Hi all,
My work gave me a new phone with an issue. It's a pixel 6 pro, and the previous user has enrolled the device in the a13 beta. They sideloaded the OTA and didn't unlock the bootloader.
I've contacted T-Mobile. They've given the green light on their end to unlock.
When I use the device unlock app, it tells me that it is unlocked. When I check in the device settings thought, it tells me that "connect to internet or contact carrier for unlock."
TMobile is saying there is nothing they can do, and google is telling me the same thing as well.
Any ideas? Just looking to get this device back to Android 12.
AwkwardUberHero said:
Hi all,
My work gave me a new phone with an issue. It's a pixel 6 pro, and the previous user has enrolled the device in the a13 beta. They sideloaded the OTA and didn't unlock the bootloader.
I've contacted T-Mobile. They've given the green light on their end to unlock.
When I use the device unlock app, it tells me that it is unlocked. When I check in the device settings thought, it tells me that "connect to internet or contact carrier for unlock."
TMobile is saying there is nothing they can do, and google is telling me the same thing as well.
Any ideas? Just looking to get this device back to Android 12.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What device unlock app?
What happens when you:
Connect to wifi.
Enable OEM Unlocking in developer options.
Download latest platform-tools
Run the fastboot command: fastboot flashing unlock
A second hand work phone Pixel 6 Pro that's already on 13. That phone has seen some **** in a very short time.
T-Mobile pushes the unlock to you. If you downloaded the app from the Play store, it's the wrong one. Using the sim unlock one in T-Mobile sim settings also doesn't seem to work.
Alekos said:
What device unlock app?
What happens when you:
Connect to wifi.
Enable OEM Unlocking in developer options.
Download latest platform-tools
Run the fastboot command: fastboot flashing unlock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's connected to WiFi, but the oem unlocking item is greyed out.
I haven't tested running the command in fastboot yet. Was worried what would happen.
LLStarks said:
A second hand work phone Pixel 6 Pro that's already on 13. That phone has seen some **** in a very short time.
T-Mobile pushes the unlock to you. If you downloaded the app from the Play store, it's the wrong one. Using the sim unlock one in T-Mobile sim settings also doesn't seem to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They asked me to download the device unlock app from the app store. I did, and used it.
They said that they have approved the unlock on their end.
I'm quite confused. This is my first carrier locked pixel.
AwkwardUberHero said:
Hi all,
My work gave me a new phone with an issue. It's a pixel 6 pro, and the previous user has enrolled the device in the a13 beta. They sideloaded the OTA and didn't unlock the bootloader.
I've contacted T-Mobile. They've given the green light on their end to unlock.
When I use the device unlock app, it tells me that it is unlocked. When I check in the device settings thought, it tells me that "connect to internet or contact carrier for unlock."
TMobile is saying there is nothing they can do, and google is telling me the same thing as well.
Any ideas? Just looking to get this device back to Android 12.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you get a second hand phone from work that has experimental beta software installed from a previous owner, which is clearly a massive issue for a work phone in several regards (security just one) why don't you just give it back and demand a new one? Not sure how your company acts, but mine would instantly seize that phone, there is not knowing what might have been installed on it, it might even be a non-genuine A13 build. It's simply a risk most companies would never take, at least if they have some credibility.
This is clearly not your problem to deal with. It's noble that you invest so much of your "free" time for this, but it's a waste of time imho. It's not your job to make that phone work properly. If it's not in a working, proper state at the moment of delivery from employer to employee, you need to demand a working model.
AwkwardUberHero said:
It's connected to WiFi, but the oem unlocking item is greyed out.
I haven't tested running the command in fastboot yet. Was worried what would happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's greyed out, the Bootloader is still locked. You'll need to contact them (either through your work or TForce) in order for them to unlock it. But corporate devices (from T-mobile) might have different policies on unlocking. Best to contact your IT Dept.
But as the @Morgrain has suggested, this phone should have been wiped and factory reset by your employer to a proper working state. It wasn't. That's concerning. Many of us have worked for companies who are, shall we say, less than competent, at IT. But it's 2022 - there's no excuse.
Alekos said:
If it's greyed out, the Bootloader is still locked. You'll need to contact them (either through your work or TForce) in order for them to unlock it. But corporate devices (from T-mobile) might have different policies on unlocking. Best to contact your IT Dept.
But as the @Morgrain has suggested, this phone should have been wiped and factory reset by your employer to a proper working state. It wasn't. That's concerning. Many of us have worked for companies who are, shall we say, less than competent, at IT. But it's 2022 - there's no excuse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to give it one last shot before trading it back in. TMobile said that they have set it to be unlocked on their end, and that factory resetting it and checking it again to see if the bootloader is allowed to be unlocked might be a solution.
I've flashed roms, rooted and such for many years, but I've never had one like this. If TMobile did flip the switch in their end for the permission to unlock the bootloader, then it should show this, even in a developer preview software build, right?
I doubt that factory resetting this and trying it again will do any good, but I guess it's worth a shot.
AwkwardUberHero said:
They asked me to download the device unlock app from the app store. I did, and used it.
They said that they have approved the unlock on their end.
I'm quite confused. This is my first carrier locked pixel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't use the play store app. It doesn't work. The phone has a built in app. It doesn't work either.
The unlock doesn't need to be approved. It has to be pushed to your phone. Your phone will alert you that it's unlocked without doing anything. T-Mobile cannot be the one telling you it's unlocked. After that, you reboot and bootloader unlock should no longer be grayed out
You got a bad rep who doesn't know what they are doing.
Your IT also had no business giving you a phone this compromised.
To be clear - T-Mobile wouldn't unlock your bootloader or be able to toggle the OEM unlocking themselves, they would only make your phone carrier unlocked. It just so happens that on T-Mobile devices (and maybe some others but definitely not Verizon), that carrier-unlocking a phone permanently usually also makes it so that you can toggle OEM unlocking. It's also possible that corporate management of your phone prevents it from ever having the OEM Unlock toggle be ungrayed, but on the other hand, I would think they would have it locked down to where someone can't opt the phone into a Beta program, and it's also strange that T-Mobile would do, or attempt to do anything regarding the phone since you don't own it or pay for the phone service.
As several have said, it's not your phone, it's not your responsibility, I wouldn't even think your work would want you to be messing with it even though you're capable.
I would also add that unless your work has the capability to make their phones have OEM Unlocking ungrayed out, and re-grayed out at will, they'd never be able to fix the Android 13 DP/Beta situation themselves - they would have to go to T-Mobile et cetera, although after they fix it, I would expect them to want to toggle it back and make it so that no one else can toggle it again. I guess your work just doesn't manage their associate's phones very closely.
LLStarks said:
Don't use the play store app. It doesn't work. The phone has a built in app. It doesn't work either.
