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i was sitting here on XDA and i saw that a user here had his phone stolen from him, and people posted several solutions like GPSTracker and latitude but the user did not have either installed. would anyone be interested in a remote brick? basically it would be like SMS commander, but you send a text that holds a password and the correct brick phrase and the phone will brick. the best(and worst) way i can see to do this would be to have an old radio on the sdcard and have the haykuro SPL on there as well. then when the phone receives the text it flashes the old radio and then the haykuro SPL which we all know would brick the phone. i am still working on possible implementation or another way of doing this(maybe run "wipe all" in terminal), but i was just wondering if anyone would be interested before i really try it out.
maybe in future if app works well our ROM devs could include in their build and then it couldn't be removed(easily). the main reason i would want something like this is so if my phone was stolen i could make it useless to the idiot that stole it.
few minor details that would need to be worked out:
won't work if SIM is changed as number would be different
if i use the terminal command "wipe all" then theif would only need to have a new ROM to install and it would be all better
on the of chance you get the phone back you would want to be able to easily fix the phone
let me know what you think, keep in mind this is a very early stage idea and i haven't put more than 20 minutes thought into it
cant lie the idea is brilliant but execution would be the make or break point, and i have a feelin this will take alot of test g1's to get working lol...and multiple devs as a team to get up off the ground. But im all for it, i have had bad luck in the past especially with sidekicks and etc and this would be a perfect idea to have.
Great idea but don't forget when restoring it (if you manage to retrieve your phone), it should only 'unlock' to a certain pass phrase pre-set by the user. If not anyone could just run the 'unlock' command to start using it again.
On the whole, a great idea.
However, I think flashing an incompatible theme with your current build would be sufficient, seeing as 99% of the people who go around stealing phones would have no idea how to fix a G1 stuck on the T-Mo/Not-Flashing-Android Screen.
Although the Old Radio+New SPL combo ensures that there will be minimal data retrieval, it also seems like overkill for the majority of circumstances, seeing as your phone would become a paperweight.
The terminal command "wipe all" will wipe the data and system partitions and crash the phone, when the person who stole it tries to reboot it it won't boot
Even if you wipe (or remove the SD card) most builds would still boot regardless. A remote kill switch has been around on many platforms for some time, hell even Microsoft have been threatening to use it on Vista for pirated builds but it has never happened.
In this case, perhaps the app would need root access, so it could remotely reboot the G1 and run a script to force a boot loop, if you wanted to go as far as rendering the mobile temp unusable.
However the G1 as it is has plenty of security flaws... I mean many of us managed to get root without issue and I'm sure any google searches will point them to this forum. There is no security for fastboot, nor accessing the recovery image so people can pretty much do as they please - If they know how.
Yeah, I don't know about bricking the phone because it would suck if eventually you did get it back. Then you're stuck with a brick phone maybe theres away around it though which could work not sure how you'd implement this though. I mean the idea is there just going to be abit hard to execute because the problem is with all these theft problems, if they have the phone off when the sms is sent then it doesn't work.
I wouldn't mind having this. If someone snatched my G1 out of my hands and got away, I would just use my friend's cell 1 minute later to make my phone a paper weight, then have peace of mind. lol
Dladu said:
Yeah, I don't know about bricking the phone because it would suck if eventually you did get it back. Then you're stuck with a brick phone maybe theres away around it though which could work not sure how you'd implement this though. I mean the idea is there just going to be abit hard to execute because the problem is with all these theft problems, if they have the phone off when the sms is sent then it doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am noting the issues, what i am planning is something similar to SMS commander, when the phone gets a text that says a certain thing it does something. if the phone is off then the text will still arrive when the phone is powered on, hell i could probably even remove the recovery screen and then the person would need to fastboot the phone.
sms commander just "listens" for the text of an incoming message and if it matches a certain phrase it runs a command. obviously i would need root, but at this point if you haven't rooted your phone this(if it works) woulud do it.
with that said, i am researching the APIs to see what would need to be done, i used to have something like this on my old 8525 and i never had to use it, but i'm paranoid about stuff like this
i love this idea, there was this time when i had sold my touch pro on craigslist but the buyer had ripped me off! so that just pissed me off!
(good name ideas)
Cold-Droid
Lock Me
Ban-Droid
Dream Lock
Use me...Not!
