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Hey everyone, I'm looking to see if there's a better alternative to wavesecure. I was robbed last night at gun point and among my DSLR cam and wallet, my phone went along with them.
That is when I realized how useless Wavesecure is. I don't know who's paying for it since I got in on the free lifetime membership but what a waste of money.
They completely ignore what happens in a robbery.
First, phone gets stolen and turned off by thief (if they're smart or been doing it for a while).
Second, Victim tries to lock or track the phone through the Wavesecure site but with the phone off..nothing will get through. Sure, you may say, "as soon as they turn it on...." but how long will you wait? The only way this will work is if you can get the wipe command in soon enough. Otherwise, if you lock it and they see it...off it goes.
Third, after the police report.. you start calling the bank.. and eventually sprint to restrict service. But if you restrict it then the command will really never get through unless they're on wifi.
After you restrict it, it's time to say good bye and Wavesecure has done nothing.
The best security measure, is to have a weapon of your own, haha. Or maybe lifting the ghettos out of the ghetto so crimerate lowers, :O.
Seriously, the thing I appreciate most about the phone is that I had it pattern locked. So if it's off, then next time they turn it on, service or not, they'll be greeted with it. So, no access to my data, which is the biggest loss for me. The only thing vulnerable is my microsd card...which is why wavesecure let me down. They will never connect to wifi because they can't unlock it and sd card will never be wiped.
I'm glad I'm on a CDMA carrier, esn blocked. Nothing like that on GSM that I know of.
Is there a solution that will wipe your phone AND sd card after a set number of failed pin/password/pattern unlock attempts? Say 20?
Funny info: they only used my credit card once. $2.20 at a McDonald's.
Yes: There's an app called "autowipe" which allows you to wipe both the phone's memory and SD card if one of the following conditions is met:
1) Phone receives a text with a password in it.
2) User-defined number of lockscreen password failures.
3) SIM card is changed (doesn't apply to us, but nice feature).
Best of all, it's FREE.
The number one thing is that you are ok, these fools out here will shoot even if you cooperate with them. I ran into a similar situation with my phone (not robbed) but my phone was stolen and I had mobile defense. Only way to track the phone is if it was on which the thief turned off, so the only option was to wait for them to turn on the phone, which I did attempt for a few days but lost hope and had sprint stop service to the phone. The only option I had left was if they turned on the phone and connected to wifi which had not happened to this date so I had to buy another Evo which was equally painful as the first one being stolen. Like I said though, glad you are ok because a phone can be replaced, not a person.
Autowipe, darn. I hadn't heard of it before. I never really thought out the situation. Noone ever expects to be in it.. First thing installed when I get my phone from asurion.
Jfree, no insurance? Buying one full price is the worst, to top it all off. I was skeptical about needing insurance. I had never lost a phone before..but stolen never seemed like a real possibility. Always a surprise.
Autowipe seems like the app i was looking for. Definitely a must have, especially to protect all your valuable data.
That sucks, Los Angeles really does suck... thankfully I am in the northern half of Cali
Sucks.
Sent while sitting on the toilet.
So you do not like wavesecure because it doesn't work with the phone off?
Find out what McDonald's they went to and get the police to pull the videotape at the time of the sale. Have the LAPD do something for a change.
backdown said:
So you do not like wavesecure because it doesn't work with the phone off?
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Click to collapse
I didn't say I didn't like it. I'm saying that in the situation for which it is intended to be used, it is useless. Autowipe and a pattern/pin/password lock would be a better alternative. Especially since you have to pay for wavesecure.
P_Dub_S said:
Find out what McDonald's they went to and get the police to pull the videotape at the time of the sale. Have the LAPD do something for a change.
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Click to collapse
Wow, I is noob. I'm going to call them asap, hadn't thought of that.! I want my cam back...or reimbursement. Thanks! This whole thing has me in a zoned out mode kind of..
overthinkingme said:
I didn't say I didn't like it. I'm saying that in the situation for which it is intended to be used, it is useless. Autowipe and a pattern/pin/password lock would be a better alternative. Especially since you have to pay for wavesecure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would it work with the phone off? It has no power source. No power source =/= signal. Now, once they turn the phone on you are good..but no matter what you do to your phone (short of planting an actual gps chip on it) it will not work if the phone is on.