The unlock doesn't need to be approved. It has to be pushed to your phone. Your phone will alert you that it's unlocked without doing anything. T-Mobile cannot be the one telling you it's unlocked. After that, you reboot and bootloader unlock should no longer be grayed out
You got a bad rep who doesn't know what they are doing.
Your IT also had no business giving you a phone this compromised.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, they approved the carrier unlock.
The app does that part. I've done that a few times. But, the oem unlock is still greyed out.
Morgrain said:
If you get a second hand phone from work that has experimental beta software installed from a previous owner, which is clearly a massive issue for a work phone in several regards (security just one) why don't you just give it back and demand a new one? Not sure how your company acts, but mine would instantly seize that phone, there is not knowing what might have been installed on it, it might even be a non-genuine A13 build. It's simply a risk most companies would never take, at least if they have some credibility.
This is clearly not your problem to deal with. It's noble that you invest so much of your "free" time for this, but it's a waste of time imho. It's not your job to make that phone work properly. If it's not in a working, proper state at the moment of delivery from employer to employee, you need to demand a working model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and no. Not everybody works for high security big bank or government. Depends on the employer and depends on the job for the employer.
One piece of good news is that it is VERY unlikely that its a non-original A13. After all, its locked still. That means that the build had to be signed by the appropriate keys in order to install.
roirraW edor ehT said:
To be clear - T-Mobile wouldn't unlock your bootloader or be able to toggle the OEM unlocking themselves, they would only make your phone carrier unlocked. It just so happens that on T-Mobile devices (and maybe some others but definitely not Verizon), that carrier-unlocking a phone permanently usually also makes it so that you can toggle OEM unlocking. It's also possible that corporate management of your phone prevents it from ever having the OEM Unlock toggle be ungrayed, but on the other hand, I would think they would have it locked down to where someone can't opt the phone into a Beta program, and it's also strange that T-Mobile would do, or attempt to do anything regarding the phone since you don't own it or pay for the phone service.
As several have said, it's not your phone, it's not your responsibility, I wouldn't even think your work would want you to be messing with it even though you're capable.
I would also add that unless your work has the capability to make their phones have OEM Unlocking ungrayed out, and re-grayed out at will, they'd never be able to fix the Android 13 DP/Beta situation themselves - they would have to go to T-Mobile et cetera, although after they fix it, I would expect them to want to toggle it back and make it so that no one else can toggle it again. I guess your work just doesn't manage their associate's phones very closely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, TMobile said for me to down load the device unlock app. I did that, and ran it. It told me it was carrier unlocked.
The OEM unlocking portion is greyed out in develope options though still, and saying to connect to the internet or contact my carrier. Which confuses me. If it's sim unlocked, then I should be able to unlock the bootloader, right?
AwkwardUberHero said:
So, TMobile said for me to down load the device unlock app. I did that, and ran it. It told me it was carrier unlocked.
The OEM unlocking portion is greyed out in develope options though still, and saying to connect to the internet or contact my carrier. Which confuses me. If it's sim unlocked, then I should be able to unlock the bootloader, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said, your work may have more control over your phone since it's their phone, not yours. They may have something in place that keeps OEM Unlocking disabled, no matter what. I'm just speculating, I don't know if that's the case. I really couldn't guess any further why it's still grayed out for you. I wouldn't even bother spending any further effort on it. If it happened to me, I would tell work about it and let them deal with it.
Google has an MDM problem if a Pixel can block bootloader unlocking but not betas.
Then again, so does Apple and Intune not being thorough enough.
LLStarks said:
Google has an MDM problem if a Pixel can block bootloader unlocking but not betas.
Then again, so does Apple and Intune not being thorough enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be clear, if it is showing that it was approved in that app to be carrier unlocked, in theory, I could try and unlock the bootloader or no?
Last attempt before I give up on it.
LLStarks said:
Google has an MDM problem if a Pixel can block bootloader unlocking but not betas.
Then again, so does Apple and Intune not being thorough enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know with regards to non-phone Google things at the very large corporation I'm at - where we've used Google for everything (except for phones) for a decade - that some things that are under the control of our internal Google Admins in our IT department slip through and then later get corrected.
As regards to phones, I don't have a corporate phone, but they used to supply some Samsung models for a brief period where they experimented with allowing both iPhone and Android devices, but they stopped probably because it was just more work for them to manage both iPhone and Android devices. I can't speak as to whether they had the capability to keep people from unlocking their bootloader or keep folks from opting in to DPs/Betas, but that was also ~6 years ago.
AwkwardUberHero said:
To be clear, if it is showing that it was approved in that app to be carrier unlocked, in theory, I could try and unlock the bootloader or no?
Last attempt before I give up on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can't toggle the OEM Unlocking (it's still grayed out), then you can't unlock the bootloader.
I mean, this kinda depends on whom you work for. Some companies that give out work phones choose Android as they can customize the build and can view the phone's usage. I can't remember if it was the FBI or the police somewhere who mentioned doing this exact thing in order to visibly track what is being done on these phones. So if your company is knowledgeable (which I suppose is a rarity nowadays, haha) and deals with some information that must be kept secure, then I would just confront someone in the IT department and ask them what the deal is "as the phone isn't running a stable and secure version of Android". Because if it's customized for phone usage tracking, then doing what you are doing could get you into some trouble.
Not worth taking such risks with something that isn't yours. Where I work in IT, people always mess with (and too frequently break) devices that they are borrowing - and then complain about having to pay $250 for cracking the display or destroying the case of a laptop that they are simply borrowing.
It seems that nobody reads the contracts that they are signing or has enough common sense to not destroy something that isn't theirs.
AwkwardUberHero said:
To be clear, if it is showing that it was approved in that app to be carrier unlocked, in theory, I could try and unlock the bootloader or no?
Last attempt before I give up on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fair, I would do anything and everything to unlock the device because I like messing with technology (even if it comes from work).
The Toggle is greyed out right - but is it on or off - because when the device is unlocked, the toggle will be greyed out (but toggled to the on position). When you boot into fastboot, does it say device state locked?
Do a factory reset in recovery mode and check again.
Alekos said:
To be fair, I would do anything and everything to unlock the device because I like messing with technology (even if it comes from work).
The Toggle is greyed out right - but is it on or off - because when the device is unlocked, the toggle will be greyed out (but toggled to the on position). When you boot into fastboot, does it say device state locked?
Do a factory reset in recovery mode and check again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's greyed out and off.
I haven't checked it in fastboot yet.
