Ok, before everyone jumps to conclusions on multiple accounts let me get this out there.
1. I am not a noob when it comes to forums and no how to search ie my search results:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=989241
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1067003
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=913958
2. I am not a noob when it comes to android devices and would call myself moderately knowledgable in the subject and really cant think of any other ideas also google nor sprint is not helping in the slightest ( and honestly I dont expect them too).
3. The story below is true and i DID NOT STEAL or receive a STOLEN phone, nor am i some jealous boyfirend. I am doing this for a friend, so here it goes.
My coworkers son commited suicide and has asked me to look at his phone to see if i can find away to unlock it so he can either know if anybody knew this was happening or most likely i think for closure of this whole ordeal. When given to me he had already given the phone to many gestures and gives me the google account lockout screen. the father just wants to see the latest messages on the phone as well as anything that might have come up. now this is what i have done so far:
PHONE: EVO 4G
Status: Stock AKA NOT ROOTED
1. I have taken out the SD card to see if i can grab anything off of there but the last time the text messages were backed up were on 7-31-2011, so that really doesn t help me there. I cant think of any other folders to look in in order to find anything else.
2. The phone was never set to USB debugging so there is no chance of rooting the phone (although i am not sure this would even unlock the phone at this point)
3. His father does not know the gmail account and I have only found a few other accounts through facebook and odd random searches that you can scarely do on the internet. After reading some other posts though I am not sure i could do what i was thinking with this because it only updates the computer and not the password on the phone.
4. Tried calling the phone. The phone doesnt even register as if someone is calling. The father said he didnt turn off the phone yet, and it makes since as i am creepily getting text messages as we speak.
So this is where i am at. I cannot think of too much more. Like i said i dont want the phone, it isnt stolen, and i am really just trying to help the guy out. Google told him becaus ethe kid is older then 18 ther eis nothing they can do and if that is there policy then that is BS especially in this situation. and sprint told him they can do a factory reset on the phone. so those are out of the question.
If you're positive that usb debugging is off, then there's not much you can do.
If you can reset the password to his Google account, and the phone has an internet connection, then inputting the new Google information should unlock the phone. I'm not sure if a connection is automatically created during this process. If you'd like, I can test the theory on my own Evo if you can't get any further.
Most people use the same password for everything. If you can find a password for anything, it's likely that's the password for his Google account. Check his computer as well. If he has saved his login information in his web browser, you should be able to pull that information.
Unfortunately you would have many more options if the phone was rooted. You could do a nandroid backup then sift through the data.img. I'm not sure if the stock recovery allows for anything that will help you. When you get into the stock recovery, it looks like you don't have any options. I believe holding both volume buttons simultaneously on the screen with the red triangle/exclamation point will give you a list of options.
If you cannot get into the phone, the SD card is probably going to be your best source of information - though it's unlikely that you'll get much. Browse through all of the directories. He could've switched SMS Backup apps and the information could be stored in a less obvious location. Try /sdcard/data and /sdcard/android/data.
If I can think of anything else I will post it. Both ADB and MyPhoneExplorer (I'm not positive that's the name) would be helpful in this situation, but without usb debugging on I don't think you'll be able to use them. Research further into enabling usb debugging without access to the OS.
I'm sorry for your friend's (and your) loss. I hope that in some way, even if not through the phone, he can find closure.
Sent from my Evo + MIUI using Tapatalk!
Thanks for the response good ideas, and I will try them. Turns out this kid never had a computer and in talking with the friends they only had his other email accounts so I will think of someway to get around that, but anyways thanks again.
Your best bet would be something like the Cellebrite UFED that was getting some attention a few months ago. There are other mobile forensics utilities - I'm not sure if they can be purchased by a single person or if there are guidelines these companies must follow before selling the devices. I'm also sure that they're not cheap, so unless you or your friend are very well off, you probably couldn't buy one yourself anyway.
I took a Computer Forensics course and we spent a week on mobile forensics. This was before Android was popular, and I believe that we used the device on a BlackBerry. The device (I don't remember the name) made an image of the contents which we then looked through using Forensic Toolkit or something similar.
