Imortant documents removed in brutalest way possible. - Samsung Galaxy S8 Questions and Answers

Useless help. Regreted the will badly to ask here about my problem.

bacKzZ said:
So I had problems with my charging port on my S8 phone of that "Moisture Detection" feature superiority that totally exploited the charging port and destroyed it completely despite it never ever touching the water substance on it's whole lifespan leading me with total broken adapter and not even having access to use the phone again despite having the guaranty of Sasmung that it will work for "2 years" without even a problem. So I took the phone and send it to the store I bought in my country which is Neptun in Kosovo basically in Prizren city. I told what's the problem and even asked them clearly; I couldn't really make an backup from the phone due to the charging port failure and precisely asked them.Will they remove every single thingI have in my phone? Since it only is hardware related problem and it doesn't even have any manipulation need in the software for only swaping the charging port with a new one. And they said, Not really, Don't even worry about it, They won't remove any single of thing your phone and I asked them again about it because I still wasn't sure about it, they once again told me that they will not. So I let them get my phone and send in their repairing center hopingly to fix it properly without any problem as I had even bad experience with them about my TV which had problems of getting turned on and they completely removed the WIFI dongle it had inside and disable the wifi connection, now I can't even use the wifi connection anymore. So normally from that I had doubts for my phone as well. And guess what? I was right. They kind of fixed the charging port but they did even worse, They completely removed every single important thing I had starting from my college lessons, all the photos , different important documents and evidences that I had about an legal case that it is still open and totally depends on those evidences and every single thing I had there got destructed in brutalest way possible due to people's ignorance and negligence on my phone, even after persuading them of actual situation. Now it's been 2 weeks since I got my phone and i'm struggling to even find any way of recovering those important documents and evidences that's life mattering. The storage of the phone is not yet used to it's fullest due to the chances of the old data being overwritted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disk digger is your best bet

TheMadScientist said:
Disk digger is your best bet
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Click to collapse
Do I have to root the phone? Is it worth destroying the warranty and at the end getting nothing?

bacKzZ said:
Do I have to root the phone? Is it worth destroying the warranty and at the end getting nothing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will run non rooted

TheMadScientist said:
It will run non rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you even realize that they completely deleted everything? Like format **** or whatever those dumbass creations did. The app doesn't even find anything other than my own photos that I recovered from Samsung Cloud and nothing else.

bacKzZ said:
Do you even realize that they completely deleted everything? Like format **** or whatever those dumbass creations did. The app doesn't even find anything other than my own photos that I recovered from Samsung Cloud and nothing else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that was your best bet. I guess you shoulda had it all backed up to the cloud. Like most of us do. Being rude like that isn't helping nothing but stopping others from joining in. Maybe you could have wireless charged the device. And then backed up. Or maybe you could've backed up on a PC and not relied on 1 device as a backup of very important information. But you didn't. Any time you send a device In for repair it gets formatted don't matter what they say. So tough luck mate that's how the world works. I understand your frustrations. But in the end it's your own fault

Again disk digger was your best bet. Only other option is an paid service for data recovery. I felt the way you posted was directed at me. So I did snap back. If not how it was meant I'm sorry. Just looked like it.

