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My S4 was stolen, I'm disappointed with Android Device Manager and Samsung FMM

My S4 was stolen, I'm disappointed with Android Device Manager and Samsung FInd My Mobile.
No way I'm sure why can't find my S4 neither service can contact it, I assume they (the thief) do a hard reset and switched SIM card, no way I can confirm the wipe commands I Sent where achieved.
So I now changed every password

AcostaJA said:
My S4 was stolen, I'm disappointed with Android Device Manager and Samsung FInd My Mobile.
No way I'm sure why can't find my S4 neither service can contact it, I assume they (the thief) do a hard reset and switched SIM card, no way I can confirm the wipe commands I Sent where achieved.
So I now changed every password
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is sad to hear.
Thats why no company uses lockdown software. Now you are forced to buy new handset from them. Its only their win.
Only security they work on is to force no software changes by the buyer but not the thief.

Good sales point for iOS if I block an iPhone from iTunes acc, no way it can be reactivated w/o my account consent.

AcostaJA said:
My S4 was stolen, I'm disappointed with Android Device Manager and Samsung FInd My Mobile.
No way I'm sure why can't find my S4 neither service can contact it, I assume they (the thief) do a hard reset and switched SIM card, no way I can confirm the wipe commands I Sent where achieved.
So I now changed every password
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
or maybe u didnt activate it ...

AcostaJA said:
My S4 was stolen, I'm disappointed with Android Device Manager and Samsung FInd My Mobile.
No way I'm sure why can't find my S4 neither service can contact it, I assume they (the thief) do a hard reset and switched SIM card, no way I can confirm the wipe commands I Sent where achieved.
So I now changed every password
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rwgister a complaint with the police. IMEI tracking is possible.
My friend was mugged and the crook was caught a couple of months later using IMEI tracking.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda app-developers app

This feature relies on WiFi/Mobile data. May be the thief turned off the data.

Not sure about that. You can reset the phone with a sms. So I guess it doesn't rely on mobile data alone.
I don't know which features the op enabled, so everything is unclear. Maybe the thief just turned off the phone and waits until the owner gives up.

Is there any software capable of installing itself into /system and working after system reset in hidden mode?
+ taking photos with front cam (only if "stolen") and uploading them somewhere?
+ store those photos in /system (so no gallery can show those photos)
Or better - be installed right into bootloader/(and|or)kernel?

Yuna said:
Is there any software capable of installing itself into /system and working after system reset in hidden mode?
+ taking photos with front cam (only if "stolen") and uploading them somewhere?
+ store those photos in /system (so no gallery can show those photos)
Or better - be installed right into bootloader/(and|or)kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, cerberus.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda app-developers app

have you used an app called Android Lost, i like this one

If I take your phone and immediately remove the SIM card and immediately flash / wipe a new rom - no way to track it by the Samsung software... (by the way - even it is very easy to change the IMEI ). So, the only option is to send the SMS wipe command before the phone is reflashed
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Easy to change imei? Please, make proof-of-concept.
Can i change my IMEI to 1234567890123 or even 666666777777 in my sgs4 (i9500)

Yuna said:
Easy to change imei? Please, make proof-of-concept.
Can i change my IMEI to 1234567890123 or even 666666777777 in my sgs4 (i9500)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With root and Terminal Emulator you can change IMEI but I'm not sure that giving proof is a good thing to do on XDA!
BTW sorry OP... I don't care about Samsung or Google tools because after several tests I also deduced that they are useless.

Primokorn said:
With root and Terminal Emulator you cand change IMEI but I'm not sure that giving proof is a good thing to do on XDA!
BTW sorry OP... I don't care about Samsung or Google tools because after several tests I also deduced that they are useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, ive seen mods take care of bussiness regarding this topic.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app

Primokorn said:
With root and Terminal Emulator you can change IMEI but I'm not sure that giving proof is a good thing to do on XDA!
BTW sorry OP... I don't care about Samsung or Google tools because after several tests I also deduced that they are useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Device manager. Phone lost etc.
These are tools only for nsa tracking not for us to track.

