Okay, so it's a bit of a long story but there's a woman I work with who had her virtually-new Samsung Galaxy S3 stolen by her recently-split husband last year. We all knew it was him, but we had virtually no evidence, other than it's disappearance. Anyway, so this woman recently was in his now-separated husband's flat & was rooting around. She found a Samsung Galaxy S3, smartly took a picture of the IMEI & left it. She knew it was hers, but wanted to be 100% sure. She went home, checked the box, & of course they did match. The next day, she went back to his house & manipulated the situation so that she could find enough time on her own to go take the phone back without him knowing. So she brings it into work with her the next day. The problem is, the phone now has a password lock on it. She then spent the night trying to guess the password, but to no success.
So, me being the tech guy that I am, she asked me to try to get into it. I said, the easiest way would be for me to wipe it & factory reset it, but that she would lose all of her information. She doesn't want me to do that. She wants to get pictures & stuff of her / their kids off the phone, as well as look into who her ex-husband had been talking to / see who knew about him stealing the phone. So, I said it should be possible. However, I'm not a hugely great phone guy. I'm good with computers, but not so much phones.
So, we spent the day trying various exploits found on Google or YouTube but to no success. There was one method where we had a little success where we turned the phone on > Emergency Call > Emergency Contact > Press Home > Press Power > Unlocked home screen in then meant to appear. It never did. Although we could get it to quickly flash whatever was on the home screen (which was a picture of her / their kids, which she'd set to the phone before it was taken).
So without any of those methods working, I'm tasked with now getting into the phone at home. I have no idea whether USB debugging is enabled, I would assume not. We are unable to reset the password via Google Recovery or anything because we're never offered the option. As I say, she doesn't want me to wipe the phone. But there has to be a way to get into it otherwise, either through brute force, or one of those other password cracking methods possibly?
There was a technique I found on Google at work, something about connecting the phone to your computer via USB then trying to do some stuff from command line or through a Linux distro, which I need to re-find & try.
But alas, does anyone here have any methods or know any ways that I could get around this password lock?
I have to say though, I'm glad it's not that simple (atleast it appears so, anyway) to get around one of these passwords. Makes me feel a little safer for my own Galaxy S3! haha
Hey
You said u tried the Google account method right?
If that's not working try to flash philz recovery and from that you can access the contents of the internal SD card..
U can also TRY to use the custom back up option offered by his recovery and then custom restore the data..
I can't assure you that it will work but you can try it..
Best of Luck
-tchindalia
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
We did not try a Google account method, I don't think? Think we tried to log in to the ex-husband's Google account on my iPad for some reason (can't remember why now tbh) but we could not guess his password. He's apparently changed it since they split.
Won't flashing the phone wipe everything that's on it?
Hey
Not if your just flashing a recovery..
Just youtube for some videos on this...
I had see one some time back..
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Benaholic said:
Okay, so it's a bit of a long story but there's a woman I work with who had her virtually-new Samsung Galaxy S3 stolen by her recently-split husband last year. We all knew it was him, but we had virtually no evidence, other than it's disappearance. Anyway, so this woman recently was in his now-separated husband's flat & was rooting around. She found a Samsung Galaxy S3, smartly took a picture of the IMEI & left it. She knew it was hers, but wanted to be 100% sure. She went home, checked the box, & of course they did match. The next day, she went back to his house & manipulated the situation so that she could find enough time on her own to go take the phone back without him knowing. So she brings it into work with her the next day. The problem is, the phone now has a password lock on it. She then spent the night trying to guess the password, but to no success.
So, me being the tech guy that I am, she asked me to try to get into it. I said, the easiest way would be for me to wipe it & factory reset it, but that she would lose all of her information. She doesn't want me to do that. She wants to get pictures & stuff of her / their kids off the phone, as well as look into who her ex-husband had been talking to / see who knew about him stealing the phone. So, I said it should be possible. However, I'm not a hugely great phone guy. I'm good with computers, but not so much phones.
So, we spent the day trying various exploits found on Google or YouTube but to no success. There was one method where we had a little success where we turned the phone on > Emergency Call > Emergency Contact > Press Home > Press Power > Unlocked home screen in then meant to appear. It never did. Although we could get it to quickly flash whatever was on the home screen (which was a picture of her / their kids, which she'd set to the phone before it was taken).