Where's My owner
or just a plain app called
"Brick"
This app would be cool if it detected the owners sim card so if it were ever replaced it would say wrong sim card enter passkey (which they will not know)
and if they were to ever put the sim card back in then still it will tell you(sim card has been removed please eneter passkey)
or something like that! just an idea!
kind of like sim lock but instead of sim being locked, the device will be locked!
Why you would want to destroy a phone?
Just remote wipe your data, thats enough. Write that as an app!
Not bricking!
Have you guys used/considered Mobile Defense?
So here is my idea for this application.
Instead of completely bricking the phone, make it so that if the SIM card is removed, or the secret SMS message is sent that it does a complete phone lock and displays a message on-screen stating "This phone is suspected to have been lost/stolen. Please call XXX number to return the property.". All the while sending precise GPS locations updated every x minutes to a preset Email address and/or send a SMS to a preset phone number. This way the real owner may be able to easily recover the phone and none of the information is exposed. The only way to unlock it is to put in a code to unlock it. After x amount of days without being recovered, the program will issue a recoverable brick all the while showing the same message. After x more days after the soft brick, the phone will format all ROM and be unrecoverable. By that time, the real owner would have already gotten his/her replacement G1 if they had insurance, and the thief will have a fancy paperweight.
Great idea
Is this going to get anywhere?
that'd be funny if you could lock the phone at a screen that has a customized text.
Like F**K YOU B*TICH
or maybe
If Found Contact -
ETC. and it just stays at that screen. wonder if thats possible
edit- i shoulda read page 2 haha. same idea as Setnev lol.
I was playing around with the pattern lock and eventually got the 'Too many pattern attempts!' message, with it asking for my Google username and password to log in.
No matter what, it doesn't accept my username/password. I am 100% sure I've typed it in correctly.
This bug has been around for over a year with many people reporting 'bricked' phones without even doing anything particularly naughty with their phones.
This is the Google bug that has been posted on it: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3006#makechanges
As you can see this has been around for over a year. The 'null'-in-password trick doesn't work, nor does the spamming-home-button trick.
My phone is rooted and with the Voodoo Lagfix-only custom kernel. Any suggestions?
Do a hard reset / wipe. That's my suggestion.
Try booting into recovery (Home Button, Vol Up + Power), and resetting your cache and wiping it. Then try logging in with your Google account. If all else fails, try changing your Google password on the PC then logging in on the phone. And then if it still fails, looks like you need to flash the phone again. Next time, don't enter the thing wrong! Stop rushing haha .
I wasn't rushing, I was playing with the lock. It takes about 30 times before it's permanently requiring the username/password. But really...you can't blame me for not expecting this. :/
I'm currently trying to flash a new ROM but I've run into another problem - I can't get it to boot into downloader/recovery. It's not the lack of the 3 button combo - I've managed to reach Recovery and Downloader ONCE each in the past, but never again since.
And now with all my efforts to boot into recovery/downloader, it now cannot boot into normal usability mode (or in my case, locked mode). Instead, the Galaxy S logo loops endlessly.
Sigh.
Have you read the thread for the fix for Galaxy S variants that are lacking the 3 Button Combos? It's in Android Development. Maybe try that? Or, can you still connect the phone and connect with Kies?
I can't turn on the phone anymore, meaning no changing to USB debugging etc. And I'm having problem accessing recovery/download, even though I definitely HAVE done each of them once before and therefore do not have the 3 button problem.
Without turning on my phone, Kies can't detect it
So what happens when you power on?
Now, it shows the first Galaxy S splash screen, then shows the boot logo, then nothing. The boot logo continues to glow endlessly.
Be patient, i waited up to five minutes. If you see the s logo glowing/shining youare ok
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
okpc said:
Be patient, i waited up to five minutes. If you see the s logo glowing/shining youare ok
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's continuously shining. Haven't left it for up to five minutes though... And even then it probably won't help since I'm still locked out of the phone, and unable to access download/recovery mode to reflash it.
After waiting for a long time, the logo disappears, screen goes black. Menu and back buttons light up. Nothing else.
Looks like your going to have to reflash your phone again. Download the desired firmware, open up Odin and put your phone into download mode and start the flashing procedure. Be more careful next time.
