galaxy s9 Galaxy S9 security issue!

[LeandroMLopes]

Hi, everyone!

 

I got a Galaxy S9 very recently and as everyone else, I'm really scared I might get robbed and loose my new very expensive phone, so I dug up all I could find about security features that I could use to either prevent it or get it back if I end up being that unlucky.

 

First, and very cool, on the Samsung website you have the "Find my Mobile" option which will automatically turn on the GPS so it can report back the location, which is something Google's similar service does not do, which means it's basically worthless, since I never have the GPS on unless I'm actually using it, in order to save battery!

 

Second, I noticed that you cannot turn off WiFi nor Mobile Data off if the phone is locked! You can turn it on, but not off, so, if a robber tries to turn off cell data, he can't unless he knows your lock code/pin/pattern/wtv. Since I always want to be connected to the internet to get facebook, instagram, e-mails, etc, notifications, if I leave home, I always turn on data, so, I'm always able to go to Samsung's website and use the "Find My Mobile" thing.

 

The problem is, and it's a HUGE problem, you can turn off the phone even if it's locked!! What the hell?! All those security features and you can just turn it off?? What's the point of not allowing you to turn off data to keep the service usable if you can just hold the power button and turn it off?? This is a HUGE security issue that we shouldn't be having in 2018. When batteries were removable, well, they could just take it off, but now that they're not, they should make it impossible for a robber to turn off the phone without unlocking it.

 

Am I missing some setting in which I can just disable the option of turning it off or what? If not, then, all is for nothing, because if a robber has half a brain cell, he'll just turn it off right away and it's gone forever.

 

Is there a way of disabling that? Does it require root? 

 

Thanks a lot in advance!

[79wjd]

Yeah....that sounds incredibly stupid. What happens when it freezes and you need to hard restart it but can't because it's locked? Have fun waiting 2 days for it to die on its own.

 

Besides, there are so many ways around it while leaving the phone on -- a faraday cage, the subway, an elevator, an area with no cell service... Not to mention that knowing where the phone is isn't going to stop a robber from stealing it, and more than likely it wouldn't help you get it back anyway.

[LeandroMLopes]

@79wjd

First, honestly, when was the last time your phone froze and you could do nothing about it? Relatively recent phones don't freeze more than a few seconds... I had a Galaxy S4 before and even that one didn't freeze.

 

Although there are other ways, those are not so easy as simply turning it off. If you're implying that a robber can just go to the subway or put it in a metal case forever, that's stupid. They'd have to come back "up" sometime or get it out of the case sooner or later and I'm not seeing them doing it long enough to drain the battery unless we're talking about a really smart and cautious robber, which is not common, I would say 

 

And what the hell? Knowing where it is wouldn't help?? Assuming you saw what the robber looked like, knowing where it was with a error of a few meters would be a huge help to finding the robber!

[D13H4RD]

Eh, when I have to turn off my Note8 when it's locked, it prompts me for my PIN

 

So, no. You can't just turn it off normally without a PIN.

 

Unless you force it to turn off, but they do that so that if a phone freezes and can't be rebooted normally, that's a last resort.

[LeandroMLopes]

Well, mine doesn't!  What the hell? I have to dig up the settings to enable that!

 

Thanks for letting me know there's hope ahah

[dizmo]

I don't see the issue. If someone mugs you and steals your phone, you're likely not going to want to hunt them down...otherwise you wouldn't have lost the phone in the first place. Oddly, I've never been afraid of being mugged or having my phone stolen and I've always owned flagships *shrug*

 

Just use common sense and you should be fine without worrying as much.

 

You need to quote or tag people for them to know you've replied.

[LeandroMLopes]

@dizmo

 

Well, of course I'd want to hunt them down if someone mugs me! And how would you prevent being mugged?  Please, master, tell society how to end that torment.

 

Dude, of course there's common sense and I shouldn't go to dangerous places or walk alone at night, I know all of that and I've never been mugged in my life, so I think I know how to behave relatively safely, but that doesn't mean there won't be a time I actually do get mugged and I just want to have enabled all the measures I can enable to make it more likely that I get my phone back, that's it.

 

PS. thanks for the heads-up about tagging people

[79wjd]

33 minutes ago, LeandroMLopes said:

@79wjd

First, honestly, when was the last time your phone froze and you could do nothing about it? Relatively recent phones don't freeze more than a few seconds... I had a Galaxy S4 before and even that one didn't freeze.

 

Although there are other ways, those are not so easy as simply turning it off. If you're implying that a robber can just go to the subway or put it in a metal case forever, that's stupid. They'd have to come back "up" sometime or get it out of the case sooner or later and I'm not seeing them doing it long enough to drain the battery unless we're talking about a really smart and cautious robber, which is not common, I would say 

 

And what the hell? Knowing where it is wouldn't help?? Assuming you saw what the robber looked like, knowing where it was with a error of a few meters would be a huge help to finding the robber!

That's not true at all. All phones can freeze -- give it long enough and it's almost guaranteed to happen at some point during the life of the phone. 

 

Explain how an elevator is hard to come by? Or a metal box? Or a refrigerator? Or a basement? There are so many ways to get around the issue that it's not even funny. Not to mention the fact that only a cautious robber would think to turn it off in the first place.

 

The police aren't going to care, and only a complete moron would go after a mugger and risk their life over a damn phone.

7 minutes ago, LeandroMLopes said:

@dizmo

 

Well, of course I'd want to hunt them down if someone mugs me! And how would you prevent being mugged?  Please, master, tell society how to end that torment.

 

Dude, of course there's common sense and I shouldn't go to dangerous places or walk alone at night, I know all of that and I've never been mugged in my life, so I think I know how to behave relatively safely, but that doesn't mean there won't be a time I actually do get mugged and I just want to have enabled all the measures I can enable to make it more likely that I get my phone back, that's it.

 

PS. thanks for the heads-up about tagging people

If you're going to hunt down the guy that mugs you, then you may as well just fight him off in the first place. The point he's making is that your life isn't worth risking in either case. 

 

You seriously need to get your priorities straight. 

[LeandroMLopes]

@79wjd
 

Give it long enough? How long? I mean some very loooong years, right? After that time I'd either not mind that much loosing my phone or already have a new one.

 

Since when does "hunting down" means physically confronting the guy? Of course that's not what I meant! By hunting them down I mean know their whereabouts and get the police! Of course the police care, are you crazy? I don't know where you're from, but here in Portugal, the police sure care and will help!

 

An elevator? Seriously? So you're telling me that a mugger would either happen to be near an elevator straight away and stay in there for hours until the battery drains or go running to find one? Think realistically! Someone mugs you, takes your phone and then needs to go either home or somewhere else where he can, hypothetically, hide it inside a metal case/fridge/basement, wtv, before trying to reset it and sell it. Before he has the time to reach home, I have time to borrow a phone or PC, go to Samsung's site, find the location, meanwhile I've called the cops and they're on they're way, (and trust me, here in Portugal, they would help!) and try to get to the guy before he can actually drain it or hide it, that's the whole point!

 

No, I don't need to get my priorities straight, I do have them right, I just worry about different things than you, that's it. If you can't help, why bother commenting and saying that this is incredibly stupid? If you think this is stupid, then don't waste your time nor mine! What the hell...