I remember back in my old WM ROM cooking days there were some apps that could be baked into the ROM with pre-configured settings such as the phone number that way if the phone was stolen and SIM changed, it would automatically send an SMS to a backup number and from there you could issue hidden SMS messages to track and wipe the phone. I see there are quite a few aps out for android that can be installed, BUT with modern tech savvy thief's the first thing the do is wipe and then put in their own SIM so any security apps you had are gone and useless. I like the simple functionality of the build-in ADM but would like to know if there was any way to pre-configure the app before a CWM flash so it would survive a device wipe "just not a re-flash unfortunately unless we could lock the recovery in the future so that only Odin would reset". Thoughts?
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I've spent the whole night trying to figure this out so hopefully the information is useful for some of of you
The usual scenario is that the phone is encrypted due to using Exchange email (eg. Corporate email) and now you can't upgrade or root it. The first thing to do is to delete that email account and hopefully the phone will decrypt itself or the option appears when you go to phone security settings. You can also try to access the corporate email via a browser and delete the mobile connection.
This worked for me previously but it doesn't now - I don't know if its because I'm using a non-stock rom. Either way a lot of people seems to be stuck with a Samsung rom as well. So you now have a phone with the exchange account gone and its restriction so you should in theory be able to removing the decryption but no it doesn't work. I don't know why as this is a basic OS stuff.
At this stage you can try to full wipe it - but this doesn't work, both through settings or CWM. The only way to sort this out is to copy / backup all your information then flash it to factory state and this means using odin and a stock rom. I've done this several times and there is no lasting issues.
I''m by no mean an expert and would be happy for anyone to correct me
I have a problem on my Galaxy S3, running android 4.1.1 on Vodafone network in the UK. It is not rooted.
I want to make sure the phone is unlocked before buying a sim card for use in France
Using the stock dialer, "*#7465625#" gives me "ussd code running" followed by "Unknown command".
Looking around elsewhere, others have blamed it on Mobile Tracker, which as far as I can see, I don't have. The only solution I have seen is a factory reset, which is a scary prospect for me, not having any idea what that entails. And then reinstalling apps one by one until the culprit is found. I have also seen comments about ussd security issues. I am slowly heading out of my depth here (I know my way round windows quite well, but phones are unknown territory for me,).
I am hoping some clever souls on this forum might be able to help. Is this a known, and solved, problem? Or is a factory reset my best bet?
If I have to reset, I know where the reset is in the menu system - on the same page as a checked box saying backup. So...does does the back up happen automatically or when I press reset or have I got it completely wrong? If not, which files do I need to save away from the phone? What happens to things like contacts I can remove the external SD card, so that won't be an issue. How do I reinstall the apps, particularly the ones I have already paid for?
I have spent most of the afternoon tried to get a handle on this and my head is spinning now.
Any help at all, would be very warmly received.
Polly
1st solution : root your phone, very easy procedure then you can flash the same stock ROM from sammobile.com to become unrooted again without wiping/resetting your phone.
2nd solution: download APPSAVER from market for free, then you can save all the applications you have downloaded but not the DATA (for example you can save the game itself but not the progress you have achieved)
as for the contacts, go to the contacts folder - menu import/export - export to usb storage and voila all your contacts will be written in a single file that you can import after you reset your phone
as for SMS, you can download "SMS Backup & Restore" from market for free to backup then restore your SMSs
after you perform the above, go to Settings - Back up and reset - Factory data reset and your phone will be back as you received it.
On the other hand if the phone is locked you can always unlock it using Voodoo S3 on the Play Store, it can sim-unlock your device if you're rooted of course.
Great reply, thank you!
Rooting...a bit loth to do that while still under guarantee and at my level of experience. One day I will get hold of an old phone and try it with that first.
Appsaver - what a brilliant app, thank you again. If it is one particular app that is the problem (and that is the sense that I get from elsewhere), then I can use this to back up my apps, uninstall them all, check for the ussd error. If it has disappeared, then reinstall apps one at a time until the error reappears. If it hasn't disappeared, then I can go the reset route, after backing up contacts and SMS.
Thank you so much for your help.
Polly
the code *#7465625# doesn't work on Jelly Bean anymore..
v2leech said:
the code *#7465625# doesn't work on Jelly Bean anymore..
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Click to collapse
Ah. The more I try to read up on this, it feels the more lost I get.
How do I check whether the phone is unlocked...borrow someone's micro sim card?
Is there any way to exit Ultra-Power-Saving-Mode while locked out of my S5 using recovery mode, installing some update, etc? I have a lot of development experience with several languages and tools, but not Android.
I've been using my fingerprint for access for over a year and now I have no idea what my alternative password is... since I've never used it regularly and can't find any record of it. I usually right document such things, but apparently not this time.
Unfortunately, this last Sunday while in Ultra-Power-Saving-Mode something went wrong with my phone and now it only asks for the alternative password... which I can't recall. I've used the Android Device Manager 4 times since then to reset the lock PUK/PIK. After each time resetting it, the lock screen does show the new greeting I set via the Android Device Manager, but it still asks for the alternative password... instead of asking for the PUK/PIK that I just reset.
I am suspecting/hoping that if I can somehow get my phone out of UPSM that the lock screen will allow me to use the reset PUK/PIK to get back into my phone.
So, I am asking if you know of any app that can be installed remotely that will allow me to get my phone out of UPSM? Or, if there is any way to get it out of UPSM by rooting the phone, but installing an ADM update, etc.