PaulForde said:
Looks like your going to have to reflash your phone again. Download the desired firmware, open up Odin and put your phone into download mode and start the flashing procedure. Be more careful next time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good advice considering he said his 3 button combo stopped working =))
All I did when I got that black screen was adb reboot recovery and wiped and phone bootedup fine. But only if you have debuging enable and and sumsung drivers. Hopes this help.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Can't enable USB debugging when phone can't be turned on at all.
danamoult said:
I was playing around with the pattern lock and eventually got the 'Too many pattern attempts!' message, with it asking for my Google username and password to log in.
No matter what, it doesn't accept my username/password. I am 100% sure I've typed it in correctly.
This bug has been around for over a year with many people reporting 'bricked' phones without even doing anything particularly naughty with their phones.
As you can see this has been around for over a year. The 'null'-in-password trick doesn't work, nor does the spamming-home-button trick.
My phone is rooted and with the Voodoo Lagfix-only custom kernel. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok i did the same thing, and spent hours googling.
Tried the key combinations to restore, but never worked.
Heres what worked for me, but, be warned all your contacts will be lost if stored on the phone.
From another phone, call your locked number.
Answer it on the locked phone, then hit the "back" button.
This gives you full access to the phones menus etc.
Hang up on the phone you called from.
Now, go into Applications / Settings / Privacy / Factory Data Reset.
This worked for me whereas all other methods did not.
Once your phone is up and running again, be sure to create your google account on your phone.
That way your protected again. If you didnt previously have the account set up from your phone, like i didnt, then you cannot log in of course.
This works...give it a try. Hope it helps.
danamoult said:
Can't enable USB debugging when phone can't be turned on at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you need to be able to enter recovery mode for you to solve this problem
danamoult said:
I was playing around with the pattern lock and eventually got the 'Too many pattern attempts!' message, with it asking for my Google username and password to log in.
No matter what, it doesn't accept my username/password. I am 100% sure I've typed it in correctly.
This bug has been around for over a year with many people reporting 'bricked' phones without even doing anything particularly naughty with their phones.
This is the Google bug that has been posted on it: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3006#makechanges
As you can see this has been around for over a year. The 'null'-in-password trick doesn't work, nor does the spamming-home-button trick.
My phone is rooted and with the Voodoo Lagfix-only custom kernel. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dear friend dont worry or panic... i'll tell you a trick , go to the samsung customer care and tell them that your phone gets heated up very often and today it just refuses to boot up normally...
since your device cannot get into recovery mode or download mode the company will never know that you had played with the system files in the device or not... (rooted )..
since the samsung people will also try to get your device in recovery mode.. but when it will not go to the recovery mode you will get a mother board replacement under warranty.....
this heating up of the device is a common problem in the galaxy here in india.. so use this excuse and i know it works 100% ... (just dont tell them that you had rooted and lagfixed your device )
What you describe sounds like a very large security hole if I am reading it correctly.
Are you saying that even if your phone has been locked out from too many lock screen failures, that just answering an incoming phone call gives you full access to the phone? Really?
I just checked on my phone and while I can answer an incoming call while the screen is locked, if I hit the back button or menu button, I just get the lock screen.
I'm missing something here...
OzzYGuY said:
Ok i did the same thing, and spent hours googling.
Tried the key combinations to restore, but never worked.
Heres what worked for me, but, be warned all your contacts will be lost if stored on the phone.
From another phone, call your locked number.
Answer it on the locked phone, then hit the "back" button.
This gives you full access to the phones menus etc.
Hang up on the phone you called from.
Now, go into Applications / Settings / Privacy / Factory Data Reset.
This worked for me whereas all other methods did not.
Once your phone is up and running again, be sure to create your google account on your phone.
That way your protected again. If you didnt previously have the account set up from your phone, like i didnt, then you cannot log in of course.
This works...give it a try. Hope it helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
distortedloop said:
What you describe sounds like a very large security hole if I am reading it correctly.
Are you saying that even if your phone has been locked out from too many lock screen failures, that just answering an incoming phone call gives you full access to the phone? Really?
I just checked on my phone and while I can answer an incoming call while the screen is locked, if I hit the back button or menu button, I just get the lock screen.
I'm missing something here...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
chill my dear friend.... it cant be true.... its just his 1st post.. and samsung cannot be so dumb to leave a password protected keypad that can be cracked so easily.. even i tried the back key on a call with a password lock.. i cannot get passed the lock screen....