Related
Hi all,
bit of an emergency here. I am running rooted Chroma rom, just went into twrp to backup my EPS, and upon reboot it is saying I need to enter my password. I have done this several times. Now, it keeps saying the password is incorrect, and after the 5th time, there is no option to reset it! Help please!! Don't feel like wiping my phone again...
greves1 said:
Hi all,
bit of an emergency here. I am running rooted Chroma rom, just went into twrp to backup my EPS, and upon reboot it is saying I need to enter my password. I have done this several times. Now, it keeps saying the password is incorrect, and after the 5th time, there is no option to reset it! Help please!! Don't feel like wiping my phone again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can search that but might as wipe in the meantime. Get yourself a working phone.
bobby janow said:
You can search that but might as wipe in the meantime. Get yourself a working phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. Going through the post-wipe setup now. Grrrr. It's just that I entered the password a bunch of times, and it always worked. Just on reboot from recovery it didnt. Now I'm afraid to go back into twrp...
Anyone know if this could be caused by some android security feature that doesnt like systemless root, xposed, etc.
greves1 said:
Hi all,
bit of an emergency here. I am running rooted Chroma rom, just went into twrp to backup my EPS, and upon reboot it is saying I need to enter my password. I have done this several times. Now, it keeps saying the password is incorrect, and after the 5th time, there is no option to reset it! Help please!! Don't feel like wiping my phone again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume this is the same problem as the Nexus 6P. You need to disable the security before making a TWRP backup. The fix is:
After restoring the nandroid, boot into twrp and then delete /data/sytem/locksettings.db. If that doesn't fix it, delete the locksettings.db-shm and locksettings.db-wal in the same location. If that doesn't fix it either, delete gatekeeper.password.key and gatekeeper.pattern.key in the same location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
KennyG123 said:
I assume this is the same problem as the Nexus 6P. You need to disable the security before making a TWRP backup. The fix is:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this fix. I'll keep it in mind next time. My broader question is now about security in general, since there seems to be a way to remove security from our roms?? For example, if someone got ahold of your phone, couldnt they just follow these steps to get in? Is this just a side-effect of unlocking the phone that is unavoidable? If I'm missing something about how to maintain security in the unlocked/rooted environment, please let me know. I've looked around but I haven't found any great guides for best practices regarding nandroids/security, etc. Thanks all!
greves1 said:
Thanks for this fix. I'll keep it in mind next time. My broader question is now about security in general, since there seems to be a way to remove security from our roms?? For example, if someone got ahold of your phone, couldnt they just follow these steps to get in? Is this just a side-effect of unlocking the phone that is unavoidable? If I'm missing something about how to maintain security in the unlocked/rooted environment, please let me know. I've looked around but I haven't found any great guides for best practices regarding nandroids/security, etc. Thanks all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting is in itself the biggest security risk. This is why carriers are working with manufacturers to make many phones fully locked and unrootable. Our main security expert Jcase does not use a rooted phone. He recommends if you need to root, go ahead, make the changes you want, then quickly unroot. So sure, if someone stole your phone they could follow that procedure to get into it. They could also just force a fresh stock version on it to wipe everything. Security and locks are meant to keep out honest people and slow down the dishonest.
KennyG123 said:
Rooting is in itself the biggest security risk. This is why carriers are working with manufacturers to make many phones fully locked and unrootable. Our main security expert Jcase does not use a rooted phone. He recommends if you need to root, go ahead, make the changes you want, then quickly unroot. So sure, if someone stole your phone they could follow that procedure to get into it. They could also just force a fresh stock version on it to wipe everything. Security and locks are meant to keep out honest people and slow down the dishonest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just so I'm clear, the only thing keeping a stock phone safe is that when its locked, it can't be unlocked/rooted because the option to allow oem unlocking/adb connections are not (or should not be) checked in the developer options, is that correct? From what you're saying, as long as those two boxes are checked, there is essentially nothing stopping someone from wiping out your password and getting into your device. I'd love to run unrooted, but would adaway still have an effect? I'm thinking that the definitions are already applied, so maybe it would work unrooted. But cf.lumen, which I love and can't find the same functionality anywhere else, seems to always "enable interactive shell" on boot. Would this work unrooted? But again, as long so you're doing all this stuff, you can't lock your bootloader again, can you? Or can you lock it on a stock rom with the kind of modifications I'm talking about. I read that locking bootloader while having a custom rom loaded can cause a brick, although I'm not quite sure why. Couldn't you just always get into fastboot to unlock it again?
greves1 said:
Just so I'm clear, the only thing keeping a stock phone safe is that when its locked, it can't be unlocked/rooted because the option to allow oem unlocking/adb connections are not (or should not be) checked in the developer options, is that correct? From what you're saying, as long as those two boxes are checked, there is essentially nothing stopping someone from wiping out your password and getting into your device. I'd love to run unrooted, but would adaway still have an effect? I'm thinking that the definitions are already applied, so maybe it would work unrooted. But cf.lumen, which I love and can't find the same functionality anywhere else, seems to always "enable interactive shell" on boot. Would this work unrooted? But again, as long so you're doing all this stuff, you can't lock your bootloader again, can you? Or can you lock it on a stock rom with the kind of modifications I'm talking about. I read that locking bootloader while having a custom rom loaded can cause a brick, although I'm not quite sure why. Couldn't you just always get into fastboot to unlock it again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pfew...so many questions...there are always vulnerabilities out there that hackers can find..like Stagefright...but a rooted phone is the most vulnerable. So having a phone with a locked bootloader and unrooted is the best security...still not guaranteed against every possible thing. But it is the best...now what are you trying to protect? Your data...or someone being able to wipe and use the phone as their own? All you can do really is try to protect from a phone being hacked remotely...and a rooted phone is like leaving the safe door open. But if someone steals your phone, there are always nefarious ways to make it usable.
KennyG123 said:
Pfew...so many questions...there are always vulnerabilities out there that hackers can find..like Stagefright...but a rooted phone is the most vulnerable. So having a phone with a locked bootloader and unrooted is the best security...still not guaranteed against every possible thing. But it is the best...now what are you trying to protect? Your data...or someone being able to wipe and use the phone as their own? All you can do really is try to protect from a phone being hacked remotely...and a rooted phone is like leaving the safe door open. But if someone steals your phone, there are always nefarious ways to make it usable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, sorry for the wall of questions. I am just trying to wrap my head around some of these issues. At the end of the day, I don't really keep sensitive data on the phone, although it would not be good if a bad actor got into my gmail, for instance. I suppose I should migrate the last of my sensitive accounts to a secondary email, so no password resets could be initiated from a stolen phone. It's always a tradeoff between convenience and security I know. It's also a little worrysome that simply unlocking the phone activates it for androidpay. An unlocked phone stolen out of someone's hand is essentially the same as stealing all the credit cards in their wallet. It would be nice if android pay allowed an additional fingreprint/pin/password to make the transaction. Anyway, I'm now taking my own thread way off topic. Thanks for the insights though.
greves1 said:
Yeah, sorry for the wall of questions. I am just trying to wrap my head around some of these issues. At the end of the day, I don't really keep sensitive data on the phone, although it would not be good if a bad actor got into my gmail, for instance. I suppose I should migrate the last of my sensitive accounts to a secondary email, so no password resets could be initiated from a stolen phone. It's always a tradeoff between convenience and security I know. It's also a little worrysome that simply unlocking the phone activates it for androidpay. An unlocked phone stolen out of someone's hand is essentially the same as stealing all the credit cards in their wallet. It would be nice if android pay allowed an additional fingreprint/pin/password to make the transaction. Anyway, I'm now taking my own thread way off topic. Thanks for the insights though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For most phones that have fingerprint security Android Pay can be set up that way. I won't use it anyway because it would be crazy to hand a waiter your unlocked phone, or to have to follow him to the register. It would only be useful to me in the supermarket but I am carrying a credit card anyway. But that is one thing people forget, rooting a phone means removing the main security.