If you know anyone in a computer program, ask if they have access to a similar device. We were allowed to use whatever tools were available during specified times (mainly for lab work, but we could use them for other reasons), so this would be your best bet for getting information off of the phone. Other places, like repair shops (and police departments) may have access to similar technology. If you can find someone empathetic to your situation with access to mobile forensics tools then you may be able to get somewhere.
It's a long shot, but I had the thought & wanted to bump your thread for you in hopes that someone with more knowledge could help you out.
If the device happens to have wifi on & is connected, you can also hack into it over the network. If this is the case and you need more information, shoot me a pm and I'll give you what information I know on ways to do so.
Sent from my Evo + MIUI using Tapatalk!
thanks for sharing.................
Purchased a used Nexus 9 on Ebay factory reconditioned.
Unit's arrived with someone's email info associated with it.
Factory reset within Android seems to do not much of anything, I haven't done anything in recovery yet as I read that might require the registered owner's password.
Tried to unlock the bootloader so I could flash a fresh image but getting that permission is denied
What steps do I need to take to remove the other user, make myself the owner, unlock the bootloader, and rid myself of them? I'm about to email the person who's listed as the owner and see if they're willing to help in the event I need them to do something
Thanks!
What happens when you remove their email from Accounts in settings?
Sent from my XT1528
mildlydisturbed said:
Purchased a used Nexus 9 on Ebay factory reconditioned.
Unit's arrived with someone's email info associated with it.
Factory reset within Android seems to do not much of anything, I haven't done anything in recovery yet as I read that might require the registered owner's password.
Tried to unlock the bootloader so I could flash a fresh image but getting that permission is denied
What steps do I need to take to remove the other user, make myself the owner, unlock the bootloader, and rid myself of them? I'm about to email the person who's listed as the owner and see if they're willing to help in the event I need them to do something
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a new security feature in 5.1. You either need to get the former owner's username and password, or return it for a refund.
Ace42 said:
What happens when you remove their email from Accounts in settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I recall it didn't let me
cam30era said:
That's a new security feature in 5.1. You either need to get the former owner's username and password, or return it for a refund.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's running 5.0.1
Just talked with Google support - man they're easy to contact as a note. He said since 5.0.x didn't have the feature that locks the username and password in through a HBoot factory reset so to try it there. I'm at minute 9 of waiting for the thing to reboot to see if it worked or if it's going to ask me for a password.
We shall see however
After two hours it didn't boot. Got into recovery, factory reset doesn't seem to work, plenty of errors about trying to delete folders.
Took Google's suggestion and downloaded an image that was still in the 5.0.x range and tried flashing it ... get nothing but errors PU-FAIL
Noticed the hboot version number was for the WiFi, was sold it as an LTE/CDMA... downloaded the correct WiFi-only stuff, flashing fails.
It updates BCM, then PU-FAIL and something else on everything else.
Unit doesn't boot any more.. just sits at the spinning balls screen.
Think I got a lemon...
Managed to get it to mostly flash 5.0.2 - first part flashes fine, second part fails on .sig missing, extracted and flashed everything individually - cache failed a few times, few times it flashed fine, always throws up errors in recovery that it can't write it.
I'm beginning the believe the unit was refurbed and they missed a bad EMMC
mildlydisturbed said:
Managed to get it to mostly flash 5.0.2 - first part flashes fine, second part fails on .sig missing, extracted and flashed everything individually - cache failed a few times, few times it flashed fine, always throws up errors in recovery that it can't write it.