Wow, I is noob. I'm going to call them asap, hadn't thought of that.! I want my cam back...or reimbursement. Thanks! This whole thing has me in a zoned out mode kind of..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will only get a reimbursement if you carry insurance (home owners) on them..
jigglywiggly said:
That sucks, Los Angeles really does suck... thankfully I am in the northern half of Cali
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Click to collapse
Yeah because we all know there's no crime in northern Cali. People just do not get robbed there .....ass
P_Dub_S said:
Find out what McDonald's they went to and get the police to pull the videotape at the time of the sale. Have the LAPD do something for a change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless they shot someone I doubt the lapd will do this.
backdown said:
Why would it work with the phone off? It has no power source. No power source =/= signal. Now, once they turn the phone on you are good..but no matter what you do to your phone (short of planting an actual gps chip on it) it will not work if the phone is on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not once did I say that I expected it to work while off.
Did you not read? My argument is that by the time they turn it back on, non-predictable, the phone will have already been restricted by you..but at that point you already don't expect to get it back..
I'm originally from S.F., but I moved to LA for the crime.
i am sorry for your loss sir.
Thats why I believe every person that does not have a criminal record should be allowed to have a concealed weapons permit with training...if these punk ass lowlife pieces of **** were afraid they would be killed when they rob or attack somebody maybe they would think twice...i guarantee crime rates would drop practically overnight! But the damn yuppies and politicians only want the criminals to have guns..
Sorry man....that sucks. One of our employees just had his stolen out of his car which was parked in his garage. Had Lookout on it and I was able to track it for just a few minutes while they had it on but couldn't pinpoint the location before the phone was turned off. After that, called Sprint and shut phone off. Bye Bye phone.
Looking back on what could have been done......
First thing, set an unlock pattern for your phone so, unless they know how to bypass, not going to get into it.
Second, even if the phone is off/locked they could pull the SD card and browse via PC. If sensitive information is on there they will have access. There is an app in the market which lets you set a password for any folders/files on the card you wish. This way, no access granted to those particular items.
If you want the app and can't find it repost and I will dig it up.
Also, Sprint will give some credit for the phone if stolen but with what they charge it will still be expensive. Might be better off buying on sale over the net for cheaper price. EVO was advertised on Amazon not too long ago @ 99.99.
Sucks... my right hand man got stolen yesterday.. so customized and so many good photos and videos on it.. crap!! I'm in the Dominican Republic.. 2nd to last day of a 2 week vacation and someone takes it when I wasn't looking off a table at a restaurant! I almost transferred photos the previous night too! Anyway just had to let some people know that can truly feel my pain. Anyone know Asurion's deductible on this phone? I can't do anything with my Sprint account or Asurion till I get back in the states cuz I cant figure my pin or my "first car" security question and I think Sprint site it blocked from loggin in this country..
I was at work and had my phone charging next to demo phones bc we were slow. Next thing I know it was gone. I immediately went to the door and locked it and called my number hoping I would catch someone in the act and lay it on them...it started ringing next to a couple that was with my manager. Seeing the look in my eye he immediately said that he took it off the charger so no one took it. I think the red on my face gave it away that I was going to get it and get fired by my actions or it was going to get handed back to me. Luckily I have phone nerds watching my back when I get busy lol.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Sorry to hear your phone got stolen (especially with your awesome pictures). The deduction for a new phone will be $100 thru the TEP. You can do it online, as long as you order before 11pm, you should have your phone the next day, unless its on backorder.
tri0xinn said:
Sucks... my right hand man got stolen yesterday.. so customized and so many good photos and videos on it.. crap!! I'm in the Dominican Republic.. 2nd to last day of a 2 week vacation and someone takes it when I wasn't looking off a table at a restaurant! I almost transferred photos the previous night too! Anyway just had to let some people know that can truly feel my pain. Anyone know Asurion's deductible on this phone? I can't do anything with my Sprint account or Asurion till I get back in the states cuz I cant figure my pin or my "first car" security question and I think Sprint site it blocked from loggin in this country..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install Plan B from the android market, it's free (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lookout.labs.planb)
If your phone is still on, it'll download itself to your phone and send you an email about its location. You can also text your phone a keyword (I think it's 'locate', the exact word is on the android marketplace) and it'll give you an updated location. It might not work, but it's worth a try.
