[Q]Apps to make your phone unusuable if it's stolen - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi ! I was looking for an application that make two things:
- First, you can't switch off your phone without the password (useful with nexus 4, because you can't unplug the battery without utils)
- You can't restore your phone without the password
These actions could be activated always or by your activating them on a website (like apps that allowed you to locate your phone)
This would be useful if your phone is stolen, you could locate your phone if it's stolen because the the phone wouldn't be switched off or wiped
I looked for an app like that but I didn't found it.. Do you know if it exist ? If no, is there an hardware restriction ?
Thanks

So far, there isn't a single antitheft app which can prevent your phone from being flashed, and no antitheft app will survive a firmware / rom flash.

Thanks ! It's a pity.. Do you know if it could be possible to make a ROM like that ?

shokks said:
Thanks ! It's a pity.. Do you know if it could be possible to make a ROM like that ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, this wouldn't be possible at all. A rom COULD hinder the thief briefly but it's never enough. This would go down to the bootloader/Stock recovery/Custom recovery level where any user familiar with either or can get to either one and perform a factory reset which would nullify any app or rom dead in it's tracks. Until someone figures out how to password protect the bootloader/stock recovery/Custom recovery, This will never fully be possible unfortunately.

desert54 said:
No, this wouldn't be possible at all. A rom COULD hinder the thief briefly but it's never enough. This would go down to the bootloader/Stock recovery/Custom recovery level where any user familiar with either or can get to either one and perform a factory reset which would nullify any app or rom dead in it's tracks. Until someone figures out how to password protect the bootloader/stock recovery/Custom recovery, This will never fully be possible unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you ! I'll will wait for this.. It could be really good !
I have a last question is it possible to disable the on/off menu on android if it is locked ? I didn't found any option like that in Cyanogenmod
Thanks
PS : I found an app : play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nezdroid.lockscreenprotector (but the thief can always use two button to make an "hard reboot".. I will wait for the "ultimate" solution to password the bootloader !
thx

Related

[Q] Reset usercode (not pattern reset) WITHOUT losing any info?

Got a friend at work, and his kid managed to enter a usercode onto his SGS2. It´s his businesses phone with LOADS of meetings/notes/sms´s/photes (all on the phone, nothing saved to SD :/ )etc etc and he want to get his info back if possible.
USB debugging is NOT turned on.
vol+,home,power gets puts you on a enter password screen.
vol-,home,power puts you in download mode.
Is there anything that can be flashed via ODIN to get rid of the usercode WITHOUT loosing any info?
Just them him to take it into a Samsung service center proof of ownership may well be needed.
As i work in a phone/tv store we send in ~5-10/phones each day to service centers.
Not one time have the phone been "unlocked/reset" without it coming back factory reset
I´ll tell him to leave it be until monday, and if there´s no other way then flashing, well, suck for him....
JayDee78 said:
As i work in a phone/tv store we send in ~5-10/phones each day to service centers.
Not one time have the phone been "unlocked/reset" without it coming back factory reset
I´ll tell him to leave it be until monday, and if there´s no other way then flashing, well, suck for him....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read in another thread to try a bunch of wrong passwords until it asks for a PUK then use that to unlock it (Call carrier for PUK)
Tell your "friend" to ask his "kid" for the code.
Does he have a backup of his EFS? If so you can flash via Odin any xxxEFSxxx.tar file and it will allow access to the phone, you can then backup whats needed and then restore the original EFS.
oinkylicious said:
Tell your "friend" to ask his "kid" for the code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The kid is 3 years old, and his name is Emil. Just think for a second, if the phone where stolen or ill gotten, why go through this trouble?! The meetings, calander etc can be restored (with pain) but the photos etc cant be replaced! And as i do this, send phones to service, on a daylie basis i want to explorer any other options first as it will likely be wiped when it is returned!
Odia said:
Does he have a backup of his EFS? If so you can flash via Odin any xxxEFSxxx.tar file and it will allow access to the phone, you can then backup whats needed and then restore the original EFS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing saved on his part. Got NSPRO, z3x and SGTool and tried everything that i could think of with these tools, but as usb debbuging is off no codes could be read...
Thanks for the input, i´ll guess it will be a hail mary pass to send it in to Anovo, as the biggest servicecenter is called in Sweden.
What is a "usercode" to begin with if it's not the Pattern/PIN/Password lock?
Overcomming the Pattern/PIN/Password lock is rather easy, as Odia suggested, but you even can do it with custom kernel via root ADB in recovery, don't even need to flash a stock EFS, just delete all cryptoprop* files.
JayDee78 said:
vol+,home,power gets puts you on a enter password screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THAT sounds like the device encryption is enabled.
If that is really the case, there is nothing you can do without the password, as if you do the above, the password will be gone, but so is all the data as it can't be decrypted anymore.
0000 is always worth a try .
jje
Thanks for the info.
The phone was setup by a former IT guy at the company he works at. That would explain why it is encrypted, as my friend is not very tech savvy.
Unfortunately the guy now works abroad and they have not been able to reach him, and i guess that servicecenters wont reset it with content remaining to avoid potential problems with info coming into the wrong hands.
Thanks all for the replies!
It's impossible to reset it without loosing/wiping the data when not knowing the password - that's the idea when encrypting it
Has nothing to do with service centers "not wanting", it's just technically not possible.

