Database Users

Recovery Password Protection?

As the title says.. is it within the scope of any dev to have some kind of lock or password protection on accessing recovery? This would obviously have to be optional.
Wavesecure is kinda rendered useless if someone could easily flash another rom on the phone before the user can get to wiping all data.
I'm not so concerned about getting a phone back after it's stolen... but i'm much more worried about the information i may have stored on it.
Is this even possible?
Thanks in advance
Alex

a) If you flash another ROM to remove wavesecure, you would have to wipe first and therefore your personal data would be gone anyway.
b) You can install a recovery via adb as far as I know so if the user knew enough to boot into recovery mode, they could flash another recovery and circumvent the password anyway

Hmm, you'd need to password protect fastboot too wouldnt ya?

+1
I was gonna post this. I mean if phone was stolen, and wavesecure did prevent them using it, a wipe will remove it.

Well, ask ninpo maybe over at villainrom site.
Dunno if he would do it, but he modified recovery for villainrom 12 so it could wipe dalvik2cache properly iirc

I would also like it. And flashing over adb is for a newcomer harder then pressing the home button at booting

Seelbreaker said:
I would also like it. And flashing over adb is for a newcomer harder then pressing the home button at booting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True.
You could always install the 007 spl if you were that bothered. But I don't recommend that.
I will look into wave secure, as I have a few ideas about things to do.
But remember most thieves would not manage to flash a rom, but a wipe using power + call (I think) is easy.
Also remember that wave secure is a great program, and it has improved loads since I first contacted them to show a way to add your own un approved sim to the allowed list. But I can still bypass it in about 30 seconds, just like any other security measure your phone may use (eg pattern lock or third party app locker).
So whilst a thief in theory could do this, it's unlikely in my opinion. They would need a fair bit of android knowledge, and anyone who knows the inner workings can get rid of any user security measure in seconds.
And btw, when in say I can bypass ws in 30 secs, that don't involve removing the app. I mean bypass that lock screen completely with the app installed

just curious: this possibility doesn't involve activated USB debugging in the device? So you do some trick during boot... or something else I just can't think of?

xdafalter said:
just curious: this possibility doesn't involve activated USB debugging in the device? So you do some trick during boot... or something else I just can't think of?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have more than one method. But I used methods that are unlikely to be found. One certainly can't be fixed, as it is inherently a flaw on linux, though by design. For this reason I won't be disclosing it, and I'm sure people understand.
But yes, usb debugging is useful for bypassing it, though I can still get round it even if you have disabled it

anon2122 said:
But yes, usb debugging is useful for bypassing it, though I can still get round it even if you have disabled it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting... I will give it some thought as I like to know stuff
Knowledge brings fear (from Futurama) but don't be evil (Google)

thanks for the replies.
In the end any security can be broken and circumvented.. i just like the idea of layering as much as possible... again i don't expect to be able to get my phone back or stop someone from selling it (given how common imei spoofing seems to be)..
i just want to have time to run a remote wipe from another location.
I do turn off usb debugging whenever i'm not likely to be at a PC.
I know i'm being paranoid... but with good reason

Bantu85 said:
thanks for the replies.
In the end any security can be broken and circumvented.. i just like the idea of layering as much as possible... again i don't expect to be able to get my phone back or stop someone from selling it (given how common imei spoofing seems to be)..
i just want to have time to run a remote wipe from another location.
I do turn off usb debugging whenever i'm not likely to be at a PC.
I know i'm being paranoid... but with good reason
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wanna try something? Turn off USB debugging, then try and connect via adb.
Try "adb shell" and see what happens.

I'm not sure what you are up to, but it cannot connect (no device connected or similar output)... and this is the expected result.
Did you want to prove something else?