^ There's a good idea. And in the future you should really have something like Androidlost on it so you can track and wipe it remotely.
I kinda want mine to be stolen. I have mine set that whenever it boots another number I have gets a text with its network location and gps location. I can also text it a word and it will respond with the location. I have not yet figured out how to wipe the device with a modded rom so if they remove the sd card they have access to all of my pics and info, but I'll know where they are and I have another action text word to take a pic and send to me so I'll see who they are too.
OP that blows I'm sorry. When I got this phone I had a nightmare that a idiot took my phone and accudentally bricked it. I was pissed! Lol
eagercrow said:
I kinda want mine to be stolen. I nave mine set that whenever it boots another number I have gets a text with its network location and gps location. I can also text it a word and it will respond with the location. I have not yet figured out how to wipe the device with a modded rom so if they remove the sd card they have access to all of my pics and info, but I'll know where they are and I have another action text word to take a pic and send to me so I'll see who they are too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? You kinda want your phone to be stolen?
nabbed said:
Really? You kinda want your phone to be stolen?
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Click to collapse
yes and no, does that make any sense? lol. My phone is a part of me so that would suck, but because it is a part of me I have set up ways to track it if lost. Sure I could give my phone to a friend to test, but my friends are like me and I might get one location before they wiped it. I would like to know how effective my precautions and protections are against a real world situation.
What apps can take pictures of the thief ?
Sent from my GS2ET4g
Well I installed plan b.. wish there was an app I could install remotely that would wipe the phone automatically.. or self destruct it..hehe... thanks for the replies and ideas. I tried to claim through asurion but my pin is wrong as well as my 'first car" question.. would be nice because I get home Friday.. would be nice if there was new one waiting. Does anyone know what the default "pin" could be .. like date of birth .. or something else? I tried date of birth but didn't work unless it's a different format.
i think the default pin is 123456. i could be wrong though...
i just know that when i got my evo, i never picked a pin and that's what i had when i finally remembered to change it.
Not the same, but wanted to comment on getting stuff stolen.
You can never be too cautious. About 10 years ago, I went to Mexico with my school (senior year Spanish class trip), and we were getting ready to leave from a hotel. We were sitting on a bench, 3 guys, and I went to help people get the bags in the bus. Told the guys to watch the bag, but a few seconds later I saw them next to me. So I ran to the bench, and it was gone. Had a brand new digital camera (3mpx back then), my CD player with all my CDs, etc. It just messed the entire trip. It was bad.
I'd like to say that when you're out of your comfort area you can never be too cautious...but...you can NEVER be too cautious no matter where you are. I didn't get anything, but I surely tried looking everywhere to see if I could find somebody with my bag, or the camera, etc.
The thing with the phone, is that nowadays, the phone is your digital camera, your CD player, your facebook portal, has your email, documents... This summer, my wife left her phone at McDonalds. We were on a 1000-mile trip, so this was just one stop in the middle of nowhere. Right away I asked her to check for her phone. She thought I had it, I thought she got it...Had to turn around in the highway (one of those "only emergency vehicles" turns) and went back to McD. Of course she was freaking out. Her facebook, the phone was unprotected, had access to all her mail, her contacts, etc, etc. I went there, looked for it, called it, nothing. Looked like if someone was hanging up when I called. I asked the manager at McD and I guess somebody cleaning found it and brought it to the back.
I was of the lucky ones.
Follow these guys' advice: protect your phone, because you don't know when sh$t will happen. It could be you, your girlfriend, wife, daughter, son, husband...somehow, somewhere, chances are a phone may go missing. So protect it while you can.