So without any of those methods working, I'm tasked with now getting into the phone at home. I have no idea whether USB debugging is enabled, I would assume not. We are unable to reset the password via Google Recovery or anything because we're never offered the option. As I say, she doesn't want me to wipe the phone. But there has to be a way to get into it otherwise, either through brute force, or one of those other password cracking methods possibly?
There was a technique I found on Google at work, something about connecting the phone to your computer via USB then trying to do some stuff from command line or through a Linux distro, which I need to re-find & try.
But alas, does anyone here have any methods or know any ways that I could get around this password lock?
I have to say though, I'm glad it's not that simple (atleast it appears so, anyway) to get around one of these passwords. Makes me feel a little safer for my own Galaxy S3! haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If he lets her into the house so easily then:
1- HE didn't steal the phone because he felt no need to hide it
2- The "woman" is invading the guy's privacy and checking personal info without consent
3- Seeing who he talked to is a typical behaviour pattern of someone who is invading someone's privacy for ill intentions
4- the "woman" can always request for the guy to share the kid's photos and other stuff. No need to snoop around
To the OP:
If you do help this person break into the phone and turns out it wasn't hers, then you are aiding in a possibly criminal activity.
If he did steal, then all the best to you. Otherwise; Beware of the LAW.
~ RazorMC
RazorMC said:
If he lets her into the house so easily then:
1- HE didn't steal the phone because he felt no need to hide it
2- The "woman" is invading the guy's privacy and checking personal info without consent
3- Seeing who he talked to is a typical behaviour pattern of someone who is invading someone's privacy for ill intentions
4- the "woman" can always request for the guy to share the kid's photos and other stuff. No need to snoop around
To the OP:
If you do help this person break into the phone and turns out it wasn't hers, then you are aiding in a possibly criminal activity.
If he did steal, then all the best to you. Otherwise; Beware of the LAW.
~ RazorMC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OP alr said the imei matched so the phone is the woman's. Unless tat was a lie.
To the OP, have u tried samsung's "find my mobile"?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
JellyYogurt said:
OP alr said the imei matched so the phone is the woman's. Unless tat was a lie.
To the OP, have u tried samsung's "find my mobile"?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said, if it was indeed stolen, then I wish the OP luck.
I'm just curious why the person never approached the police with proof of ownership instead of trying to bypass the security.
Cheers :good:
~ RazorMC
RazorMC said:
Like I said, if it was indeed stolen, then I wish the OP luck.
I'm just curious why the person never approached the police with proof of ownership instead of trying to bypass the security.
Cheers :good:
~ RazorMC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't remember the reason she believed the phone was stolen, to be honest. The reason she had access to his house, was because they have kids together. She had gone to go drop the kids off, or pick them up. For some bizarre reason, I don't know why, he left her in the house alone after he went to take them to school (telling her to lock the door when she leaves). She took that opportunity to look around the house for the phone, as he'd never previously admitted to taking it but she was sure he did.
She found the phone, took a picture of the IMEI, went home to match to the IMEI on her box & it saw that they were the same. She's shown me the picture as well. confirming that it was indeed her phone, she then went back to her ex's flat the next day (because he was going to come along to their daughter's birthday). Just as they were about to leave, she says she needs the toilet. So, she runs back upstairs & grabs the phone without him knowing.
I think the reason why she never went to the police about it is because he was trying to get citizenship to remain here in the country, & she didn't want something like this to jeopardize whether she's in a relationship with him or not; they do still have kids together. Sending him back to Kenya over a phone wouldn't do anyone any good.
JellyYogurt said:
OP alr said the imei matched so the phone is the woman's. Unless tat was a lie.
To the OP, have u tried samsung's "find my mobile"?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which "Find my mobile" thing are you on about?
---------------------------------------
I appear to have found a way to bypass the lock screen via the ADB, but I think it only works for a lock pattern. Anyone know or have any ideas what to do for a password?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2237382
For hours now I've been trying alsorts of stuff, from doing things via terminal, trying to do things through recovery, & alsorts to no success. However, I did find one solution that worked:
http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f77...-pin-reset-no-root-no-usb-debug-free-1722271/
Was posted here on XDA Developers as well, but the thread was closed. Many virus programs do immediately notify that the program contains viruses / trojans, but not sure if they're false positives? Anyway, disabled AVG & it worked like a charm! So, if anyone else needs similar help, maybe try this?