Yeh adb shell with usb-debugging off just gives "error no device found".

xdafalter said:
I'm not sure what you are up to, but it cannot connect (no device connected or similar output)... and this is the expected result.
Did you want to prove something else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, just wondered. Some phones used to have persisting ADB, which meant that you could get a connection even when that was disabled IIRC.
But remember that you can get adb on boot regardless of setting AFAIK, as well as in recovery

so, if we would have a pw protected recovery/spl and use a kernel with no adb compiled in, where would then be your basis to break in?

xdafalter said:
so, if we would have a pw protected recovery/spl and use a kernel with no adb compiled in, where would then be your basis to break in?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or perhaps limit the use of ADB so that it can only be used while booted into the recovery and after the pw-protection of it has been passed.

[Q] Breaking into a locked device

Hello all,
This is a strange request but desperate times call for desperate measures. My father recently got himself a new Samsung Galaxy S5 here in Australia, unfortunately a tragic motorcycle accident on the 1st of this month led to my father no longer being with us. This was heartbreaking for my family and I, I now have in my possession his phone, It is still operational from what I can gather, it still rings, still vibrates when hooking up to my laptop and it detects it. The screen is completely smashed and doesn't work and the phone is locked. I want to be able to access the phone to recover any photos etc he has on the phone itself, I am unaware of what type of screenlock is on it.
So far I tried Samsung Kies but due to the phone being locked I can't use that,. Nothing shows up on the phone in windows explorer. I've downloaded [email protected] and android studio and have tried to get that to show up so I can see whats on the screen and attempt to use android control to unlock the phone but so far I've had no such luck. I need usb debugging enabled but I'm going to have to assume its disabled and thus proving my attempts so far to be fruitless.
If anyone can give me any ideas or things to try I'm all ears, I'm ok with computers so should be able to figure out most things but this is my first exposure to these types of applications.
Kind regards,
Eric.

trekster83 said:
Hello all,
This is a strange request but desperate times call for desperate measures. My father recently got himself a new Samsung Galaxy S5 here in Australia, unfortunately a tragic motorcycle accident on the 1st of this month led to my father no longer being with us. This was heartbreaking for my family and I, I now have in my possession his phone, It is still operational from what I can gather, it still rings, still vibrates when hooking up to my laptop and it detects it. The screen is completely smashed and doesn't work and the phone is locked. I want to be able to access the phone to recover any photos etc he has on the phone itself, I am unaware of what type of screenlock is on it.
So far I tried Samsung Kies but due to the phone being locked I can't use that,. Nothing shows up on the phone in windows explorer. I've downloaded [email protected] and android studio and have tried to get that to show up so I can see whats on the screen and attempt to use android control to unlock the phone but so far I've had no such luck. I need usb debugging enabled but I'm going to have to assume its disabled and thus proving my attempts so far to be fruitless.
If anyone can give me any ideas or things to try I'm all ears, I'm ok with computers so should be able to figure out most things but this is my first exposure to these types of applications.
Kind regards,
Eric.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, I'm really sorry for your loss..
If he had a microSD card in his phone, it's likely that his pictures (and other documents) are on the card.
If that's the case, unless he encrypted the content, you should be able to just remove the microSD card and read it on your computer with a card reader.

Eric, do you have a MHL adaptor & HDMI tv?
You can view the screen on this via tv.

If I understand well he is able to see the screen but cannot pass the security lock. If that's the case try to connect the phone to your PC and copy all the internal SD card, I think you will be able to access the content. Also not sure if a factory reset will deactivate the screen lock but you can try it in an ultimate attempt.
Sent from my SM-G900F using XDA Free mobile app

mikka06 said:
If I understand well he is able to see the screen but cannot pass the security lock. If that's the case try to connect the phone to your PC and copy all the internal SD card, I think you will be able to access the content. Also not sure if a factory reset will deactivate the screen lock but you can try it in an ultimate attempt.
Sent from my SM-G900F using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on the type of security lock.
If it's swipe, then he can see the content by connecting the phone to the PC, but not if it's a password, fingerprint, pin, ...
He would have to unlock the screen before the files are available.