KennyG123 said:
For most phones that have fingerprint security Android Pay can be set up that way. I won't use it anyway because it would be crazy to hand a waiter your unlocked phone, or to have to follow him to the register. It would only be useful to me in the supermarket but I am carrying a credit card anyway. But that is one thing people forget, rooting a phone means removing the main security.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
N5X and android pay seems to tell me to just "unlock your phone" and hold it close to the reader. No need for an additional fingerprint. And no option to require this in settings...
greves1 said:
N5X and android pay seems to tell me to just "unlock your phone" and hold it close to the reader. No need for an additional fingerprint. And no option to require this in settings...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that should get you to the authorization screen and then if you have fingerprint set up should ask you for the fingerprint to authorize. Android Pay also now works on phones without fingerprint sensors so that is why they provide those simple instructions. Final authorization instructions will appear on your screen.
KennyG123 said:
Yes, that should get you to the authorization screen and then if you have fingerprint set up should ask you for the fingerprint to authorize. Android Pay also now works on phones without fingerprint sensors so that is why they provide those simple instructions. Final authorization instructions will appear on your screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, great to know. Thanks.
greves1 said:
Ah, great to know. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I can't test that theory since I am on a custom ROM and also Xposed. But everything I read says it should utilize the fingerprint if available.
KennyG123 said:
Unfortunately I can't test that theory since I am on a custom ROM and also Xposed. But everything I read says it should utilize the fingerprint if available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Real word use shows that android pay does not ask for an additional fingerprint at the time of use. It's just as the instructions say, as long as your phone is unlocked at the time it is held up to the scanner, androidpay will work. I kind of wish they allowed for the additional security of an at-scan fingerprint read, but oh well. I have yet to test if the password/pin can be removed by the methods discussed in this thread, and androidpay working after defeating this security. If it does, then this is obviously a major security vulnerability of having an unlocked phone and using androidpay at the same time. Probably not more dangerous in terms of protecting against CC thieves, since they can just swipe a card stolen from your wallet at a terminal, but you probably wouldn't want to keep too many cards on your phone. Again, I haven't tested this out, if a fingerprint is still required to get in after a password database defeat, but someone should do this test.
If you have your phone lost or stolen just cancel your cards as if it happened to your wallet. Simple no?
A little while ago my brother had his iphone6 snatched. Now with Iphone, I know cannot be mounted to usb directly or even via recovery.
I know pin, fingerprint etc block access to the phone. I want to understand about other ways to access internal storage to gain access to photos and any other documents
That makes me ask - What security options we have for android - in particular OP3 (have 2 of them) and how can we make it more secure. ? Both my phones have Blu_spark TWRP + Freedom OS 2.10, if that matters.
Just to share, I found following to be foolproof
- Setup Pin + Fingerpints
- Setup Pin / Password for phone startup
This
- Keeps the device encrypted
- Unable to boot without pin
- Unable to access TWRP without pin
- Doesn't auto-mount on USB connect
Still, it would be interesting to hear about any cons of the above setup.
hyperorb said:
A little while ago my brother had his iphone6 snatched. Now with Iphone, I know cannot be mounted to usb directly or even via recovery.
I know pin, fingerprint etc block access to the phone. I want to understand about other ways to access internal storage to gain access to photos and any other documents
That makes me ask - What security options we have for android - in particular OP3 (have 2 of them) and how can we make it more secure. ? Both my phones have Blu_spark TWRP + Freedom OS 2.10, if that matters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The easiest is to not get it snatched. Or if it does you chase them down and get your phone back. But barring that not alot you can really do and ill explain why.
When someone steals a phone, they dont care about the data on it. They are either gonna sell it or use it. Either way The device has the sim removed with in sec of it being taken and then it is reset or flashed to stock to remove any and all locks. This normally happens within minutes if not seconds of a device being stolen.
zelendel said:
The easiest is to not get it snatched. Or if it does you chase them down and get your phone back. But barring that not alot you can really do and ill explain why.
When someone steals a phone, they dont care about the data on it. They are either gonna sell it or use it. Either way The device has the sim removed with in sec of it being taken and then it is reset or flashed to stock to remove any and all locks. This normally happens within minutes if not seconds of a device being stolen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interestingly that was not the case. They remained in contact and kept on asking for phone passcode; which we did not give.
I'm not aware if its equally east in iPhone to enter into (kind of) fastboot mode and erase entire storage. In such case the loss remains of the phone and nothing else ; specially when we may have financial apps too on the phone.
hyperorb said:
Interestingly that was not the case. They remained in contact and kept on asking for phone passcode; which we did not give.
I'm not aware if its equally east in iPhone to enter into (kind of) fastboot mode and erase entire storage. In such case the loss remains of the phone and nothing else ; specially when we may have financial apps too on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No apple doesn't have the option. Main reason the fbi had to pay to have an iPhone unlocked not to long ago.
Part of the reason I never advise doing any sort of banking on a device as there is just too many security risks. I, mean even android keyboards monitor what you type.
hyperorb said:
A little while ago my brother had his iphone6 snatched. Now with Iphone, I know cannot be mounted to usb directly or even via recovery.
I know pin, fingerprint etc block access to the phone. I want to understand about other ways to access internal storage to gain access to photos and any other documents
That makes me ask - What security options we have for android - in particular OP3 (have 2 of them) and how can we make it more secure. ? Both my phones have Blu_spark TWRP + Freedom OS 2.10, if that matters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cerberus is a really nice app... You have alot of options sadly it isn't free! But heyy, it's cheap and it's functional! Other then that keep your device encrypted and a boot password should do.
As long as you're not rooted and unlocked, it will be a bit hard for an thieve to have access to your phone. Leaving ADB on, might as well decrease the overall security of the phone.
I for example was given a tablet which had a Google account synced with it, and resetting from recovery only made me renter the credidentials previously used to be able to pass the setup.
My luck was that the guy left ADB on and with a simple command I bypassed the setup screen.
hyperorb said:
Interestingly that was not the case. They remained in contact and kept on asking for phone passcode; which we did not give.