[Q] Unique Problem Yet to be Resolved

I have this strange but extremely irritating problem:
I Have this unique problem with my HTC Amaze phone; freezes and the screen become unresponsive, works by itself (open apps, close them, moves from one screen to other and zooms in/out on webpages without touching it).
Can someone advise how to fix it.
Advise - I'd say for starters you'll need to provide some more information. What ROM are you running? Rooted? S-ON/S-OFF? Recovery? The more info you provide, the better to help you solve the issue.
It sounds like something is making the screen freeze ie it has to little ram. The rest is probably delayed user input. It is knows how you have touched after the freeze and tries to carry out the commands later.
if your having issues with a custom rom, id suggest just wiping everything and flashing it over.. either that or see if anyone else on that rom has posted similar issues.. but overall sounds like the rom wasn't flashed properly...
I'm a Novice so I wont know if its rooted or which ROM it is. I got it from T-Mobile US and got the unlock code from them and unlocked it. Now I'm using it on Vodafone and it works fine but it does some time gives this issue. All I do to fix it (temp) is that I lock the phone and then unlock it using the power button.
How can I find all those info's that you have asked for?
vinniej said:
Advise - I'd say for starters you'll need to provide some more information. What ROM are you running? Rooted? S-ON/S-OFF? Recovery? The more info you provide, the better to help you solve the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
san100tu said:
I'm a Novice so I wont know if its rooted or which ROM it is. I got it from T-Mobile US and got the unlock code from them and unlocked it. Now I'm using it on Vodafone and it works fine but it does some time gives this issue. All I do to fix it (temp) is that I lock the phone and then unlock it using the power button.
How can I find all those info's that you have asked for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you haven't done anything to the phone... aka "unlocking bootloader, rooting, flashing custom recovery, s-off" if your phone is "STOCK" like how you bought it from the company and its giving you issues.. id suggest doing a factory reset of the phone from the settings menu.. if that doesn't work take it back to the company and explain to them that the phone is having issues.. because to me it doesn't sound like you did anything to the phone at all