Sorry to hear of your loss, especially at this time of year.
The idea of copying the SD card is the first step. If I read you're message right you can't see the screen at all?? I would take the device to a repair shop and get the screen replaced - tell them very clearly NOT to wipe / reset the device. Then you should be able to see the screen and might be able to figure out the screen lock. If the fingerprint reader was used there will always be an alternative password, you might be able to reset this to the gmail account used on the phone (assuming you have access to this?).
Hope you get it sorted.

Mithrandir007 said:
First of all, I'm really sorry for your loss..
If he had a microSD card in his phone, it's likely that his pictures (and other documents) are on the card.
If that's the case, unless he encrypted the content, you should be able to just remove the microSD card and read it on your computer with a card reader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I copied all of the sd card and as it was copying it died, so I have most of the data off that.
DeanonZL said:
Eric, do you have a MHL adaptor & HDMI tv?
You can view the screen on this via tv.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I don't have the adaptor but I do have a HDMI tv, so I will investigate this, thank you.
mikka06 said:
If I understand well he is able to see the screen but cannot pass the security lock. If that's the case try to connect the phone to your PC and copy all the internal SD card, I think you will be able to access the content. Also not sure if a factory reset will deactivate the screen lock but you can try it in an ultimate attempt.
Sent from my SM-G900F using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cannot see the screen, and when I connect it to pc to check if there is anything on the phone itself, It won't let me as the phone is keypad/swipe/fingerprint locked.
Mithrandir007 said:
It depends on the type of security lock.
If it's swipe, then he can see the content by connecting the phone to the PC, but not if it's a password, fingerprint, pin, ...
He would have to unlock the screen before the files are available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I am trying to find out what lock is on the phone.
MadMic said:
Sorry to hear of your loss, especially at this time of year.
The idea of copying the SD card is the first step. If I read you're message right you can't see the screen at all?? I would take the device to a repair shop and get the screen replaced - tell them very clearly NOT to wipe / reset the device. Then you should be able to see the screen and might be able to figure out the screen lock. If the fingerprint reader was used there will always be an alternative password, you might be able to reset this to the gmail account used on the phone (assuming you have access to this?).
Hope you get it sorted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I took it to a repair shop, its a catch 22 situation, They want $150 to pull the data off the phone, and if there is no data of use then thats a waste of money, They wants $240 to replace the screen, the phone has a very slight bend in it so if I replace the screen the phone still may not be able to be used properly so again would be a waste of money.
This is the main reason why I am trying to at least view the screen to ascertain what lock is used, I do have his gmail credentials so I can reset from there, from what I understand resetting the phone also loses any data (messages, pictures, etc) that is on the actual phone.
Last but not least thank you to everyone so far for your replies, I really appreciate you all taking the time to reply and try to help!
Regards,
Eric.

trekster83 said:
I copied all of the sd card and as it was copying it died, so I have most of the data off that.
No I don't have the adaptor but I do have a HDMI tv, so I will investigate this, thank you.
Cannot see the screen, and when I connect it to pc to check if there is anything on the phone itself, It won't let me as the phone is keypad/swipe/fingerprint locked.
This is what I am trying to find out what lock is on the phone.
I took it to a repair shop, its a catch 22 situation, They want $150 to pull the data off the phone, and if there is no data of use then thats a waste of money, They wants $240 to replace the screen, the phone has a very slight bend in it so if I replace the screen the phone still may not be able to be used properly so again would be a waste of money.
This is the main reason why I am trying to at least view the screen to ascertain what lock is used, I do have his gmail credentials so I can reset from there, from what I understand resetting the phone also loses any data (messages, pictures, etc) that is on the actual phone.
Last but not least thank you to everyone so far for your replies, I really appreciate you all taking the time to reply and try to help!
Regards,
Eric.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries.
Do you know if he was using Cerberus or Theftspy or another anti theft tool?
If he did and you can find out his credentials, you should also be able to unlock the phone with a command (at least Cerberus does that) or even transfer all the data to a cloud (dropbox, google drive,...).

