Related
Okay, so it's a bit of a long story but there's a woman I work with who had her virtually-new Samsung Galaxy S3 stolen by her recently-split husband last year. We all knew it was him, but we had virtually no evidence, other than it's disappearance. Anyway, so this woman recently was in his now-separated husband's flat & was rooting around. She found a Samsung Galaxy S3, smartly took a picture of the IMEI & left it. She knew it was hers, but wanted to be 100% sure. She went home, checked the box, & of course they did match. The next day, she went back to his house & manipulated the situation so that she could find enough time on her own to go take the phone back without him knowing. So she brings it into work with her the next day. The problem is, the phone now has a password lock on it. She then spent the night trying to guess the password, but to no success.
So, me being the tech guy that I am, she asked me to try to get into it. I said, the easiest way would be for me to wipe it & factory reset it, but that she would lose all of her information. She doesn't want me to do that. She wants to get pictures & stuff of her / their kids off the phone, as well as look into who her ex-husband had been talking to / see who knew about him stealing the phone. So, I said it should be possible. However, I'm not a hugely great phone guy. I'm good with computers, but not so much phones.
So, we spent the day trying various exploits found on Google or YouTube but to no success. There was one method where we had a little success where we turned the phone on > Emergency Call > Emergency Contact > Press Home > Press Power > Unlocked home screen in then meant to appear. It never did. Although we could get it to quickly flash whatever was on the home screen (which was a picture of her / their kids, which she'd set to the phone before it was taken).
So without any of those methods working, I'm tasked with now getting into the phone at home. I have no idea whether USB debugging is enabled, I would assume not. We are unable to reset the password via Google Recovery or anything because we're never offered the option. As I say, she doesn't want me to wipe the phone. But there has to be a way to get into it otherwise, either through brute force, or one of those other password cracking methods possibly?
There was a technique I found on Google at work, something about connecting the phone to your computer via USB then trying to do some stuff from command line or through a Linux distro, which I need to re-find & try.
But alas, does anyone here have any methods or know any ways that I could get around this password lock?
I have to say though, I'm glad it's not that simple (atleast it appears so, anyway) to get around one of these passwords. Makes me feel a little safer for my own Galaxy S3! haha
Hey
You said u tried the Google account method right?
If that's not working try to flash philz recovery and from that you can access the contents of the internal SD card..
U can also TRY to use the custom back up option offered by his recovery and then custom restore the data..
I can't assure you that it will work but you can try it..
Best of Luck
-tchindalia
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
We did not try a Google account method, I don't think? Think we tried to log in to the ex-husband's Google account on my iPad for some reason (can't remember why now tbh) but we could not guess his password. He's apparently changed it since they split.
Won't flashing the phone wipe everything that's on it?
Hey
Not if your just flashing a recovery..
Just youtube for some videos on this...
I had see one some time back..
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Benaholic said:
Okay, so it's a bit of a long story but there's a woman I work with who had her virtually-new Samsung Galaxy S3 stolen by her recently-split husband last year. We all knew it was him, but we had virtually no evidence, other than it's disappearance. Anyway, so this woman recently was in his now-separated husband's flat & was rooting around. She found a Samsung Galaxy S3, smartly took a picture of the IMEI & left it. She knew it was hers, but wanted to be 100% sure. She went home, checked the box, & of course they did match. The next day, she went back to his house & manipulated the situation so that she could find enough time on her own to go take the phone back without him knowing. So she brings it into work with her the next day. The problem is, the phone now has a password lock on it. She then spent the night trying to guess the password, but to no success.
So, me being the tech guy that I am, she asked me to try to get into it. I said, the easiest way would be for me to wipe it & factory reset it, but that she would lose all of her information. She doesn't want me to do that. She wants to get pictures & stuff of her / their kids off the phone, as well as look into who her ex-husband had been talking to / see who knew about him stealing the phone. So, I said it should be possible. However, I'm not a hugely great phone guy. I'm good with computers, but not so much phones.
So, we spent the day trying various exploits found on Google or YouTube but to no success. There was one method where we had a little success where we turned the phone on > Emergency Call > Emergency Contact > Press Home > Press Power > Unlocked home screen in then meant to appear. It never did. Although we could get it to quickly flash whatever was on the home screen (which was a picture of her / their kids, which she'd set to the phone before it was taken).
So without any of those methods working, I'm tasked with now getting into the phone at home. I have no idea whether USB debugging is enabled, I would assume not. We are unable to reset the password via Google Recovery or anything because we're never offered the option. As I say, she doesn't want me to wipe the phone. But there has to be a way to get into it otherwise, either through brute force, or one of those other password cracking methods possibly?