Alas, suppose this thread can be closed now.
^^ That malware had stopped working and that is why it was closed on other site as well.
~ RazorMC
Related
Ok, I'm a Samsung Captivate guy, but my buddy found a Droid Eris, and I have a couple questions.
The phone wasn't stolen by my buddy, just found by him after a college party at his house, and nobody every came back to claim it. My buddy even tried to contact people on the phone to return it to them, with no luck. So it's not like you'd be helping a criminal. Some dumb drunk college kid that's spoiled enough to not even look for their phone just left it at a house, that's all.
That being said, the phone is locked down, and I'm trying to find a way to possibly flash back to stock software and unlock the phone for him. I haven't seen the phone yet, so I don't exactly know how it it's locked down, or if you can help at all. He said the phone does turn on still. Also, I'm on AT&T, so I don't know if this is even possible with verizon, because I know you have to activate the device with them, not just pop in a sim card.
I know that for my captivate I could just use a program to flash back to stock software so long as I could get into download mode, and that removes locks on my device. I'm wondering if any of you could point me in the right direction with a link to a thread or something that could help me get the phone up and running for my friend.
Sent from my gingerbread chomping Captivate running Mosaic III Diet using XDA Premium App
welchertc said:
The phone wasn't stolen by my buddy, just found by him after a college party at his house, and nobody every came back to claim it. My buddy even tried to contact people on the phone to return it to them, with no luck. So it's not like you'd be helping a criminal. Some dumb drunk college kid that's spoiled enough to not even look for their phone just left it at a house, that's all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He should bring the phone to the police department, or perhaps return it to Verizon Wireless. You'd think that they would be able to determine the previous owner based on the MEID.
doogald said:
He should bring the phone to the police department, or perhaps return it to Verizon Wireless. You'd think that they would be able to determine the previous owner based on the MEID.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd have to agree with that. Funny story is this... I was talking to an trooper today on my way home and he was telling me about a Verizon phone that was brought to the barracks earlier this week and they've been calling the numbers in the phone to let the owner know where the phone is and no one returned their calls. So today they called Verizon and said they have a phone that was found and delivered to their barracks and wanted to get in contact with the owner. Verizon will not give them any of the owners information which is fine IMO due to privacy policies and it's not something that was involved in a crime. What DOES kinda bother me and I don't understand is this.... Not only will they not release anything to the police about who the owner of the phone is... They also will not take any information from the police and contact the owner themselves to let the owner know where their phone is..
How did you call the numbers on the phone if it is locked down?
Sent from my ERIS using XDA App
AfroFire said:
How did you call the numbers on the phone if it is locked down?
Sent from my ERIS using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol! I didn't even think of that until I read your post but that's a very good point.
To the op your friend should take the phone to a corporate Verizon store or the police (I recommend the police personally.) Even if he didn't "steal" the phone it is still stolen property. If you find a wallet you don't have the right to keep it just because someone else lost it, by law you have to turn it in with all of the contents in place. Besides, it was probably reported lost/stolen which means it can't even be activated.
Sent from my GSB Eris
You could just run the phone off wifi so the phone could essentially work (texting and calling can now be made over wifi using certain apps) Im going to be the bad person here, if its locked down by a password or pattern lock or an app, boot into recovery and wipe data, will factory reset the phone. I cant remember if the Eris has Recovery mode stock, try it. Press and hold Volume down and end button, youll go to a white screen, press volume up to boot into "recovery." Once it boots into recovery, (black screen with green lettering) use the trackball to go to the "wipe" option-select with trackball. Select "Wipe data". then press volume down to return to the main menu, reboot phone. If it doesnt have recovery, search around here for a way to flash recovery onto it, should be as simple as downloading the correct file, place on sd card (using computer) and booting phone by pressing volume down+end key, the phone should automatically find the file and run it.
For the record I agree with everyone else. Find a way to return the phone. Give it to the police or Verizon. Im just answering your question cause I need a 10th post to post in the dev area
what kind of lock down is the phone in?