Could he not physically open the phone and get to the actual sd card that the phone comes with that the OS and all that is on? Or is that locked down?
Sent from my SM-G900A using Tapatalk

I had a idea for the lock screen but it will not help with seeing which you would have to deal with first. Any chance he left Gmail loged on any computer you have access to. You could try installing a app to bypass the lock screen.
I have never tried this one it was just the first I found that fit my theory of a workaround, although you could look around for a free one that may be better then you wouldn't have to worry about passwords to do the purchase.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.thomascannon.screenlockbypass.pro

shadowofdarkness said:
I had a idea for the lock screen but it will not help with seeing which you would have to deal with first. Any chance he left Gmail loged on any computer you have access to. You could try installing a app to bypass the lock screen.
I have never tried this one it was just the first I found that fit my theory of a workaround, although you could look around for a free one that may be better then you wouldn't have to worry about passwords to do the purchase.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.thomascannon.screenlockbypass.pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you know his samsung account information, you can login to their web service and remove the lockscreen passcode. From there, you should be able to USB the files off of it.

Screen broken, need help wiping.

Hey guys/gals,
Dropped my phone yesterday and now the screen is completely gone. I was able to back everything up. I had planned on wiping it this morning, but apparently it had some mad LCD bleed and I can't see anything any more.
I had Vysor running yesterday (control your phone from Chrome browser), but now it seems to not be working (I didn't change any settings). I had USB debugging enabled...at least I thought.
I suppose I could just put it into Download Mode/Recovery, I come from 4 years of Samsung devices, so I was using Odin before.
Any chance someone could throw up some screen shots for any screens I'd have to interact with...driving blind.
Thanks
P.S. I did do an "erase" from Android Device Manager. It does say that I would see the Android Welcome Screen next time I turn the device on...haha, except I won't either way

I suppose I'll know if it is erased if the fingerprint reader stops giving me haptic feedback and turning on the device (can see a slight image on the bottom right).

Just boot into download mode, then use ADB to flash the factory image. It will tell you if it works or not.

Thanks Geoff, got that done.

MeetFace said:
Thanks Geoff, got that done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what are u doing to get ur screen fixed?

My work will fix the screen for $170

Have the replacement plan, $80 for a brand new phone. Typing from it
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Hey sorry for the necro but cant seem to get any help on this. If you cant see ANYTHING on the screen, how do you know what mode you are in after you boot to recovery? It seems the default options are always different so how do you ensure you are at the right option to use ADB or anything else? I need to make 100% sure the phone is wiped before I sell it.

Dathaeus said:
Hey sorry for the necro but cant seem to get any help on this. If you cant see ANYTHING on the screen, how do you know what mode you are in after you boot to recovery? It seems the default options are always different so how do you ensure you are at the right option to use ADB or anything else? I need to make 100% sure the phone is wiped before I sell it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just use android device manager and wipe it but you will probably need to tell buyer your account and password after they fix it to get in it then change your password again https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiwzPL1-tjXAhVDPN8KHab3CCAQFggoMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fandroid%2Ffind&usg=AOvVaw18MrvVnXQpTGzGjml46v_F

billycar11 said:
just use android device manager and wipe it but you will probably need to tell buyer your account and password after they fix it to get in it then change your password again https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiwzPL1-tjXAhVDPN8KHab3CCAQFggoMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fandroid%2Ffind&usg=AOvVaw18MrvVnXQpTGzGjml46v_F
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I been trying ADM and it is not detecting my phone... I am pretty sure I am logged into my phone but again its hard to be 100% sure. Doesnt your phone have to be on and logged in for this to work? Or does your old sim card have to be in for it to work? I already put my sim card into the new phone, but dont wanna screw up my account or "new" phone by messing around with the sim. I've read somewhere else that it worked without it.