+1 for Cerberus. This is a must have app for all Android owners
p.s. OP sorry to hear about your loss

gdonanthony said:
or maybe u didnt activate it ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Point is if you do a hard reset everything gets wiped and the thief has a brand new phone to use. The user who lost it cant find it by imei via samsung.
I also wonder why we are not able to set a password in recovery mode (like a bios for pc would allow us).

I both registered , activated and tested Google ADM and Samsung FMM , I hoped both being similar to Apple's Activation Lock, but isn't its very easy for thieves to overcome just doing a hard reset thru boot loader.
Also the Imei at police I was informed that mafias have IMEI repair tools that in fact are service tools for repair centers but capables to change the Imei number, so is very possible my S4 now lies on a new box with new accessories and new imei and is being sell as an new s4 w/o complaints neither evidence was stolen.
Big issue here

Samsung's introducing consumer-centric features for Knox with the N3. It includes the abilitiy to prevent wiping the device. You can also hide your porn in a seperate secure container that only the phone owner has access to. The SGS4 h/w as it relates to Knox should be the same so hopefully the 4.3 update will push the functionality to the SGS4.
From the N3 press release...
The new GALAXY Note 3 comes with enhanced privacy and security protection provided by Samsung KNOX. Users can activate Samsung KNOX with ease which allows them to run and store security- sensitive applications and data inside a protected execution environment called “container.” The security inside the container is strengthened by system-level protection of Samsung KNOX against malware and phishing attacks as well as hacking attempts on physical devices when devices are stolen or lost. For instance, important personal pictures or video can be stored in the container with no worries for data leakage due to hacking. In addition, users may choose to store enterprise applications and data such as corporate email, contacts and calendar and allow the IT department to manage the container through EAS (Exchange ActiveSync Server). These features make the GALAXY Note 3 an ideal device for BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device to work)
Furthermore, the GALAXY Note 3 is equipped with an improved Find My Mobile feature that allows users to disable the phone when it is stolen or lost. With the enhanced user authentication, the technology prevents stolen mobile phones from being reset to factory settings, and allows users to remotely track or erase the data from their lost or stolen mobile phones.​

Any news on this regarding the S4? Does the new 4.3 firmware prevent hard-reseting the phone?

FRP bypass Pixel w/ USB Debugging OFF

Hey guys, new here, sorry can't post in recoveries section.
I recently bought a Pixel off ebay and the guy that sold it to me bought it off Gumtree. The original seller left all his stuff on it and the guy i bought it off couldn't even access the phone because it had a passcode lock on it. He tried contacting the owner but he never responded (yayyy).
Then there's me, because I'm smart and was like I CAN JUST FACTORY RESET IT, which kicked in the FRP. Unfortunately Google has had fun developing this phone to be super secure and although I no longer have a passcode to worry about, I can't bypass the FRP and I don't know the original owner's account details.
Here's some details:
USB Debugging is OFF
Only option I have on ADB is sideload
Bootloader is LOCKED
Phone is NOT ROOTED
Currently running 7.1.1
Phone is CARRIER unlocked (I can receive calls and use my data when trying to log into my gmail, which doesnt work because I have to use original account).
Is there any solution to bypass this? Much appreciated. I tried to go through google because I bought the phone off ebay and so the FRP prevents them as I didn't buy it directly off google. Am trying to track down the original owners details via my ebay seller to hopefully force the owner to comply. Any way I can get around this would be amazing.

josiedalek said:
Hey guys, new here, sorry can't post in recoveries section.
I recently bought a Pixel off ebay and the guy that sold it to me bought it off Gumtree. The original seller left all his stuff on it and the guy i bought it off couldn't even access the phone because it had a passcode lock on it. He tried contacting the owner but he never responded (yayyy).
Then there's me, because I'm smart and was like I CAN JUST FACTORY RESET IT, which kicked in the FRP. Unfortunately Google has had fun developing this phone to be super secure and although I no longer have a passcode to worry about, I can't bypass the FRP and I don't know the original owner's account details.
Here's some details:
USB Debugging is OFF
Only option I have on ADB is sideload
Bootloader is LOCKED
Phone is NOT ROOTED
Currently running 7.1.1
Phone is CARRIER unlocked (I can receive calls and use my data when trying to log into my gmail, which doesnt work because I have to use original account).
Is there any solution to bypass this? Much appreciated. I tried to go through google because I bought the phone off ebay and so the FRP prevents them as I didn't buy it directly off google. Am trying to track down the original owners details via my ebay seller to hopefully force the owner to comply. Any way I can get around this would be amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I understand your situation correctly, you have e a rough road ahead of you. The Google kill switch can only be disabled by the legitimate Google account holder, before the phone was reset.

