is good...

If you can prove the purchase, and -- if you are not the original purchaser - no prior owner has reported the phone lost or stolen and there is no related bad IMEI issue -- then I would agree that you should have the right to have the phone unlocked/reactivated by Samsung or the carrier. I suspect Samsung or the carrier will check to make sure that a lost/stolen phone report is not received in the interim.

joe535 said:
I do not fully agree!
If my phone is stolen, I will ACTIVATE the anti-theft-protection after it has been stolen.
Normally someone would recognize very fast that it has been stolen. It does not matter whether the stolen phone is deactivated right now or some hours later. It will be unusable from this moment, the owner deactivates...
No one is happy about a stolen phone, but stolen is stolen, regardless if the thief can use it or not. The damage I have anyway...
Imagine you buy a Windows-PC. But you prefer Linux, format the HDD and try to install linux. But some geniusses decided that your PC will no longer be usable... Really a good idea??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your argument is weak, it is a LOT more difficult to lose a PC than a phone, it is a LOT more difficult to steal a PC than a phone
Thousands (maybe millions) of phones are lost and stolen every day around the world, PCs not so much...
Why would you buy a Windows PC if you wanted Linux? Wouldn't you just build a PC and install Linux from day 1?
At the end of the day, for whatever reasons you are p*ssed because you are locked out of your phone, the reason you are locked out is your own fault, you are looking to blame someone when all you need to do is look in the mirror
Maybe Samsung will unlock it if you can prove proof of ownership, maybe... but by the sounds of it, you didn't buy it new, which leads us right back to the possibility of it being stolen, which is likely the same conclusion Samsung will come to

*Detection* said:
Your argument is weak, it is a LOT more difficult to lose a PC than a phone, it is a LOT more difficult to steal a PC than a phone
Thousands (maybe millions) of phones are lost and stolen every day around the world, PCs not so much...
Why would you buy a Windows PC if you wanted Linux? Wouldn't you just build a PC and install Linux from day 1?
At the end of the day, for whatever reasons you are p*ssed because you are locked out of your phone, the reason you are locked out is your own fault, you are looking to blame someone when all you need to do is look in the mirror
Maybe Samsung will unlock it if you can prove proof of ownership, maybe... but by the sounds of it, you didn't buy it new, which leads us right back to the possibility of it being stolen, which is likely the same conclusion Samsung will come to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just talked to Samsung support. Will cost me about 35€ to get the security chip changed.
Ok, could have been worse...

joe535 said:
Just talked to Samsung support. Will cost me about 35€ to get the security chip changed.
Ok, could have been worse...
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Click to collapse
Let us know what happens

joe535 said:
Especially since I do have the invoice, a proof that I BOUGHT the phone !!!!
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I'm not saying that you stole the phone but because you don't take making your account seriously the rest of us have to have security that is easily bypassed for our phones? I don't think so.
You screwed up and now you're paying the price. Hopefully you can get things sorted out and get access to your phone. In the very least though, you'll never do something so stupid again right?

*Detection* said:
So OK let's reverse this scenario, you buy an S9, you secure it with your Google account, someone steals your phone, they use whatever method you are wishing for to unlock the device, and now they have access to all of your info, data, media, and also a brand new S9 for themselves
You are happy about this, right?
Or even if we say they reset the device, so your info is safe, they now have a brand new S9 for themselves. you are also happy about this too right?
Or how about the scenario when people already know it is useless resetting the phone because there is no way to unlock it without the original Google account login (Same as iPhone), now they don't bother stealing your phone because it would be useless to them, so now you get to keep your expensive S9 because they didn't want to steal it
Which scenario makes you happiest?
If you forget absolutely everything about the account you used for your phone, for some reason you do not have any record of it from other reset email accounts you should have added, then you have no-one to shout at other than yourself, you messed up, not Samsung or Google, YOU
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That's it.

oildale said:
I'm not saying that you stole the phone but because you don't take making your account seriously the rest of us have to have security that is easily bypassed for our phones? I don't think so.
You screwed up and now you're paying the price. Hopefully you can get things sorted out and get access to your phone. In the very least though, you'll never do something so stupid again right?
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Click to collapse
Exactly. At least, we know by now, that there is a physical security-chip inside the phones
I am just wondering, why this forum does exist.. I assume a lot of us like custom ROMs , rooting etc. because we like to get rid of google and other bloatware. At least this it what I personally like to... But if a google "feature" locks someone from his own phone, he suddenly is a criminal ?!?!?!
OK. @admin - better close this thread as it does not really helps us.