Hey guys could use a hand here. My brother in laws phones keeps asking him for username / password when he starts up his device. He said he entered lock screen whilst drunk too many wrong times . He cant remember his info . And wants it working asap again. I did however root his device for him if that helps matters .. Im unsure if i could do a factory reset for him or even how to do that?
Appreciate if anyone can help .. Thanks !
Hi ****,
If it is SIM locked I would imagine after entering his code wrong a few times it should be asking for his PUK code. If you ring his provider they will be able to issue you with the PUK. This will unlock the phone. When he set up the phone he would have been asked for a security pin which they will have on file this is needed or his phone is locked until that code is entered.
Wiping the phone will not remove the SIM lock if that is what it is you are refering too.
If you can be a bit more specific on the lock. ie: How he set it up in the first place I will see what I can find to help out.
Hit the thanks if this helped
Hey thanks for the quick reply .. i thought about the PUK .. but he says its just asking for his user/pass and he can see how many missed calls and txts he has but cant read them or do anything until he entershis login info .... very confused
Yeah no worries. Get him to give you the details of the phone make model, exact lock he is using and we can go further. Until then there is an endless list and we will no be any closer.
its the Galaxy S i9000 he has .. and he just setup the normal DOT pattern lock code .
Try the link below. Should help him out. Seems that he may have to use lowercase only for his email as it is case sensitive for some reason. If not he needs to put his password as "null". This will ask him to create a new pattern from which he will be back to normal. A hard reset will work as well but if he wants to keep his data then I dont recommend that way.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/39761478/Android---Locked-Out
Be sure to hit the thanks
i think were going to try the hard reset .. lose all data we know but at least he will have his phone back ... just to confirm i follow these instructions right ?
1.Turn the power off. If your Samsung Galaxy S is frozen, pull the battery out and reinsert it
2.Hold the Volume Down button
3.Press and release the Power button
4.You are now presented with a menu that allows for Fastbook, Recovery, Clear Storage, and Simlock
5.Select Clear Storage by pressing the Volume Down button
6.Press and release the Power button
7.Now simply confirm your decision: Volume Up for YES and Volume Down for NO
If you selected YES, all data including third-party applications will be deleted from the Samsung Galaxy S. Once the wipe is complete, the phone will reboot to its factory fresh state.
Why not just follow the link and unlock that way without the hard reset??? Unless of course he has forgotten his email as well?? Which seems a bit weird if that is the case. Who forgets their email right?
Also the above mentioned wipe is not quite correct. Go to this link here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Samsung_Galaxy_S_Series#Recovery_Mode
dick8843 said:
i think were going to try the hard reset .. lose all data we know but at least he will have his phone back ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So how did you go any luck??? I'm interested to know if the information in that link works!!
If this works for people can someone let me know
Who knows could come in handy
Hey, my nine year-old nephew came to me today with a question.
He has managed to lock himself out of his xperia x8, forgot both the unlock pattern and his google details.
I tried to force a factory reset with pushing the two buttons left/right under the lcd and the power but cant get it to work.
Any suggestions to what i can do?
This is so much easier with phones with straight-forward recovery mode
Thanks in advance!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
pzayx said:
Hey, my nine year-old nephew came to me today with a question.
He has managed to lock himself out of his xperia x8, forgot both the unlock pattern and his google details.
I tried to force a factory reset with pushing the two buttons left/right under the lcd and the power but cant get it to work.
Any suggestions to what i can do?
This is so much easier with phones with straight-forward recovery mode
Thanks in advance!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TRY THIS:
- Have someone call the locked phone.
- Answer it.
- Leave the call connected!!!
- While leaving the call connected, push the "back" key over and over. NOT the home key!!!
It should eventually take you to the home screen.
- Go to the home screen,
- Go to settings,
- Go to google accounts,
- Add another google account,
- Sign in to that one--- (must have wifi connected, as you're trying to communicate with the google servers while you're on a phone call-- it will prompt you to turn on wifi, if you forget)--
- After it accepts the new account credentials, and logs you in, hang up the phone, and go back to the lock screen.
- This time, use the new google account you just added, to bypass the slide lock pattern
Let me know how it goes!
Thanks for the great answer, but unfortunately it refused to take me to the homescreen.