If this was easily unlocked, it wouldn't be an option worthwhile. Basically, if you get it unlocked then Google has wasted their time on developing that feature.
I don't think you'll be getting into that phone and honestly, I hope you don't because then that means mine is less likely to be stolen since it is worthless without my credentials

For years, we've all learned to disable Find My iPhone before we sell an IOS device. Similarly, we have to deactivate Google's kill switch prior to factory reset a Marshmallow or Nougat device. It's really a good anti-theft implementation by Google. It's too bad that many sellers, for whatever reason, don't do it before selling.

I can enter the full OS, but can not enable ADB nor add a new account. Any insight?

Bypass tut not tested on Android 7 but works on marshmallow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OldC6kzuYk
http://rootjunkysdl.com/files/Apps/FRP/com.rootjunky.frpbypass-1.0.apk

*$M3RT$* said:
Bypass tut not tested on Android 7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OldC6kzuYk
http://rootjunkysdl.com/files/Apps/FRP/com.rootjunky.frpbypass-1.0.apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Scary, but the logic makes perfect sense. I can see it being very useful for honest people.

josiedalek said:
Hey guys, new here, sorry can't post in recoveries section.
I recently bought a Pixel off ebay and the guy that sold it to me bought it off Gumtree. The original seller left all his stuff on it and the guy i bought it off couldn't even access the phone because it had a passcode lock on it. He tried contacting the owner but he never responded (yayyy).
Then there's me, because I'm smart and was like I CAN JUST FACTORY RESET IT, which kicked in the FRP. Unfortunately Google has had fun developing this phone to be super secure and although I no longer have a passcode to worry about, I can't bypass the FRP and I don't know the original owner's account details.
Here's some details:
USB Debugging is OFF
Only option I have on ADB is sideload
Bootloader is LOCKED
Phone is NOT ROOTED
Currently running 7.1.1
Phone is CARRIER unlocked (I can receive calls and use my data when trying to log into my gmail, which doesnt work because I have to use original account).
Is there any solution to bypass this? Much appreciated. I tried to go through google because I bought the phone off ebay and so the FRP prevents them as I didn't buy it directly off google. Am trying to track down the original owners details via my ebay seller to hopefully force the owner to comply. Any way I can get around this would be amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came up with a way to remove FRP for this device. I currently have the only video up on youtube so it should be easy to find. I cant post links yet so just search google or youtube for "google pixel frp bypass" and it will come up. It involves the use of a USB-C OTG adapter and the dirtycow exploit. It actually works for a truly universal frp bypass for every device vulnerable to the device. The entire process is done on a bootloader locked, usb debugging off, no internet connection and no other device (besides the usb). Enjoy, it took me weeks to figure it out lol.

trjv said:
I came up with a way to remove FRP for this device. I currently have the only video up on youtube so it should be easy to find. I cant post links yet so just search google or youtube for "google pixel frp bypass" and it will come up. It involves the use of a USB-C OTG adapter and the dirtycow exploit. It actually works for a truly universal frp bypass for every device vulnerable to the device. The entire process is done on a bootloader locked, usb debugging off, no internet connection and no other device (besides the usb). Enjoy, it took me weeks to figure it out lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious to see if the OP will have luck with this