A Redmi account is added into it. What I can do. please help I cudnt able to break through it
ıf it has a sim card keep it charged, the owner will probably try to call it.
Do what you would want done for you.
return it to its owner man!
Redlegend said:
A Redmi account is added into it. What I can do. please help I cudnt able to break through it
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Click to collapse
Be prepared to get in trouble if the original owner files a report to police for lost phone. It's better you either try to contact back the owner and return it, or report to nearest police station where you found it. If you want to use it for yourself, there are grey methods available, but it will always be risky if the IMEI of the device is reported to police/network provider. So good luck with it
Wow...
Redlegend said:
A Redmi account is added into it. What I can do. please help I cudnt able to break through it
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Click to collapse
Honestly... This says alot about you..
Put yourself in this poor person's place.. these thing cost a lot of cash..
Most of us have our lives in these devices.
Pictures of our Children or Family.. Precious moments..
Bank Accounts... Contacts.. Personal and Professional.
And here you are..... trying to BREAK INTO IT AND ASKING FOR *HELP* here at XDA.
I think.. you should be traced... and turned in to the Authorities..
DO THE RIGHT THING.. MAKE ***EVERY EFFORT*** TO CONTACT THE OWNER AND RETURN THE PHONE.
This Thread Is Just Not Cool Man.
Wow u r asking the community to help you steal someone's phone.The owner can easily track you.Simply return it by contacting the owner or go to a police station and submit the phone over there and if you are going to keep it get ready to get into big trouble
Try calling 911 or 100 and then ask them you found this phone on lying road and tell them to unlock it. Then the phone will be sucessfully unlocked. Please dont switch off that phone else owner will be able to track it if phone is switched off. Good luck
Redlegend said:
A Redmi account is added into it. What I can do. please help I cudnt able to break through it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Return it to the police or directly call the owner, get yourself a probable award or good wishes!!
Wtf
Guys I do want to return it but the problem is sim card is not there and mobile not opening why u guys Makin me thief, I just wanted to get into it so I cud find the contacts of the seller and return it to him....I was in a trip, I was like 500km far from where am I now. If I even return it the local police station I am not sure if they are going to give it back to the real owner. Or might be possible police they sell it back to someone, I don't trust those money seeking policemen... I was asking a solution for it. Dammit my title was I found a phone in the road, not I want to steal someone's phone. Don't judge before knowing anything. If I wanted to scam the phone I cud have come up with another story like I bought a phone from a guy and it's locked but i didn't.
Thanks man
vishalxox said:
Try calling 911 or 100 and then ask them you found this phone on lying road and tell them to unlock it. Then the phone will be sucessfully unlocked. Please dont switch off that phone else owner will be able to track it if phone is switched off. Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks bro for your reply, but I want to return it , I am going to try it, if not worked then I will report it to the police station from where I found it, and will say them of they find the owner of it then they can contact me.. as I am far now I am not able to give it to the police station so it's the best possible way for me.
No sim is there bro
fnldstntn said:
ıf it has a sim card keep it charged, the owner will probably try to call it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No sim
.....
RaiderWill said:
Honestly... This says alot about you..
Put yourself in this poor person's place.. these thing cost a lot of cash..
Most of us have our lives in these devices.
Pictures of our Children or Family.. Precious moments..
Bank Accounts... Contacts.. Personal and Professional.
And here you are..... trying to BREAK INTO IT AND ASKING FOR *HELP* here at XDA.
I think.. you should be traced... and turned in to the Authorities.. .
DO THE RIGHT THING.. MAKE ***EVERY EFFORT*** TO CONTACT THE OWNER AND RETURN THE PHONE.