Ok, before everyone jumps to conclusions on multiple accounts let me get this out there.
1. I am not a noob when it comes to forums and no how to search ie my search results:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=989241
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1067003
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=913958
2. I am not a noob when it comes to android devices and would call myself moderately knowledgable in the subject and really cant think of any other ideas also google nor sprint is not helping in the slightest ( and honestly I dont expect them too).
3. The story below is true and i DID NOT STEAL or receive a STOLEN phone, nor am i some jealous boyfirend. I am doing this for a friend, so here it goes.
My coworkers son commited suicide and has asked me to look at his phone to see if i can find away to unlock it so he can either know if anybody knew this was happening or most likely i think for closure of this whole ordeal. When given to me he had already given the phone to many gestures and gives me the google account lockout screen. the father just wants to see the latest messages on the phone as well as anything that might have come up. now this is what i have done so far:
PHONE: EVO 4G
Status: Stock AKA NOT ROOTED
1. I have taken out the SD card to see if i can grab anything off of there but the last time the text messages were backed up were on 7-31-2011, so that really doesn t help me there. I cant think of any other folders to look in in order to find anything else.
2. The phone was never set to USB debugging so there is no chance of rooting the phone (although i am not sure this would even unlock the phone at this point)
3. His father does not know the gmail account and I have only found a few other accounts through facebook and odd random searches that you can scarely do on the internet. After reading some other posts though I am not sure i could do what i was thinking with this because it only updates the computer and not the password on the phone.
4. Tried calling the phone. The phone doesnt even register as if someone is calling. The father said he didnt turn off the phone yet, and it makes since as i am creepily getting text messages as we speak.
So this is where i am at. I cannot think of too much more. Like i said i dont want the phone, it isnt stolen, and i am really just trying to help the guy out. Google told him becaus ethe kid is older then 18 ther eis nothing they can do and if that is there policy then that is BS especially in this situation. and sprint told him they can do a factory reset on the phone. so those are out of the question.
If you're positive that usb debugging is off, then there's not much you can do.
If you can reset the password to his Google account, and the phone has an internet connection, then inputting the new Google information should unlock the phone. I'm not sure if a connection is automatically created during this process. If you'd like, I can test the theory on my own Evo if you can't get any further.
Most people use the same password for everything. If you can find a password for anything, it's likely that's the password for his Google account. Check his computer as well. If he has saved his login information in his web browser, you should be able to pull that information.
Unfortunately you would have many more options if the phone was rooted. You could do a nandroid backup then sift through the data.img. I'm not sure if the stock recovery allows for anything that will help you. When you get into the stock recovery, it looks like you don't have any options. I believe holding both volume buttons simultaneously on the screen with the red triangle/exclamation point will give you a list of options.
If you cannot get into the phone, the SD card is probably going to be your best source of information - though it's unlikely that you'll get much. Browse through all of the directories. He could've switched SMS Backup apps and the information could be stored in a less obvious location. Try /sdcard/data and /sdcard/android/data.
If I can think of anything else I will post it. Both ADB and MyPhoneExplorer (I'm not positive that's the name) would be helpful in this situation, but without usb debugging on I don't think you'll be able to use them. Research further into enabling usb debugging without access to the OS.
I'm sorry for your friend's (and your) loss. I hope that in some way, even if not through the phone, he can find closure.
Sent from my Evo + MIUI using Tapatalk!
Thanks for the response good ideas, and I will try them. Turns out this kid never had a computer and in talking with the friends they only had his other email accounts so I will think of someway to get around that, but anyways thanks again.
Your best bet would be something like the Cellebrite UFED that was getting some attention a few months ago. There are other mobile forensics utilities - I'm not sure if they can be purchased by a single person or if there are guidelines these companies must follow before selling the devices. I'm also sure that they're not cheap, so unless you or your friend are very well off, you probably couldn't buy one yourself anyway.
I took a Computer Forensics course and we spent a week on mobile forensics. This was before Android was popular, and I believe that we used the device on a BlackBerry. The device (I don't remember the name) made an image of the contents which we then looked through using Forensic Toolkit or something similar.