Im gratefull for every tips i can get,
Worst case scenario i would have to grant him root access and cm7
what a thing to play with
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
pzayx said:
Thanks for the great answer, but unfortunately it refused to take me to the homescreen.
Im gratefull for every tips i can get,
Worst case scenario i would have to grant him root access and cm7
what a thing to play with
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If he doesn't have anything important on the phone, then download and install Sony PC Companion 2.1, and do the following:
- Turn off the phone, and unplug it from the PC
- Turn on Sony PC Companion on your PC
- In PC Companion, enter the Support Zone tab
- Go to Update Phone Software
A window will pop out, saying that it cannot find your phone
- Click on Fix Phone
- Click on Continue
A window will pop out, saying that you will lose all your data
- TICK the BOX
- Click on continue
An update process will began.
Wait for it to show a window with all the SONY mobile phones
- Find your phone (X8)
- Click on the phone.
Now all you have to do is follow the on-screen instructions. It will tell you to hold the back button and plug your turned-off X8 to the PC, then it will erase everything, and download the original 2.1 ROM to your X8.
The exact wording for the above instructions inside Sony PC Companion might be slightly different, as I'm using a Polish language installation.
If you don't want to erase your data on the X8, then try this LINK.
or this one
or this one
Thank you, shall try it when i get home tonight and report back!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
thanks!
thank you for the excellent tips WhatWhatInTheButt,
i tried the latter three links first, but i could not get it to work the way i wanted,
so after a few swear words and some struggle in with the pc companion i decided to read your post line by line and found out that i had overlooked the crucial points in the instructions!
Thanks a lot, guess i will have a happy fellow over here tomorrow
Cool! Glad could help!
WhatWhatInTheButt said:
Cool! Glad could help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THANK U VERY MUCH WhatWhatInTheButt :good::good::good::good::good::good::good::good::good:
mrx264 said:
THANK U VERY MUCH WhatWhatInTheButt :good::good::good::good::good::good::good::good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did it myself one time(forgetting the pattern because i made it hard) i was on PrimeHD
full wipe solved it
WhatWhatInTheButt said:
TRY THIS:
- Have someone call the locked phone.
- Answer it.
- Leave the call connected!!!
- While leaving the call connected, push the "back" key over and over. NOT the home key!!!
It should eventually take you to the home screen.
- Go to the home screen,
- Go to settings,
- Go to google accounts,
- Add another google account,
- Sign in to that one--- (must have wifi connected, as you're trying to communicate with the google servers while you're on a phone call-- it will prompt you to turn on wifi, if you forget)--
- After it accepts the new account credentials, and logs you in, hang up the phone, and go back to the lock screen.
- This time, use the new google account you just added, to bypass the slide lock pattern
Let me know how it goes!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here but with Xperia Go.
A friend of mine comitted sucide and his parents asked me to unlock his phone , i know stuff or two about android but never had this issue.
Phone is xperia Go i even dont know its running ics or or jb .
I am thinking of to root this phone and then install cwm recovery and i will backup every thing data system and every thing.
then format the system partition i think it will rester the phone and there wil be no password again and then i can advance resotre his data partition with cwm will it work ?????? Any tips are welcome guys i dont want to start with out knowing it that it would work or not.
Hi everyone,
I just bought a Google Pixel 5 with Android 11 that was declared "new" and when I got it, from the first time powering it on, I got the security alert that the bootloader is unlocked, see photo attached. For several personal reasons I cannot easily send it back, so I tried to understand what this means but I am no developer. I tried an entire day to install ADB, put the phone in developer mode and download the firmware image from the official source, I got to the point where the ADB devices command showed the phone as connected but then nothing else worked. In every video or guide online, the steps varied from what I had in front of me, or did not yield the same results, or how the files looked was different (I downloaded the same firmware version that is installed on the phone from the official Google page but never had an image file, just various other very non-descript files in it). As I am pretty clueless, I tried googling my way around the error codes I got but everything I tried didn't work. I either got more error codes, answers like the ADB server is already killed, or that flashing command that just returned something like "waiting for available device" and got stuck on it, or nothing happened at all. Then I figured out that the option in the developer menu "Allow OEM unlocking" is greyed out and I read then that there are phones where you simply cannot lock or unlock the bootloader. However, all online guides I see are from people who have a locked bootloader and want to unlock it, and in my case it's exactly the other way around, it came unlocked and I want to lock it. I also tried a normal reset of the phone from the settings menu, deleting all data, and it didn't work. When I got into fastboot mode, I only could choose between Recovery Mode, Rescue Mode and Restart Bootloader, I tried all of them and none worked, and often the last thing that happened was that the screen turned into a small Android with an open chest, and a line "No command" and the only way to get the phone out of this was by pressing the power button for more than 10 seconds. Every time it restarts, the bootloader unlocked safety advice is showing.