Dathaeus said:
I been trying ADM and it is not detecting my phone... I am pretty sure I am logged into my phone but again its hard to be 100% sure. Doesnt your phone have to be on and logged in for this to work? Or does your old sim card have to be in for it to work? I already put my sim card into the new phone, but dont wanna screw up my account or "new" phone by messing around with the sim. I've read somewhere else that it worked without it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No the phone does not need to be on just still connected to your account and the next time it turns on it will wipe it self and ask for the Google account to unlock it it will be in factory
Reset protect mode
If it's not showing up under your account its not on that account unused phone stay there for like 6 months to a year before disappearing

billycar11 said:
No the phone does not need to be on just still connected to your account and the next time it turns on it will wipe it self and ask for the Google account to unlock it it will be in factory
Reset protect mode
If it's not showing up under your account its not on that account unused phone stay there for like 6 months to a year before disappearing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I think we are missing some info here....
I already got a new 6P and put my SIM card in that
In the Google options to wipe it shows the phone in 2 different names, I think one is my very old Samsung S4, but the 6P
When I clock on the old 6P, it tries to find it but results "Can't Reach Device"
When I click on ERASE it results in:
"ERASE Your device has been erased If your device is offline, erasing will begin when it next comes online. You'll need to sign in to your Google Account to use the device again."
Now that sounds great, but since I cannot see anything, how do I know whats going on as far as if it did it, will it be safe for me to sell this phone now, etc, etc.... I cannot login to a phone I cant see or check out whats going on on it.
I hope this makes sense... maybe I am sounding paranoid but I am sure you know how it is if you have any valuable or personal data in your phone and are selling it.
Thanks so much.

Dathaeus said:
Ok I think we are missing some info here....
I already got a new 6P and put my SIM card in that
In the Google options to wipe it shows the phone in 2 different names, I think one is my very old Samsung S4, but the 6P
When I clock on the old 6P, it tries to find it but results "Can't Reach Device"
When I click on ERASE it results in:
"ERASE Your device has been erased If your device is offline, erasing will begin when it next comes online. You'll need to sign in to your Google Account to use the device again."
Now that sounds great, but since I cannot see anything, how do I know whats going on as far as if it did it, will it be safe for me to sell this phone now, etc, etc.... I cannot login to a phone I cant see or check out whats going on on it.
I hope this makes sense... maybe I am sounding paranoid but I am sure you know how it is if you have any valuable or personal data in your phone and are selling it.
Thanks so much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is as Google says next time it connects to the internet it will wipe it self

Lock screen with fingerprint & google account well but no password

Hello.
I beg for someone help us in this big mistake caused by inexperience:
I have just already married with my girlfriend (now my wife) and she made all the photos and videos of our wedding and family with her brand new LG G6 H870 (European model) three days ago.
She was using her fingerprint to unlock the phone all the times with no problem but by mistake we entered more than 5 times a wrong password and now the fingerprint unlock is not active and she doesn't remember which password she used with the phone. Therefore we have all of our memories inside it but we cannot recover them.
Please could anyone help us with this life-breaking mistake? We both are very very very sad about this, and even more problems will happen to us as a result of this...whatsapp receiving mote data that also will be lost, not using the phone SIM in another device to avoid losing the data in Whatsapp...
The resume of the situation is:
- She has her fingerprint ok inside the phone but the phone don't ler her use it to unlock and although the fingerprint is ok, instead the phone asks for the password that she forgot.
- We have our Google account ok configured into the phone but the Android Device Manager doesn't let us change the password to a new one remotely because Android Device Manager only permits that when no password existed before.
- I am technically skilled enough to understand advanced operations and steps on the device (recovery, ADB, writing command lines on a terminal...) but I have no experience at all in a situation like this and I am really scared of erasing or loosing this memories...
Please we would be grateful if someone could help us in this situation.
Thank you in advance.

