(Solved) Cannot Sign Into Older, Factory-reset Device: "Unable to sign in due to unknown error..." - General Questions and Answers

[Edit: Just a quick note to let folks know, if there was anyone who cared at all, that this issue has resolved itself. I have no real understanding why, but I did a few more "Factory Resets", both with "Wipe Userdata and Personalizations" and with just "Wipe Userdata". Whatever I did just seemed to work as my wife was able to sign in afterwards. When she did I removed her account from the phone, did the multi-wipe procedure again and was able to sign in as myself. That was the goal.
Thanks very much, again, to the folks who commented on my question!]
Hey All,
I have an older device, a Moto X Pure, that I've done the factory reset/wipe all data thing via the stock Recovery. The device is on the latest update that Moto provided 3 (or is it now 4) years ago now, Android 7.1. Other than an unlocked bootloader, everything else is on the device is stock and unrooted, although it does not have a SIM card installed in it at this time. In fact, the entire reason that I'm trying to initialize it is to test a number of different mobile service providers to find the best provider for my, largely rural, common travel pathways.
However, once I enter my wifi info successfully and try to sign into this device with my Google ID/password, I cannot do it. Instead I get an error message that starts with the text that's in quotes in the post subject. The message continues with "try another account, or wait 24 hours and try again." Now, I've done the 24-hour wait thing several times, but the result is the same.
The phone was my wife's daily driver until I replaced it a couple of months ago. I've had her try to sign into it as well, but she can't do it either with the identical result.
So I'm at my wit's end. Has anyone in this sphere ever encountered this error? Were you able to overcome it? Can any other kind soul here suggest a way to circumvent this? I mean one that doesn't involve sledge hammers and concrete pads?
Thanks!
cheers,
john

My guess is problems like reported could be related to Factory Reset Protection, which happens when the previous owner of a device didn't properly remove his/her Google account from phone prior to doing a factory reset.

jwoegerbauer said:
My guess is problems like reported could be related to Factory Reset Protection, which happens when the previous owner of a device didn't properly remove his/her Google account from phone prior to doing a factory reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If his wife did a factory reset when she first got it then that's not the case.
OP, did she?
jwoegerbauer, how is the reset password handled? If you originally sign in to the device with one password but then change your Google account password, does the device authorization automatically update too?
Or do you use the original password?
Any failsafe to prevent the device owner from getting permanently locked out?
That whole embedded subsystem gives me a headache.

Thanks to both of you for the feedback on this!
jwoegerbauer said:
My guess is problems like reported could be related to Factory Reset Protection, which happens when the previous owner of a device didn't properly remove his/her Google account from phone prior to doing a factory reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, yeah, that definitely happened. By that I mean that the previous owner did not properly remove their account prior to my doing the factory reset.
Now the question is: Is there any way for me to recover from this situation? I have the latest factory ROM for this device (from three or four years ago). Can I just flash that over what's on there? Or have I tripped some kind of circuit breaker and I'm just hosed?
blackhawk said:
If his wife did a factory reset when she first got it then that's not the case.
OP, did she?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, and we bought it on Swappa about six months after it came out, with an unlocked bootloader no less, so we just assumed that the seller did a reset before transferring it to us, but we don't know that definitively.
blackhawk said:
jwoegerbauer, how is the reset password handled? If you originally sign in to the device with one password but then change your Google account password, does the device authorization automatically update too?
Or do you use the original password?
Any failsafe to prevent the device owner from getting permanently locked out?
That whole embedded subsystem gives me a headache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, same questions now that blackhawk mentions them. (Since I didn't think to ask such good ones myself!)
Thanks again to both of you for your help!
cheers,
john

