[Q] A PIN/other lock on turning your phone off? - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I've been searching unsuccessfully to find an app that would require one to enter a PIN or satisfy some other security measure in order to switch off the phone; or alternatively where you can't turn off the phone when it's locked. I don't believe one exists, and would be overjoyed to be proven wrong.
This is because in the event your phone is lost or stolen, the first thing the thief or finder always does is to immediately turn off the phone. That pretty much leaves any 'Find Your Phone' feature completely useless in the immediate aftermath, which is the crucial period when it's most useful (while the thief or finder is still geographically close to you) - you have to wait helplessly until such time as they decide it's safe to turn your phone on again, by which time they'd also have pulled your SIM ... and if they'd ALREADY reformatted your phone BEFORE turning it on again, then most anti-theft apps are pretty much dead in the water.
I was thinking, that on a unibody phone where the battery can't be pulled, an "Unlock to Switch Off" used in conjunction with other security measures such as the various phone anti-theft apps out there would make an incredibly powerful and effective, TRUE anti-theft/loss phone. (Avast has a feature on rooted phones that locks the OS so you can't reformat the phone once the feature is activated or when the SIM is changed. Again, only useful if you managed to activate the feature PRIOR to them reformatting.)
I understand that this feature would probably require some form of overriding the usual hardware "hold for 10-15 secs to turn off" implementation baked into phones where the battery can't be pulled. Would this be possible without also greatly annoying someone whose phone is genuinely hung?

*BUMP*
Really, there aren't any options for this at all?