I'm not aware if its equally east in iPhone to enter into (kind of) fastboot mode and erase entire storage. In such case the loss remains of the phone and nothing else ; specially when we may have financial apps too on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure about iPhone's but for newer Android phones as long as you are encrypted and have a pin/password set for boot, a thief would just wipe the phone return to stock and sell or use it. 99.9% of the time they just want money so the likely reason they wanted your pass code is they couldn't sell it cause they were blocked from resetting it temporarily. As long they have a physical device and unlimited time they will eventually reset it and get rid of it.
Renosh said:
Not sure about iPhone's but for newer Android phones as long as you are encrypted and have a pin/password set for boot, a thief would just wipe the phone return to stock and sell or use it. 99.9% of the time they just want money so the likely reason they wanted your pass code is they couldn't sell it cause they were blocked from resetting it temporarily. As long they have a physical device and unlimited time they will eventually reset it and get rid of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. If someone steals your device 99.98% of the time it is too use it or sell it. With way your data is meaningless.
As for them wanting your pass code the above is right. But as they couldn't reset it you could have reported it stolen and the police may be able to find it but most of the time they have better things to do then recover a lost cell phone.
I used to work with people that felt with stolen cell phones. I can say the normally. Withing 30 min of a device being stolen the data is gone. And when I say that I mean a complete DOJ style wipe, format and imei change.
zelendel said:
No apple doesn't have the option. Main reason the fbi had to pay to have an iPhone unlocked not to long ago.
Part of the reason I never advise doing any sort of banking on a device as there is just too many security risks. I, mean even android keyboards monitor what you type.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
....so do all iOS keyboards, both first and third party. it's required for them to function
---------- Post added at 09:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 AM ----------
zelendel said:
Exactly. If someone steals your device 99.98% of the time it is too use it or sell it. With way your data is meaningless.
As for them wanting your pass code the above is right. But as they couldn't reset it you could have reported it stolen and the police may be able to find it but most of the time they have better things to do then recover a lost cell phone.
I used to work with people that felt with stolen cell phones. I can say the normally. Withing 30 min of a device being stolen the data is gone. And when I say that I mean a complete DOJ style wipe, format and imei change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is exactly why that semi-recent feature added by google which requires you to log in with the previously added google account in the phone before initial setup following a factory reset is very useful - it makes the phone unusable/unsellable (unless im missing something?)
2x4 said:
....so do all iOS keyboards, both first and third party. it's required for them to function
---------- Post added at 09:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 AM ----------
this is exactly why that semi-recent feature added by google which requires you to log in with the previously added google account in the phone before initial setup following a factory reset is very useful - it makes the phone unusable/unsellable (unless im missing something?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That can easily be bypassed by wiping the data off the device and flash a stock rom to it. The only the the FRP does is prevent them from getting at the data.
No its not really. It's so they can send relevant ads. Those that remember smartphones before Apple or Android knows that it is not really needed.
zelendel said:
That can easily be bypassed by wiping the data off the device and flash a stock rom to it. The only the the FRP does is prevent them from getting at the data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but how can they flash a stock ROM onto the device if the "require PIN before startup" option is selected? how can they flash if recovery has a PIN on it?
2x4 said:
but how can they flash a stock ROM onto the device if the "require PIN before startup" option is selected? how can they flash if recovery has a PIN on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because that is before startup and not the bootloader, even with those set up they normally dont cover download mode or what ever mode that particular OEM uses (not all use the same). In extreme cases with some apps that make it a bit harder or people just dont want to be bothered to mess with things too deeply there are tools available that Will push the update right to the board bypassing all security. Sure its a little extra work but it is a sure bet when you cant get into a device and cant be bothered hunting down getting around it.
Also for the passwords on startup. any password cracker would take out the average password in a matter of min.
This has been very interesting and so much to learn. Thank you all for great inputs.
zelendel said:
I never advise doing any sort of banking on a device as there is just too many security risks. I, mean even android keyboards monitor what you type.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. But then Microsoft too is not clean. Browser , Windows.... That way we can never work.
Puddi_Puddin said:
Cerberus is a really nice app...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have it in all my Androids Very helpful at times, even for non theft purpose..
XDRdaniel said:
Leaving ADB on, might as well decrease the overall security of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Will read more on this.
Renosh said:
for newer Android phones as long as you are encrypted and have a pin/password set for boot, a thief would just wipe the phone return to stock and sell or use it. 99.9% of the time they just want money so the likely reason they wanted your pass code is they couldn't sell it cause they were blocked from resetting it temporarily. As long they have a physical device and unlimited time they will eventually reset it and get rid of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once a phone is lost, there's little chance to get it back. Device loss is one thing and data loss (or rather data access) is another. The later at times can have more problems.
I used to keep my id papers (for ease of printing anywhere as needed) on phone (Nokia N5). Lost that phone .. and till date I hope no one used those to buy services, do illegal stuff. That was a lesson learnt hard way
zelendel said:
With way your data is meaningless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends where you are. There are places where one can avail services in other's name using fake ids or stolen data etc.
2x4 said:
. this is exactly why that semi-recent feature added by google which requires you to log in with the previously added google account in the phone before initial setup following a factory reset is very useful - it makes the phone unusable/unsellable (unless im missing something?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm.. I think I came across that in OP3. Didn't pay attention though.
zelendel said:
Because that is before startup and not the bootloader,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is better to loose one than two. Phone is anyways lost .. so at least we can try secure data. Let them wipe and then get nothing in hand.
hyperorb said:
This has been very interesting and so much to learn. Thank you all for great inputs.
Yes. But then Microsoft too is not clean. Browser , Windows.... That way we can never work.
Have it in all my Androids Very helpful at times, even for non theft purpose..
Thanks. Will read more on this.
Once a phone is lost, there's little chance to get it back. Device loss is one thing and data loss (or rather data access) is another. The later at times can have more problems.
I used to keep my id papers (for ease of printing anywhere as needed) on phone (Nokia N5). Lost that phone .. and till date I hope no one used those to buy services, do illegal stuff. That was a lesson learnt hard way
Depends where you are. There are places where one can avail services in other's name using fake ids or stolen data etc.
Hmm.. I think I came across that in OP3. Didn't pay attention though.
It is better to loose one than two. Phone is anyways lost .. so at least we can try secure data. Let them wipe and then get nothing in hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to steal someone's phone to get a fake ID with their info. 1500 usd will get you that without it.
As for getting nothing in hand. They got exactly what they wanted. The device. Unless you work for the government in a high place. Then your data is meaningless on your phone. You already put it in enough places on line while using a pc that if they want it they already have it.
I could easily steal someone identity with a little more then what they post on Facebook or other social media outlets.
Bought Unlocked Pixel 3 From Google, & T-Mobile Crammed an App Onto the Phone Anyway!
How to make a customer very angry, and concerned about security...