I'm beginning the believe the unit was refurbed and they missed a bad EMMC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Return it. Never buy electronics on ebay...there is no official warranty and after 60 days, the buyer protection of paypal terminates so you have no leverage with the seller in case of problems. Also, seller refurbished items are the worst as they repair things with no finesse and dont usually do a very good job of diagnosing the issue or replace with cheap parts. I have a lot of experience in refurbishing as I am a Samsung trained technician that works for a major Canadian retailer that has licensed repair centers across the country. I often try to make money on the side by buying broken Samsung phones and tablets and going through official channels to get replacement parts. Official replacement parts are more expensive but I get them at wholesale cost. What I have learned in my years of dealing with replacement parts is that a lot of those that use chinese replacement parts often end up with more problems than they had...you often see that in screen replacements, some of the quickest and high profit margins, using chinese parts will leave you with problems such as undercalibrated screens, low precision digitizers, backlight bleeding, and such. eBay is the biggest market for those parts and a high percentage of sellers on these channels make a living off those repairs. In any case, bad idea.
Yup, initiated a return. Wasn't what I ordered (ordered LTE/CDMA version, got WiFi), bad EMMC. as far as I can tell - I can flash 5.0.2 but always getting cache errors on clear and never able to do anything.
After a few more flashing experiences I found that I had about a 90% chance of successfully flashing a partition and about a 70% chance of getting into recovery.
These of course should have been 100%.
Thing's boxed up, sitting with a return label on it in the outgoing mailbox at work. Ah well, was interesting being a nexus owner if only for a couple of days
My wife bought an S7+ from Amazon and it's been fine for a couple of months. She had a popup today which warned that the device would be locked because it was part of a trade in scheme and there was some sort of problem. I assumed some sort of malware but I was working so I didn't do much with it but now the device appears to have locked into a sort of "kiosk mode" where we just get 2 screens:
https://imgur.com/a/Z4N9TLy
All the blurb is plastered with "Samsung Electronics UK" but the domain the email is going to is "tradeinresponse.co.uk" which after some Googling seems to have been linked with some scam stuff in the past.
I've tried safe mode with the same locked screen, plugging the tablet into a PC results in it locking to the first screen.
I can get into recovery and I wanted to try a wipe, but the wife has some drawings on there she's done in Sketchbook that she would like to keep.
I'm a software developer by profession but I work with Windows/.NET and SaaS stuff so I've not got much experience with droid devices (a bit of java here and there in the past, but not so much XP with the OS itself)
So my questions are:
Does anyone know if this is any sort of official thing or is this malware/scam stuff as I suspect?
Is a factory reset likely to resolve the issue?
If I want to factory reset, can I pull files off the devices internal SD via ADB or some other tool before I do it?
Do I have any other options?
Kind of a wind up - I'd just have factory reset it by now to find out but like I said, I don't want to lose any of the wife's data if possible. If she gets anything back I'm going to make sure she sticks it in the cloud.
Any help would be appreciated and thanks in advance!
Always backup critical data redundantly to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.
Or you will lose data eventually.
Factory reset but you will lose all data. If the drive is encrypted, you likely already have.
Sounds like ransomware. Contact Samsung and do some Google searches. See what you got and if there are any work arounds.
You may need to reload the OS completely if it's a rootkit and running on Android 8 or below.
This could be a nasty little bugger...
If it wasn't present on the device when purchased, your wife either downloaded or installed it. She needs to be more careful!!!
Maybe this will impress that onto her...
Thanks for the advice but I've already googled as much as I can. The domain doesn't go anywhere except a holding page though through reverse lookup it seems there are also other domains on the same host including some legitimate businesses that appear to do Samsung second life schemes for devices.
I've googled the actual lock message but no-one on the net seems to have seen it before.
The wife hasn't installed anything, she got the device a few weeks ago (from Amazon, supposedly new) and did a transfer from her old s6 (that has gone to my daughter) to the s7 using Smart Switch. Since then she's not installed any other applications.
It's not "critical data", per se, it's just drawings she'd like to keep, plus copying stuff onto physically disparate hard drives seems a bit overkill given she can just drop the files into a cloud storage account and have way more redundancy than you/I could ever reproduce by doing manual backups.
I'm posting in an s7 forum about an s7 so it's going to be running Android 10 at the minimum (given that's what the device ships with). Not sure why the comments about Android 8.