After reading all day long about this, I suspect that the phone was probably refurbished. I wondered whether they maybe accidentally forgot to lock it or whether it was intentional, and in case it was intentional, if there is any way someone would have digital access to the phone. I want to understand if it would be possible for me to keep it without having security issues. I read that the unlocked bootloader is a physical problem, if your phone gets stolen or you physically lose it, someone might hack your PIN easier, or get easier access to your data. However, the PIN code and the standard data encryption also seem to protect my data enough. And tbh, as soon as my phone would be lost or stolen, I would delete all data via Find My Device. So I wondered... if it's impossible for me to lock the bootloader, can I still safely keep the phone and use it, with all standard security apps installed like an anti virus app, Google Play Protect and standard security features like PIN and fingerprint unlock and encryption and be safe, or is there any danger I am not aware of? Or is there any way to enable OEM lock or fix this somehow that I would be able to get done as a non-developer? As mentioned before, sending it back is too difficult at the moment so I am just trying to understand what this bootloader unlocked means for me and if it poses a threat to my security as a normal user? (Watching videos, online banking, emails, sending work-related but not highly data sensitive documents, paying with NFC..)
Thanks in advance! I really appreciate any insights to help me understand what this is, if there is any solution to it or if it actually poses no danger if I secure my data another way.
wehramausi said:
Hi everyone,
I just bought a Google Pixel 5 with Android 11 that was declared "new" and when I got it, from the first time powering it on, I got the security alert that the bootloader is unlocked, see photo attached. For several personal reasons I cannot easily send it back, so I tried to understand what this means but I am no developer. I tried an entire day to install ADB, put the phone in developer mode and download the firmware image from the official source, I got to the point where the ADB devices command showed the phone as connected but then nothing else worked. In every video or guide online, the steps varied from what I had in front of me, or did not yield the same results, or how the files looked was different (I downloaded the same firmware version that is installed on the phone from the official Google page but never had an image file, just various other very non-descript files in it). As I am pretty clueless, I tried googling my way around the error codes I got but everything I tried didn't work. I either got more error codes, answers like the ADB server is already killed, or that flashing command that just returned something like "waiting for available device" and got stuck on it, or nothing happened at all. Then I figured out that the option in the developer menu "Allow OEM unlocking" is greyed out and I read then that there are phones where you simply cannot lock or unlock the bootloader. However, all online guides I see are from people who have a locked bootloader and want to unlock it, and in my case it's exactly the other way around, it came unlocked and I want to lock it. I also tried a normal reset of the phone from the settings menu, deleting all data, and it didn't work. When I got into fastboot mode, I only could choose between Recovery Mode, Rescue Mode and Restart Bootloader, I tried all of them and none worked, and often the last thing that happened was that the screen turned into a small Android with an open chest, and a line "No command" and the only way to get the phone out of this was by pressing the power button for more than 10 seconds. Every time it restarts, the bootloader unlocked safety advice is showing.
After reading all day long about this, I suspect that the phone was probably refurbished. I wondered whether they maybe accidentally forgot to lock it or whether it was intentional, and in case it was intentional, if there is any way someone would have digital access to the phone. I want to understand if it would be possible for me to keep it without having security issues. I read that the unlocked bootloader is a physical problem, if your phone gets stolen or you physically lose it, someone might hack your PIN easier, or get easier access to your data. However, the PIN code and the standard data encryption also seem to protect my data enough. And tbh, as soon as my phone would be lost or stolen, I would delete all data via Find My Device. So I wondered... if it's impossible for me to lock the bootloader, can I still safely keep the phone and use it, with all standard security apps installed like an anti virus app, Google Play Protect and standard security features like PIN and fingerprint unlock and encryption and be safe, or is there any danger I am not aware of? Or is there any way to enable OEM lock or fix this somehow that I would be able to get done as a non-developer? As mentioned before, sending it back is too difficult at the moment so I am just trying to understand what this bootloader unlocked means for me and if it poses a threat to my security as a normal user? (Watching videos, online banking, emails, sending work-related but not highly data sensitive documents, paying with NFC..)