Thread cleaned

Related

Sprint Service Repair Centers

I need to take my phone in to a repair center. Should I reroot and go in stock? I know i already should pull my SD card, anything else? How much do they charge, i dont have insurance. Do they give you a replacement phone?
Just nervous, need some advice.
First off whats wrong with your device, and if you haven't had your hero over a year then your still in warranty and shouldn't charge you anything (and thats impossible cause the hero hasn't been out a year).
I would go back to stock rom, most service center repair specialists will flip out if you tell them hacked your phone. Just saying (I don't care personally)
Yes, before you go to the sprint store restore to factory OS. If you don't that will void your warranty
dkdtaylor said:
Yes, before you go to the sprint store restore to factory OS. If you don't that will void your warranty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not if you brought it to my store
my trackball doesn't go down only up left and right.
inns go get a new one for 35 bucks I thinly since I have equipment protection. but even though its the hardware not the software so even if I'm rooted they shouldn't care.
Sent from my HERO200 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
Its my mini usb port, the audio juust stopped working, i took it in to a sprint store and they gave me a new adapter, and tested my phone and said it was the port needing repair. Do they give you a phone to use while they repair?
76flip said:
Its my mini usb port, the audio juust stopped working, i took it in to a sprint store and they gave me a new adapter, and tested my phone and said it was the port needing repair. Do they give you a phone to use while they repair?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most stores can't repair something like this. They will probably give you whats called an Advanced Exchange, meaning they'll order you a refurbished Hero, before you freak, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with a refurbished phone.
Secondly they will probably not give you a loaner while they look at/repair it. It would take probably 8 minutes to activate a loaner and then look at your phone, its way more simply to just go without a phone for an hour or less.
Lastly, they will more then likely not be able to swap you same day, meaning the refurbished phone will need to be sent to the store, and you would pick it up tomorrow.
Hope this explains Sprint's process a little better.
stephen240 said:
Most stores can't repair something like this. They will probably give you whats called an Advanced Exchange, meaning they'll order you a refurbished Hero, before you freak, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with a refurbished phone.
Secondly they will probably not give you a loaner while they look at/repair it. It would take probably 8 minutes to activate a loaner and then look at your phone, its way more simply to just go without a phone for an hour or less.
Lastly, they will more then likely not be able to swap you same day, meaning the refurbished phone will need to be sent to the store, and you would pick it up tomorrow.
Hope this explains Sprint's process a little better.
Click to expand...
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Very helpful, thank you
76flip said:
Very helpful, thank you
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Click to collapse
Its what I'm here for :]
stephen240 said:
Not if you brought it to my store
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Click to collapse
Or mine..
azyouthinkeyeiz said:
Or mine..
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Click to collapse
GTFO mine's better! Cause I'm at mine lol JK!
*edit...
I guess I just read over the part about it being your usb port.. lol
btw...
I think I read a post from you earlier on the NASC support device forums.. I'm not sure if you're corporate, it wouldn't be NASC support but there was a stephen saying that "he might or might not frequently flash roms.. )
azyouthinkeyeiz said:
Just for future reference...
Buy denatured alcohol.. Dip your audio input into the alcohol very lightly.. And then stick the plug in the audio port, push in and out and turn and you should see better audio..
Dust and moisture residue gradually build up on the metal contacts and cause some interference..
Usually that issue is not the port, but thats not a be all-end all answer either.
btw...
I think I read a post from you earlier on the NASC support device forums.. I'm not sure if you're corporate, it wouldn't be NASC support but there was a stephen saying that "he might or might not frequently flash roms.. )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^He is very correct in the denautered alcohol bit, I do this kind of thing all the time.
Actually I'm not coperate =/ But I do frequently flash roms
last question...
I kept a nandroid of stock before flashing anything, does this unroot me?
stephen240 said:
Actually I'm not coperate =/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me neither...
If you go to NASC support and then login like you were checking your ASC calendar, click on device known issues, then discussion forums at the top, you can read the corporate techs known issues, etc.. Its a pretty cool place to learn
76flip said:
last question...
I kept a nandroid of stock before flashing anything, does this unroot me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.. You are still rooted.. The nandroid was not done until after you flashed the recovery image so that will still be there...
You will just have the stock rom running on a rooted phone..
azyouthinkeyeiz said:
No.. You are still rooted.. The nandroid was not done until after you flashed the recovery image so that will still be there...
You will just have the stock rom running on a rooted phone..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
youll be fine, just nandroid it back to stock they wont even look.
Ok, wanted to share my experience...
The store i purchased my phone at initially is great, they have helped me with everything and have always been polite and courteous. After going to that store they told me to simply take it to their readynow store and they will fix it no problem. That combined with the recommendations from techs in this forum i felt very good driving 20 miles with my screaming child to the store to get it resolved.
Im back after a very angry drive home. Not only did the manager at the store let me stand waiting to be helped facing her for 10 minutes before i asked to be helped, she acted as if i were a retarted person and pointed out the audio jack on top and showed me how to put the headphone jack in.
When I explained that for the sake of better sound quality and accessories I have always used the bottom port for audio and it obviously is malfunctioning (it goes on and off when something is plugged in to audio in th mini usb)
She let out a sigh and said she would see if the tech will "even look at it". When she came back she told me that the tech says that the mini usb isn't intended for audio use and he wouldn't accept it.
I explained that my local store told me this would be taken care of here no problem and it was covered under warranty, and i spoke with a few techs online who recommended the same, and now your saying im SOL? she says yes.
I have heard horror storys about bad sprint service but I have never been treated by a company that i support with my money monthly this way. THE WORST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD! I would be fired if i talked to a customer like that and just shrugged off their problem.
Sorry for the rant
networx2002 said:
youll be fine, just nandroid it back to stock they wont even look.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I did. I took mine in to get the dust removed and had no issues.
dkdtaylor said:
Yes, before you go to the sprint store restore to factory OS. If you don't that will void your warranty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just FYI, and I'm not saying you'd want to take it to court, but courts have upheld that defects in products that could not be caused by software/firmware changes must be covered under warranty even if the user changed it to some unauthorized version. The case I'm thinking about was regarding a hacked game console but the same would theoretically apply to a phone. This would have to be something like the screen dying or the usb port going bad. If the processor died they could possibly argue that you caused it with under/over clocking attempts.