Related

TP will wake up from standby by itself

When my phone is in the holster, or when charging, it automatically comes out of standby mode every so often. I don't know why it keeps doing that, but it has done it so much that I had to turn on the Lock feature on so the buttons don't get accidently pushed when in my holster etc (very annoying). I spoke to a friend who said it might be a program running in the background that keeps making the phone come out of standby because it doesn't happen to his TP. But the running programs list only has Text, and Calendar always open so I doubt its those that's causing.
Any ideas on how to solve this really annoying issue? And does anyone else experience this?
Note: My carrier is Sprint and I have no custom ROM's)
G00gle26 said:
When my phone is in the holster, or when charging, it automatically comes out of standby mode every so often. I don't know why it keeps doing that, but it has done it so much that I had to turn on the Lock feature on so the buttons don't get accidently pushed when in my holster etc (very annoying). I spoke to a friend who said it might be a program running in the background that keeps making the phone come out of standby because it doesn't happen to his TP. But the running programs list only has Text, and Calendar always open so I doubt its those that's causing.
Any ideas on how to solve this really annoying issue? And does anyone else experience this?
Note: My carrier is Sprint and I have no custom ROM's)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will find that the Lock feature isn't really going to be any help either because the sliding of the keyboard will a) Wake the phone up and b) Unlock it as well if it slides more.
You can make this registry edit to make it so the slide doesn't wake up the phone. Now, when you get a text message or email (I think) the phone will wake up but as long as you don't slide it more than about half an inch, the phone won't unlock.
You should be using the lock feature on your phone anyway. If you haven't figured it out yet, you can make the "Long End key press" lock the phone. It works very well to make locking the phone quick and easy. Then you can either use the push button method to unlock OR side the phone open to unlock.
mrrogers1 said:
You will find that the Lock feature isn't really going to be any help either because the sliding of the keyboard will a) Wake the phone up and b) Unlock it as well if it slides more.
You can make this registry edit to make it so the slide doesn't wake up the phone. Now, when you get a text message or email (I think) the phone will wake up but as long as you don't slide it more than about half an inch, the phone won't unlock.
You should be using the lock feature on your phone anyway. If you haven't figured it out yet, you can make the "Long End key press" lock the phone. It works very well to make locking the phone quick and easy. Then you can either use the push button method to unlock OR side the phone open to unlock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I didn't phrase it right...I mean when the phone is just sitting there and the keyboard is not opening at all because it is sitting on a desk charging, no text or e-mail message go in or out, bluetooth not connected, and no alarms, or events pop up the phone comes out of standby...same scenario in my belt holster.
True I should be using the lock feature but I like to set the timer to 5 or 10 minutes but sometimes it comes out of standby before then.
G00gle26 said:
I guess I didn't phrase it right...I mean when the phone is just sitting there and the keyboard is not opening at all because it is sitting on a desk charging, no text or e-mail message go in or out, bluetooth not connected, and no alarms, or events pop up the phone comes out of standby...same scenario in my belt holster.
True I should be using the lock feature but I like to set the timer to 5 or 10 minutes but sometimes it comes out of standby before then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting... You are really burning up your battery (if not plugged in) letting it not go into standby for 5-10 minutes but I wonder if it some other data transmission. What is your email interval set at? Even if no emails are received, it's still sending a data "pulse" to the server.
I have te same issue (Alltel Touch Pro)
I leave the phone on the charger overnite, and sitting by itself,
even with Lock on, it will wake up, stay up the timeout period,
then go back to sleep. Like it has Sleep Apnea?
I do email by webmail so that's not an issue.
mrrogers1 said:
Interesting... You are really burning up your battery (if not plugged in) letting it not go into standby for 5-10 minutes but I wonder if it some other data transmission. What is your email interval set at? Even if no emails are received, it's still sending a data "pulse" to the server.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fuzzynco said:
I leave the phone on the charger overnite, and sitting by itself, even with Lock on, it will wake up, stay up the timeout period, then go back to sleep. Like it has sleep apnea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mrrogers: What I meant was I like the Lock on feature to come on after 5-10 minutes...it is already in standby mode, but the lock feature is not activated until 5-10 minutes (look inside your lock settings and you will see what I mean) so I am not draining the battery.....e-mail interval is set at 4 hours so it can't be that. Even if it was that, the screen should not wake up just for sending data in or out.
fuzzynco: YES I have the same problem...its as if the phone does not want to sleep. It stays up for the timeout period then goes back to sleep then turns on again a few minutes later for no apparent reason...but for me it also comes out of standby even when not being charged.