Related

[Q] Xoom PW issue

I have a Xoom 10.1 that was connected to a google account that got hacked and google canceled. When they canceled it and I went back to my xoom it was locked and the PW does not work, and google will not give it to me. This is one of the first devices where the fact restore option was missing and they were warrantying out but that time has now expired. Anything I can do or is this a gonner? Sorry searched first 50 pages before posting, hope this isnt a common question
jlromines said:
I have a Xoom 10.1 that was connected to a google account that got hacked and google canceled. When they canceled it and I went back to my xoom it was locked and the PW does not work, and google will not give it to me. This is one of the first devices where the fact restore option was missing and they were warrantying out but that time has now expired. Anything I can do or is this a gonner? Sorry searched first 50 pages before posting, hope this isnt a common question
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You probably have to factory reset it using the external keys. Here's a linky on how to do it: (https)://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/63758 Even though you will lose all data on your tablet, the password lock will be gone.
As a side note, if you do reset your tablet, consider unlocking the bootloader and rooting it as well. Rooting unlocks the full potential of your device. This includes overclocking and access to various tweaks/mods. You could also backup your data using a recovery system so if you happen to forget a new password you set, you can simply restore the backup and everything returns to the state before you backuped your data (Including the password).
I only have NvFlash-RSD-Fastboot, no Android Recovery. Some of the research I have done leads me to believe that this recovery was left out on a select few of these devices and I wonder if thats my issue
http://www.xoomforums.com/forum/mot...all-i-get-nvflash-rsd-fastboot-scrolls-3.html
Its finished....Worked great per these instructions that of course, i found after posting. Thanks a bunch for the reply though

Security of ios vs android , an important doubt.

Can the data in an iphone can be erased like android mobile by going to recovery mode by pressing 2/3 buttons of mobiles . If not then what happens ?
What? If you want to know about resetting an iPhone, ask in an iPhone forum?
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
I don't want to reset an iPhone, I''m just asking a security case. Let's imagine our android being stolen, then the thief can certainly press the power and volume key and can easily wipe data and factory reset the mobile phone by just simply going to recovery. So it'll be impossible for us to find the phone.
But I'm asking in case of an iPhone is this same case possible? Can a thief just simply wipe the data and reset the mobile by pressing some keys and without unlocking the mobile ?
Gotcha. I haven't used an iPhone in years, so don't know.
I still think it's weird to ask an iPhone reset question in an Android forum though. You would probably get your answer in a minute if you just ask in an apple forum...
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Isn't the whole point of factory reset protection on android that it renders the device useless to someone who does this? Sure, it won't stop them actually resetting it, so you won't be able to track it afterwards, but the idea is that the thieves will learn that it's a waste of time.
Apple have something to prevent you just wiping a phone and making it yours, but I can't remember the details (i.e. whether it prevents the reset or, like the Google version, prevents you from using it afterwards).
Sent from my Pixel 2 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
I concur with @Large Hadron
On an iPhone, someone could enter the password incorrectly several times and the device would be wiped. It would not be usable, but it would be wiped. They could also connect the iPhone to a computer / mac with itunes and flash a factory image from there. Again, the device would be useless to them, but you wouldn't be able to recover your device from the thief.
Comparing an iPhone to a Pixel 1 or 2, both device could easily have the data wiped from the device. To that effect, the data is secure on both devices, which is by far the most important part. Recovering your lost / stolen device is an entirely different conversation. The benefit of an iPhone when lost / stolen is the device is a brick without the previous user's icloud email and password. Once it boots up, it asks for this before you can setup the phone. There is no way around this (without Apple's intervention). On a Pixel 1 or 2, the device could be wiped, but I believe the thief could then use the phone as their own. There is nothing that would "brick" the phone after a full data wipe.
If you are worried about your data, either phone is good (don't unlock bootloader and don't oem unlock). If you are worried about the hardware, you are responsible for that.
dbrohrer said:
I concur with @Large Hadron
On an iPhone, someone could enter the password incorrectly several times and the device would be wiped. It would not be usable, but it would be wiped. They could also connect the iPhone to a computer / mac with itunes and flash a factory image from there. Again, the device would be useless to them, but you wouldn't be able to recover your device from the thief.
Comparing an iPhone to a Pixel 1 or 2, both device could easily have the data wiped from the device. To that effect, the data is secure on both devices, which is by far the most important part. Recovering your lost / stolen device is an entirely different conversation. The benefit of an iPhone when lost / stolen is the device is a brick without the previous user's icloud email and password. Once it boots up, it asks for this before you can setup the phone. There is no way around this (without Apple's intervention). On a Pixel 1 or 2, the device could be wiped, but I believe the thief could then use the phone as their own. There is nothing that would "brick" the phone after a full data wipe.
If you are worried about your data, either phone is good (don't unlock bootloader and don't oem unlock). If you are worried about the hardware, you are responsible for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An Android phone works exactly the same way. If you wipe it from recovery, FRP (factory reset protection) kicks in, Once that happens, you are required to log on to the last account that the phone was used on (just like Apple). If you don't know the previous account and or password, there's no way you can use the phone.
You can factory reset from settings without triggering FRP though. Doing so removes all accounts from the phone and anybody can then use it. It's assumed since you are in settings, you've already logged on when you last booted the phone. A thief wouldn't be able to get into settings to reset it as he or she wouldn't know the password to unlock the phone.
robocuff said:
An Android phone works exactly the same way. If you wipe it from recovery, FRP (factory reset protection) kicks in, Once that happens, you are required to log on to the last account that the phone was used on (just like Apple). If you don't know the previous account and or password, there's no way you can use the phone.
You can factory reset from settings without triggering FRP though. Doing so removes all accounts from the phone and anybody can then use it. It's assumed since you are in settings, you've already logged on when you last booted the phone. A thief wouldn't be able to get into settings to reset it as he or she wouldn't know the password to unlock the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. I didn't know that. Thanks for that info
dbrohrer said:
Cool. I didn't know that. Thanks for that info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And if you really want to perfectly protect all your encrypted files, never open the bootloader. Because there's no way to flash something in the phone if the bootloader is closed. And there's no way to Open the bootloader without wiping all your personal data in the process.
Now if you decide to open the bootloader, files are still encrypted, so it's not a big deal.
Regarding the annulment of an Android device, when it is stealed: That happens with any modern Android phone. Basically, Google bans the phone from their cloud servers. A phone without google account is like an iPhone without Apple/iCloud accounts, almost useless.
P.S.: an open bootloader in Android is like a Jailbreak in iOS, but totally OFFICIAL and supported by Google/Android. You don't lose any functionality like with Jailbreak (if that thing still exist today...).
From my point of view, Google should ask PIN before accessing Fastboot mode and Recovery mode. but this is just to prevent a bad joke from a friend or something like that. (Not when your phone is lost forever, you just want to ban that device from Google servers so can't be used again).
robocuff said:
An Android phone works exactly the same way. If you wipe it from recovery, FRP (factory reset protection) kicks in, Once that happens, you are required to log on to the last account that the phone was used on (just like Apple). If you don't know the previous account and or password, there's no way you can use the phone.
You can factory reset from settings without triggering FRP though. Doing so removes all accounts from the phone and anybody can then use it. It's assumed since you are in settings, you've already logged on when you last booted the phone. A thief wouldn't be able to get into settings to reset it as he or she wouldn't know the password to unlock the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure about that? I believe that factory reset still triggers FRP thus the black market trade in bypassing that check on lost and stolen devices.