[Q] Fired employee pattern locked his phone, need the data

We fired an employee yesterday, and when he returned his phone we discovered that it is pattern-locked. I need to get around the lock to see if he has any important company data stored on his phone...
Is there any way to do this on the Shift?
Factory wipe would get rid of anything on his phone, try sliding the keyboard open to wake the phone, I know sometimes that got around the pattern lock back on my moment, never used the pattern lock on this phone, sorry.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
ovalprocess said:
We fired an employee yesterday, and when he returned his phone we discovered that it is pattern-locked. I need to get around the lock to see if he has any important company data stored on his phone...
Is there any way to do this on the Shift?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well first off, any important data would be stored on the SD card.
Doing a factory wipe would wipe what is on the phone, not the SD card. Nothing would really be on the phone though unless you want to dig around in his text messages.
Actually, I DO want to dig around in his text messages. I work for an IT consulting firm, and I need to know if he was communicating to clients via text.
ovalprocess said:
Actually, I DO want to dig around in his text messages. I work for an IT consulting firm, and I need to know if he was communicating to clients via text.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might have to contact Sprint for a record of those. I don't know of any way to get around the pattern lock.
If he enabled USB debugging, you will be able to get at a lot of stuff with adb... including the text message database.
ovalprocess said:
We fired an employee yesterday, and when he returned his phone we discovered that it is pattern-locked. I need to get around the lock to see if he has any important company data stored on his phone...
Is there any way to do this on the Shift?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ovalprocess said:
Actually, I DO want to dig around in his text messages. I work for an IT consulting firm, and I need to know if he was communicating to clients via text.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just call the guy you fired and ask him for the password. Sounds to me like the simple and adult solution. Who cares if his feeling are hurt or it will be awkward, its like turning in the office keys when you leave.
+1 Could've been a simple oversight on his part.
ovalprocess said:
Actually, I DO want to dig around in his text messages. I work for an IT consulting firm, and I need to know if he was communicating to clients via text.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kind of seems ironic that he can't break the code since he works for an IT firm.
lvpre said:
Kind of seems ironic that he can't break the code since he works for an IT firm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally ironic. Try ADB?
lvpre said:
Kind of seems ironic that he can't break the code since he works for an IT firm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really, information technology != software security
That's like saying it's ironic that a mechanical engineer can't make his own electronic circuit board
c00ller said:
Not really, information technology != software security
That's like saying it's ironic that a mechanical engineer can't make his own electronic circuit board
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Click to collapse
No, it actually is ironic and also hilarious.
It's more like a mechanic that doesn't know how to rebuild a transmission.
--Sysadmin/IT professional/Tech Support professional of 10+ years.
edit: Then again, it's not a bad question, but you have to admit it's a bit ironic.
riggsandroid said:
Just call the guy you fired and ask him for the password. Sounds to me like the simple and adult solution. Who cares if his feeling are hurt or it will be awkward, its like turning in the office keys when you leave.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This times a million.
VICODAN said:
No, it actually is ironic and also hilarious.
It's more like a mechanic that doesn't know how to rebuild a transmission.
--Sysadmin/IT professional/Tech Support professional of 10+ years.
edit: Then again, it's not a bad question, but you have to admit it's a bit ironic.
This times a million.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, judging how many combinations you can do with the pattern lock, it would take a quite while to figure out the right combination since there's literally thousands of doable combinations that have to be done manually (afaik) not automated by a script. It isn't ironic at all. Why waste the time? I wouldn't want to bang my head against a wall when the solution is a simple phone call away. And I've been doing IT as long as you have.
cosine83 said:
Actually, judging how many combinations you can do with the pattern lock, it would take a quite while to figure out the right combination since there's literally thousands of doable combinations that have to be done manually (afaik) not automated by a script. It isn't ironic at all. Why waste the time? I wouldn't want to bang my head against a wall when the solution is a simple phone call away. And I've been doing IT as long as you have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't talking about the validity of the question at all. It's a great question.. since nobody seems to know the answer I would just suggest taking out the battery and seeing if you can boot into recovery and mounting it via USB if USB debugging is enabled and/or messing with ADB on the phone..
Also, why is this company giving their employees Android phones and not Blackberries? Blackberries can be controlled via BES. Maybe it's just a husband trying to hack his wife's phone?
VICODAN said:
I wasn't talking about the validity of the question at all. It's a great question.. since nobody seems to know the answer I would just suggest taking out the battery and seeing if you can boot into recovery and mounting it via USB if USB debugging is enabled and/or messing with ADB on the phone..
Also, why is this company giving their employees Android phones and not Blackberries? Blackberries can be controlled via BES. Maybe it's just a husband trying to hack his wife's phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My last job was using Droid Incredibles. Android phones can be controlled via Exchange ActiveSync security policies. I personally did it at my last job to **** with this guy that was an annoying asshole. Made it so he had to enter his AD password whenever he wanted to unlock his phone and I'd data wipe his phone weekly. He'd ask me about it and I'd tell him it's security policy. I had him convinced that everyone was having the same thing done when they weren't.
Honestly: If I knew the answer I wouldn't tell you. Bypassing someone's security is not the kind of information you should be able to get from XDA.
^ Shift Faced
Sounds more like a jealous boyfriend wants to look at his girls texts.
You gotta admit, it sounds plausible....
I know how to accomplish this, and it is actually quite simple, but I would never share this with some a***ole employer that wants to spy on their employees.
cloverdale said:
I know how to accomplish this, and it is actually quite simple, but I would never share this with some a***ole employer that wants to spy on their employees.
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Click to collapse
Then why waste the time to post here and talk **** to some guy who might be actually telling the truth and needs to get work info off that phone?
Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk
e240 said:
Then why waste the time to post here and talk **** to some guy who might be actually telling the truth and needs to get work info off that phone?
Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't think the whole story is fishy? The way I see it, he has two obvious options:
1. Call the employee. Ask for the pattern.
2. If he refuses, call the cops.
The fact that he is not doing either of these indicates that he does not have a legitimate reason for wanting the info.
^ Shift Faced