If you know anyone in a computer program, ask if they have access to a similar device. We were allowed to use whatever tools were available during specified times (mainly for lab work, but we could use them for other reasons), so this would be your best bet for getting information off of the phone. Other places, like repair shops (and police departments) may have access to similar technology. If you can find someone empathetic to your situation with access to mobile forensics tools then you may be able to get somewhere.
It's a long shot, but I had the thought & wanted to bump your thread for you in hopes that someone with more knowledge could help you out.
If the device happens to have wifi on & is connected, you can also hack into it over the network. If this is the case and you need more information, shoot me a pm and I'll give you what information I know on ways to do so.
Sent from my Evo + MIUI using Tapatalk!
thanks for sharing.................
So I found a GSII on the train today, Nobody to been seen so I picked it up and took it with me, Got home to discover a lock screen, No smudges on the screen to guess the lock. Look at the SD Card there's a few images of a kid and some toys but that is all, Im guess everything else is on the internal memory.
Anyway to unlock this device and get any info to contact the owner, Tried the networks, they said it has not been reported as lost or stolen.
Not the kind of guy to keep this. I have a Galaxy Nexus
Could you try to set your phone like it doesn't ask for pin and then insert the sim card from that sgs2 to look for numbers like mom
Sent from my sgs2 running cm9 using xda app
There was no sim in the phone when I found it, Which I though was bizzare.
Bouncer5 said:
So I found a GSII on the train today, Nobody to been seen so I picked it up and took it with me, Got home to discover a lock screen, No smudges on the screen to guess the lock. Look at the SD Card there's a few images of a kid and some toys but that is all, Im guess everything else is on the internal memory.
Anyway to unlock this device and get any info to contact the owner, Tried the networks, they said it has not been reported as lost or stolen.
Not the kind of guy to keep this. I have a Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's quite polite of you.
You're the reason I keep an "Owner's Info" message on my lockscreen (and other people are the reason that I use a 9-digit PIN).
I commend you for your honesty, but unfortunately I can't provide assistance.
It could have been stolen, which would explain the absence of a SIM. Maybe the previous 'owner' couldn't do anything with it either and gave up.
You might be able to flash a new ROM, but everything would be deleted...and you'd still not have the owner's info.
Good luck, sir and thank you for your honesty!
No phone numbers??? Try syncing with google... see if there are any email addresses or ANYTHING on the phone... Very honest though hats off...
I once found a phone like you did but found loads of pics of him cheating on his wife :S there was a message with HER address on so I delivered it.... I wonder what did happen to them lol
Just hand it into a cop shop or train station that you found it at...
Why all the drama?
Nyssa1104 said:
Just hand it into a cop shop or train station that you found it at...
Why all the drama?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For something like this I'd exhaust all possibilities to find the owner personally first, otherwise the Lost 'n Found will "lose" it, even PD's "lose" stuff. The owner is lucky that someone whom doesn't want to keep it, or sell it, has found it.
Edit: although without a sim card it's probably a drug mule's phone and you should bring a gun to the meet just in case.
Done a factory reset, Which says it will wipe data. It failed, Now I can look at teh pictures and try figure out who they are. More childrens movies on the internal stornage
Woah, how kind of you wanting to return the phone.. Only one thing comes to my mind - all phones should be trackable by their IMEI - perhaps try flashing a full wipe base ROM via ODIN (maybe pulling all the data you can thru adb first?), and perhaps try contacting samsung officials in your country about a found phone?? That is if the guy was fortunate enough to create a samsung account or something that could identify him..
EDIT: Okay I found a thread, perhaps you can try running an ADB command like this to get the contacts database??
http://www.droidxforums.com/forum/droid-x-rescue-squad/30987-acquire-contacts-via-adb.html
Pulling the contacts database is good but if adb wasn't already enabled you would have to root it with cf-root then boot into recovery and run the adb commands from it since adb is enabled in recovery by default *may have to mount data partition*
Pin is stored in the EFS folder, and no factory reset or firmware flash will touch that. Messing with EFS can have dire consequences if corrupted (no IMEI = no network connection).