There was a technique I found on Google at work, something about connecting the phone to your computer via USB then trying to do some stuff from command line or through a Linux distro, which I need to re-find & try.
But alas, does anyone here have any methods or know any ways that I could get around this password lock?
I have to say though, I'm glad it's not that simple (atleast it appears so, anyway) to get around one of these passwords. Makes me feel a little safer for my own Galaxy S3! haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If he lets her into the house so easily then:
1- HE didn't steal the phone because he felt no need to hide it
2- The "woman" is invading the guy's privacy and checking personal info without consent
3- Seeing who he talked to is a typical behaviour pattern of someone who is invading someone's privacy for ill intentions
4- the "woman" can always request for the guy to share the kid's photos and other stuff. No need to snoop around
To the OP:
If you do help this person break into the phone and turns out it wasn't hers, then you are aiding in a possibly criminal activity.
If he did steal, then all the best to you. Otherwise; Beware of the LAW.
~ RazorMC
RazorMC said:
If he lets her into the house so easily then:
1- HE didn't steal the phone because he felt no need to hide it
2- The "woman" is invading the guy's privacy and checking personal info without consent
3- Seeing who he talked to is a typical behaviour pattern of someone who is invading someone's privacy for ill intentions
4- the "woman" can always request for the guy to share the kid's photos and other stuff. No need to snoop around
To the OP:
If you do help this person break into the phone and turns out it wasn't hers, then you are aiding in a possibly criminal activity.
If he did steal, then all the best to you. Otherwise; Beware of the LAW.
~ RazorMC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OP alr said the imei matched so the phone is the woman's. Unless tat was a lie.
To the OP, have u tried samsung's "find my mobile"?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
JellyYogurt said:
OP alr said the imei matched so the phone is the woman's. Unless tat was a lie.
To the OP, have u tried samsung's "find my mobile"?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said, if it was indeed stolen, then I wish the OP luck.
I'm just curious why the person never approached the police with proof of ownership instead of trying to bypass the security.
Cheers :good:
~ RazorMC
RazorMC said:
Like I said, if it was indeed stolen, then I wish the OP luck.
I'm just curious why the person never approached the police with proof of ownership instead of trying to bypass the security.
Cheers :good:
~ RazorMC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't remember the reason she believed the phone was stolen, to be honest. The reason she had access to his house, was because they have kids together. She had gone to go drop the kids off, or pick them up. For some bizarre reason, I don't know why, he left her in the house alone after he went to take them to school (telling her to lock the door when she leaves). She took that opportunity to look around the house for the phone, as he'd never previously admitted to taking it but she was sure he did.
She found the phone, took a picture of the IMEI, went home to match to the IMEI on her box & it saw that they were the same. She's shown me the picture as well. confirming that it was indeed her phone, she then went back to her ex's flat the next day (because he was going to come along to their daughter's birthday). Just as they were about to leave, she says she needs the toilet. So, she runs back upstairs & grabs the phone without him knowing.
I think the reason why she never went to the police about it is because he was trying to get citizenship to remain here in the country, & she didn't want something like this to jeopardize whether she's in a relationship with him or not; they do still have kids together. Sending him back to Kenya over a phone wouldn't do anyone any good.
JellyYogurt said:
OP alr said the imei matched so the phone is the woman's. Unless tat was a lie.
To the OP, have u tried samsung's "find my mobile"?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which "Find my mobile" thing are you on about?
---------------------------------------
I appear to have found a way to bypass the lock screen via the ADB, but I think it only works for a lock pattern. Anyone know or have any ideas what to do for a password?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2237382
For hours now I've been trying alsorts of stuff, from doing things via terminal, trying to do things through recovery, & alsorts to no success. However, I did find one solution that worked:
http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f77...-pin-reset-no-root-no-usb-debug-free-1722271/
Was posted here on XDA Developers as well, but the thread was closed. Many virus programs do immediately notify that the program contains viruses / trojans, but not sure if they're false positives? Anyway, disabled AVG & it worked like a charm! So, if anyone else needs similar help, maybe try this?
Alas, suppose this thread can be closed now.
^^ That malware had stopped working and that is why it was closed on other site as well.
~ RazorMC
Gonna copy my post from the CM11 thread here for more people to see:
I experienced perhaps the strangest problem today I've ever encountered with my phone.
Today I was using my phone just fine. Went out to eat with friends. Sat down and the restaurant and took my phone out to show them something. Hit the unlock button and the soft key lights came out, no screen. Hit it again, they went out, hit it again, they came back on, still no screen.
Assumed it locked up, I pulled the battery, put it back in, and phone would just show the HTC logo and then nothing. Figured the phone was dead so I threw it on my car charger.