Question gmail and password from previous owner needed - Help

Got an ex review Galaxy fold 4 which had not been wiped before I was given it. I factory resetted it, but it needs the gmail and gmail password from the previous owner... is there any way to byoass this or will it simply be easier to chase up the previous owner?

patdude1234 said:
Got an ex review Galaxy fold 4 which had not been wiped before I was given it. I factory resetted it, but it needs the gmail and gmail password from the previous owner... is there any way to byoass this or will it simply be easier to chase up the previous owner?
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Click to collapse
first who knows how you have got the device? You really new owner or what someone trying to hack into hte device. Kindly reach out the old owner. or do your own research.

Let's be reasonable. Telling us you need the account info from the previous owner is a HUGE red flag. That means is was never factory reset when it was...sold/given/stolen to/by...you. So do understand we are not a community that will assist anyone with a stolen device.
That said, methuselah is correct. You should research the issue instead of asking for help via a vague post. You COULD take it to your carrier's store and have them assist you. Honestly, that's the best route. Take the proof of purchase with you to show it's not stolen.
Good luck.

Of course. That is totally reasonable, For background, I am a reviewer and Samsung's local PR firm forgot to reset the phone before couriering it to me (which is incredibly frustrating). I have reached out to their PR team, but it is taking forever to get this resolved Meanwhile I have a shiny galaxy fold 4 sitting there that is unusable

there are ways but FBI would raid me if I tell u...
nice try tho

I'm sending it back to Samsung to be swapped out for a fresh review sample...

patdude1234 said:
Of course. That is totally reasonable, For background, I am a reviewer and Samsung's local PR firm forgot to reset the phone before couriering it to me (which is incredibly frustrating). I have reached out to their PR team, but it is taking forever to get this resolved Meanwhile I have a shiny galaxy fold 4 sitting there that is unusable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's FRP (factory reset protection). Background: Let's pretend that your mobile device got stolen. The first thing a thief will do is to reset the phone, because without knowing the correct display pattern the device is pretty useless (and it's very hard to sold in that state ). Since the settings menu is also unreachable with a locked display the thief is forced to reset the phone via recovery mode. This mode must be always accessible by pressing the right key combo in case you are in serious trouble with an unbootable device. Doing it that way, the following setup of the device requires a login to the last active Google account to verify the owner.
This verification step is also required if you do a factory reset in your settings menu. But here the verification is done before you delete everything by entering your display pattern. This will disable FRP for the following reset because you have then verified that this device is yours.
As a reviewer of the phone, you must have contact to a person of Samsung's local PR firm. Talk to her/him and get a new one.

Yes as mentioned above that is exactly what I am doing...

Thanks for the follow up, that all sounds fine. It just helps to give more information.
Yes, if you contacted Sammy and they are replacing it, then you found the best route. Good luck on the review.

Sharing frustration of all ends. Got a refurbished Sammy phone on Amazon, it arrived with someone's pwd on it. I bought it as a backup phone for the office so we discovered it outside the 90 days warranty and could not have sent back. I have the receipt, it is AMAZON selling it, and I have a brick on my desk. Nice, isn't it?

EranNavick said:
Sharing frustration of all ends. Got a refurbished Sammy phone on Amazon, it arrived with someone's pwd on it. I bought it as a backup phone for the office so we discovered it outside the 90 days warranty and could not have sent back. I have the receipt, it is AMAZON selling it, and I have a brick on my desk. Nice, isn't it?
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Click to collapse
If the phone arrived like that from Amazon, return to Amazon ASAP