Anything she could have installed would have been from the Play store (and I don't believe she installed anything other than what automatically installed from what was on her old s6), plus her apps are from a reputable vendors (Autodesk etc). My son has a tablet and he installs all sorts of crap and hasn't had this issue because the OS prevents stuff like this from happening unless you allow side loading.
Is it possible to install a rootkit from the play store? I didn't think so ..?
So, either it was on there when we got it, it's legit or it's a vulnerability that exists in the OS and we are some of the first people to see it...
You can do what you want but any backup database that requires a password can be lost.
I have close to a dozen backup hdds, there's no way to I can lose my entire database.
At least use 2 OTG flashsticks to completely backup the data but hdds are still preferable.
NEVER encrypt data drives... and verify the backups are complete and readable.
As to how it happened you're going to have to sort that out or suffer the same fate possibly again in the future.
A factory reset seems inevitable at this point.
Afterwards change all passwords.
Malware has always existed on Playstore albeit not much or for long. She may have imported from your daughter's phone.
You got some potentially gigantic problems now.
Personally I would have already gone full nuke by now. It's simply not worth the risks.
In the future hawk the download folder daily for files you didn't authorize. Delete any unknowns without opening. Scrutinize all downloads and installs carefully, always. Scan as needed with Malwarebytes. Online Virustotal can be used to scan smaller files and apks.
There are also maliciously scripted jpegs too that can cause damage to any files in the same folder when opened. Be aware of any changes or strange behavior in the download folder. Vet all downloads before moving into your database.
Use a good brower like Brave and be careful what links you click, in the browser, emails and texts.
I can't even begin to estimate how many websites I backed out of, closed that tab or wiped the browser data over in the last year alone. Better safe than sorry. Zero malware infections in over 1.5 years and that's running on outdated Pie.
Almost all malware, rootkits etc are loaded by the user. Some will self install if the device's security isn't configured correctly or if not spotted on a timely basis. Androids, even ones with out of date OSs are generally very secure unless the user does something stupid... learn or get burned.
blackhawk said:
You can do what you want but any backup database that requires a password can be lost.
I have close to a dozen backup hdds, there's no way to I can lose my entire database.
At least use 2 OTG flashsticks to completely backup the data but hdds are still preferable.
NEVER encrypt data drives... and verify the backups are complete and readable.
As to how it happened you're going to have to sort that out or suffer the same fate possibly again in the future.
A factory reset seems inevitable at this point.
Afterwards change all passwords.
Malware has always existed on Playstore albeit not much or for long. She may have imported from your daughter's phone.
You got some potentially gigantic problems now.
Personally I would have already gone full nuke by now. It's simply not worth the risks.
In the future hawk the download folder daily for files you didn't authorize. Delete any unknowns without opening. Scrutinize all downloads and installs carefully, always. Scan as needed with Malwarebytes. Online Virustotal can be used to scan smaller files and apks.
There are also maliciously scripted jpegs too that can cause damage to any files in the same folder when opened. Be aware of any changes or strange behavior in the download folder. Vet all downloads before moving into your database.
Use a good brower like Brave and be careful what links you click, in the browser, emails and texts.
I can't even begin to estimate how many websites I backed out of, closed that tab or wiped the browser data over in the last year alone. Better safe than sorry. Zero malware infections in over 1.5 years and that's running on outdated Pie.
Almost all malware, rootkits etc are loaded by the user. Some will self install if the device's security isn't configured correctly or if not spotted on a timely basis. Androids, even ones with out of date OSs are generally very secure unless the user does something stupid... learn or get burned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With all due respect we aren't getting anywhere here, I don't want backup advice or malware advice, I want to know the answers to the few small questions I asked about whether this is legit and if I can access the device files or not.
You seem to be convinced it's malware, you also seem to be skim reading my posts which is fine - but I don't think your input is helping me.
I'm not going to use a different "paranoid" browser - chrome is fine, the tablet doesn't have a "security configuration" that is any different from the hundreds of thousands of other S7+ devices out there since it's a tablet and out the box it's ready to go. I'm not checking the downloads folder daily just in case some random malware has somehow "installed itself" onto my device, I'm also not keeping random flash sticks and hard drives lying about - I'll just use that geo redundant pretty solid cloud storage like most of the populace.