An hour later, same thing. Booted to recovery looking for my CM11 download file. Mysteriously vanished from both internal and external storage. So I hit reboot to see if maybe rebooting from the recovery would change anything.
No OS installed. What? How did it just vanish? I haven't touched anything recently.
This is that phone I had just gotten from warranty too.
On a side now, this is a good time to mention I'm jumping to the Note 4 as soon as it releases.
Edit: I can't just reinstall a rom like I was hoping. It only needs to last 2 more damn weeks for the Note 4. UGH!!! It tells me /cache /data /system /devlog and emmc storage are unable to be mounted. What the hell could have happened to cause this?
Edit 2: Was gonna try reinstalling the RUU but apparently I can't because I didn't do s-off this replacement device yet. Can't relock bootloader because fastboot won't connect. Any ideas??
You should be able to download and flash a ph98img.zip from hboot, just find the right one. I would link you, but I'm on my phone right now with no access to those bookmarks.
You got a slim chance with a ph98img honestly... Since it can't mount ANY partitions, the partition table is probably corrupt meaning only JTAG or a reload via an EXE RUU in dowload mode has any chance of fixes it, and that's a 50/50 chance at best but since your S-ON that isn't possible. Best bet is to beg/borrow a VZW phone from someone for a couple weeks, even if it's a dumb phone... Or get a cheapo prepaid phone and have Verizon forward your number until you get the Note 4, then sell the prepaid phone.
Thanks guys. I assumed it was totally dead anyway, sucks that I forgot to S-OFF while I could have... at least would have given me a chance to fix it. Sucks.
Also I hear a rattling sound inside the phone, presumably the memory breaking off somehow? I'm careful with my stuff, and I especially know I didn't slam the phone or anything since I had just used it before this happened, but it can't be a coincidence that this rattling started when all the partitions vanished.
Edit: Do you guys think I should attempt to get it replaced at Verizon? The reason I'm so worried about that is that since it doesn't boot I'd assume the first thing they'd check is if the bootloader loads, see the tampered flag, and then charge me for the replacement despite it being a physical issue.
Hobox10 said:
Thanks guys. I assumed it was totally dead anyway, sucks that I forgot to S-OFF while I could have... at least would have given me a chance to fix it. Sucks.
Also I hear a rattling sound inside the phone, presumably the memory breaking off somehow? I'm careful with my stuff, and I especially know I didn't slam the phone or anything since I had just used it before this happened, but it can't be a coincidence that this rattling started when all the partitions vanished.
Edit: Do you guys think I should attempt to get it replaced at Verizon? The reason I'm so worried about that is that since it doesn't boot I'd assume the first thing they'd check is if the bootloader loads, see the tampered flag, and then charge me for the replacement despite it being a physical issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Asurion or Verizon? If Verizon I would say no, although rooting/romming probably didn't cause this, they will say it did... Asurion is an insurance, they don't care if its rooted or not.
acejavelin said:
Asurion or Verizon? If Verizon I would say no, although rooting/romming probably didn't cause this, they will say it did... Asurion is an insurance, they don't care if its rooted or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon.
Hobox10 said:
Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't try it... Although, you get a few weeks to return the phone, so you could get a replacement, use it for two to three weeks, then get your Note 4 and return the phone Verizon had sent you as a replacement instead of your broken Rezound. It might be slightly questionable ethics, but it should net you a temp loaner as long as nothing happens to it.
Hi Everyone, I need some serious help - thanks in advance!
I have a LG Enlighten phone - I am a tech, although I am new to the whole smartphone thing (ya, I know, where have I been lol). Anyway, as you probably know it has limited internal storage. So I have a Sandisk 32gb micro sd card installed where I move things over to it to keep space open on the internal. The phone is rooted.
Ok, things were going well - and I am not sure what happened precisely, but obviously I must have moved something over to the sd card I shouldn't have. The phone went wonky on me after a reboot. I got stuck in a boot loop I could not recover from. So I did a factory reset (power button, home, and volume up). That went just fine. I activated just fine to. Problem is after that all I get is: Sorry! the application com.android.lgsetupwizard (process com.android.lgsetupwizard)has stopped unexpectedly. please try again.
You can press the force close button a million times (I probably have) and nothing happens. I have tried EVERYTHING to try to clear this and I can't get passed it. I've spent two days online reading forums, web pages, watching youtube videos - nothing has helped. Problem is, since I did a factory reset its back to defaults (I am assuming) meaning USB debugging and mounting is turned off because it is turned off as default. I can't get passed that infernal screen to turn it back on.