I got trolled by FRP

My girlfriend wanted to sell her mother's old S7 and I was tasked with wiping/resetting it. When the phone asked me for the password to the Google account, I thought "Don't try to trick a trickster, puny phone!" went straight into recovery mode and factory reset. Worked like a charm, I could create a new account, use playstore, phone ready to sell. So I went into recovery again, factory reset again and - fast forward a few days - the phone was sold and sent back, because after the 2nd reset FRP triggered and the buyer could not use it.
Main problem: The new account I created. I remember only [email protected] and the password.
Since it asked for _a_ previous owners login, I already tried gf's mother's, but that won't work.
So, is there a way to find out the test account? Otherwise, I found this method by tpierce89 to bypass FRP, but I guess at least I'd need the correct firmware to reflash, it says G930FXXS8ETC6.
Any ideas?
TehPels said:
My girlfriend wanted to sell her mother's old S7 and I was tasked with wiping/resetting it. When the phone asked me for the password to the Google account, I thought "Don't try to trick a trickster, puny phone!" went straight into recovery mode and factory reset. Worked like a charm, I could create a new account, use playstore, phone ready to sell. So I went into recovery again, factory reset again and - fast forward a few days - the phone was sold and sent back, because after the 2nd reset FRP triggered and the buyer could not use it.
Main problem: The new account I created. I remember only [email protected] and the password.
Since it asked for _a_ previous owners login, I already tried gf's mother's, but that won't work.
So, is there a way to find out the test account? Otherwise, I found this method by tpierce89 to bypass FRP, but I guess at least I'd need the correct firmware to reflash, it says G930FXXS8ETC6.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the test account it's asking for, surely you can guess what it is? test account? test phone? test something?
Always sign out and remove the google account before any modification.
I'd be suprised if the method you've linked still works but you can try.
I tried all combinations I could think of. The thing is, I put in test and something as name and used the first gmail suggested.
Always sign out and remove the google account before any modification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will do in the future, but since I don't do these things regularly anymore, I wonder what they think of until the next time.
What puzzles me is, why could I log in after the first reset, didn't put in the password then and FRP didn't trip.
Well, it looks like we have to pay for unlocking, hope it won't be more than the price we took for the phone.
TehPels said:
I tried all combinations I could think of. The thing is, I put in test and something as name and used the first gmail suggested.
Will do in the future, but since I don't do these things regularly anymore, I wonder what they think of until the next time.
What puzzles me is, why could I log in after the first reset, didn't put in the password then and FRP didn't trip.
Well, it looks like we have to pay for unlocking, hope it won't be more than the price we took for the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on the firmware you had, some allow x amounts of factory resets before FRP kicks in. Its usually the network branded firmware which allows this.
AFAIK it was unbranded straight from amazon.de
TehPels said:
AFAIK it was unbranded straight from amazon.de
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well my advice is to turn off FRP lock, it's a nuisance. It's not like a theif is going to bring you the phone back because they can't use it. They'll just throw it away or use for parts.
cooltt said:
Well my advice is to turn off FRP lock, it's a nuisance. It's not like a theif is going to bring you the phone back because they can't use it. They'll just throw it away or use for parts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, to me it feels like you own your device another bit less.
Anyway, is there a way to get around FRP on that phone now? Or do you mean turn it off on new phones?
TehPels said:
Yeah, to me it feels like you own your device another bit less.
Anyway, is there a way to get around FRP on that phone now? Or do you mean turn it off on new phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sign into Google online with the same email and password your using on the device. Then device activity and notifications, then review devices. Select the phone your want to disable, then the red "remove" button. Sign out online.
Make sure sync is turned on, so the Google account can sync with the phone and turn off FRP lock.
Then after that to check. Turn phone off, press volume down+home+power to boot into download mode, read what it says about FRP lock in top left.