Yes you can put malicious content in a JPEG or a JPEG header, but it requires that there's an exploit in the OS or the app opening it (for example hiding a javascript eval in the file metadata); I don't think that's an attack vector on a tablet as far as I know given that she only browses, watches Netflix and draws using her S-pen on the device.
She's not imported "malware" from someone else's phone because if you read my post properly you'd understand that it was HER device that she transferred her data from - one that she's since given to the daughter (who has no issues). If you know how Smart Switch works you'd know that it's an unlikely vector (it just transfers data from application storage and then reinstalls the apps from the play store), plus the fact the original device doesn't have the issue...
Stop telling me to "learn or get burned". This is not a "misuse" problem. The wife is on Android 10, it's a relatively new and secure O/S and she didn't install anything she shouldn't have (she didn't actually install anything at all - it was the stock samsung application and the play store that installed the apps she ALREADY HAD on her previous device). It's not a "learn" scenario. Nothing she did should have caused this - if it is/was an OS exploit or some sort of security issue what could she have done to prevent it? Nothing.
What I have done is:
* Contacted the vendor of the device (we can still send it back if they've sent us a refurbed device instead of new as advertised)
* Sent an email to the address advertised to see what response I get (if they demand money then clearly a scam)
I've checked and the domain in the above shares a host with a company called MTR which happens to be a DCC Group company (one of the groups of companies I actually consult for) so worst case I'll speak to someone from DCC Group and see if they can shed any light.
Seems like it might be legit and quite possibly a mix up.
Do what you will... if you understand the origin of that phrase.
Anything that can't be IDed is considered malware until proven innocent
The fact that you're now completely locked out speaks volumes.
Good practices and backup are your only defenses. They apply to the future not the past... so much for flavors
Personally I think it's already too late for that device's OS load and data.
Of course I could be mistaken.
If you really want the data, take it to a data recovery specialist. They may be able to recover it.
When your at the beginning you can determine how potential data lose will end. When at the end, the outcome has already been predetermined by your actions or lack of.
You are now at the end... likely a dead end.
Been there, done that... actions have consequences.
@Charleh: if I were you, I would back up all important data and do a clean firmware flash with Odin. And a factory reset on top of that, just to be sure. Definitely sounds like you got hit by a scammer.
AnonVendetta said:
@Charleh: if I were you, I would back up all important data and do a clean firmware flash with Odin. And a factory reset on top of that, just to be sure. Definitely sounds like you got hit by a scammer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said there's not really any important data on there, just some drawings the wife would like to keep. Also, I can't backup anything since I can't access the device.
I'll probably just speak to DCC group and see if this company is one of theirs.
If the data is lost we are just talking some drawings the wife has done, there's nothing important on there, she just loses the layers (they are stored as multi page tiffs and sketchbook uses those as layers). She has all the images as flat renders on her cloud storage drive and on Instagram.
Think we just need to invest in some extra cloud storage as the free 15gb that Google give you isn't enough to store what she wants at the moment as the images are tens of megabytes each.
Worst case scenario I factory reset and flash it, best case I get someone at DCC telling me what's what.
The bit that gets me is that there are no ransom demands at this point so I can't be sure what's what. Usually by now with crypto ransom malware you are already being given demands...
We will see.
blackhawk said:
Do what you will... if you understand the origin of that phrase.
Anything that can't be IDed is considered malware until proven innocent
The fact that you're now completely locked out speaks volumes.
Good practices and backup are your only defenses. They apply to the future not the past... so much for flavors
Personally I think it's already too late for that device's OS load and data.
Of course I could be mistaken.
If you really want the data, take it to a data recovery specialist. They may be able to recover it.
When your at the beginning you can determine how potential data lose will end. When at the end, the outcome has already been predetermined by your actions or lack of.
You are now at the end... likely a dead end.
Been there, done that... actions have consequences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a big deal mate.