I don't have any data on here that I care about I just want my phone back. I don't mind flashing the rom but for the life of me I can't get at it!
When I go into restore mode, at least with the enlighten it doesn't give you options - it just shows the picture of the android for a few seconds then reboots. No idea what it's doing there.
I tried re-formating the micro sd card thinking maybe it was picking something up from there, that didn't seem to do anything.
I have Android Studio installed, I was hoping to do something through it - but again the phone isn't mounting when plugged into my laptop (windows 7) - it was before - no doubt because that feature is turned off because of the factory reset.
If you have ideas, please speak in small words with lots of steps. Thanks.
HELP!
Pandora1331 said:
Hi Everyone, I need some serious help - thanks in advance!
I have a LG Enlighten phone - I am a tech, although I am new to the whole smartphone thing (ya, I know, where have I been lol). Anyway, as you probably know it has limited internal storage. So I have a Sandisk 32gb micro sd card installed where I move things over to it to keep space open on the internal. The phone is rooted.
Ok, things were going well - and I am not sure what happened precisely, but obviously I must have moved something over to the sd card I shouldn't have. The phone went wonky on me after a reboot. I got stuck in a boot loop I could not recover from. So I did a factory reset (power button, home, and volume up). That went just fine. I activated just fine to. Problem is after that all I get is: Sorry! the application com.android.lgsetupwizard (process com.android.lgsetupwizard)has stopped unexpectedly. please try again.
You can press the force close button a million times (I probably have) and nothing happens. I have tried EVERYTHING to try to clear this and I can't get passed it. I've spent two days online reading forums, web pages, watching youtube videos - nothing has helped. Problem is, since I did a factory reset its back to defaults (I am assuming) meaning USB debugging and mounting is turned off because it is turned off as default. I can't get passed that infernal screen to turn it back on.
I don't have any data on here that I care about I just want my phone back. I don't mind flashing the rom but for the life of me I can't get at it!
When I go into restore mode, at least with the enlighten it doesn't give you options - it just shows the picture of the android for a few seconds then reboots. No idea what it's doing there.
I tried re-formating the micro sd card thinking maybe it was picking something up from there, that didn't seem to do anything.
I have Android Studio installed, I was hoping to do something through it - but again the phone isn't mounting when plugged into my laptop (windows 7) - it was before - no doubt because that feature is turned off because of the factory reset.
If you have ideas, please speak in small words with lots of steps. Thanks.
HELP!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
could you just do a factory reset with the buttons on it?
or has that been tried before
---------- Post added at 07:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:37 PM ----------
btw, i havent been here that long but i dont think you will get much responds because this is on a general thread, i think it would be better if it was in a helping section
Phurkus said:
could you just do a factory reset with the buttons on it?
or has that been tried before
---------- Post added at 07:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:37 PM ----------
btw, i havent been here that long but i dont think you will get much responds because this is on a general thread, i think it would be better if it was in a helping section
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
****
I mentioned that I did a factory reset - but I didn't mention I did it several times (more than that even). Again, the enlighten doesn't really give you a lot of options when you do one. It shows a picture of the android and a file folder for a few seconds - maybe 10... then it boots. there's no option, no text, no choices, nothing. A bit confusing to be honest. Then it boots up, you get the language choice and activation call (which goes through fine) and then wham! back to hell and that freakin' error message.
BTW I posted here because there is no specific forum for the enlighten phone - I didn't want to post in a forum for another phone and get yelled at. Suggestions on a forum? and thanks for taking the time to reply! :0
Pandora1331 said:
****
I mentioned that I did a factory reset - but I didn't mention I did it several times (more than that even). Again, the enlighten doesn't really give you a lot of options when you do one. It shows a picture of the android and a file folder for a few seconds - maybe 10... then it boots. there's no option, no text, no choices, nothing. A bit confusing to be honest. Then it boots up, you get the language choice and activation call (which goes through fine) and then wham! back to hell and that freakin' error message.
BTW I posted here because there is no specific forum for the enlighten phone - I didn't want to post in a forum for another phone and get yelled at. Suggestions on a forum? and thanks for taking the time to reply! :0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
***
I just thought I would post how I just resolved this. I got passed it by getting a PHONE CALL! I flipped the screen up to answer, yanked away. After the call was done I didn't do anything, the other party hung up. Then there was a REALLY long pause on the phone - the screen went black. I waited a couple of minutes, pushing the buttons did nothing. Then finally - the home screen came up. NO MORE BEING PROMPTED FOR A FORCE CLOSE! Yea! And it appear everything is working. Now before it decides to break again I want to flash the rom (I am running the bloated stock rom). Thanks for checking this out. and if you're looking at this cause you're having the same problem, I really hope what worked for me works for you too!