But if no choice, take a look at Hellcatdroid's solution with
ADB here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1476634
Edit as previous poster, maybe even flash a Chainfire CF-Root kernel, and then boot into CWM recovery. Mount partitions, and use windows program "Android Commander" to file explore any system partition for more info. The EFS could backed upped and even deleted. But risks outlined earlier.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Wipe the thing and enjoy your new phone
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
borolo222 said:
Wipe the thing and enjoy your new phone
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should really grow up and also learn something about a thing called reading
Sent from my sgs2 running cm9 using xda app
You need to hand the phone to the police.
CrashUK said:
You need to hand the phone to the police.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^
+ lots this. Let's face it, putting two and two together with the other thread where you seem desperate to transfer an IMEI from one phone to another (illegal), something doesn't sound right here.
MistahBungle said:
^^
+ lots this. Let's face it, putting two and two together with the other thread where you seem desperate to transfer an IMEI from one phone to another (illegal), something doesn't sound right here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you "clamped" him ...
Not been clamped on anything, On the phone there were several named files of a child (baby xxxx and little zzz stuck the names together then I looked on facebook the woman had made the boy a facebook and from there I checked her pictures, Same person and told them about there phone.
She said it was nice of me to do so, Told to me to keep it as it had been replaced, But she would be greatful if she could get the pictures so On to a flashdrive and in the post they went.
So I now have a large MP3 Player.
So congragulations on 2+2 together and getting 5.
We are not all a-holes. Despite what you think.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Too be fair, i did see that thread, what were we suppose to assume lol??
But fairplay... i would miss my pics more than anything
Bouncer5 said:
Not been clamped on anything, On the phone there were several named files of a child (baby xxxx and little zzz stuck the names together then I looked on facebook the woman had made the boy a facebook and from there I checked her pictures, Same person and told them about there phone.
She said it was nice of me to do so, Told to me to keep it as it had been replaced, But she would be greatful if she could get the pictures so On to a flashdrive and in the post they went.
So I now have a large MP3 Player.
So congragulations on 2+2 together and getting 5.
We are not all a-holes. Despite what you think.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give you €100 for it. ;-) But no seriously. I would.
I was nice enongh to not only try to get the phone back to the owner and data instead of being lost in the lost and found, People really shouldnt assume the worst.
Im still left with a GSII that was crushed by a bus but has a valid IMEI a GSII thats barred from network best I can do with it is use it like a iPod Touch. Or pull the battery for a spare in my Nexus.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Helo ppl....I happened to miss my S2 about a week back after which I had lodged a police complaint with IMEI and relevant details and am waiting for information about the phone. Regarding the instances and settings with which the phone was lost gave me a few doubts which I post here. Any one who could throw some light would be helpful
1) When the phone was lost it was already in 2% battery level. So as soon as I lost it when i called back to my number obviously I got a "phone switched off" message.But not sure if it had switched off by itself or if it had been switched off. I believe there is no way of knowing. But if any one has a miraculous idea or sumthing.... do post
2) I had pattern lock active on the phone so I wonder if there is any layman work around for pattern lock just to be sure if my data has been compromised. And also, if the pattern lock is active , when the phone is connected via USB does it give direct access inspite of the pattern lock or how else does it work? If my phone does end up non-traceable i just want to rest assured that the data doesnt get out and to bypass the lock the thief just formats the phone, which i would say is much better for me.
3)I came across a very promising tracking software called Plan B on the google play store and tried installing it via my computer by logging in to my gamil ID. Once i went to the google play store I could see that my ID was still associated with Galaxy S2 even after a week. So does the last active device on the gmailID still show up even if the phone has been logged of my account/phone formatted or could i take it that the device has not been logged off my gmail ID/not formatted yet??
Thanks for ur replies....
If you didn't install tracking software on your phone before you lost it, the police recovering it is your only chance. And at a rough guess, police probably recover 0.01% (1 in 10,000) of stolen mobile phones (in Australia at least)...you know the rest.
MistahBungle said:
If you didn't install tracking software on your phone before you lost it, the police recovering it is your only chance. And at a rough guess, police probably recover 0.01% (1 in 10,000) of stolen mobile phones (in Australia at least)...you know the rest.
Click to expand...
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So what is the best tracking software for our phones?
There's lots of them. Search Google Play. I don't use any on my phone, but I use Prey on my laptop & I've heard good things about their Android app. Try a few out & see which has the features you want & works best for you.
metinrecepi said:
So what is the best tracking software for our phones?