Stop flogging a dead horse, the most annoying thing is just that the device is unusable, regardless of me making backups or signing a pact with the devil or putting candlewax on my nips, it wouldn't have prevented this from happening..
The only reason I haven't tried a factory reset up to now is because if there's a chance I can get the drawings off the device I'd like to try it first before I nuke it.
Stop talking about my lack of actions, it's getting really boring. There's nothing I could do to forsee this happening and not my fault the wife didn't put the drawings on her cloud storage.
Go bother someone else with your multiple flash disk tinfoil hat backup routines (I bet you've got a tape drive in that routine somewhere too), stop trying to be helpful by saying "told you so" after the fact, instead try answering the questions I asked.
@Charleh: The way I see it is this:
The device's data partition/internal storage (where the drawings are stored) are encrypted by default, by Samsung. So, unless you can manage to use a MTP USB connection or ADB to make copies of them, then you're locked out and there's nothing you can do to recover them. Since they're located in an encrypted area, I highly doubt that even a professional data recovery business would be able to get them back. There are certain encryptions out there that even the US govt (NSA/CIA/FBI) can't break.
I'm assuming that you're not a l33t hax0r with uber skills, so unless you can successfully boot into Android again, your recovery chances are almost zero.
Or, maybe this company can help you out. It's worth a shot. But if I were a gambling man, I'd wager a lot of money that you will end up having to clean flash/reset, without being able to recover anything.
In the future, think about making copies of this stuff before bad things occur. As the saying goes, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, sooner or later. I rarely lose access to my data because I'm frequently backing it up.
Good luck!
AnonVendetta said:
@Charleh: The way I see it is this:
The device's data partition/internal storage (where the drawings are stored) are encrypted by default, by Samsung. So, unless you can manage to use a MTP USB connection or ADB to make copies of them, then you're locked out and there's nothing you can do to recover them. Since they're located in an encrypted area, I highly doubt that even a professional data recovery business would be able to get them back. There are certain encryptions out there that even the US govt (NSA/CIA/FBI) can't break.
I'm assuming that you're not a l33t hax0r with uber skills, so unless you can successfully boot into Android again, your recovery chances are almost zero.
Or, maybe this company can help you out. It's worth a shot. But if I were a gambling man, I'd wager a lot of money that you will end up having to clean flash/reset, without being able to recover anything.
In the future, think about making copies of this stuff before bad things occur. As the saying goes, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, sooner or later. I rarely lose access to my data because I'm frequently backing it up.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - that was a helpful answer. I suspected that droid encrypted the data - I was looking at making an ADB connection using Android tools. Might as well give it a try before I nuke.
I can't use MTP as the device auto locks when I plug in a USB cable.
Like I've said a few times it's not a massive issue if I lose the data - I work in IT, I know the importance of backing up important data. I've seen a client lose months worth of data to crypto-ransomware (they cancelled their backup solution a few months before saying they were moving to Azure soon so they didn't need it).
I've explained though, it's not my device and it's up to the wife to put her stuff on her cloud storage if she wants to keep it. She uses Google Drive for her docs etc.
Worst case scenario I complain to Amazon, wife is saying she doesn't remember the screen having a protector/film on it when she opened it and we still have time to return/exchange it since I have a Prime account.
@Charleh: AFAIK, Amazon has a 30 day no questions asked return policy for almost everything. If you're still within that return window, then I guess you just have to decide whether the loss of drawings is worth returning it, assuming all recovery efforts fail. I bought my Tab S7+ new direct from Samsung, I haven't encountered like what you describe. And your edge case is the first one I've seen.
I think it's possible that you bought a refurbished device that was preowned but sold as new. The original buyer didn't finish paying it off, returned it, it's sold to you, you get this message. It's either legitimately locked, or someone has remotely locked it and intends to scam you. Contact that company ASAP.
Another option is to find a local techie/shop that can remove this lock for a fee, preferably without data loss. They make want to see proof of purchase, if they're legit. This would at least give you the ability to use the device again. People used to bring me locked phones/tabs all the time, this is pretty much what I did for side cash. As long as they didn't outright admit they were stolen, I didn't care.