Thanks in advance! I really appreciate any insights to help me understand what this is, if there is any solution to it or if it actually poses no danger if I secure my data another way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When the bootloader is unlocked, "allow oem unlocking" is greyed out.
You use fastboot commands when flashing firmware and locking the bootloader
Code:
fastboot devices
The factory image downloaded from this page includes a script that flashes the device, typically named flash-all.sh (On Windows systems, use flash-all.bat
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory Images for Nexus and Pixel Devices | Google Play services | Google for Developers
developers.google.com
Once the script finishes, your device reboots. You should now lock the bootloader for security:
Start the device in fastboot mode again, as described above.
Execute:
fastboot flashing lock
or, for older devices, run:
fastboot oem lock
Locking bootloader will wipe the data on some devices. After locking the bootloader, if you want to flash the device again, you must run fastboot oem unlock again, which will wipe the data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wehramausi said:
Hi everyone,
I just bought a Google Pixel 5 with Android 11 that was declared "new" and when I got it, from the first time powering it on, I got the security alert that the bootloader is unlocked, see photo attached. For several personal reasons I cannot easily send it back, so I tried to understand what this means but I am no developer. I tried an entire day to install ADB, put the phone in developer mode and download the firmware image from the official source, I got to the point where the ADB devices command showed the phone as connected but then nothing else worked. In every video or guide online, the steps varied from what I had in front of me, or did not yield the same results, or how the files looked was different (I downloaded the same firmware version that is installed on the phone from the official Google page but never had an image file, just various other very non-descript files in it). As I am pretty clueless, I tried googling my way around the error codes I got but everything I tried didn't work. I either got more error codes, answers like the ADB server is already killed, or that flashing command that just returned something like "waiting for available device" and got stuck on it, or nothing happened at all. Then I figured out that the option in the developer menu "Allow OEM unlocking" is greyed out and I read then that there are phones where you simply cannot lock or unlock the bootloader. However, all online guides I see are from people who have a locked bootloader and want to unlock it, and in my case it's exactly the other way around, it came unlocked and I want to lock it. I also tried a normal reset of the phone from the settings menu, deleting all data, and it didn't work. When I got into fastboot mode, I only could choose between Recovery Mode, Rescue Mode and Restart Bootloader, I tried all of them and none worked, and often the last thing that happened was that the screen turned into a small Android with an open chest, and a line "No command" and the only way to get the phone out of this was by pressing the power button for more than 10 seconds. Every time it restarts, the bootloader unlocked safety advice is showing.
After reading all day long about this, I suspect that the phone was probably refurbished. I wondered whether they maybe accidentally forgot to lock it or whether it was intentional, and in case it was intentional, if there is any way someone would have digital access to the phone. I want to understand if it would be possible for me to keep it without having security issues. I read that the unlocked bootloader is a physical problem, if your phone gets stolen or you physically lose it, someone might hack your PIN easier, or get easier access to your data. However, the PIN code and the standard data encryption also seem to protect my data enough. And tbh, as soon as my phone would be lost or stolen, I would delete all data via Find My Device. So I wondered... if it's impossible for me to lock the bootloader, can I still safely keep the phone and use it, with all standard security apps installed like an anti virus app, Google Play Protect and standard security features like PIN and fingerprint unlock and encryption and be safe, or is there any danger I am not aware of? Or is there any way to enable OEM lock or fix this somehow that I would be able to get done as a non-developer? As mentioned before, sending it back is too difficult at the moment so I am just trying to understand what this bootloader unlocked means for me and if it poses a threat to my security as a normal user? (Watching videos, online banking, emails, sending work-related but not highly data sensitive documents, paying with NFC..)
Thanks in advance! I really appreciate any insights to help me understand what this is, if there is any solution to it or if it actually poses no danger if I secure my data another way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trade you for a locked 4a 5g...
sipotek said:
Hey Bro can you share a method that how can I root Google Pixel 5, I tried a lot but i can't update the recovery mode? can you share some simple method like with the help of any Apk, or recovery file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lots of threads and guides online that show how to root