Normally I would just do a factory reset because everything is synced up to my Google account. However, apparently my SD card, which was my primary storage, filled up on May 2, so everything since then has been stored on internal memory and thus will be lost if I do a factory reset. I've taken a lot of pictures and video of my 2 1/2 yr old boy and I am trying to avoid losing everything since May 2.
Thanks for any help.
rjlyders said:
Is there any way to exit Ultra-Power-Saving-Mode while locked out of my S5 using recovery mode, installing some update, etc? I have a lot of development experience with several languages and tools, but not Android.
I've been using my fingerprint for access for over a year and now I have no idea what my alternative password is... since I've never used it regularly and can't find any record of it. I usually right document such things, but apparently not this time.
Unfortunately, this last Sunday while in Ultra-Power-Saving-Mode something went wrong with my phone and now it only asks for the alternative password... which I can't recall. I've used the Android Device Manager 4 times since then to reset the lock PUK/PIK. After each time resetting it, the lock screen does show the new greeting I set via the Android Device Manager, but it still asks for the alternative password... instead of asking for the PUK/PIK that I just reset.
I am suspecting/hoping that if I can somehow get my phone out of UPSM that the lock screen will allow me to use the reset PUK/PIK to get back into my phone.
So, I am asking if you know of any app that can be installed remotely that will allow me to get my phone out of UPSM? Or, if there is any way to get it out of UPSM by rooting the phone, but installing an ADM update, etc.
Normally I would just do a factory reset because everything is synced up to my Google account. However, apparently my SD card, which was my primary storage, filled up on May 2, so everything since then has been stored on internal memory and thus will be lost if I do a factory reset. I've taken a lot of pictures and video of my 2 1/2 yr old boy and I am trying to avoid losing everything since May 2.
Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only option I can think of would be to install TWRP custom recovery and use the built in file manager to rename the UPSM app. This wouldn't work if you have an ATT or VZW model, as the bootloaders are locked down, not allowing installation of TWRP, but pretty much any other carrier model should be fine.
Good afternoon.
Recently, I dealt with the message "The Contacts application stopped". The same with Calendar app and sometimes with the Camera app. The same issue I had with the original keyboard LG, which I did not use so I did not mind that. Basically, the message appeared only after backing up with Titanium backup before I switched back to Smart Keyboard Pro.
Deleting data of the application did not help. So I had to do a Factory reset. But that logically resulted in deleting Smart Pro Keaboard and thus I was done because LG keyboard was not working again. So I could not enter the password for Wi-Fi, could not log into my Google Account and therefore all my backups were useless (LG backup, Google backup and Titanium Backup). Now, as I write this, I get an idea to install Titanium Backup from the card, so maybe next time).
So finally I had to flash the phone. Then I restored everything (root, applications, SDfix, Folder mount, ... ) and the phone worked for about a week without any problems. Then Contacts started to stop (again: "The application Contacts stopped"). I went around by using another application for contacts. But then even Settings began to stop. For example when I need to turn on Wi-Fi, I'll hold the icon for a list of available networks and the app Settings stops. The same when I try to set the background image or when I try to access the list of applications or try to view Phone info.
Prior to these problems, the phone went over a year without any problems. I've got SafeRemover, but I just deleted useless apps like Google Music and so on. I cannot delete data of the stopping apps since I cannot get into the menu.
I do not I have any suspicious newly installed application. No task killer, booster, antivirus and similar crap I do. Just SD Maid.
I have a LG L70, Android 4.4.2 with the newest firmware from LG web. I can not find out more because Setting would stop. :-/
Do you guys have any idea how to solve the problem?
You could try an older version of the firmware.
You could also try clearing cache and dalvik cache through recovery (if possivle) or flashing custom ROMs (if available).
Thanks a lot for your replies. I don't know how to clean Dalvik cache with recovery. I tried flashing the same stock ROM again with normal flash. Other possibilities are (in this order): CSE flash with the same rom, normal flash with different stock rom, custom rom.
So after normal flashing with stock ROM everything seemed ok. I recovered some apps and setting from Google account and then I started recovering from LG backup. It ended, phone switched of and is dead. I can't switch it on, load Recovery menu neither Bootloader menu (with USB cable). So it look like a hard brick.
My notebook sees the phone as "QHSUSB_BULK" in a "non-determined device" category. I'm searching the unbrick method but I start being desperate. :-/
Hey Friends,
My S7 edge had a problem with the charging port and I sent it in for an exchange device today.
Previsouly I had Nougat installed so the device was KNOX Void and Rooted.
I read that If you want to ensure that noone can restore the Data from the Device (Online Banking records, passwords, images) you have to encrypt the device and then do a factory reset.
Unfortunately encryption did not work on Nougat (it would show the encryption icon and then reboot)
So I basically flashed the Stock Firmware of the Provider (4 Parts) (6.01) with Odin and hoped that I can find the encryption option in the Security Settings Menu but it wasn't there. I could only encrypt the SD card.
My question: Was the device encrypted as soon as flashed the stock firmware or was encryption simply unavailable on the stock rom?
I did multiple factory resets and also Installed an app to "delete empty space" which should overwrite any data that might hide in the free space.
I am worried that whoever gets the device next might be able to restore my banking data, images and e-mails.
What's your take on this?
Best,
Thomas .N from Germany