Ok speaking to Samsung support and it's legit - what's happened is that someone's returned the device to the supplier after doing a trade in with it and receiving a new device from Samsung Trade In.
Supplier has refunded us and told us to keep the device until the issue is resolved with Samsung.
Now fighting with Samsung themselves about it. Absolute pisstake.
Basically I have a brick and although Samsung have the capability to unlock the device through Knox they won't do it until a resolution is found with the supplier.
Fun-times. Sent a complaint email to Samsung as they are essentially holding the wife's artwork to ransom because of an issue they have created with the rules of their trade-in program.
I've already received the refund too - sounds like the Amazon reseller is trying to wash their hands of it.
@Charleh: So, they refunded you AND they're going to let you keep the tablet? I'd be quite happy with that.
AnonVendetta said:
@Charleh: So, they refunded you AND they're going to let you keep the tablet? I'd be quite happy with that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends if the tablet is ever going to be functional again...
Fingers crossed!
Time to reflash, ODIN or do whatever and see if you can and up with his + hers new(sort of) tablets.
Hello, some solution?
Charleh said:
Depends if the tablet is ever going to be functional again...
Fingers crossed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did this end?
corb06 said:
How did this end?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
still ongoing - Amazon is trying to get hold of the original supplier but they've gone dark; I complained to Samsung and they are looking into it, just waiting for a reply.
They took almost a month to get back to me - only did so when I started complaining publicly on all social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram etc) - they don't like it when you do that.
Will update when I know more.
Charleh said:
still ongoing - Amazon is trying to get hold of the original supplier but they've gone dark; I complained to Samsung and they are looking into it, just waiting for a reply.
They took almost a month to get back to me - only did so when I started complaining publicly on all social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram etc) - they don't like it when you do that.
Will update when I know more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear it's taking so long. I'd be super pissed. Next time, buy direct from Samsung, you wouldnt have to deal with this ****. Because they wouldnt sell you a used/refurbished device unless it's clearly marked as such, and i'm pretty sure they only sell new devices anyway.
Can you post a link to the seller's Amazon page? They could be a fly-by-night op.
If you cant get your money back or an exchange, just contact your bank/card issuer and do a chargeback. This is a last resort ootion, if nothing else works. Explain the whole situation to them. Chances are, they would force the seller or someone else responsible, to give your money back. The only caveat is that if you wait too long, it might not work. i've inititated chargebacks against sellers who dont respond to support requests, it usually worked in my favor.
Edit: If you go the chargeback route and Amazon is forced to refund your money, they may retaliate by banning your account. it recently happened to a friend. Just so you know.....
I have an old AT&T Asus 9020A tablet. I got them new years ago thru my phone plan with AT&T. It wasn’t used much and is like new still.
Anyway, I take care of my mother and she likes games and painting by numbers on her iPad but she broke it and screwed up her charging port. I want to fix this tablet up for her.
I bet it wasn’t used 2 months and was just forgotten….I looked it up and completed a factory reset on it and wiped it clean. So I was trying to set it up and get her to painting again! It’s bout to kill her not having it..lol
I was setting it up and it wants the old email associated that was used to set it up. There is no way to remember that or even get it. I asked my daughter, she don’t remember. Anyway, are there any way I can use (reset) this tablet not knowing the old email that was associated with it? Where I can fix her up for her or am I just wasting my time? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
So it is FRP locked?
Arealhooman said:
So it is FRP locked?
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Click to collapse
It’s not locked. It reset ever And started the initial setup as if it was new. It just wants the old gmail for some reason before it will accept the new one. It lets me start in the setting up her account on it but is asking for the old email for verification….. I don’t have it and there is no way to remember it unfortunately. I know they are there to keep folks from stealing them and that’s great. But 10 years later…LOL Is this possible?
what you describe (verify device with google account) is called FRP lock (factory reset protection). this is same on most/all official android devices to render device useless on theft.
however, the unofficial by-pass methods vary for each device model/android version. search on YouTube.