I suppose mine might do it too then, I guess I never notice because I plug in to charge and go to sleep. :-D
I am going to test this out tonight and see what my phone does. I am running a custom Rom so who knows what might happen. I thin something that also could mask the fact that this is happening to me is that my backlight and power setting are 30sec and 1min.
If I'm not doing something on my phone, it is locked. Unlocking is so simple I don't bother with timing the locking event. I think you must use the actual "Password" protection right? I do not use that feature but I know the settings you are referring to. I have only been referring to the device lock.
mrrogers1 said:
I suppose mine might do it too then, I guess I never notice because I plug in to charge and go to sleep. :-D
I am going to test this out tonight and see what my phone does. I am running a custom Rom so who knows what might happen. I thin something that also could mask the fact that this is happening to me is that my backlight and power setting are 30sec and 1min.
If I'm not doing something on my phone, it is locked. Unlocking is so simple I don't bother with timing the locking event. I think you must use the actual "Password" protection right? I do not use that feature but I know the settings you are referring to. I have only been referring to the device lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My backlight and power settings are the same as yours.
I didn't understand your last paragraph. All I have enabled is my "lock" feature in the settings. The system lock with password is enabled after 5 minutes, but that doesnt mean it takes 5 minutes to go into standby mode. Standby mode is seperate, and it only takes 30 sec to go to standby. But after 5 minutes of standby, the "lock" feature with password is enabled.
My problem is that before that 5 minute mark, the screen comes out of standby for no apparent reason.
I'll chime in here. Verizon Touch Pro. Haven't really done much to it, but a few advanced config settings. Mine will wake up in the holster, and even when it's just sitting there on the desk charging. I only let the screen stay on for a short time, so I haven't seen my battery suffer, but this happens enough to be annoying.
stanton said:
I'll chime in here. Verizon Touch Pro. Haven't really done much to it, but a few advanced config settings. Mine will wake up in the holster, and even when it's just sitting there on the desk charging. I only let the screen stay on for a short time, so I haven't seen my battery suffer, but this happens enough to be annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly stanton! same thing with me...My screen is only set for a short time so I haven't seen battery loss but very annoying. Any theories out there?
Mine does it as well Sprint TP
I think all Windows mobile phones pretty much do this.
No idea why, but there's really nothing you can do about it.
I have been testing this evening and I can't get my phone to do it. I've been testing on battery power and will try plugged in tomorrow during the day.
Are you guys using TF3D? I'm not so I wonder if it might be something tied in there? Weather? Maybe some crazy update in the music tab?
Wish I could have helped... I'll check in tomorrow and report what I find on external power.
Long time lurker, here...
I seem to remember a similar issue with the XV6600 (Blue Angel) that was traced back to some settings having to do with the syncing with Exchange servers. My memory is kind of fuzzy on the issue, but that could be a place to start to look?
I've had my Vz TP for about a week now and have not had that issue.
Check Pocket Express. By default, it's set to update itself every 4 hours (at least on the Sprint TP).
My TP was doing the same thing (ie: coming out of Sleep on it's own). That, and the Data Connection wouldn't stay turned off. I don't like my computers and phones doing anything without my expressed permission so this was driving me nuts. Since I found the Pocket Express setting and set it to manual, my phone doesn't misbehave anymore.
Another setting you might want to look at is the QuickGPS settings. It will automatically try to update itself too. I changed mine to "Remind me when data expires" and "Auto download when connected to PC via ActiveSync" and that works best for me.
Basically, you have to go through every one of your apps and check their configurations. The two I mentioned above are definite sources of your problem but there could be others.
Pete
I havent had my VZW tp do that yet. But i see its doing it on all 3 CDMA companies. I wonder if its a glitch in the hardware or the data settings that makes it do that. I dont run any email through my phone. I wonder if the email is the cause of its insomnia.
I have the same issue whether on a stock or Custom ROM.
Not sure about effects on battery. Never really gaged it. I always get 24 to 36 hours before I have to recharge.
Its not a program in the background. I just created a clean ROM with nothing in it and it still does it.
deviantirish said:
I havent had my VZW tp do that yet. But i see its doing it on all 3 CDMA companies. I wonder if its a glitch in the hardware or the data settings that makes it do that. I dont run any email through my phone. I wonder if the email is the cause of its insomnia.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im pretty sure its the HTC APM 1.5 drivers.
Any other thoughts?
I didnt see any problems with the TP waking up on any of the GSM versions.
I am curious as what would be different that would cause this.
My sprint pro also does this.
Ill have it in my hand and the screen will just turn on. Not sure why.