Bought a brand-new Pixel 3 from Google, inserted my T-Mobile SIM card, (Goodbye Sony Xperia Series! Good Riddance!) and went about my business with my new Android 10 phone.
But a few days after, just today, I see a screen pop up that was pink - I asked me if I wanted to check and see if my phone was "eligible" for unlocking.
One surmises that T-Mobile noticed the new device ID associated with the same old SIM card, and downloaded the app WITHOUT PERMISSION AND WITHOUT ANY NOTICE THAT THEY WERE DOING SO. They also did not even bother to check the ID against their own inventory to determine if they had sold the phone or not, if they did, they would have seen that it was a Pixel, which they don't offer.
At no time did I visit a T-Mobile sit or download any T-Mobile related apps. They just took it upon themselves to silently install software without even asking.
So here's the punchline - what ELSE might they have installed, and how can I be sure about this?
What else might they install in the future? On whose behalf?
packetfire said:
How to make a customer very angry, and concerned about security...
Bought a brand-new Pixel 3 from Google, inserted my T-Mobile SIM card, (Goodbye Sony Xperia Series! Good Riddance!) and went about my business with my new Android 10 phone.
But a few days after, just today, I see a screen pop up that was pink - I asked me if I wanted to check and see if my phone was "eligible" for unlocking.
One surmises that T-Mobile noticed the new device ID associated with the same old SIM card, and downloaded the app WITHOUT PERMISSION AND WITHOUT ANY NOTICE THAT THEY WERE DOING SO. They also did not even bother to check the ID against their own inventory to determine if they had sold the phone or not, if they did, they would have seen that it was a Pixel, which they don't offer.
At no time did I visit a T-Mobile sit or download any T-Mobile related apps. They just took it upon themselves to silently install software without even asking.
So here's the punchline - what ELSE might they have installed, and how can I be sure about this?
What else might they install in the future? On whose behalf?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed the same thing on my pixel 3 xl and I'm on Google Fi and I can't uninstall that app to unlock my phone, I can only disable the app
lavin40 said:
I noticed the same thing on my pixel 3 xl and I'm on Google Fi and I can't uninstall that app to unlock my phone, I can only disable the app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's worse is that the app itself claims that you CAN remove the app, after it has (correctly) determined that the phone is not locked.
Is your app also a "T-Mobile" app with a pink icon, or is it a variant that is branded for the Google FI service?
packetfire said:
What's worse is that the app itself claims that you CAN remove the app, after it has (correctly) determined that the phone is not locked.
Is your app also a "T-Mobile" app with a pink icon, or is it a variant that is branded for the Google FI service?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The app is pink I believe I got a Verizon pixel 3 xl cause the OEM unlock option is greyed out so I can't even root the phone
During the initial setup, there is a "sneaky" screen that asks if you want to finish (or something, I forgot). But if you expand that screen, there are several apps that Google intends to install, and you can opt out right there. Duo is definitely one of the apps, and several T-Mobile apps (I'm on TMO) as well as some others. I opted out and don't have any TMO apps.
Just like the above comment, it's in your 'additional-apps' section of the initial setup. If you uncheck? It doesn't install.
jbarcus81 said:
Just like the above comment, it's in your 'additional-apps' section of the initial setup. If you uncheck? It doesn't install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. This. If the app(s) are installed it's because you let the setup install them. They (Google/T-Mobile) didn't install them on the phone without your consent. You just missed where you have the option to not install them.
ktmom said:
During the initial setup, there is a "sneaky" screen that asks if you want to finish (or something, I forgot). But if you expand that screen, there are several apps that Google intends to install, and you can opt out right there. Duo is definitely one of the apps, and several T-Mobile apps (I'm on TMO) as well as some others. I opted out and don't have any TMO apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that must be how it was done - anyway, the app is gone now, all by itself, so it appears to be yes, an undetectable silent install of an undelete-able "system app", but it seems that once you are verified as "unlocked", it self-deletes.
But I got nothing but the "unlocker", no Duo installed for me. (I like Google Authenticator - 2FA without anything else to carry, and SIM-swap-proof).
So this was the paternalistic Google trying to be helpful, but creeping people out yet again with their presumptuousness.
packetfire said:
Well, that must be how it was done - anyway, the app is gone now, all by itself, so it appears to be yes, an undetectable silent install of an undelete-able "system app", but it seems that once you are verified as "unlocked", it self-deletes.
But I got nothing but the "unlocker", no Duo installed for me. (I like Google Authenticator - 2FA without anything else to carry, and SIM-swap-proof).
So this was the paternalistic Google trying to be helpful, but creeping people out yet again with their presumptuousness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tmobile.pr.mytmobile
Tmobile silently installed this app on my unlocked pixel 3xl from best buy just yesterday after I set up my playstore account!
As a User app though.
packetfire said:
How to make a customer very angry, and concerned about security...
Bought a brand-new Pixel 3 from Google, inserted my T-Mobile SIM card, (Goodbye Sony Xperia Series! Good Riddance!) and went about my business with my new Android 10 phone.
But a few days after, just today, I see a screen pop up that was pink - I asked me if I wanted to check and see if my phone was "eligible" for unlocking.
One surmises that T-Mobile noticed the new device ID associated with the same old SIM card, and downloaded the app WITHOUT PERMISSION AND WITHOUT ANY NOTICE THAT THEY WERE DOING SO. They also did not even bother to check the ID against their own inventory to determine if they had sold the phone or not, if they did, they would have seen that it was a Pixel, which they don't offer.
At no time did I visit a T-Mobile sit or download any T-Mobile related apps. They just took it upon themselves to silently install software without even asking.
So here's the punchline - what ELSE might they have installed, and how can I be sure about this?
What else might they install in the future? On whose behalf?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to show that it was indeed installed to the device...
dirtyreturn said:
Just to show that it was indeed installed to the device...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As stated in this thread, you accepted the install of the T-Mobile app during the setup process.
ktmom said:
As stated in this thread, you accepted the install of the T-Mobile app during the setup process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's just exclusive to the pixel 3? Stock Rom?
Just wondering since it's a first that this happened for me. Being on the same carrier with previous phones this did not happen.
dirtyreturn said:
That's just exclusive to the pixel 3? Stock Rom?
Just wondering since it's a first that this happened for me. Being on the same carrier with previous phones this did not happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I had to disable TMO apps during setup on my PH-1. I'm sure that Google has agreements with the carriers who offer the device. Even (esp?) when the device comes straight from Google.
And yes, stock ROM.
