Develop Bugs

Bought a google locked S9

So, I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy S9 (T-Mobile) from some random stranger online, And when i got the S9 it did not come with anything else but the phone which immediately raised a flag for me.
When i tried to set it up it asked me to connect to the internet to set up, And once i connected to the internet and clicked next, I then found out it was google locked? It required me to log in with the previous owners email, When i contacted the owner he did not respond at all and i assume he stole it from someone else and sold it to me. I started to search around the internet and found a video of a person unlocking it in some way with Odin3 so i tried to do what he asked and nearly got a virus from it which left me unable to trust any other videos or sites, So I was wondering if anyone here would be able to help me some way to unlock and use this device, I tried going to a phone store near me to try unlocking it and they said it would cost me $120 usd, But i was sure i am able to do this at home by myself for free, But i'm not quite sure what to do without getting any malware. So if anyone could help me it would be greatly appreciated

You could try flashing stock firmware using Odin. Look up your model number on Sam-mobile.

What you are asking is the same as "I stole a phone that is FRP locked, help me gain access"
We have no way to know if you bought it or stole it
If you bought via eBay or similar, contact the site owners, if you used PP or a credit card, open a dispute and get the transaction reversed
If you did a bank transfer, you have details that can identify the seller, start legal proceedings, contact the bank
If you bought online, you will have some sort of digital footprint to find him
And at the end of the day, you took the risk buying unprotected like that

What *Detection* said, this "random stranger" didn't just show up on your computer, you had to find him on a website. If what you said is true, then there is some type of digital footprint. If it was on Ebay, then you have a way to possibly get your money back. Next time, demand a screenshot of the IMEI and do a quick search to find out if the IMEI is clear. If you bought a stolen phone, then your guilty of buying stolen goods.

I know a a method to unlock/bypass it easily but u can google it. like many of the other users are saying, you could have stolen it and trying to get a partner in crime. Just get a refund or ask the person for the info temporarily and then he/she just.change their pw quickly. It'll notify them when u have sucessfully unlocked the device. Good luck.

What's your conscience telling you? Do a trace, get a refund, and return the phone to its original owner.

Thread closed.
FRP (Factory Reset Protection) is done for something and we at XDA do not allow discussions to bypass such security systems. Even if it's for good reasons in the end we don't take that risk.
Please read the rules again HERE.
In particular, this one here below:
9. Don't get us into trouble.
Don't post copyrighted materials or do other things which will obviously lead to legal trouble. If you wouldn't do it on your own homepage, you probably shouldn't do it here either. This does not mean that we agree with everything that the software piracy lobby try to impose on us. It simply means that you cannot break any laws here, since we'll end up dealing with the legal hassle caused by you. Please use common sense: respect the forum, its users and those that write great code.
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Thanks
Wood Man
Senior Moderator

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.
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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...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let us know what happens

joe535 said:
Especially since I do have the invoice, a proof that I BOUGHT the phone !!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

Pin Unlock without losing data for a good cause

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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

General Google Pixel mail-in repairs have allegedly twice resulted in leaked pics and a privacy nightmare