magnumtripod said:
I'm curious to see if the OP will have luck with this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I posted this in the dirtycow forums section but I figure it has relevance here as well. Sorry if this is considered double posting.
This method wont help you to root the device, just to bypass FRP. Since dirtycow doesn't persist after a reboot (I think) it wont help as far as gaining root. However it will help you to modify files on the device. I also realized that it only has the power to overwrite files that the current user has read access to, despite whether the filesystem is mounted read-only. With this in mind I was looking over my Nexus 6P and checking to see which files had read access as user and realized that GoogleLoginService.apk and GoogleLoginService.odex both fall under this category. The files are located at /system/priv-app/GoogleLoginService and associate with Google Account Manager when installed as a system app. When the data is corrupted you can install Google Account Manager as a user app, which changes the location and file names to /data/app/com.google.gsf.login-1/base.apk and base.odex. If you corrupt these files at this point then try to disable and uninstall and select replace with the factory version it wont have anything to "replace with the factory version" and tell you that uninstall failed. Once this happens you can reinstall GoogleAccountManager.apk which will again install as a user app, which will then let you perform a full successful uninstall of Google Account Manager. At this point you have full control to be able to downgrade to a previous version of Google Account Manager without it telling you that "data is corrupted" and from there perform the web sign in activity. I've tested on multiple devices and multiple versions and this works on every single device on every version of Android including the latest 7.1.1 as long as it is not on the most recent December 5 2016 security patch since dirtycow was removed with those updates.

trjv said:
I posted this in the dirtycow forums section but I figure it has relevance here as well. Sorry if this is considered double posting.
This method wont help you to root the device, just to bypass FRP. Since dirtycow doesn't persist after a reboot (I think) it wont help as far as gaining root. However it will help you to modify files on the device. I also realized that it only has the power to overwrite files that the current user has read access to, despite whether the filesystem is mounted read-only. With this in mind I was looking over my Nexus 6P and checking to see which files had read access as user and realized that GoogleLoginService.apk and GoogleLoginService.odex both fall under this category. The files are located at /system/priv-app/GoogleLoginService and associate with Google Account Manager when installed as a system app. When the data is corrupted you can install Google Account Manager as a user app, which changes the location and file names to /data/app/com.google.gsf.login-1/base.apk and base.odex. If you corrupt these files at this point then try to disable and uninstall and select replace with the factory version it wont have anything to "replace with the factory version" and tell you that uninstall failed. Once this happens you can reinstall GoogleAccountManager.apk which will again install as a user app, which will then let you perform a full successful uninstall of Google Account Manager. At this point you have full control to be able to downgrade to a previous version of Google Account Manager without it telling you that "data is corrupted" and from there perform the web sign in activity. I've tested on multiple devices and multiple versions and this works on every single device on every version of Android including the latest 7.1.1 as long as it is not on the most recent December 5 2016 security patch since dirtycow was removed with those updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah so I'm Zhythe on YouTube I was actually already talking to you on there before I checked this thread. I have Dec 5 security patch is there anything you can do to get around it that doesn't involve dirtycow? :/

josiedalek said:
Yeah so I'm Zhythe on YouTube I was actually already talking to you on there before I checked this thread. I have Dec 5 security patch is there anything you can do to get around it that doesn't involve dirtycow? :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh hey whats up! nice to see you here as well im still trying to fix my pixel since it bricked when trying to update it haha. Been a little distracted though this morning since phonlab hase stolen my method and now he and rootjunky are passing it off as if they found it first without giving me credit for it and charging to teach the method. serious backstabbing right there. but once i get this pixel up and running again i'll find a method and host it from my website so no copycats rip me off.

trjv said:
oh hey whats up! nice to see you here as well im still trying to fix my pixel since it bricked when trying to update it haha. Been a little distracted though this morning since phonlab hase stolen my method and now he and rootjunky are passing it off as if they found it first without giving me credit for it and charging to teach the method. serious backstabbing right there. but once i get this pixel up and running again i'll find a method and host it from my website so no copycats rip me off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey! Yeah that's such a dog move by both of them seriously... not cool. No worries I'll keep an eye on your website for updates Best of luck!

Check this out!!

See what I mean? Haha idk why I ever wanted to be a part of this place anyways lol. Nothin but disrespect since the moment I posted the method.

trjv said:
See what I mean? Haha idk why I ever wanted to be a part of this place anyways lol. Nothin but disrespect since the moment I posted the method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I totally ignored it :/ dw you're so much better and obviously smarter cause you did it before them

NBreunig3 said:
Check this out!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi @NBreunig3!
trjv said:
See what I mean? Haha idk why I ever wanted to be a part of this place anyways lol. Nothin but disrespect since the moment I posted the method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could report that YouTube video and show/link to your source of where you first posted the method. Get them to take them down!