Pandora1331 said:
***
I just thought I would post how I just resolved this. I got passed it by getting a PHONE CALL! I flipped the screen up to answer, yanked away. After the call was done I didn't do anything, the other party hung up. Then there was a REALLY long pause on the phone - the screen went black. I waited a couple of minutes, pushing the buttons did nothing. Then finally - the home screen came up. NO MORE BEING PROMPTED FOR A FORCE CLOSE! Yea! And it appear everything is working. Now before it decides to break again I want to flash the rom (I am running the bloated stock rom). Thanks for checking this out. and if you're looking at this cause you're having the same problem, I really hope what worked for me works for you too!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ayy greate job OP! glad to hear that. hope you dont do the same mistake twice
Phurkus said:
Ayy greate job OP! glad to hear that. hope you dont do the same mistake twice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol you and me both!
This was a learning experience, it was the first time ever I have had a phone with an external micro sd card which holds more data than the actual phone. Also, my first Android. So I am thrilled to have my phone back - I had been messing with it late last night when this happened and didn't sleep at all because, well, I thought I just bricked my phone!
Lessons learned:
You can move just about any app you want to the sd card, no problem - but what you don't want to move are the operating system files/apps. Nor do you want to convert them to "user apps" and move them. Or at least I don't. Since I don't quite understand how it works, and what that does. I had THOUGHT it would just mean everything would run from my sd card - maybe a smidge slower - but it would run. Well, I was wrong. lol. So I am passing that tidbit along.
Also, in the future, if anything like this happens - don't be so quick to do a factory reset, cause you now take away the ability to connect via usb... It is a last resort, not a panicked, go to move. At least not for me.
And, there is something called Rom Managers - install one on your freakin' phone. I didn't know about them. So I didn't have one. I could have resolved this whole thing sooner if I had (maybe).
Lastly, before you do too much - have someone call you or call yourself from another phone to see what happens. It fixed my problem. Of course I won't be rebooting before I flash my rom (wow, that sounds dirty lol) cause I fear the same thing happening...
That's all I wanted to share - cause that's what I learned. Sorry if this is super obvious to people - it sure wasn't to me.
Pandora1331 said:
lol you and me both!
This was a learning experience, it was the first time ever I have had a phone with an external micro sd card which holds more data than the actual phone. Also, my first Android. So I am thrilled to have my phone back - I had been messing with it late last night when this happened and didn't sleep at all because, well, I thought I just bricked my phone!
Lessons learned:
You can move just about any app you want to the sd card, no problem - but what you don't want to move are the operating system files/apps. Nor do you want to convert them to "user apps" and move them. Or at least I don't. Since I don't quite understand how it works, and what that does. I had THOUGHT it would just mean everything would run from my sd card - maybe a smidge slower - but it would run. Well, I was wrong. lol. So I am passing that tidbit along.
Also, in the future, if anything like this happens - don't be so quick to do a factory reset, cause you now take away the ability to connect via usb... It is a last resort, not a panicked, go to move. At least not for me.
And, there is something called Rom Managers - install one on your freakin' phone. I didn't know about them. So I didn't have one. I could have resolved this whole thing sooner if I had (maybe).
Lastly, before you do too much - have someone call you or call yourself from another phone to see what happens. It fixed my problem. Of course I won't be rebooting before I flash my rom (wow, that sounds dirty lol) cause I fear the same thing happening...
That's all I wanted to share - cause that's what I learned. Sorry if this is super obvious to people - it sure wasn't to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there you go OP! what i do is i have an old LG phone that i like to mess with or put apps to try them out from here. and it its good, i put it on my regualr phone.
sounds like you learned and just bumped yourself up the ladder of software knoledge today!
Phurkus said:
there you go OP! what i do is i have an old LG phone that i like to mess with or put apps to try them out from here. and it its good, i put it on my regualr phone.
sounds like you learned and just bumped yourself up the ladder of software knoledge today!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
---
Absolutely! I love to learn especially stuff I don't know much about - but... I wish it didn't happen in such a panic lol. Oh well, lessons learned... I wouldn't have been in a panic if it weren't my only phone, but it is. :0
I also wish it were easier to learn - it seems (at least to me) that every phone has enough unique characteristics that you really have to be specific about model and o/s. It makes searching for answers that much more difficult. What works for one person won't work for all or even most. You have to do a lot of trial and error. I suppose if I were a programmer perhaps it would be more clear to me on how these things tick. I am tho, just a tech - I fix and build stuff. Although I do have some programming ability, I would never even dream to call my pathetic scribblings code. lol Scripts yes, but really, really simple ones and thing more complex is just greek to me.