You can marry another time....
:silly:

This makes no sense? If fingerprint worked, why were you entering passwords? Again, if there was no password, why are you entering one? Why not just reboot the phone and use the fingerprint?
There's something odd going on you're not telling us...

HellDiverUK said:
This makes no sense? If fingerprint worked, why were you entering passwords? Again, if there was no password, why are you entering one? Why not just reboot the phone and use the fingerprint?
There's something odd going on you're not telling us...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rebooting the phone also then requires the password to unlock. LG does tell you "if you forget your password, your local data will be lost forever" owtte. So... Don't forget it. They weren't joking.

MDW 100 said:
Rebooting the phone also then requires the password to unlock. LG does tell you "if you forget your password, your local data will be lost forever" owtte. So... Don't forget it. They weren't joking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you MDW 100 for the answer.
My wife is not a computer's engineer and as the password asked by the phone appears with a full keyboard (and not a numerical one as she thinks the password is only with numbers) I guess that four days ago, the day before the wedding (tradition implies not seeing the bride the day before the marriage) she configured her brand new mobile alone and probably she wrote something thinking it was another field different than a password...
I know what implies the kind of mistake I am telling.
The reason why I am writing here is because I know that nobody would help us officially to recover our memories, nor LG nor Google will...(we tried so...) and XDA members are well known for their technical skills, surpassing almost all the fences and barriers...
We have our purchase bill, our configured Google account (user and password) and my wife's fingerprint into the mobile and she never thought that things were so complicated and unflexible...
I thought that maybe somebody from XDA, as the best forum for mobiles in the world I thought it is, would be able to show that in this forum the word "impossible" is not a fact but only an opinion...
Is it really impossible to recover our memories?
Thank you in advance.

Alejoven80 said:
Thank you MDW 100 for the answer.
My wife is not a computer's engineer and as the password asked by the phone appears with a full keyboard (and not a numerical one as she thinks the password is only with numbers) I guess that four days ago, the day before the wedding (tradition implies not seeing the bride the day before the marriage) she configured her brand new mobile alone and probably she wrote something thinking it was another field different than a password...
I know what implies the kind of mistake I am telling.
The reason why I am writing here is because I know that nobody would help us officially to recover our memories, nor LG nor Google will...(we tried so...) and XDA members are well known for their technical skills, surpassing almost all the fences and barriers...
We have our purchase bill, our configured Google account (user and password) and my wife's fingerprint into the mobile and she never thought that things were so complicated and unflexible...
I thought that maybe somebody from XDA, as the best forum for mobiles in the world I thought it is, would be able to show that in this forum the word "impossible" is not a fact but only an opinion...
Is it really impossible to recover our memories?
Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for not really being helpful, but I have no further suggestions. Then again I'm not an android dev so there's probably still hope ?
I hope you get your data back...

Thank you MDW 100.
Should I put this topic in another section like developers...?

Look for companies in your area doing mobile data recovery. Their service isn't cheap, but your wedding memories are worth it.

I need help accessing locked phone - 8 Pro

I have a OnePlus 8 Pro that i need to get in to. The phone is mine on my T-Mobile account, i bought it for my brother on his birthday.
2 days ago he committed suicide. No note No explanation nothing. He was the strongest person we all knew. Never showed any weakness.
Even his wife cant understand it. I need to be able to get into the phone. There has to be something in there that shed some light on WHY???
His wife, daughter and I NEED answers. I have a ton of experience rooting and modding phones but i don't know how to get past a lock screen without wiping the phone.
If anybody can help me out i would be forever grateful. I would even pay if that's necessary. I am in so much pain right now over this.
Please help