A warning for all rooters

At the risk of showcasing myself as a total moron, I thought I'd share with you my experience of sheer, unadulterated stupidity before anyone else makes the same mistake.
I've been rooting my Android devices for a long, long time without any problem, until now.
I installed a ROM that didn't agree with my N7100 and needed to get my phone back into a working state. Having only Macs at work meant I had to use Heimdall rather than the Windows-friendly Odin. Heimdall isn't quite as easy to get to grips with and couldn't handle the factory images I was throwing at it, so in a desperate attempt to fix this, I inadvertently deleted all of my EFS data...
...and I hadn't taken a backup.
A local 'backstreet' phone shop couldn't fix it, and Vodafone charged me £100 (as I'd invalided the warranty) to replace the motherboard.
So it's not only a silly mistake to make, it's an expensive one, as this 'experienced' rooter discovered
Whatever you do, never, ever delete, re-partition or reformat the EFS partition on your Galaxy Note II!
You have been warned!
danakers said:
At the risk of showcasing myself as a total moron, I thought I'd share with you my experience of sheer, unadulterated stupidity before anyone else makes the same mistake.
I've been rooting my Android devices for a long, long time without any problem, until now.
I installed a ROM that didn't agree with my N7100 and needed to get my phone back into a working state. Having only Macs at work meant I had to use Heimdall rather than the Windows-friendly Odin. Heimdall isn't quite as easy to get to grips with and couldn't handle the factory images I was throwing at it, so in a desperate attempt to fix this, I inadvertently deleted all of my EFS data...
...and I hadn't taken a backup.
A local 'backstreet' phone shop couldn't fix it, and Vodafone charged me £100 (as I'd invalided the warranty) to replace the motherboard.
So it's not only a silly mistake to make, it's an expensive one, as this 'experienced' rooter discovered
Whatever you do, never, ever delete, re-partition or reformat the EFS partition on your Galaxy Note II!
You have been warned!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even though i wouldn't do this, i am sure that if NASA was able to send monkeys into space there ought to a couple left here who would do this
But Thank You.
Bl!GhT said:
Even though i wouldn't do this, i am sure that if NASA was able to send monkeys into space there ought to a couple left here who would do this
But Thank You.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you had insurance you could have claimed on that instead?
DaBountyHunter said:
If you had insurance you could have claimed on that instead?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmm, not having insurance makes me even dumber!
you should understand the word "use at your own risk", "always made a backup", "this is for advanced-user", and many things before doing something, just a warning wont help I think..
rashid.fairus said:
you should understand the word "use at your own risk", "always made a backup", "this is for advanced-user", and many things before doing something, just a warning wont help I think..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm just trying to be helpful by posting this.
I consider myself an advanced user, but even advanced users can make mistakes.
you could have fixed it with this software http://www.softworld.com/windows/communications/telephony/unlock-samsung-home/
jutley said:
you could have fixed it with this software http://www.softworld.com/windows/communications/telephony/unlock-samsung-home/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tested this sw after reading this from your other post
though i have no IMEI issue but tried unlock screen as it is free feature, but it didn't work for me.
apart from this it has caused issue on my device and pc, my play store was unable to download any application untill i factory reset device.
on PC side even after uninstall sw it was giving me some dll error. and had to reset my PC too.
I've seen a lot of efs repair apps, and I don't really see how any of them can possibly work at all. If the efs is deleted, you can't magically return it. That would be the same as having an app recalling a forgotten password without having anything to do with it beforehand.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
adytum said:
I've seen a lot of efs repair apps, and I don't really see how any of them can possibly work at all. If the efs is deleted, you can't magically return it. That would be the same as having an app recalling a forgotten password without having anything to do with it beforehand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it does seem as though screwing up your EFS is a bigger deal than I thought, on account of the fact that the only way they could repair my handset was by replacing the mobo. I tried so many supposed 'fixes' before dropping my handset into the Vodafone store and sadly none of them worked. On the plus side, even though I 'fessed up, the helpful people at Vodafone logged my fault as "device will not reboot" in the hope they didn't spot it was an invalidated warranty job... but they still found out
Anyway, hands up... I'm an idiot!
always backup your EFS folder into external SD card just to be on the safe side
thanks for the advice :good:
Paranoids Glore my efs on my raid server in the cloud on my remote mail server zipped and stored on a flash disk and on my laptop. Uou never know
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
Step 1. Buy a PC.
Step 2. Enjoy.
Ok...thank you for sharing the experience...**** happens even to the brilliandest of minds!... I have a crusial question though... I come from the htc side which I now hate for their crappy support and aftersales policy... I had an evo 3d which after a year of pretty much flawless operation started to have serious issues with the display. I had the warranty running, so htc service repaired it for free, changing the mobo! GOD! What happened next?? I couldnt unlock the bootloader (even with their official way) and root my phone! Such a huge dissapointment! SO, my question to you all guys is, if for some reason I got changed my note2 mobo, will I be able to root it again? Thank you all in advance.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
ciscosec said:
Ok...thank you for sharing the experience...**** happens even to the brilliandest of minds!... I have a crusial question though... I come from the htc side which I now hate for their crappy support and aftersales policy... I had an evo 3d which after a year of pretty much flawless operation started to have serious issues with the display. I had the warranty running, so htc service repaired it for free, changing the mobo! GOD! What happened next?? I couldnt unlock the bootloader (even with their official way) and root my phone! Such a huge dissapointment! SO, my question to you all guys is, if for some reason I got changed my note2 mobo, will I be able to root it again? Thank you all in advance.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yepp .. no problem
That is a sign of SDS. You know what you do, there is no problem at all
Sent from my GT-N7100
Sds? What does this mean?
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
Zanr Zij said:
That is a sign of SDS. You know what you do, there is no problem at all
Sent from my GT-N7100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are you on about? None of this has anything to do with Sds.
Nowadays people get a cold and blame it on Sds.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
danakers said:
At the risk of showcasing myself as a total moron, I thought I'd share with you my experience of sheer, unadulterated stupidity before anyone else makes the same mistake.
I've been rooting my Android devices for a long, long time without any problem, until now.
I installed a ROM that didn't agree with my N7100 and needed to get my phone back into a working state. Having only Macs at work meant I had to use Heimdall rather than the Windows-friendly Odin. Heimdall isn't quite as easy to get to grips with and couldn't handle the factory images I was throwing at it, so in a desperate attempt to fix this, I inadvertently deleted all of my EFS data...
...and I hadn't taken a backup.
A local 'backstreet' phone shop couldn't fix it, and Vodafone charged me £100 (as I'd invalided the warranty) to replace the motherboard.
So it's not only a silly mistake to make, it's an expensive one, as this 'experienced' rooter discovered
Whatever you do, never, ever delete, re-partition or reformat the EFS partition on your Galaxy Note II!
You have been warned!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why didnt u go to the samsung repair centre???? Are u in the UK? ?
Handwritten from my Galaxy Note II