Is there any good place to see what kind of custom roms work best with the enlighten? I am thinking of putting one on there... I hate the bloatware stock rom.
Pandora1331 said:
---
Absolutely! I love to learn especially stuff I don't know much about - but... I wish it didn't happen in such a panic lol. Oh well, lessons learned... I wouldn't have been in a panic if it weren't my only phone, but it is. :0
I also wish it were easier to learn - it seems (at least to me) that every phone has enough unique characteristics that you really have to be specific about model and o/s. It makes searching for answers that much more difficult. What works for one person won't work for all or even most. You have to do a lot of trial and error. I suppose if I were a programmer perhaps it would be more clear to me on how these things tick. I am tho, just a tech - I fix and build stuff. Although I do have some programming ability, I would never even dream to call my pathetic scribblings code. lol Scripts yes, but really, really simple ones and thing more complex is just greek to me.
Is there any good place to see what kind of custom roms work best with the enlighten? I am thinking of putting one on there... I hate the bloatware stock rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i learned that lesson too when putting a rom on my phone, not everything works for everyone.
the best place i can think of is on here lol. i just assume the rom with the most replys and views is the most popular. you can try googleing because i know there are other mobile development forums out there that work on other roms. but i know this is the most popular forum.
I'm currently working at a sandwich joint in Garden Grove, near my house, and there was this Samsung A51 phone that has been there for over 8 months now, apparently someone left it in the bathroom awhile back and never came back to claim it, so the manager challenged everyone to unlock it, whoever unlocks it, keeps it, simple ja? Well, it was a 3 x 3 dot lock, and there are over 200,000 answers to crack it, so he gave it to me because everyone gave up on attempting to unlock it. Upon bringing it home, I erased the entire data, in case I might unlock it and accidently stumble upon the previous owner's data. I then went around on Youtube on how to unlock it (since the original owner's Sprint SIM card is still on there, and his/her pin), and I got nothing. So now, I'm left with a clean phone with the previous owner's lock on it, and I'm trying to unlock it so I can clean off their data so I can claim it (Since I could use a new phone anyway), note, I've already did a hard reset on it, so there is no trace of the original owner's data on it except their pin and gmail on it. Is there anyway I can unlock it, and 100 percent clean it so I can claim it? Thanks
-Nguyen
I'm not going to help you unlock that. Maybe someone else will? I'm not trying to give you a hard time, but here's my 2¢ about this.
Personally I wouldn't keep the phone, and I definitely wouldn't try activating it. If the original owner reported it stolen, then police will be knocking on your door within a few hours of trying to activate it. The honest thing to do, and what someone should've done 8 months ago, is turn the phone over to a Sprint store. They would've been able to contact the owner and get it back to them. The owner probably didn't come looking for it because they didn't remember that they left it there, or it was stolen from them. I also think it's really sh*tty to wipe someone else's device. Very important information or irreplaceable data could've been on it. Not everyone backs up their data on a regular basis. Again, I'm really not trying to give you a hard time. I understand why you did it, and I've been guilty of doing the same in my younger years. I just want you to know, there's much better ways to handle this kind of thing in the future.
Spaceminer said:
I'm not going to help you unlock that. Maybe someone else will? I'm not trying to give you a hard time, but here's my 2¢ about this.
Personally I wouldn't keep the phone, and I definitely wouldn't try activating it. If the original owner reported it stolen, then police will be knocking on your door within a few hours of trying to activate it. The honest thing to do, and what someone should've done 8 months ago, is turn the phone over to a Sprint store. They would've been able to contact the owner and get it back to them. The owner probably didn't come looking for it because they didn't remember that they left it there, or it was stolen from them. I also think it's really sh*tty to wipe someone else's device. Very important information or irreplaceable data could've been on it. Not everyone backs up their data on a regular basis. Again, I'm really not trying to give you a hard time. I understand why you did it, and I've been guilty of doing the same in my younger years. I just want you to know, there's much better ways to handle this kind of thing in the future.
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Eaiser said than done. I'm gonna return it though, knowing the fact the police wouldn't knock on my door, considering the manager left it on for awhile and everyone attempting to unlock it already, now then, how do I explain to them I wiped out one of their phone's hard drive clean? I tell them I found it like that or sumthin?
LiskNova said:
Eaiser said than done. I'm gonna return it though, knowing the fact the police wouldn't knock on my door, considering the manager left it on for awhile and everyone attempting to unlock it already, now then, how do I explain to them I wiped out one of their phone's hard drive clean? I tell them I found it like that or sumthin?