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@mistah: thanks for the replyy....i too know the scenario about police helping out...but they insisted that they had retrieved quite a number of phones and since it was a smart phone it would be easier they said.......I was jus hoping if some one could enlighten me on point no 2).....
Aight so I have this Samsung Galaxy J7 Max that I've been trying to unlock for more than 2 years now. I of course, don't want to lose the super important data it holds. It got locked out randomly and hasn't been able to take up the pattern I had put on it till date. I'm absolutely sure no one changed its lock screen pattern and its the phone that is unable to recognize the exact same password it had before this happening. I got hold of it today and yet again, started looking for solutions on YouTube and the internet itself. After all of my research, one thing is clear. There is only one way that the pattern lock can be removed in such a condition; by deleting this system folder called gesture.key that lies within the phone itself. I am by no means a nerdy software dev or something but I do have very little knowledge about these workarounds. I used an ADB via a cmd terminal to contact my phone. But it turns out that due to my usb debugging setting not being turned on in my phone, the adb didn't have the required authorization to make any changes to the target. I then got my phone into stock recovery mode and chose the Install through ADB option there. Now when I input the command adb devices, the prompt showed me my device ID, but instead of the "unauthorized" indicator beside it, it now had the indicator "sideload". I had no idea of what had to be done when such happens, so I tried the adb shell > cd data/system > su > rm *.key [taken from an XDA forums thread] commands again. But right on the second step it displayed error this time. I have tried using a key eraser via sd card too, but it just doesn't happen, the sd card folder in the stock mode does not display the contents of the folder.
Now the phone isn't being an obstacle in my life right now, but I really hope there's a way to fix it. Early help would be appreciated. Thank You.
If the data is super important why isn't it redundantly backed up?
Having a set lock screen and storing data on the OS is a sure fire way to lose data, eventually.
Maybe you'll get lucky... is that drive encrypted?
If not it may still be corrupted and unusable.
Don't put yourself in this position again... been there, done that
@blackhawk As I said, this was an absolutely random incident, had never even thought this could've been the case someday. Its not like the phone crashed and then this happened, I turned off my phone's display and the next time I woke it up, the pattern wasn't working anymore. Furthermore, the timed attempts that happen after 5 incorrect tries wasn't existing anymore. Now it could be that someone did get the timed attempts wrong as well [it isn't my own phone]. But I really don't see any other reason to that occurrence.
About the backups, I mean cmon, I was 15 back then, a medico student even more so. I never got my hands around backing up anything. But yes, have been backing up every single bit of data within these two years.
The storage drive shouldn't be encrypted. It was a regular phone bought online that had pdfs, images, recordings and videos stored. The google account was not that of the owner either! It was my uncle's account that was being used ever since he bought it. And since there was never a problem having used his account for quite a while, we never cared to change it to a new google account. Now my uncle's google account itself handles another device, his own phone, exact same model, Galaxy J7 Max. I have tried using his account at the Google Find My Device app to locate and unlock the phone that way [I hope you know it has the three options Ring, Secure and Erase Data]. But it happens so that the Secure phone with password option only for devices that have been lost and don't have a security lock already setup, which wasn't, unfortunately, my case. So that option was greyed out.
For the data corruption, you might be correct. But that phone still does receive SMS texts, calls, whatsapp texts and other notifications. They just don't show up on the lock screen anymore. I honestly had the "Screw the data, I'll erase it anyway" thought yesterday, but during my latest tries, I found the XDA forums website to be quite helpful. Had not it been the damn USB debugging, the solution I approached from this forum would've got the job done in a couple minutes. Again, if the data might've gone corrupted, I will erase the data [I mean I would have to]. But this little glimmer of hope that I experienced yesterday is what is preventing me from doing that. I really hope there is a fix to my situation.
@Chinmay47
a phone can get booted into these modes
Normal ( AKA Android OS )
Recovery
Fastboot
Sideload
EDL
Sideload mode is used to flash OTAs and/or ROMs.
Recovery mode allows you to perform some ADB actions as e.g. pull userdata, but this reqires ADB ( read: USB debug ) got enabled.
So my guess is you can't recover phone's userdata at your own, this would have to be done by an external service who can pull out phone's internal SD-card and has the forensic tools to read it.