[Q] Changing IMEI of the Nexus 4

My brand new Nexus 4 got stolen within a week of buying it while traveling in Bombay. I was hoping to get it back after lodging a police complaint and they assured me it will get traced using the IMEI number. But recently I have came across many newspaper articles saying that the IMEI number can be changed using software's from the internet.
If such is the case, aren't the IMEI numbers useless in the first place?
The new IMEI number doesn't make the phone unstable or make it share its IMEI number with any other phone?
Can phones with changed IMEI numbers be used with regular mobile networks?
Modern technology isnt making this impossible?
Can someone well versed in these issues answer these questions?
Thanks
I'm pretty sure changing the IMEI number would be illegal.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Devhux said:
I'm pretty sure changing the IMEI number would be illegal.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So is stealing the device in the first place! The thief won`t care for that. As discussions about changing Imei numbers are not allowed on XDA that doesn`t mean there isn`t some dark app/software around to change the Imei though.
Is illegal and you would have to have some sort of access to be able to change it
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4
there are many softwares avb thru which the IMEI can be changed. But adding extra digits to the IMEI number or having two phones with the same IMEI number not make the phone useless? can the telephone companies not read these type of phones?
In India the success rate of phones getting recovered is merely 2%. There are many shops in seedy places where thieves can get the phones wiped or get the IMEI changed. Manufacturers need to come up with better solutions to prevent theft or make the phone unusable once stolen. If they expect people to buy such expensive phones, it wouldnt hurt them to make them more secure and in turn safe guarding our costly indulgence.
vaibhav414 said:
In India the success rate of phones getting recovered is merely 2%. There are many shops in seedy places where thieves can get the phones wiped or get the IMEI changed. Manufacturers need to come up with better solutions to prevent theft or make the phone unusable once stolen. If they expect people to buy such expensive phones, it wouldnt hurt them to make them more secure and in turn safe guarding our costly indulgence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure it's possible for them to make the phone trackable as long as the phone has charge. Eg, a small chip that is ALWAYS on to enable 24/7 GPS tracking.
Although that's nice, people would complain about privacy. They would say the manufacturers are tracking them and soon there will be some illuminati or political war going on with the manufacturer.
Is it possible? Very likely.
Will people like it? Yes and No.
exb0 said:
I'm sure it's possible for them to make the phone trackable as long as the phone has charge. Eg, a small chip that is ALWAYS on to enable 24/7 GPS tracking.
Although that's nice, people would complain about privacy. They would say the manufacturers are tracking them and soon there will be some illuminati or political war going on with the manufacturer.
Is it possible? Very likely.
Will people like it? Yes and No.
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Click to collapse
Thats a good idea. and Privacy-shrivacy! People who make a big deal about privacy should pay everyone who loses their phone and then cant track it.
Also, manufacturers have done away with a tiny slot that you could used to tie a cord around. I feel tying your phone to your trousers is the only way not to lose your phone in India. We are packed like sardines here when we use the public transport and thats the only way to secure your phone.
exb0 said:
I'm sure it's possible for them to make the phone trackable as long as the phone has charge. Eg, a small chip that is ALWAYS on to enable 24/7 GPS tracking.
Although that's nice, people would complain about privacy. They would say the manufacturers are tracking them and soon there will be some illuminati or political war going on with the manufacturer.
Is it possible? Very likely.
Will people like it? Yes and No.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldn't be surprised if they're already doing that, atleast American carrier locked phones. But then it would be detected by engineers by examining the motherboard? Although it's not necessary with network and software capability like Carrier IQ and Prism.
vaibhav414 said:
Thats a good idea. and Privacy-shrivacy! People who make a big deal about privacy should pay everyone who loses their phone and then cant track it.