https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/4/22817758/broken-google-pixel-phone-privacy-leak
Google says it’s investigating the latest report
By Emma Roth Dec 4, 2021, 7:43pm EST
After game designer and author Jane McGonigal sent her Pixel 5a to Google for repair, someone allegedly took and hacked her device. This is at least the second report in as many weeks from someone claiming they sent a Google phone in for repair, only to have it used to leak their private data and photographs. McGonigal posted a detailed account of the situation on Twitter on Saturday and advised other users not to send their phones in for repair with the company.
In October, McGonigal sent her broken phone to an official Pixel repair center in Texas. She tweeted later that Google said it never received the phone, and during the ensuing weeks, she was charged for a replacement device.
“THE PHOTOS THEY OPENED WERE OF ME IN BATHING SUITS, SPORTS BRAS, FORM-FITTING DRESSES, AND OF STITCHES AFTER SURGERY”
But according to McGonigal, FedEx tracking information shows the device arrived at the facility weeks ago. Late Friday night — a few hours after she says she finally received a refund for the device — someone seems to have used the “missing” phone to clear two-factor authentication checks and log in to several of her accounts, including her Dropbox, Gmail, and Google Drive.
The activity triggered several email security alerts to McGonigal’s backup accounts. However, she speculates that whoever has the phone may have used it to access her backup email addresses and then dumped any security alerts into her spam folder.
“The photos they opened were of me in bathing suits, sports bras, form-fitting dresses, and of stitches after surgery,” McGonigal writes. “They deleted Google security notifications in my backup email accounts.”
In a statement emailed to The Verge, Google spokesperson Alex Moriconi says, “We are investigating this claim.” It’s still unclear whether the device might have been intercepted within the repair facility or while it was in transit, or who has it now. Google’s official repair instructions recommend backing up and then erasing a device before sending it in. Still, as Jane McGonigal points out, that’s either hard or impossible, depending on the damage.
The whole situation reminds us of the security concerns whenever we hand over our devices for repair, and unfortunately, such activity has precedent. In June, Apple paid millions to a woman after repair technicians posted her nude photos to Facebook. Apple recently said it would start selling DIY repair kits, giving users the chance to fix their own phones, or at least have the task done by someone that a user trusts, as opposed to sending it in or dropping it off at an Apple Store.
For Pixel phones, your options for official service are either via mail-in or, in some countries, local service through an authorized provider. In the US, Google partners with uBreakiFix franchises. Whatever phone you have, the options for repairs are still somewhat limited, and you end up having to trust that no one with bad intentions will get their hands on your phone while it’s out of your possession.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

It also happened to a woman with an iPhone. Nothing new.

These people obviously don't have a reasonable screen lock.
Also, google should provide instructions to wipe with USB that can be followed by a normal person.

96carboard said:
These people obviously don't have a reasonable screen lock.
Also, google should provide instructions to wipe with USB that can be followed by a normal person.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for the most part, these people have no lock or biometrics on. and their screen is dead (so they think the phone is dead). but I agree, they should develop a tool but it wouldn't be easy. Have you tried running commands or whatever with a blank screen? its very difficult. but you're right, a tool that either locks or wipes the device would be awesome, no commands or messy fastboot menus for the user would help a ton.

Lesson learned don't take nudes lol

Alekos said:
for the most part, these people have no lock or biometrics on. and their screen is dead (so they think the phone is dead). but I agree, they should develop a tool but it wouldn't be easy. Have you tried running commands or whatever with a blank screen? its very difficult. but you're right, a tool that either locks or wipes the device would be awesome, no commands or messy fastboot menus for the user would help a ton.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lady that sent it in said she did have a screen lock and took every precaution she was instructed to take since she couldn't power on her device.

pcriz said:
The lady that sent it in said she did have a screen lock and took every precaution she was instructed to take since she couldn't power on her device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup. I just read the article. the guy on reddit who posted a few days ago admitted there was no lock on the screen. so who knows. they could have had an easy unlock code (1234, 1111) which is the same as having no unlock code pretty much. but yeah it'll be interesting to find out the truth.

Alekos said:
yup. I just read the article. the guy on reddit who posted a few days ago admitted there was no lock on the screen. so who knows. they could have had an easy unlock code (1234, 1111) which is the same as having no unlock code pretty much. but yeah it'll be interesting to find out the truth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still though. If it's true, the service provider is in the wrong either way. Locked or unlocked. Easy or hard.

pcriz said:
Still though. If it's true, the service provider is in the wrong either way. Locked or unlocked. Easy or hard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes. 100%. my comment makes it seem like it was the user's fault. this is 100% the blame of the repair agents/shipping/ whoever accessed the phone. this should never happen. but all we can do is minimize the likelihood