Frp google pixel
can be reseted with XTC2CLIP if u have unlocked bootloader i tested on my device.

warrior26ro said:
can be reseted with XTC2CLIP if u have unlocked bootloader i tested on my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@warrior26ro I stated clearly the bootloader was locked. XTC2CLIP is also for HTCs. Please don't post unless you've read the question properly.

Technically the Google Pixel is an HTC device since they are the manufacturers of them. Not that that helps the situation any more or less to know just figured I'd mention it lol. You can even issue some proprietary HTC fastboot commands on Pixel devices, but I haven't gotten them to do anything special from using them. Commands such as fastboot oem rebootRUU makes the phone reboot but not into anything special that I've noticed, just reboots the phone. I'm sure there are others but that one in particular is definitely HTC only lol.
On a side note I'm still diligently working on a method for the newer devices every day. It's only a matter of time before I get it lol. While on the subject at least here's a couple thoughts if anybody has any insight...
I've been looking at other binary commands to gain a foothold of, sort of like the whole idea behind run-as that the dirtycow peeps use. After installing Nethunter on my 6P I noticed that there is another command with potential privilege abuse called "procmem". It doesn't need superuser privileges to use nor does it only respond to ROOT or SHELL users, so its basically universally allowed from "untrusted app" users (i.e. termux, terminal emulator, material terminal, etc.). The only thing is that I'm pretty sure that command is only installed with a proper busybox installation, and further it only has the proper setuid bit needed + standard user permissions (that I've seen) when installed into /system/xbin. So basically my idea is to leverage a modified procmem binary to gain (insert something here) that might lead to (insert something else here) lol. Not really a whole plan but I figure if I can find a way to get procmem into /system/xbin on a non-rooted device then at least I have something to work with lol. Otherwise I've also been looking into a way to become SHELL user without using "adb shell". I know that with the Moto 360 there was some fancy adb command to enable native adb support but I can't seem to remember how to go about it. So yeah, thats all I've got so far lol.

Frp bypass Samsung g530t

how?? When talkback comes on the L pattern don't work. I need to frp bypass it without PC

On phone delete your Google account.

Deleted member 1890170 said:
On phone delete your Google account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BS... that doesn't work. He's locked out for 1... 2 there is no bypass for this old ass phone anymore. Once Google updated their software (which they constantly do) it was over... after that none of these kiddie bypass methods are going to work. You people are going to have to do better than this. You've got to do better than this. This is supposed to be XDA. Yet there are never any stable, clever solutions o a problem. Most people here are just using the wack-a-mole method... just keep hammering it with the same idea over and over, expecting a different result than failure... by definition insanity.
When is someone going to code a stable, uniform bypass that works on every Samsung g530t (aka Grand Prime)?
This is why I always take issue with Android. As soon as a new phone comes out everyone forgets about the previous version and just dumps it, and starts working on the newer phones without finishing the work on the previous versions. Then unlike iPhones there are like a trillion different versions of Android phones. Variety is great for the market but you can't develop great software tools that will work for every Android phone. Each Android phone is just to different from the next.

Factory Reset Protection - Any way to remove from Samsung?

Hello!
I have Samsung Galaxy A03s. I did a factory reset a few days ago and I didn't remember my password. I also have no clue what is the google account Im signed with.
I tried numerous different ways, I watched multiple youtube videos - none of them worked.
Do you have any suggestion what I could do?? And also are there any free apps I can use???
I tried downloading dr fone but I need to pay in order to do anything with the app.

What free tutorials you can find on the internet.
Samsung can unlock it with proof of purchase too I believe.
Next time delete Google and Samsung accounts from device before you do the reset and do the reset from settings vs boot menu to avoid this from happening...

I downloaded SamFirm tool but I have no idea how to use it.
If anyone knows this tool, could you please tell me what Im supposed to do in order to unlock my phone?