GPS stays on after hard reboot

Hi, I have noticed that my little GPS satellite icon stays on and is draining the battery constantly after a hard reboot. Does anyone know why this is? I have not done anything out of the ordinary and its never done this. I know it would come on once in a while and then turn off, but this time its on all the time. Im on the latest OTA update on the HTC EVO 3D unrooted.
UPDATE...I just shut down my phone and turned it back on, and now seems fine, dont know why with a reboot instead of a shutdown the GPS goes crazy.
A lot of the time apps will request gps location and won't shut it off until it finds a fix. If you're in a location where gps signal sucks, that could be the culprit. I discovered Facebook does this for example.
I have been using LBE Privacy Guard to monitor what apps are trying to do so I can deny or allow them to access certain permissions. Of course, by default a lot of them don't prompt so def check through your apps from within LBE. Now, LBE does claim to require root, but I don't think it would hurt to at least try. The active protection service is the only option that i've seen ask for super user permission. Might be worth checking out, but not sure how well it'll work for unrooted phones.

What is the best way to control the software of my Z5C? Do I need root?

I like my compact Z5 (international E5823) but the stock software is constantly updating, and updating the bloatware. The updates have slowly disabled all my apps. Plus it performs badly, I can rarely get cellular data now.
I am experienced with rooting Motorola and Nokia, but it’s so complicated with this phone. I rely on those DRM keys for the camera and fingerprint scanner.
I have Flashtool on my PC.
I would like to root it, maybe to run Adaway, but that is not mandatory. I mostly want the phone to perform well with cellular data and be able to control some other things like to eliminate the sound when I plug it in. Maybe I don’t need root.
What is the best way for me to gain control over the software to stop updates, block or eliminate bloatware, and be able to control sounds etc?
Go into the bloat, and turn off all the options regarding updates and notifications.
Use the System Tuner UI to get power notifications options and turn the notifications for the bloat.
Go into your data options, and turn off background data for the bloat.
Go into the software update and turn off the checking for updates, switch it to off, or manual.
You will not hear or see anything from your bloat again (whatsnew).
You will need to switch cellular providers if you want better 3g/4g data service.
No idea about sound when plugging it in. I have turned my phone to do not disturb mode, so it makes no sound.
Thanks for the tips. Switching off background data for each, I had not done yet.
I am wondering if I misdiagnosed the problems. 1) the phone uses the battery quickly, months ago it lasted 2 days, now barely 1 day; more than battery wear should be. 2) data signal is intermittent and rare now, months ago it got excellent cellular data, I had never even switched on wifi until recently.
Any advice to solve these 2 problems?
A while, back I tried to rebuff an update. Then the phone kept calling the home base trying to get that software update; interfering with my call signal and consuming the battery. Current problems seem similar to that but not as intense.
Also, as a silly question, I am a noob with obeying the rules and using stock android, is it normal to have your standard apps, like note taking or internet speed apps, just go obsolete when the os updates itself? Do I have to track down and update apps for each new os “security update”?
I just want to let you know that even if bloatware is removed, unless you resize the partition, the free space you gain is in the partition you don't have user access to.
also, unless you strip down most of the pre-installed apps, the most you really gain is about 500mb
you would have liked the guide I had on the sony forums for first boot out of box, it basically stepped you through the process to limit data and apps, and it gave about 2 1/2 days standby, no root required.

How to kill the Android 8.1 "Turn off mobile data?" popup?

I'm running Lineage 15.1 on my Moto G5 Plus and I have to say I'm very satisfied with everything in the new release with the exception of one thing: the annoying popup it gives you when you turn off mobile data. Does anyone know how to turn this off? It's driving me nuts, reminds me of my old Samsung.
Any help, suggestions, or simply +1s are appreciated.
I'd like to know that too. Mighty annoying little popup.
Why Android, Why?
So makes me want to toss my phone every time, multiple times a day, all day long.
YES, I'm f** sure, that's why i clicked it and additionally that's why I put it in a list of fixed quick commands because I fully am aware exactly what the f*** it's suppose to do.
It's a popup that covers 85% of my screen that can be swiped away ONLY if you DO NOT want it to do what you want, why is this backwards. Asking Bixby or Google to turn of mobile data as part of a list of commands is not possible, ie. "I'm home" is set up to 1.turn on wi-fi 2.Turn off mobile data 3.Open calendar - What happens instead is 1.wi-fi-on 2.attempt to mobile data off - popup for confirmation 3.opens calendar - But mobile data never turns off because the popup was never confirmed, so for all I know I get booted off wi-fi and am streaming movies on mobile data. So makes Bixby and Goggle "quick commands" USELESS to me. Forcing me to touch my phone more often than I should have to, forcing me to really think that Android may believe we are as clueless to customization as iOS users, Forcing me to have to stop and stare at phone in disgust
Do I really need to be told 6 times a day this same message over and over? On top of the daily harassment of 2 dozen popups about damaging my hearing from loud volume. IT'S MY HEARING !
Where is the "Don't show again" button? Why need a confirmation instead of just a notification? You want to tell me that wifi is disconnected - sure, tell me data is off/on - sure thanks, but why is there an extra button to push for anything to happen anymore. Not very "Smart" these days, OR they think we're not as smart these days. IDK but I need a fix, anybody?
I know how u feel bro am having the same problem on my asus zenfone max pro.
I searched everywhere.
Haven't found a clue how to.