[Q] backing up an un rooted stock screen locked S 3 siii

Dear friends,
Need help immediately
I have a stock s3 (un rooted, standard) that was recently updated with an official android update , it suddenly won’t accept my screen lock pin pot the update,
How ever I am able to receive calls,
One more strange thing is , after removing the sim card the phone still shows signal in the screen locked mode , though obviously I am unable to receive any calls
Also the phone is ghosting, its screen is coming alive on its own (to the lock screen)
I feel that the phone has a corrupt update or summin
More importantly
1. The phone is not rooted and I’m not Shure if the USB debugging is on or not
2. The phone has data which I do not want to loose
3. Im unable to download the ADT bundle (iv red somewhere that this is the only way to bypass it)
4. I want to know how I can unlock my phone to make a backup of all the data
5. I don’t mind rooting my phone (provided the lock screen allows me to do so)
I have a fair knowledge of rooting and ROM flashing etc, but am no expert , hence an amateur guide to phone unlock shall be immensely helpful
PL HELP
casula.aditya said:
Dear friends,
Need help immediately
I have a stock s3 (un rooted, standard) that was recently updated with an official android update , it suddenly won’t accept my screen lock pin pot the update,
How ever I am able to receive calls,
One more strange thing is , after removing the sim card the phone still shows signal in the screen locked mode , though obviously I am unable to receive any calls
Also the phone is ghosting, its screen is coming alive on its own (to the lock screen)
I feel that the phone has a corrupt update or summin
More importantly
1. The phone is not rooted and I’m not Shure if the USB debugging is on or not
2. The phone has data which I do not want to loose
3. Im unable to download the ADT bundle (iv red somewhere that this is the only way to bypass it)
4. I want to know how I can unlock my phone to make a backup of all the data
5. I don’t mind rooting my phone (provided the lock screen allows me to do so)
I have a fair knowledge of rooting and ROM flashing etc, but am no expert , hence an amateur guide to phone unlock shall be immensely helpful
PL HELP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you proceeded? Your backup will be created before we start clearing/deleting storage. Thats means you ca use the phone in any case and have a got chance to restore all necessarry data once the rom wotks again.
SO AS YOU READ GUIDE I SUPPOSE YOU REMOVED KIES AND OTHER USB SERVICES????
LS.xD said:
So you proceeded? Or got any questions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i wanted to know if i will be able to root my phone with this screen lock?? further ..is there any use..as in will i be able to retrieve my data??
casula.aditya said:
i wanted to know if i will be able to root my phone with this screen lock?? further ..is there any use..as in will i be able to retrieve my data??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As u seen during the update --> someting can go wrong, but whats the point of deleting your data by yourslf or have may be a minimal risk getting data lost during root? Have you found another option to keep your files????
LS.xD said:
As u seen during the update --> someting can go wrong, but whats the point of deleting your data by yourslf or have may be a minimal risk getting data lost during root? Have you found another option to keep your files????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont mind rooting my phone, im ok with minimal data loss too
iv herd going with the ADB tool and puting some codes, how ever the USB debugging has to be one for both and im not shure wether its on or not
casula.aditya said:
i dont mind rooting my phone, im ok with minimal data loss too
iv herd going with the ADB tool and puting some codes, how ever the USB debugging has to be one for both and im not shure wether its on or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
simply check in device manager
you probably need to be rooted by the way, cause you cant acces all directories. And pls post the guide you read, i wanna get some more knowledge too
How about your SIII ??

[Q] Factory reset

I installed the cerberus anti-theft. But i want to protect it of be deleted by a factory reset.
Is this possible without root the device?
Thanks
rodrigo081089 said:
I installed the cerberus anti-theft. But i want to protect it of be deleted by a factory reset.
Is this possible without root the device?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it is imposible to prevent a Xperia From being wiped
Flashmode and Fastboot are hardware functions i do believe are hardware functions
Envious_Data said:
it is imposible to prevent a Xperia From being wiped
Flashmode and Fastboot are hardware functions i do believe are hardware functions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That´s right. But to doing a flashmode it take time. But a factory reset it´s too easy. So if i can block the factory reset it will be great
rodrigo081089 said:
That´s right. But to doing a flashmode it take time. But a factory reset it´s too easy. So if i can block the factory reset it will be great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
almost all methods of resetting a device takes 5 mins at the most
i dont think you can block such a thing easily, anyway why not just use a lockscreen passwd, you cant actualy get past that unless you have USB debugging on
only smart theifs know how to reset a device via hardware
Envious_Data said:
almost all methods of resetting a device takes 5 mins at the most
i dont think you can block such a thing easily, anyway why not just use a lockscreen passwd, you cant actualy get past that unless you have USB debugging on
only smart theifs know how to reset a device via hardware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, that is one option, but i do not really like use the pass every time my mobile is lock.
I would like to put a pass into the factory reset option on settings.
rodrigo081089 said:
Sure, that is one option, but i do not really like use the pass every time my mobile is lock.
I would like to put a pass into the factory reset option on settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actualy if you have a lockscreen pass it asks for the same pass everytime you chose a option such as factory reset or anything alike or partial alike