I bought myself a pixel 3xl in Ukraine (where i basically live) and it was locked by the administrator ie the Google company
yra lkyperggff said:
I bought myself a pixel 3xl in Ukraine (where i basically live) and it was locked by the administrator ie the Google company
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see you posted in another thread regarding OEM unlocking. Try wiping the phone from recovery mode. When the phone restarts, skip all the setup (including putting your SIM in) EXCEPT Wi-Fi. Connect the phone and make sure it has a strong Wi-Fi signal. Finish setup, skipping through all the options. When you get to the home screen, open Settings>>About Phone, and scroll to the bottom. Tap on build number until you become a Developer. Now go to Settings>>Advanced and click on Developer options. Scroll down to OEM unlocking. It this toggle working or grayed out? If grayed out your phone will not be unlockable. You purchased a locked phone. This is between you and the store you purchased it from. What are the first two digits of your IMEI? What is your SKU number? Will be on the box, or you can get it from the bootloader screen under "barcodes"
v12xke said:
I see you posted in another thread regarding OEM unlocking. Try wiping the phone from recovery mode. When the phone restarts, skip all the setup (including putting your SIM in) EXCEPT Wi-Fi. Connect the phone and make sure it has a strong Wi-Fi signal. Finish setup, skipping through all the options. When you get to the home screen, open Settings>>About Phone, and scroll to the bottom. Tap on build number until you become a Developer. Now go to Settings>>Advanced and click on Developer options. Scroll down to OEM unlocking. It this toggle working or grayed out? If grayed out your phone will not be unlockable. You purchased a locked phone. This is between you and the store you purchased it from. What are the first two digits of your IMEI? What is your SKU number? Will be on the box, or you can get it from the bootloader screen under "barcodes"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First digits of my IMEI is 99 and SKU: G013C
yra lkyperggff said:
First digits of my IMEI is 99 and SKU: G013C
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 3XL (US) is the same "99" IMEI and G013C SKU. I bought directly from the Google store and unlocked the bootloader on the first day. I think you have an International version that should be bootloader unlockable. If your OEM toggle is grayed out, you will have to wipe and set the phone up again to find out.
v12xke said:
My 3XL (US) is the same "99" IMEI and G013C SKU. I bought directly from the Google store and unlocked the bootloader on the first day. I think you have an International version that should be bootloader unlockable. If your OEM toggle is grayed out, you will have to wipe and set the phone up again to find out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No that is phone from google company. He locked as a google business phone.
yra lkyperggff said:
No that is phone from google company. He locked as a google business phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand English is not your first language but you have been advised twice to wipe the phone and initiate a clean setup using Wi-Fi. You don't want to wipe your phone? No problem for me. Let's see if you can actually DO something to solve the problem rather than typing. Google translate is your friend.
v12xke said:
I understand English is not your first language but you have been advised twice to wipe the phone and initiate a clean setup using Wi-Fi. You don't want to wipe your phone? No problem for me. Let's see if you can actually DO something to solve the problem rather than typing. Google translate is your friend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i already did a factory reset twice yesterday but it further shows that my phone is managed by admin ie google
yra lkyperggff said:
i already did a factory reset twice yesterday but it further shows that my phone is managed by admin ie google
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you able to log into your own personal Google account and setup the phone? Can you access Developer settings and check the "Allow OEM unlocking" toggle to see if it is grayed out? If it is, can you do a factory reset from within settings Settings>>Reset options>>Erase all data?
v12xke said:
Are you able to log into your own personal Google account and setup the phone? Can you access Developer settings and check the "Allow OEM unlocking" toggle to see if it is grayed out? If it is, can you do a factory reset from within settings Settings>>Reset options>>Erase all data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No i can't setup my phone with my google account and no i can't get to settings
yra lkyperggff said:
No i can't setup my phone with my google account and no i can't get to settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it's not your phone. It is locked with FRP and cannot be retrieved- there is no way around FRP unless you have the real owner's Google login information. Having personally had my phone stolen, I do get a small amount of solace in knowing the person who ended up with it will NEVER be able to use it. Enjoy your new paperweight.
v12xke said:
Because it's not your phone. It is locked with FRP and cannot be retrieved- there is no way around FRP unless you have the real owner's Google login information. Having personally had my phone stolen, I do get a small amount of solace in knowing the person who ended up with it will NEVER be able to use it. Enjoy your new paperweight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol that's what you think. There's plenty of ways to bypass that
I think what the OP originally said is accurate. The device in question is a Google enterprise managed device. The IMEI is in a business database and is preventing the device from being reset. It would also prevent bootloader unlocking since that would allow the managed device be bypassed.
If this was a company's phone, then it needs to be unlocked from their managed server before it can be reset.
https://developers.google.cn/android/work/play/emm-api/user-accounts
Can anyone help me carrier unlock my Verizon phone? My phone has been hacked and I hope being able to flash it will help me to get rid of whatever they have done to it. Can anyone tell me why I get this message when I reset my phone? Any help would be greatly appreciated
there is no carrier unlock for VZW models. if you can boot into recovery, sideload the OTA version that was last on your device.
What did you do that resulted in the phone being hacked? With the sectors being wiped that are shown in the images, it looks like you have provided total device access to something whilst having an unlocked bootloader or something similar. If you let us know what happened, it might help us to figure out what options you may still have.
But definitely see if you can do what @uicnren mentioned first.
Im not sure who or how they wiped anything. It happened one day after connecting to my girlfriends wifi. I got ahold of Verizon and they sent me a new phone and as soon as I started it the same thing happened to it also
How do I find what OTA version was used on my phone?
Nothing hacked here... this is an error when wiping the Secure Element (the trusted secure module).
(https://android-review.linaro.org/p...cure_element/1.0/SecureElementHalCallback.cpp line #66)
Are you initiating the wipe from the recovery? If so, that's likely the reason. If there is an account attached to the device, a wipe must first be initiated from within Android (Settings)
Woodruff87 said:
Im not sure who or how they wiped anything. It happened one day after connecting to my girlfriends wifi. I got ahold of Verizon and they sent me a new phone and as soon as I started it the same thing happened to it also
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what symptoms were you seeing that made you think you were hacked?
Those errors are normal in Recovery Mode. I see them all the time, sometimes they don't appear, usually they do.
Did you remove your google accounts from settings, do a factory reset from the reset menu and lastly in recovery mode where you posted the screenshots from.
Your Account might be hacked but the phone is unlikely hacked. You would get a message at boot telling you that the device has been modified. With a locked bootloader its extremely unlikely (unless NSO Group is targeting you).
Woodruff87 said:
Can anyone help me carrier unlock my Verizon phone? My phone has been hacked and I hope being able to flash it will help me to get rid of whatever they have done to it. Can anyone tell me why I get this message when I reset my phone? Any help would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you unlock the bootloader? Have custom firmware/kernel installed?
A "hacker" wins nothing by resetting/wiping your phone. They want data, and that only works if the phone can turn on and works. This looks like a wipe/factory reset gone wrong, which spells user error or software error and less likely a "hacker" attack. Most hacks you will never notice. A hacker that makes you notice that something went wrong, is either an amateur or did it on purpose. Ergo, he wants you to know that something went wrong, which usually only happens in order to extort you. If there is no extortion, then an obvious act by a hacker is highly unlikely.