Then just reboot phone by pressing volume down to cancel download mode.
Other way is just remove Google account from phone before modification.

setup problems with Samsung A71

Hello all,
i have a strange Problem with my A71 which i use as a work phone. We got the order to migrate some internal stuff which makes it necessary to reset the mobile phone. in the description i think they missed one important point, delete / unenroll the google account first and then make a reset...but i'm not sure.
Because now after i done the reset it's not possible to get to the screen where it is possible to enter the google credentials. Means the telephone starts, i enter the PIN from the SIM, accept the User terms and conditions, log into my W-LAN, the phone search for updates, ask me if i might be restore data from an old phone. After that a quick screen pops up with the note "Checking" and then i see the error
Log in not possible
There was a problem communicating with the Google servers, please try again later.
In addition. When i try to connect with the normal mobile network, it says thats not possible to connect with the internet
What we have here?
is it the FRP or any other "the phone is locked" thing? and how i can resolve this problem?
Because the SIM is working fine...tested with another phone. And the W-LAN is working as well.
Thanks in advance
Greetings
Dean666 said:
Hello all,
i have a strange Problem with my A71 which i use as a work phone. We got the order to migrate some internal stuff which makes it necessary to reset the mobile phone. in the description i think they missed one important point, delete / unenroll the google account first and then make a reset...but i'm not sure.
Because now after i done the reset it's not possible to get to the screen where it is possible to enter the google credentials. Means the telephone starts, i enter the PIN from the SIM, accept the User terms and conditions, log into my W-LAN, the phone search for updates, ask me if i might be restore data from an old phone. After that a quick screen pops up with the note "Checking" and then i see the error
Log in not possible
There was a problem communicating with the Google servers, please try again later.
In addition. When i try to connect with the normal mobile network, it says thats not possible to connect with the internet
What we have here?
is it the FRP or any other "the phone is locked" thing? and how i can resolve this problem?
Because the SIM is working fine...tested with another phone. And the W-LAN is working as well.
Thanks in advance
Greetings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... If it's the device of your company, they should help you.
If it's your private device, then try to do the factory reset again in recovery mode. Hopefully it helps.
It_ler said:
Spoiler: too long... thats what she said :D
Hmm... If it's the device of your company, they should help you.
If it's your private device, then try to do the factory reset again in recovery mode. Hopefully it helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Spoiler: too long... thats what she said :D
Dean666 said:
Hello all,
i have a strange Problem with my A71 which i use as a work phone. We got the order to migrate some internal stuff which makes it necessary to reset the mobile phone. in the description i think they missed one important point, delete / unenroll the google account first and then make a reset...but i'm not sure.
Because now after i done the reset it's not possible to get to the screen where it is possible to enter the google credentials. Means the telephone starts, i enter the PIN from the SIM, accept the User terms and conditions, log into my W-LAN, the phone search for updates, ask me if i might be restore data from an old phone. After that a quick screen pops up with the note "Checking" and then i see the error
Log in not possible
There was a problem communicating with the Google servers, please try again later.
In addition. When i try to connect with the normal mobile network, it says thats not possible to connect with the internet
What we have here?
is it the FRP or any other "the phone is locked" thing? and how i can resolve this problem?
Because the SIM is working fine...tested with another phone. And the W-LAN is working as well.
Thanks in advance
Greetings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
go download the fosctory FW from sammobile.com/firmware and use samfirm to actually download it (its literally 4x faster than directly from the site) and flash it with the CSC instead of the HOME_CSC. Once you do that, itll think its a brand new phone and itll truly factory reset it which recovery factory reset doesnt do really. If you were wanting to keep your data on the device, youd use HOME_CSC. Thats the only difference between the two, but its a BIG difference and ive seen people use the wrong one multiple times LOL myself included LOLOLOL