Question Fingerprint unlock ON with periodic PIN screen lock?

Fingerprint scanner is very convinient, but not that much secure as PIN or password. Is there any way (preferrably for non-rooted Pixel 6) to force my phone to periodically ask for a PIN or password to unlock (once every hour or afrer X mins of inactivity or so), but still keep a fingerprint unlock on? I know I could schedule to reboot my phone, but the phone would be unavailable during reboot (no phone calls) and I think I would need some third party app to save and restore notifications (which can be lost during reboot). Any suggestions?
My aim is to prevent someone to force me to unlock my phone with a fingerprint. They could use a force to put my finger on the fingerprint scanner, but no one can get a PIN out of my head. Yeah, I'm paranoiac - there's no need to remind me ;p
In that case, best and only solution is to stop using fingerprints. Just use pin and turn on notification history.
And what about available options for this matter on rooted phones? Is there any way to force Android to lock a phone with a PIN after X minutes? I don't want to stop using fingerprint scanner completely, but at the same time I don't want it to be the only screen unlocking option. I don't believe there's no way to accomplish this.
Alternatively I came up with an idea to make a "soft reset", kinda like on older Windows OS where instead of rebooting entire OS we could simply kill and restart explorer.exe process (I used to do that after installing some software which wanted to reboot my OS before first use). Does anyone know if such thing is possible and how to make it? I guess if it would be similiar approach to the one I used on Windows (restarting some process) then I could simply schedule some script to run every hour or so, but what that script would be?
Maybe use Tasker, and set a profile that open an app every amount of time?
I always have used this "lock" app, basically lock the phone so only with the password you can unlock it.
It's free, no ads or bs.
Lock - Apps on Google Play
Ultra-simple lock screen
play.google.com
snake218 said:
Maybe use Tasker, and set a profile that open an app every amount of time?
I always have used this "lock" app, basically lock the phone so only with the password you can unlock it.
It's free, no ads or bs.
Lock - Apps on Google Play
Ultra-simple lock screen
play.google.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for suggestion, I'll check that out later, but I'm quite doubtful it'll work as the app you suggested seems to override other screen lock options, so it would switch off fingerprint scanner once activated. I'll give it a try though.
There is already a built in function called 'lockdown'. I don't know if can be triggered via Tasker though.
Choose when your Pixel phone can stay unlocked - Pixel Phone Help
You can keep your Pixel phone unlocked in some situations, like when your phone is in your pocket or connected to another device you use often. When you use Smart Lock, you only need to unlock once wi
support.google.com
Turn on lockdown​Important: Lockdown will only work until you unlock your phone. If you want keep using lockdown, turn it on each time you want to use it.
Hold the power button for a couple seconds.
Tap Lockdown. This turns off notifications, fingerprint or face recognition unlocking, and Smart Lock while on your lock screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
chaimav said:
There is already a built in function called 'lockdown'. I don't know if can be triggered via Tasker though.
Choose when your Pixel phone can stay unlocked - Pixel Phone Help
You can keep your Pixel phone unlocked in some situations, like when your phone is in your pocket or connected to another device you use often. When you use Smart Lock, you only need to unlock once wi
support.google.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, I forgot about it, but as you noticed - I also don't know if it could be triggered via Tasker. I think it's time to finally play with Tasker for a bit. Fingers crossed!
$ROGAL$ said:
Right, I forgot about it, but as you noticed - I also don't know if it could be triggered via Tasker. I think it's time to finally play with Tasker for a bit. Fingers crossed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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