We need some more information. What firmware had you installed? What happened exactly when. Did you install any new apps recently? What did you do prior to something going wrong? All the information that could help us troubleshoot your issue.
You said your phone wiped itself a day after connecting to your girlfriends wifi, and that a replacement device that you got sent by your carrier, did the same. Did you check your Google account? Do you have two factor authentication activated? It sounds like your phone got wiped over wifi, which would require access to your Google account. It's just odd that you get errors, which normally shouldn't happen if someone would use the erase a lost Android device function.
It's also possible that your backup from your GAccount is simply corrupted (many people had issues with random reboots). You should try and set up your (replacement) phone anew without any backup, maybe that can fix your issue.
Beyond that Google account thing-y, anything else is highly unlikely. Even specialized companies have serious issues getting into a modern smartphone, lest alone an Android 12 phone with a Google Server grade Titan m2 chip. The newer the firmware, the less likely the chance that someone from the outside could get in, especially with a phone like a Pixel that isn't very common. Most security firms/govermental agencies can only abuse older, known security loopholes. It's more likely that very popular phones like a Samsung or IPhone are targets from "the bad guys", since there will be bigger payoff for breaking the security of those phones, since there is a greater pool of users to target. Most hacks I've witnessed weren't random, they were targeted. Ask yourself: Am I worth the trouble of getting hacked? Do you have anything of interest on your phone that would warrant an excessive use of resources? Managing to hack a Pixel is not only unlikely in terms of the security you need to breach, but also in terms of the potential payoff in relation to the necessary knowhow and resources. It's just "not worth it".
What you should do immediately, just in case, is secure your Google account. Change your password. Maybe even change your two-factor authentication, if you have one (sms is not secure, use a token generating software/device). Change the wifi password from your girlfriend and check the list of connected devices. make a list of these connected devices + history (find that in the rooter software) and check them against the devices you know of. Also check the list of connected devices to your GAccount. Use the option to log out ALL devices from your Google account, so only your device is connected.
Do any other people have access to your phone? Do any other people know your passwords? Does your girlfriend has access? Do any other people have biometric security saved on your phone? Do you trust your girlfriend completely?
Make sure you use a special, new password for your GAccount, never reuse old ones that you have used somewhere else. Also check your emails on https://haveibeenpwned.com/
Beyond that, if you are not doing already, use a password manager.
Woodruff87 said:
Im not sure who or how they wiped anything. It happened one day after connecting to my girlfriends wifi. I got ahold of Verizon and they sent me a new phone and as soon as I started it the same thing happened to it also
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait a sec. Verizon sent you a new (refurbished probably but new nonetheless) phone and when you turned it on weren't you greeted with the startup menu? Am I missing something?
Morgrain said:
Did you unlock the bootloader? Have custom firmware/kernel installed?
A "hacker" wins nothing by resetting/wiping your phone. They want data, and that only works if the phone can turn on and works. This looks like a wipe/factory reset gone wrong, which spells user error or software error and less likely a "hacker" attack. Most hacks you will never notice. A hacker that makes you notice that something went wrong, is either an amateur or did it on purpose. Ergo, he wants you to know that something went wrong, which usually only happens in order to extort you. If there is no extortion, then an obvious act by a hacker is highly unlikely.
We need some more information. What firmware had you installed? What happened exactly when. Did you install any new apps recently? What did you do prior to something going wrong? All the information that could help us troubleshoot your issue.
You said your phone wiped itself a day after connecting to your girlfriends wifi, and that a replacement device that you got sent by your carrier, did the same. Did you check your Google account? Do you have two factor authentication activated? It sounds like your phone got wiped over wifi, which would require access to your Google account. It's just odd that you get errors, which normally shouldn't happen if someone would use the erase a lost Android device function.
It's also possible that your backup from your GAccount is simply corrupted (many people had issues with random reboots). You should try and set up your (replacement) phone anew without any backup, maybe that can fix your issue.
Beyond that Google account thing-y, anything else is highly unlikely. Even specialized companies have serious issues getting into a modern smartphone, lest alone an Android 12 phone with a Google Server grade Titan m2 chip. The newer the firmware, the less likely the chance that someone from the outside could get in, especially with a phone like a Pixel that isn't very common. Most security firms/govermental agencies can only abuse older, known security loopholes. It's more likely that very popular phones like a Samsung or IPhone are targets from "the bad guys", since there will be bigger payoff for breaking the security of those phones, since there is a greater pool of users to target. Most hacks I've witnessed weren't random, they were targeted. Ask yourself: Am I worth the trouble of getting hacked? Do you have anything of interest on your phone that would warrant an excessive use of resources? Managing to hack a Pixel is not only unlikely in terms of the security you need to breach, but also in terms of the potential payoff in relation to the necessary knowhow and resources. It's just "not worth it".
What you should do immediately, just in case, is secure your Google account. Change your password. Maybe even change your two-factor authentication, if you have one (sms is not secure, use a token generating software/device). Change the wifi password from your girlfriend and check the list of connected devices. make a list of these connected devices + history (find that in the rooter software) and check them against the devices you know of. Also check the list of connected devices to your GAccount. Use the option to log out ALL devices from your Google account, so only your device is connected.
Do any other people have access to your phone? Do any other people know your passwords? Does your girlfriend has access? Do any other people have biometric security saved on your phone? Do you trust your girlfriend completely?
Make sure you use a special, new password for your GAccount, never reuse old ones that you have used somewhere else. Also check your emails on https://haveibeenpwned.com/
Beyond that, if you are not doing already, use a password manager.
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Thanks I really appreciate the help and all the advice. I checked https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and my account has been pawned in 1 data breach... I will deactivate the Google account and start over fresh. Thanks again for all the info
bencozzy said:
Two things are they refurbished? And do they work without signing into google?
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The first one was new, but the one I got from Google as a replacement was refurbished. Ill try resetting through the settings and deactivating all my accounts.
Woodruff87 said:
Thanks I really appreciate the help and all the advice. I checked https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and my account has been pawned in 1 data breach... I will deactivate the Google account and start over fresh. Thanks again for all the info
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This, among many other things, is one of the reasons I use GrapheneOS and NO gooble services (despite all the attention they give to sandboxed gooble services).
Woodruff87 said:
Thanks I really appreciate the help and all the advice. I checked https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and my account has been pawned in 1 data breach... I will deactivate the Google account and start over fresh. Thanks again for all the info
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your google address was found on that site for another service and you used the same password for both services, correct?
despite what some believe, your google account will not get hacked unless your password is insecure (ie. leaked or insufficient with 2FA). anything less and your asking for trouble (also using GrapheneOS).