Chipman417 said:
I have a OnePlus 8 Pro that i need to get in to. The phone is mine on my T-Mobile account, i bought it for my brother on his birthday.
2 days ago he committed suicide. No note No explanation nothing. He was the strongest person we all knew. Never showed any weakness.
Even his wife cant understand it. I need to be able to get into the phone. There has to be something in there that shed some light on WHY???
His wife, daughter and I NEED answers. I have a ton of experience rooting and modding phones but i don't know how to get past a lock screen without wiping the phone.
If anybody can help me out i would be forever grateful. I would even pay if that's necessary. I am in so much pain right now over this.
Please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear this.
If the phones on Android 11 then theres no twrp so there no way to remove the passcode / pin as far as I'm aware.
Here's a guide explaining how to remove a passcode. However I think with an encrypted phone you won't be able to access files even via twrp.
https://forum-xda--developers-com.c...e-hacking/remove-lockscreen-recovery-t3530008
Data recovery companies may be able to help if it's really needed.
Don't advise them as to what's happened just the phone is yours and your brother was using it, don't tell them how important it is or the price may just go up.

dladz said:
Sorry to hear this.
If the phones on Android 11 then theres no twrp so there no way to remove the passcode / pin as far as I'm aware.
Here's a guide explaining how to remove a passcode. However I think with an encrypted phone you won't be able to access files even via twrp.
https://forum-xda--developers-com.c...e-hacking/remove-lockscreen-recovery-t3530008
Data recovery companies may be able to help if it's really needed.
Don't advise them as to what's happened just the phone is yours and your brother was using it, don't tell them how important it is or the price may just go up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for this info. I will attempt whatever i can.
I will try this and see if it works. I just received a call from the detective and he said they have a device that could do this for us.
I might go that route since there is nothing illegal that he was doing.
was just hoping to do it today as to get it done sooner.
Thank you for the help

Chipman417 said:
Thank you for this info. I will attempt whatever i can.
I will try this and see if it works. I just received a call from the detective and he said they have a device that could do this for us.
I might go that route since there is nothing illegal that he was doing.
was just hoping to do it today as to get it done sooner.
Thank you for the help
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As it's Android it'll be possible. But difficult without the right kit..
I'd clarify what the detective wants to see on the device and can you be present for the unlock.

dladz said:
As it's Android it'll be possible. But difficult without the right kit..
I'd clarify what the detective wants to see on the device and can you be present for the unlock.
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Exactly what i was thinking. I would prefer i am there and they unlock it and hand it straight to me.
I know he wouldn't appreciate anybody not the closest of family getting access and seeing his personal thoughts.

Chipman417 said:
Exactly what i was thinking. I would prefer i am there and they unlock it and hand it straight to me.
I know he wouldn't appreciate anybody not the closest of family getting access and seeing his personal thoughts.
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Tbh I wouldn't want anyone looking through my phone is like a treasure trove..
I'd bare that in mind, not everything is meant to be seen. Doesn't mean anything, it's just how we are.

OP, sorry for your loss. That's all I have to offer. RIP.

Just my condolences to you and family

I'm sorry to hear also. May God bless you and family.

Thank you everyone that offered condolences

Chipman417 said:
Thank you everyone that offered condolences
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Any luck with it?

As insensitive as this sounds, I am a homicide detective. If he had a fingerprint lock on the phone, you could use his physical fingerprint from his hand prior to burial to unlock the phone. We have used this method several times with success.
Regardless, my condolences to you and yours.

AlphaKoi said:
As insensitive as this sounds, I am a homicide detective. If he had a fingerprint lock on the phone, you could use his physical fingerprint from his hand prior to burial to unlock the phone. We have used this method several times with success.
Regardless, my condolences to you and yours.
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Yeah i was hoping to be able to do just this but since the family members are not very etch savvy, they power cycled the phone off and because of that the first unlock into the system has to be with the numeric password.
I rebuilt his laptop for him a couple months ago so i have the password to get into it. I'm hoping that he saved his email credentials in it. I know that after multiple attempts into android it allows you to change password through the email. This is the last thing i can think to do.
I reached out to OnePlus this morning and the woman who was answering my questions said she had no answers for me. she kept saying i could factory reset it through recovery mode. I already know that, i need the info on it. I'm thinking about reaching out to google also. Who knows they might help since the phone is in my name on my account.