Locked out of my phone because of FRP.

Hi everyone,
First of all, sorry for my english, it's not my native language.
My brother gave me his Samsung Galaxys A50 stating that he couldn't remember his lock screen password and wanted me to fix it. Maybe that's where I ****ed up, but I went straight into recovery mode and wiped to factory reset. Note: there was no USB Debugging or OEM Unlock options active. The phone booted back up and, as usual, I had to enter my Google credentials so that it can verify my identity and let me continue with the setup process. It prompted me to 2FA and I first inserted the code I received on the phone number associated to the Goggle account. Then, it send another code on my brother secondary address mail linked to the first's one. But the email never arrived. It didn't matter how many times I tried refreshing the page or searching into every Gmail folder, the email was nowhere to been seen. And as if it wasn't enough, the primary mail address was locked because of too many tries. I tried everything, using ADB from the recovery is obviously working only for adb sideload and not for adb shell. Neither does fastboot work, as it can't even recognize the phone in Download mode because it is still locked. I even tried flashing directly TWRP with Odin but it still wouldn't work, again because of the bootloader being locked. Odin gets stuck on the NAND write part. I searched for a way to unlock the bootloader/root/enable USB debugging from adb but can't seem to find anything. I found 2 ways to bypass Google FRP but it needs adb shell or the Google keyboard. But Samsung phones have their OEM keyboard and can't, apparently, change it to Google.
Tried to get assistance from Google but, at least in my country, you need to pay to have it.
I think my only option, if doable, is to try to find a way to flash a stock rom and pray that it won't lock the phone with FRP.
Does anyone of you know of any solutions or advice I could use?
Have I to admit defeat and pay Google, hoping that the assistance is good enough to resolve the issue?
Should I just throw it into the bin and forget about it?
Thanks to everyone who helps.
Google it.
Almost everyday we get a new member asking this. While some of the inquiries might be legitimate others are not. My dead dad, brother, aunt's phone, whatever. It's a poor start entering the forum like this, in my opinion.
All the last owner needed to do was to delete their Google account from the phone and none of this would happen. Consequences.
blackhawk said:
Google it.
Almost everyday we get a new member asking this. While some of the inquiries might be legitimate others are not. My dead dad, brother, aunt's phone, whatever. It's a poor start entering the forum like this, in my opinion.
All the last owner needed to do was to delete their Google account from the phone and none of this would happen. Consequences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said in the post, I know all the credentials used to log in the phone, I have the phone number which was linked to the Google account and the secondary mail address linked to the primary one. So, this should be enough to prove that my inquiry is legitimate.
Also, "Google it" makes me think you haven't really read what I wrote. As I said, there seems to be not a single answer.
Third and last point, how tf was I supposed to remove the Google account if the phone was locked by the forgotten pin?
Yes, this type of inquiry is surely blasonated, but insinuating that I stoled the phone without even reading the rest of what I wrote surely isn't going to help anyone, don't you think?
Having said so, if you don't have no way to help just shush.
As @blackhawk recommended it: GOOGLE FOR A SUITABLE FRP-UNLOCK TOOL. It exists for Samsung devices, too.

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