A.Priori said:
Lesson learned don't take nudes lol
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Click to collapse
Most people don't want to hear this, but it's still an universal truth - if you don't want nudes to leaks, don't take any (at least not with a smart device/cloud capable phone). If you really need to have nudes of yourself, take a polaroid and share them with your partner manually. That way, it's at least physically restricted to your immediate surroundings.
Every device can be hacked, every cloud can be broken. All those ICloud leaks could have been avoided, plus a lot of drama. It doesn't mean you can't make any nudes, just use tech that is too ancient to become a problem.
As a golden rule of thumb: Any and each information you spread to the internet, is permanently stored. And - in doubt - is accessible by at least one more person other than yourself. Keeping that in mind is paramount to understand the world wide web.
So DO NOT share any information you do not want to get accidentally leaked.
Of course this is still a terrible crime (OP linked story) and Google + the repair shop have to be held responsible. Still, you should always expect other people to behave like an a** - to deceive, cheat, fraud, lie or fool - that's the way of life for many.
Ergo life is, most often or not, about making sure that you do not share any vulnerable sides unnecessarily. At least if you want to avoid trouble.

What I don't get is when I sent my phones back it SPECIFICALLY states to factory reset the phone? Do people not read? Also, if you don't want your nudes to be seen don't take any? Like...EXPECTATIONS<REALITY

Gytole said:
What I don't get is when I sent my phones back it SPECIFICALLY states to factory reset the phone? Do people not read? Also, if you don't want your nudes to be seen don't take any? Like...EXPECTATIONS<REALITY
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Click to collapse
How do you propose to do that if the phone is not able to turn on or connect to an external source? If this story is actually true, and I have my doubts, this would be the time you eat the cost of the device and put it in a drawer or smash it to smithereens.

Gytole said:
What I don't get is when I sent my phones back it SPECIFICALLY states to factory reset the phone? Do people not read? Also, if you don't want your nudes to be seen don't take any? Like...EXPECTATIONS<REALITY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with ya here. To me, this stuff seems like common sense (which the world's population seems to be losing). My thoughts are:
If you don't want your nudes stolen, don't take nudes in the first place. Even if you're not shipping your phone somewhere for repair, your pictures are still getting uploaded to Google Photos and can be snatched in other ways. But still, if you really want to take nude photos anyway, then you should put them into a locked folder within Google Photos just after taking them so that they're not immediately visible within the Photos app. Granted, I'm not sure if the jpg files of locked folder pictures would still be present in the normal "DCIM" folder... But I imagine they'd be hidden somewhere at the system level (which normally can't be accessed without root)...?
I should probably test this on my phone - but I'd have to take some nudes first, haha. (Jk, of course)

Alekos said:
for the most part, these people have no lock or biometrics on. and their screen is dead (so they think the phone is dead). but I agree, they should develop a tool but it wouldn't be easy. Have you tried running commands or whatever with a blank screen? its very difficult. but you're right, a tool that either locks or wipes the device would be awesome, no commands or messy fastboot menus for the user would help a ton.
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It wouldn't be hard. Just running "fastboot format userdata" would clear it, so you don't need to mess with menus -- just power it on with the right volume button pressed. So really all the tool needs to do is monitor for fastboot on a USB and issue the format command.

Google says Pixel repair privacy breach wasn’t from employees, new security instructions coming
Ben Schoon
- Dec. 8th 2021 8:23 am PT
Google has been under scrutiny this week as multiple reports of mail-in Pixel repairs resulted in compromised accounts and leaked photographs. Now, the company is saying that this breach of privacy wasn’t at the hands of Google employees, and the company will apparently update instructions for mail-in Pixel repairs and help customers lock down their data.
Speaking to The Verge, Google has said that an investigation of these privacy issues has confirmed that the account invasion was not from Google employees/Pixel repair techs. The company has not said where the breach came from at this point or where the invaded devices are. Transit seems like the most likely scenario at this point.
After a thorough investigation, we can say with confidence that the issue impacting the user was not related to the device RMA [Return Merchandise Authorization]. We have worked closely with the user to better understand what occurred and how best to secure the account going forward.
Google Spokesperon Alex Moriconi
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To prevent this sort of issue in the future, too, Google will apparently start providing new instructions to help users lock down their accounts and data, presumably in addition to the current instructions that already recommend resetting the device before sending it in.
Specifics aren’t available, but Google apparently told Jane McGonigal that new security instructions for those who cannot factory reset their phone before sending it off for repair will be coming.
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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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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
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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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If the phone arrived like that from Amazon, return to Amazon ASAP