Zte blade z max z982

I have a ZTE blade z max phone that I got out of storage. I always keep my broken tech just incase. and sure enough I have a court date coming up and the information on this phone is my only hope.
This phone has a password that you have to enter before the phone fully boots. Can anyone point me in the direction of a method for a bypass that may work. I saw a post for methods that worked for people who's phones are fully booted but they cant remember their patterns or passwords. those methods are a bit out of my reach unless i've done something wrong. the phone hasn't be on since april-june of 2018 not sure if that would help any. Its also connected to my google account but the phone has no service and the wifi command is of no use cause i have a new ISP
Please help. I just wanna get this case out of my hair.
Stevonce said:
I have a ZTE blade z max phone that I got out of storage. I always keep my broken tech just incase. and sure enough I have a court date coming up and the information on this phone is my only hope.
This phone has a password that you have to enter before the phone fully boots. Can anyone point me in the direction of a method for a bypass that may work. I saw a post for methods that worked for people who's phones are fully booted but they cant remember their patterns or passwords. those methods are a bit out of my reach unless i've done something wrong. the phone hasn't be on since april-june of 2018 not sure if that would help any. Its also connected to my google account but the phone has no service and the wifi command is of no use cause i have a new ISP
Please help. I just wanna get this case out of my hair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If this device has twrp you could flash it and boot twrrp and go into file manager data/system/remove gate keeper password and puzzle Key and lockscreen dbs and you can access the phone
([emoji3590]09-09-18[emoji3590])
PoochyX said:
If this device has twrp you could flash it and boot twrrp and go into file manager data/system/remove gate keeper password and puzzle Key and lockscreen dbs and you can access the phone
([emoji3590]09-09-18[emoji3590])
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just recently began looking into twrp because there have been new root methods for the previous model to this phone in which i wanted to root. never got around to it. if this phone doesn't have twrp would it be possible to do so from the recover menu, (Power button + up volume)
Stevonce said:
I just recently began looking into twrp because there have been new root methods for the previous model to this phone in which i wanted to root. never got around to it. if this phone doesn't have twrp would it be possible to do so from the recover menu, (Power button + up volume)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No stock recovery doesn't have a file manager with access to the system partition
([emoji3590]09-09-18[emoji3590])
PoochyX said:
No stock recovery doesn't have a file manager with access to the system partition
([emoji3590]09-09-18[emoji3590])
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn any suggestions? is it possible to put twrp on here not being able to boot the phone? i'm pulling my hair out lol
Stevonce said:
Damn any suggestions? is it possible to put twrp on here not being able to boot the phone? i'm pulling my hair out lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you access to fastboot and oem unlock was enabled and developer settings then yeah you could if this device was twrrp supported
([emoji3590]09-09-18[emoji3590])
PoochyX said:
If you access to fastboot and oem unlock was enabled and developer settings then yeah you could if this device was twrrp supported
([emoji3590]09-09-18[emoji3590])
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gonna give it a shot.
PoochyX said:
If you access to fastboot and oem unlock was enabled and developer settings then yeah you could if this device was twrrp supported
([emoji3590]09-09-18[emoji3590])
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If i factory reset this phone could i retrieve all the data i lost?
Stevonce said:
If i factory reset this phone could i retrieve all the data i lost?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you factory restore the device your data partion and internal storage partion will be wiped and it more then I likely trigger that Google reactivation lock and you would have to put the last Google email used with the phone and password to start the setup process if you did a factory restore in twrrp you wouldn't lose your data cause unlike stock factory restore it just wipes the data partion and not internal storage partion
([emoji3590]09-09-18[emoji3590])

Categories

Resources