Also, manufacturers have done away with a tiny slot that you could used to tie a cord around. I feel tying your phone to your trousers is the only way not to lose your phone in India. We are packed like sardines here when we use the public transport and thats the only way to secure your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty annoyed by people who keep whining about privacy as well. Germany is probably the worst worldwide right now when it comes to such people. Like a while back, when they all complained about Google Streetview and set them back via lawsuits and politics several times. Now it was only passed when people were able so request their houses(!) to be pixelated. I mean srsly, it's not like it's their faces or licence plates, it's just some outer walls, every one can see when driving by themselves! Anyway, that's why there isn't much Streetview going on here right now (Google probably got tired of it). And it's just one of many annoying examples.
But back to topic: I think Google is doing some good first steps in the anti-theft and recovery direction with the Device manager. Now it just has to work for me...
vaibhav414 said:
Thats a good idea. and Privacy-shrivacy! People who make a big deal about privacy should pay everyone who loses their phone and then cant track it.
Also, manufacturers have done away with a tiny slot that you could used to tie a cord around. I feel tying your phone to your trousers is the only way not to lose your phone in India. We are packed like sardines here when we use the public transport and thats the only way to secure your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. I actually don't like "big brother" tracking me down.
So what if you can track it? I might be able to track it down to a condo, so how are you gonna know who took the phone?
I doubt the police would make a raid JUST FOR A PHONE.
Yes I know, I've been to India. Yep, I agree on this one. I do want a strap.
eksasol said:
Wouldn't be surprised if they're already doing that, atleast American carrier locked phones. But then it would be detected by engineers by examining the motherboard? Although it's not necessary with network and software capability like Carrier IQ and Prism.
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Click to collapse
If they were, engineers would see it.
No, with software it's easily wipeable. If the nexus 4 came with a tracking app named TRACK (for an example) , I can just take the phone, wipe it and install cyanogenmod on it. There you go, the app "TRACK" will be gone. Software side would be useless. If i'm not mistaken cerberus suffers from the same problem. It's a software. I'm sure you can wipe it.
Bottom line is, unless manufacturers make a HARDWARE that lets you track it, there's no full proof way of tracking it. Even then, it's hard to convict someone of stealing your phone.
In case you're thinking that I don't understand your pain of losing a nexus 4, trust me when I say I do. I lost my nexus 4 IN SCHOOL about 2 weeks go.
exb0 said:
Nope. I actually don't like "big brother" tracking me down.
So what if you can track it? I might be able to track it down to a condo, so how are you gonna know who took the phone?
I doubt the police would make a raid JUST FOR A PHONE.
Yes I know, I've been to India. Yep, I agree on this one. I do want a strap.
If they were, engineers would see it.
No, with software it's easily wipeable. If the nexus 4 came with a tracking app named TRACK (for an example) , I can just take the phone, wipe it and install cyanogenmod on it. There you go, the app "TRACK" will be gone. Software side would be useless. If i'm not mistaken cerberus suffers from the same problem. It's a software. I'm sure you can wipe it.
Bottom line is, unless manufacturers make a HARDWARE that lets you track it, there's no full proof way of tracking it. Even then, it's hard to convict someone of stealing your phone.
In case you're thinking that I don't understand your pain of losing a nexus 4, trust me when I say I do. I lost my nexus 4 IN SCHOOL about 2 weeks go.
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Click to collapse
The point is to make stealing phones difficult. If the police raid a couple of times, the thieves would think that its useless stealing phones, since they get tracked and would discourage them from this practice. Till the someone found an IMEI loophole, im guessing phone theft would be on decline too. For eg: Modern cars. Since the chip installed in the Key. Car theft has gone down considerably.
Also, were not really upset upon losing your Nexus 4? What steps did you take to get it back, if at all?
I was hoping mine would get recovered eventually. But i have lost all hope.
I wish the thief gets slow roasted in hell.