This Thread Is Just Not Cool Man.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already making every effort to return it back
Please don't judge man
iamsubhamgupta said:
Wow u r asking the community to help you steal someone's phone.The owner can easily track you.Simply return it by contacting the owner or go to a police station and submit the phone over there and if you are going to keep it get ready to get into big trouble
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Click to collapse
I am not asking to steal if I wanted to do that then my title wont be like I found a phone on the road,
try contacting xiaomi customer care ! maybe they can help you
Redlegend said:
I am not asking to steal if I wanted to do that then my title wont be like I found a phone on the road,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I am sorry man if I hurt you but your title was somewhat misleading, it felt more like you found a phone and can't get into it and somehow if you can break in then the thing would be yours to keep. Most of us got the same meaning from your heading. Anyways I am sorry again if I was rude and too quick to judge you.As for the phone it is locked and you can't get into it even if u hard reset the phone miui won't allow you to get in until you sign in with the same mi id.You are not going to go to police station as you are not in the area where you found it and I understand that.Now to me the solutions include using the IMEI no to find the owner.Second if the bootloader is unlocked flash a custom ROM which will allow you to get into the device but will wipe every contact information from phone though you can still access the owner's files which may help you to track him.And thirdly if u fail to do the above two things keep it connected to internet through WiFi or mobile data which may help the owner to track the phone.If u fail in all these I think it is better to give it to a police station as you will be safe in every aspect and you will not get into any potential mess.And if u have made your mind not to contact police then the phone is yours to keep
Try contacting the police as soon as possible cuz if you're found it's not going to be your intentions but the fact you owned the device without taking to the police which will be seen.
Try posting on MIUI forum. Let them know IMEI number, and probably they can let know which user ID/phone number it is tagged to. Once you get the phone number, maybe you can call it up?
You have done a great job so far, keep up the good work
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.
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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??
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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
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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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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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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.
Hello guys.
A friend/colleague of my wife had his son die in a motorcycle accident a couple of months ago. His phone was not damaged but has a pin lock on it. The family wants to retrieve any photos or videos in the phone with their son. Searched around a bit but cannot find any way of unlocking without data erase. They just want any reminders of him and don't really care about the phone itself. It is a Note 10+ N975W. If you can help in any way it would be appreciated.
Thank you.
dondedios said:
Hello guys.
A friend/colleague of my wife had his son die in a motorcycle accident a couple of months ago. His phone was not damaged but has a pin lock on it. The family wants to retrieve any photos or videos in the phone with their son. Searched around a bit but cannot find any way of unlocking without data erase. They just want any reminders of him and don't really care about the phone itself. It is a Note 10+ N975W. If you can help in any way it would be appreciated.
Thank you.
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If anyone on the family has access to the accounts linked to the phone, they could easily unlock it that way.
They can also try and explain the situation on to a Samsung service center, I think they might just be able to do so with the proper proof of purchase for the device.
Doing this by themselves will most likely result in a total loss of the data which they're supposed to be avoiding.
I don't think anyone on the forum would help, mainly because of the lack of credibility on the story itself.
Good luck
joyousfrank said:
If anyone on the family has access to the accounts linked to the phone, they could easily unlock it that way.
They can also try and explain the situation on to a Samsung service center, I think they might just be able to do so with the proper proof of purchase for the device.
Doing this by themselves will most likely result in a total loss of the data which they're supposed to be avoiding.
I don't think anyone on the forum would help, mainly because of the lack of credibility on the story itself.
Good luck
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Unfortunately they don't have access to any of the accounts . I will ask them if they can find any paperwork. I know my story is strange and I really don't know how to convince people about this. As some sort of proof if I just have a stolen phone or something I wouldn't care about any data and just hard reset it and bypass the google account. Anyway thanks for the idea with Samsung service center.
the problem is giving ways to access devices can open the phone to a load of fraud due to stuff like cards saved on the device either through services like the pay apps or other login information saved in the device.
so really it doesn't come down to plausibility of the story it comes from a security stand point and for sites like this they will not allow things like this to be discussed as it could be used illegally.
best option if you can prove you're a relative and the death of the user is to contact either Samsung or Google and see if they will let you recover the accounts and just hope the original user backed up their photos and such to cloud accounts or if you got access to the Samsung account likely remotely unlock the device.
I've not rooted my phone so I don't know if it wipes it or not.
But if not you can always root the phone and then use adb commands to remove the lock.