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I wouldn't say anything. Just drop it off and say that it was left at your work. They only know as much as you tell them. ;-)
Spaceminer said:
I wouldn't say anything. Just drop it off and say that it was left at your work. They only know as much as you tell them. ;-)
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Okay, one more thing before I actually give it to them, awhile back, I put on my gmail as an attempt to link it with the phone, and once I realized nothing can be done, I did a hard reset, any way my gmail is still linked to the phone, or its still clean without any traces of my info on it?
LiskNova said:
Okay, one more thing before I actually give it to them, awhile back, I put on my gmail as an attempt to link it with the phone, and once I realized nothing can be done, I did a hard reset, any way my gmail is still linked to the phone, or its still clean without any traces of my info on it?
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It's a lot easier to be a straight shooter... hope you learned something from this
LiskNova said:
Okay, one more thing before I actually give it to them, awhile back, I put on my gmail as an attempt to link it with the phone, and once I realized nothing can be done, I did a hard reset, any way my gmail is still linked to the phone, or its still clean without any traces of my info on it?
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You should be fine.
Aight so I have this Samsung Galaxy J7 Max that I've been trying to unlock for more than 2 years now. I of course, don't want to lose the super important data it holds. It got locked out randomly and hasn't been able to take up the pattern I had put on it till date. I'm absolutely sure no one changed its lock screen pattern and its the phone that is unable to recognize the exact same password it had before this happening. I got hold of it today and yet again, started looking for solutions on YouTube and the internet itself. After all of my research, one thing is clear. There is only one way that the pattern lock can be removed in such a condition; by deleting this system folder called gesture.key that lies within the phone itself. I am by no means a nerdy software dev or something but I do have very little knowledge about these workarounds. I used an ADB via a cmd terminal to contact my phone. But it turns out that due to my usb debugging setting not being turned on in my phone, the adb didn't have the required authorization to make any changes to the target. I then got my phone into stock recovery mode and chose the Install through ADB option there. Now when I input the command adb devices, the prompt showed me my device ID, but instead of the "unauthorized" indicator beside it, it now had the indicator "sideload". I had no idea of what had to be done when such happens, so I tried the adb shell > cd data/system > su > rm *.key [taken from an XDA forums thread] commands again. But right on the second step it displayed error this time. I have tried using a key eraser via sd card too, but it just doesn't happen, the sd card folder in the stock mode does not display the contents of the folder.
Now the phone isn't being an obstacle in my life right now, but I really hope there's a way to fix it. Early help would be appreciated. Thank You.
If the data is super important why isn't it redundantly backed up?
Having a set lock screen and storing data on the OS is a sure fire way to lose data, eventually.
Maybe you'll get lucky... is that drive encrypted?
If not it may still be corrupted and unusable.
Don't put yourself in this position again... been there, done that
@blackhawk As I said, this was an absolutely random incident, had never even thought this could've been the case someday. Its not like the phone crashed and then this happened, I turned off my phone's display and the next time I woke it up, the pattern wasn't working anymore. Furthermore, the timed attempts that happen after 5 incorrect tries wasn't existing anymore. Now it could be that someone did get the timed attempts wrong as well [it isn't my own phone]. But I really don't see any other reason to that occurrence.
About the backups, I mean cmon, I was 15 back then, a medico student even more so. I never got my hands around backing up anything. But yes, have been backing up every single bit of data within these two years.
The storage drive shouldn't be encrypted. It was a regular phone bought online that had pdfs, images, recordings and videos stored. The google account was not that of the owner either! It was my uncle's account that was being used ever since he bought it. And since there was never a problem having used his account for quite a while, we never cared to change it to a new google account. Now my uncle's google account itself handles another device, his own phone, exact same model, Galaxy J7 Max. I have tried using his account at the Google Find My Device app to locate and unlock the phone that way [I hope you know it has the three options Ring, Secure and Erase Data]. But it happens so that the Secure phone with password option only for devices that have been lost and don't have a security lock already setup, which wasn't, unfortunately, my case. So that option was greyed out.
For the data corruption, you might be correct. But that phone still does receive SMS texts, calls, whatsapp texts and other notifications. They just don't show up on the lock screen anymore. I honestly had the "Screw the data, I'll erase it anyway" thought yesterday, but during my latest tries, I found the XDA forums website to be quite helpful. Had not it been the damn USB debugging, the solution I approached from this forum would've got the job done in a couple minutes. Again, if the data might've gone corrupted, I will erase the data [I mean I would have to]. But this little glimmer of hope that I experienced yesterday is what is preventing me from doing that. I really hope there is a fix to my situation.