@jwoegerbauer Surprisingly the idea of taking the phone to a forensic service struck me yesternight too. As you mentioned, since I can't recover the phone's data myself, all tips and tweaks on the web should now be struck off of my list of solutions. I'll leave the data to some forensic services then. Let's hope the recovery is worth the hassle. The thread is still open to more suggestions though. Thanks for the replies everyone. Really appreciate it!
Chinmay47 said:
@jwoegerbauer Surprisingly the idea of taking the phone to a forensic service struck me yesternight too. As you mentioned, since I can't recover the phone's data myself, all tips and tweaks on the web should now be struck off of my list of solutions. I'll leave the data to some forensic services then. Let's hope the recovery is worth the hassle. The thread is still open to more suggestions though. Thanks for the replies everyone. Really appreciate it!
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It not a card they can pull. More than likely it's on a BGA chipset, the hardest kind there is to work with.
If they can't access the data on/with the mobo they will have to unsolder the chipset without damaging it then put it into a test jig or another mobo (after pulling that mobo's matching chipset).
If they can access the data on the mobo, not so bad. Otherwise not so good.
Let us know how this plays out for you.
Here's one I found showing you this complex procedure: https://flashfixers.com/recover-data-dead-phone-chip-off-data-recovery/
They may be able to help you, but I have no personal knowledge of this company.
blackhawk said:
If they can't access the data on/with the mobo they will have to unsolder the chipset without damaging it then put it into a test jig or another mobo (after pulling that mobo's matching chipset).
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Actually thought of this idea right after a couple days from the beginning of the problem. Yes its gonna take loads of precision and patience but it does sound doable. Maybe that's what is gonna be the last option for the forensic service too in case, god forbid, they aren't able to do it the "simple" way. Can't say yet, but I'm gonna keep this thread updated with all the developments that take place.
Chinmay47 said:
Actually thought of this idea right after a couple days from the beginning of the problem. Yes its gonna take loads of precision and patience but it does sound doable. Maybe that's what is gonna be the last option for the forensic service too in case, god forbid, they aren't able to do it the "simple" way. Can't say yet, but I'm gonna keep this thread updated with all the developments that take place.
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If they need to remove the chipset the chances of failure increase. Flash memory retension is generally good for 10+ years but it may be damaged in the removal process if so, snake eyes.
Get price quotes up front for the whole process.
Once they got the phone, they got you by the balls. Not saying they aren't trustworthy but feel them out. If it's a couple hundred and you get the data back, you did good.
No idea of the cost though, my guess is $400-1000+ especially if they need to pull the chipset.
That's high risk even if they do it by the book.
If their policy is no data, no charge... expect higher rates to cover their loses.
@blackhawk All of that sounds kinda terrifying if you ask me. Well I mean, there is always a first option that can be tried without any mentions of pull-aparts. Yet I will surely judge the person well before I hand my device in his hands. I would try my level best to not take it to the critical stage, but if it needs be and there is a really high chance of losing my data, I can factory reset my data at home by myself too can't I? Future shall tell I suppose.
If you factory reset it all data will be lost.
It will not be recoverable!
If you want the data you will need to use a service like I showed you. They will need physical access to the phone to recovery the data.
The phone may be scrape afterwards
@blackhawk Sure does look like it would be! But paying to get your phone reset for you is way to harsher than doing it yourself. It is only in case the data is nearly impossible to recover that I'll reset the phone myself.
Chinmay47 said:
@blackhawk Sure does look like it would be! But paying to get your phone reset for you is way to harsher than doing it yourself. It is only in case the data is nearly impossible to recover that I'll reset the phone myself.
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Reset? Most likely destroyed.
Do you really want the data?
blackhawk said:
Reset? Most likely destroyed.
Do you really want the data?
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I actually do though. But well, if it ain't coming back then why wish for it. Yeah the data was really important.
Chinmay47 said:
I actually do though. But well, if it ain't coming back then why wish for it. Yeah the data was really important.
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Call them up and see what they say.
Since it's not physically damaged they may be able to access it none invasively.
blackhawk said:
Call them up and see what they say.
Since it's not physically damaged they may be able to access it none invasively.
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I'll do that and report back ASAP. Thanks for the help sire!