dladz said:
Any luck with it?
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Not yet. I had an appointment to day with the funeral home to get access to his body so we could use his fingerprint but the phone was turned off since his last login.
It now required the numeric password before logging in. I have one shot left that i can think of. If i can gain access to his email i might be able to reset the password that way.
Fingers crossed. It was so hard yesterday going to the funeral home. We all need answers

Chipman417 said:
Not yet. I had an appointment to day with the funeral home to get access to his body so we could use his fingerprint but the phone was turned off since his last login.
It now required the numeric password before logging in. I have one shot left that i can think of. If i can gain access to his email i might be able to reset the password that way.
Fingers crossed. It was so hard yesterday going to the funeral home. We all need answers
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When your reset his email you'll be able to recieve s text message with a verification number

Google find my device . It can unlock it.

SjDU said:
Google find my device . It can unlock it.
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I saw that. unfortunately i don't have his email credentials for his Find My Device.
Also the sm card was removed my his wife before she gave it back to me unfortunately.
Although it does connect to my Wifi at home... I'm almost to the point of giving up.
I don't think we will ever know why he did what he did.
Thank you to everyone that jumped on this thread. I love this community.

I kinda don't buy the OP story but here is my take:
- Doesn't need a SIM to get/use Find my device working but does require Google account access which is recoverable easily.
- It's trivially easy to recover a Google account with the phone number of the deceased unless the person specifically removed those options and used for instance an authenticator app (of if you don't have the actual SIM or access to that phone number but that would be strange).
- If you cannot recover the account that way, you can still recover it using a legal path by providing the correct inheritance documents to Google (through a lawyer if required) which should pose no issue (again this should pose no issue and while it would take time, it would work).
- Whatsapp cloud backup (on Google drive) is enabled by default and if you're after that, it's probably gonna be trivially easy to restore said backups on any new phone by using the SIM card of the deceased. Unless the person specifically disabled this to prevent this.
You can most likely recover Whatsapp messages without even unlocking the phone. This whole process is actually not hard and requires no tech help and can be done through the legal processes.
Added to all this, I checked your history and saw that you requested help before unlocking a Pixel phone that magically came into your possession before. So it seems you have a pattern of coming into possession of locked phones that makes me very suspicious of your demand.
I'll report this thread and ask a mod to review it.

Sorry. I also have doubts any time I see a story here asking for help unlocking a phone. Always sounds suspicious, and furthermore where are the mods here? Aren't there rules that state no requests for help unlocking phones??
Here is the OPs other post:
" Junior Member11 postsThanks: 2
I have a 64gb Pixel 4 XL that i want to unlock and use on T-Mobile.
The phone was never actually on a Sprint account. It was never technically paid off by a consumer. Its also never been activated on the sprint network to my understanding. (Which are all required to have sprint send an unlock code)
It was given to me by a Sprint store manager when they had to clean out end of year inventory.
I'm trying to figure out if i can unlock it somehow without having to get sprint to send the unlock code.
I don't really want to go through the hassle of explaining to them how i got a hold of it when they look at it in the system.
Any help would be greatly appreciated"

@San Diego The moderators are here and monitoring the thread since it has been created. And these are the XDA Forum Rules to cross-check.
To ask for assistance is not against the rules, and if you read back in the thread quite a few legal possibilities have been given. They obviously didn't delivered the desired result. However, as soon as the discussion or advices deviate towards the obscure side or to paid unlock services this would be removed immediately.
If you check the thread, from which you quoted, you'll see that moderators were acive in it, too.
Stay safe and stay healthy!
Regards
Oswald Boelcke
Forum Moderator