[Q] Found a Galaxy S5

Topic closed! Got my answer. Thank you for everyone.
If you hand it into the police (At least in the UK) after a period of time, 4 weeks or something, it legally becomes yours if no-one claims it and you can go and collect it
Hand it In its being tracked
Not only that, but a local mobile network operator have no right to say you can keep a phone that does not belong to you, just because it was lost
Only the police can do that, and only after they try to find the rightful owner / give them a chance to report it lost and have it returned
Christiancs1969 said:
Hand it In it COULD BE being tracked
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Click to collapse
fixed that for you
-PiLoT- said:
fixed that for you
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Ha ha thanks...
If it was me or you it would be handed In
True...?
Christiancs1969 said:
Ha ha thanks...
If it was me or you it would be handed In
True...?
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Click to collapse
yes. honesty is honesty but that doesnt mean the device is definately being tracked, that could make the poor guy have a panic attack
-PiLoT- said:
yes. honesty is honesty but that doesnt mean the device is definately being tracked, that could make the poor guy have a panic attack
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Click to collapse
Yes.. That thought bypassed me sorry..
I'll make sure I think next time ?
Forgot to add. Because phone was locked, I wiped it clean (3 button combination).
If I hand it in - who will give me all the funds i invested? Nobody. Hope isnt at my side.
Yes, I was dumb to replace the broken parts myself. But whats done, its done.
So. Can I use Google Play? Can I use WIFI or 4G?
Asurath said:
Forgot to add. Because phone was locked, I wiped it clean (3 button combination).
If I hand it in - who will give me all the funds i invested? Nobody. Hope isnt at my side.
Yes, I was dumb to replace the broken parts myself. But whats done, its done.
So. Can I use Google Play? Can I use WIFI or 4G?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wipe data & system and install a new rom via Odin and you're done.
Wipe data removes 99% of tracking apps, wiping system removes the rest.
Use a custom recovery and delete everything than use a custom rom/kernel and flash modem/bootloader files too via odin
dotuletz said:
Wipe data & system and install a new rom via Odin and you're done.
Wipe data removes 99% of tracking apps, wiping system removes the rest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not quite
It is traceable via IMEI.
But someone who lost this phone (apparently it looks like this) and phone was bought on contract, there is huge possibility that someone will block IMEI on network provider. After that 2 ways left. Sell it to foreign country or use it w/o mobile network.
qubbus said:
It is traceable via IMEI.
But someone who lost this phone (apparently it looks like this) and phone was bought on contract, there is huge possibility that someone will block IMEI on network provider. After that 2 ways left. Sell it to foreign country or use it w/o mobile network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh, yes you guys are right. forgot the old ways now that everything is smart. On "dumb" phoness you were able to change the imei with the right tools, never tried it on smarthphones. Anyway the chances that someone who throwed away a smashed phone without battery to be looking for it are slim, i would use it
dotuletz said:
oh, yes you guys are right. forgot the old ways now that everything is smart. On "dumb" phoness you were able to change the imei with the right tools, never tried it on smarthphones. Anyway the chances that someone who throwed away a smashed phone without battery to be looking for it are slim, i would use it
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Click to collapse
Maybe someone used this phone for criminal purpose and that is the reason of smashing it?
qubbus said:
Maybe someone used this phone for criminal purpose and that is the reason of smashing it?
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Click to collapse
And that has something to do with him because ... ? phones don't comit crimes, people do. Let's say police was tracking a phone for some reason, once the criminal sells the phone it will be tracked for an X amount of time until police knows for certain the buyer doesn't have anything to do with the seller. Anyway more than 50% of phones out there have been used in... unapropiate way from prank calling to showing the latest vid of a gf to your friends (and you know what I mean by prank and vid).
Let us not make any more of what it is: a found phone, repaired, end of story. Nobody will come after it and if it does you can show the owner the receipt for spare parts. If he is as honest as wanting his/her phone back at least they can pay for repairs.
Just use it if you really wanted to... The authorities aren't gonna bother raiding your home and arresting you and stuff just for the sake of a lost phone. So just use it normally. If they blocked it then fine just use it as a gaming device or multimedia device. If someone tracked it then give it back to them and charge them the cost for fixing it. If it really came into accusing you of stealing(which has 0.1% chance of happening) then dare them a lie detector test.
dotuletz said:
And that has something to do with him because ... ? phones don't comit crimes, people do. Let's say police was tracking a phone for some reason, once the criminal sells the phone it will be tracked for an X amount of time until police knows for certain the buyer doesn't have anything to do with the seller. Anyway more than 50% of phones out there have been used in... unapropiate way from prank calling to showing the latest vid of a gf to your friends (and you know what I mean by prank and vid).
Let us not make any more of what it is: a found phone, repaired, end of story. Nobody will come after it and if it does you can show the owner the receipt for spare parts. If he is as honest as wanting his/her phone back at least they can pay for repairs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree! Just wanted to underline that there is no point to thinking 'what if'... Because we can get a really paranoic point such as cospiracy theory or something else...
Use it as long as you can and want.
Found not stolen they said
dotuletz said:
oh, yes you guys are right. forgot the old ways now that everything is smart. On "dumb" phoness you were able to change the imei with the right tools, never tried it on smarthphones. Anyway the chances that someone who throwed away a smashed phone without battery to be looking for it are slim, i would use it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
true but you also said wiping /system and /data would remove ALL tracing software. so youde be caught fast

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