@Chinmay47
a phone can get booted into these modes
Normal ( AKA Android OS )
Recovery
Fastboot
Sideload
EDL
Sideload mode is used to flash OTAs and/or ROMs.
Recovery mode allows you to perform some ADB actions as e.g. pull userdata, but this reqires ADB ( read: USB debug ) got enabled.
So my guess is you can't recover phone's userdata at your own, this would have to be done by an external service who can pull out phone's internal SD-card and has the forensic tools to read it.
@jwoegerbauer Surprisingly the idea of taking the phone to a forensic service struck me yesternight too. As you mentioned, since I can't recover the phone's data myself, all tips and tweaks on the web should now be struck off of my list of solutions. I'll leave the data to some forensic services then. Let's hope the recovery is worth the hassle. The thread is still open to more suggestions though. Thanks for the replies everyone. Really appreciate it!
Chinmay47 said:
@jwoegerbauer Surprisingly the idea of taking the phone to a forensic service struck me yesternight too. As you mentioned, since I can't recover the phone's data myself, all tips and tweaks on the web should now be struck off of my list of solutions. I'll leave the data to some forensic services then. Let's hope the recovery is worth the hassle. The thread is still open to more suggestions though. Thanks for the replies everyone. Really appreciate it!
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It not a card they can pull. More than likely it's on a BGA chipset, the hardest kind there is to work with.
If they can't access the data on/with the mobo they will have to unsolder the chipset without damaging it then put it into a test jig or another mobo (after pulling that mobo's matching chipset).
If they can access the data on the mobo, not so bad. Otherwise not so good.
Let us know how this plays out for you.
Here's one I found showing you this complex procedure: https://flashfixers.com/recover-data-dead-phone-chip-off-data-recovery/
They may be able to help you, but I have no personal knowledge of this company.
blackhawk said:
If they can't access the data on/with the mobo they will have to unsolder the chipset without damaging it then put it into a test jig or another mobo (after pulling that mobo's matching chipset).
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Actually thought of this idea right after a couple days from the beginning of the problem. Yes its gonna take loads of precision and patience but it does sound doable. Maybe that's what is gonna be the last option for the forensic service too in case, god forbid, they aren't able to do it the "simple" way. Can't say yet, but I'm gonna keep this thread updated with all the developments that take place.
Chinmay47 said:
Actually thought of this idea right after a couple days from the beginning of the problem. Yes its gonna take loads of precision and patience but it does sound doable. Maybe that's what is gonna be the last option for the forensic service too in case, god forbid, they aren't able to do it the "simple" way. Can't say yet, but I'm gonna keep this thread updated with all the developments that take place.
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If they need to remove the chipset the chances of failure increase. Flash memory retension is generally good for 10+ years but it may be damaged in the removal process if so, snake eyes.
Get price quotes up front for the whole process.
Once they got the phone, they got you by the balls. Not saying they aren't trustworthy but feel them out. If it's a couple hundred and you get the data back, you did good.
No idea of the cost though, my guess is $400-1000+ especially if they need to pull the chipset.
That's high risk even if they do it by the book.
If their policy is no data, no charge... expect higher rates to cover their loses.
@blackhawk All of that sounds kinda terrifying if you ask me. Well I mean, there is always a first option that can be tried without any mentions of pull-aparts. Yet I will surely judge the person well before I hand my device in his hands. I would try my level best to not take it to the critical stage, but if it needs be and there is a really high chance of losing my data, I can factory reset my data at home by myself too can't I? Future shall tell I suppose.
If you factory reset it all data will be lost.
It will not be recoverable!
If you want the data you will need to use a service like I showed you. They will need physical access to the phone to recovery the data.
The phone may be scrape afterwards
@blackhawk Sure does look like it would be! But paying to get your phone reset for you is way to harsher than doing it yourself. It is only in case the data is nearly impossible to recover that I'll reset the phone myself.
Chinmay47 said:
@blackhawk Sure does look like it would be! But paying to get your phone reset for you is way to harsher than doing it yourself. It is only in case the data is nearly impossible to recover that I'll reset the phone myself.
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Reset? Most likely destroyed.
Do you really want the data?
blackhawk said:
Reset? Most likely destroyed.
Do you really want the data?
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I actually do though. But well, if it ain't coming back then why wish for it. Yeah the data was really important.
Chinmay47 said:
I actually do though. But well, if it ain't coming back then why wish for it. Yeah the data was really important.
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Call them up and see what they say.
Since it's not physically damaged they may be able to access it none invasively.
blackhawk said:
Call them up and see what they say.
Since it's not physically damaged they may be able to access it none invasively.
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I'll do that and report back ASAP. Thanks for the help sire!