Samfirm is as the name suggest a tool to download Samsung firmware for mobiles - this isn't of any use. MediaTek devices can be accessed low level so one could just erase FRP partition (if Samsung followed the rules)
But there is risk bricking your device, therefore I recommend youtube videos like this - it's much more safe to use.

v.here said:
Hello!
I have Samsung Galaxy A03s. I did a factory reset a few days ago and I didn't remember my password. I also have no clue what is the google account Im signed with.
I tried numerous different ways, I watched multiple youtube videos - none of them worked.
Do you have any suggestion what I could do?? And also are there any free apps I can use???
I tried downloading dr fone but I need to pay in order to do anything with the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are not looking for a way to remove FRP, you should be looking for a way to "bypass" FRP on your specific model number.
Try doing a Google search for:
"Bypass FRP (your specific model number)"
Also, the best to avoid this in the future is to go to your Google settings and disable the "Find My Device" feature and remove the Google account before you factory reset the device. Then it will not trigger FRP lock when you do the reset.

[Samfw FRP Tool URL]

ZModder said:
https://samfw.com/blog/samfw-frp-tool-1-0-remove-samsung-frp-one-click
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, there are many ways to bypass FRP lock. This is just one of many tools and methods.
But, with what I posted previously, neither removing or bypassing FRP are necessary. It is better to understand how Google and android work than it is to blindly walk into a problem that requires a tool to fix. It is also a very bad idea to not remember Google login email and password, it's as simple as keeping that info somewhere other than the device.
I find it hard to believe or understand how no one ever thinks ahead or "looks where they are going" when they do things without first understanding the details or potential consequences of actions when tinkering with technology that they don't truly understand. To give an example to put things into scope, if people handled guns as carelessly as they do their phones, just imagine.....
Not that phones present the same dangers, just making a point.

Zillion said:
https://samfw.com/blog/samfw-frp-tool-1-0-remove-samsung-frp-one-click
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi it's been a long time since I've been here on this site I have the same thing I've got that software installed and I get past the emergency call and it says cannot access ABB can you give me any pointers I believe I can get it I'm still very much a green horn novice

Droidriven said:
Yeah, there are many ways to bypass FRP lock. This is just one of many tools and methods.
But, with what I posted previously, neither removing or bypassing FRP are necessary. It is better to understand how Google and android work than it is to blindly walk into a problem that requires a tool to fix. It is also a very bad idea to not remember Google login email and password, it's as simple as keeping that info somewhere other than the device.
I find it hard to believe or understand how no one ever thinks ahead or "looks where they are going" when they do things without first understanding the details or potential consequences of actions when tinkering with technology that they don't truly understand. To give an example to put things into scope, if people handled guns as carelessly as they do their phones, just image......
Not that phones present the same dangers, just making a point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had it going pretty decent hadn't verified my Google account and it didn't go to the code page so I tried to software that you talked about earlier it seems to go through but it gets a failed to load the ADB any advice is greatly appreciated i bought the phone fulfilled my contract was able to get it unlocked.. was good to get to a friend of mine because I bought another phone I didn't know nothing about removing the Google account so the hard reset came up this fpr and I'm not getting nowhere past that it's got something to do with ADB I'm finally searching up to two steps or someone away from the city I just need some advice thanks..

Droidriven said:
Yeah, there are many ways to bypass FRP lock. This is just one of many tools and methods.
But, with what I posted previously, neither removing or bypassing FRP are necessary. It is better to understand how Google and android work than it is to blindly walk into a problem that requires a tool to fix. It is also a very bad idea to not remember Google login email and password, it's as simple as keeping that info somewhere other than the device.
I find it hard to believe or understand how no one ever thinks ahead or "looks where they are going" when they do things without first understanding the details or potential consequences of actions when tinkering with technology that they don't truly understand. To give an example to put things into scope, if people handled guns as carelessly as they do their phones, just image......
Not that phones present the same dangers, just making a point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^truth^ Your Google password should be long, unique and carved in granite, twice. Don't trust your memory for this... it should look like a MS installation password which is a good model to emulate.

How to know if Android phone was flashed?

After paying to have my phone flashed (Honor 20e), how do I know if the person really did the agreed job or simply did a hard reset?

Flashed with what? Why?

With stock ROM, to eliminate spyware.

by risking more spyware ignoring that stock always has spyware?
my guy, flash it your self with an aftermarket OS like GrapheneOS, /e/OS or OmniROM.
you don't avoid espionage by walzing into the spymaster's den!

Ok… factory resetting would also remove bad software…

traman124 said:
Ok… factory resetting would also remove bad software…
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LMAO no, Android (from google or honor or any other phone maker) comes with "bad software", a factory reset won't do anything!
again, get /e/OS or grapheneOS or OmniROM for your phone and flash it your self! get rid of anything that comes from Honor/Google like GMSCore that can be replaced by MicroGapps
though I very much congratulate you on wanting to escape the goolag! now get to hacking!

I think he was referring to bad software that he installed and wanted to clean wipe his phone.... I don't think he was trying to degoogle...
If you were, Lineage OS or /e/OS with microG and Aurora let's you get apps without Google services
@burbank_ what do you mean by bad software?

Yep, I meant spyware that the perpetrator installed on my phone, allowing them to monitor my activity, listen to my calls, and possibly even control my phone.
So yes, I want to clean wipe, and I don't think I can be sure to have removed the spyware with just a hard reset..?

There's no way I know of to check, but a factory reset would remove all the apps from the user partitions (including the spyware).
I looked for stock firmware for the 20e everywhere and found nothing (except a sketchy download link that downloaded some random firmware for the Honor 8X) so your person probably cheated you (unless he works for huawei/honor and has access to some files that the Internet does not).
A factory and cache reset from Android Recovery (press Power + Volume Up and select factory reset, cache reset, reboot in order) would remove spyware for the most part.....

Ok, thank you (and qwerty too)!
I'll probably install a custom ROM myself then, just to be sure. Can you recommend what to install, I'm interested in something with all the Android functionality I've gotten used to...?

It's a huawei... You can't unlock the bootloader

traman124 said:
It's a huawei... You can't unlock the bootloader
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Click to collapse
maybe only through the phone, I did a quick search and allegedly huawei maybe would allow you to unlock it, but as I suspected there is always a BROM exploit to be had: https://www.xda-developers.com/huawei-honor-bootloader-unlock-potatonv/
though the link is a bit dated, I do believe potatonv should support the Kirin 710F SoC
also, if you want to remove spyware, you remove anything that contains data collection I.E. google services and whatever the CCP mandates their OEMs install

Thnx, I'll look into it. What about other custom ROMs you've mentioned, though, would there be difficulties in flashing it with one of them?
Also, I've another question. I contacted another mobile repair service and they've told me they have special access to stock ROMs through "programmers they hire", so they can install a stock ROM for my Honor 20e. Is this possible/ unlikely/ trying to cheat me?

well I don't know about the other ROMs, ever since AOSP introduced Projet Trebble the promise was of Generic System Images, but they don't exactly exist because just like with UEFI, the OEMs implementation is broken so you still have to look for an aftermarket OS that is speciffically tailored for your device
that repair shop are likely trying to scam the heck out of you or actully know what they are doing and have a fresh image they pulled from a brand new phone and that "programmers they hire" thing that sets off alarms in my head is likely just them explaining it as simple as possible

burbank_ said:
After paying to have my phone flashed (Honor 20e), how do I know if the person really did the agreed job or simply did a hard reset?
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Yes, it seems there is a way to find out about the last flashing date - provided it was followed by a Google account initialization:
Go to the Google Dashboard, login with your Google account.
Scroll to the section labeled "Android" and expand it (by clicking its title / the LGM [little green man])
Check for the device in question
Associated, you will find a date of registry. That doesn't reflect the first time a device was added, but the last time the Google account was activated on the device. So if you activate your Google account following a Factory-reset, this field is updated and thus reflects this point-in-time.
Additionally, if phone's Android is rooted, you always can check a directory's creation time below /data/data.

burbank_ said:
After paying to have my phone flashed (Honor 20e), how do I know if the person really did the agreed job or simply did a hard reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why pay for something you can do?

tutibreaker said:
why pay for something you can do?
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Click to collapse
because you dont want to