Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Erased Itself

impoze on 26/12/2018 - 23:50
Last edited 26/12/2018 - 23:51

Merry Christmas all,

I'm a little dumbfounded at the moment, I was at Ikea, and I felt my phone vibrate.

I took it out, and it was on the Android update screen with "erasing" on it. (https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k9E3B8CzEvQ/maxresdefault.jpg)

I did not unlock or even use the phone as it was in my pocket so I was a bit confused why it was doing this.
Unlock normally requires biometric (finger/retina) or pin.

True enough, it did a full wipe, and it was back to blank device setup screen.

Once I was in, I went to the gallery and it was empty! even the SD card was wiped!

I was able to recover images from the phone and am currently running recovery on the SD card.

Anyone have any idea how this happened? do I have cause to bring it to samsung?

It's a stock Note 8, no root or mods.

Thanks,

Mobile Mobile Phone Samsung Android

Comments

  • xoom on 27/12/2018 - 00:06

    Was this phone bought brand new or second hand?

  • Hybroid on 27/12/2018 - 00:10
    +1
    1. It was wiped remotely, either from previous owner or on another device connected to it somehow.
    2. Glitch in the matrix and somehow you managed to unlock phone and press all the right keys to initiate a wipe.
    3. Possibly some malware has been installed on it recently and remote access given to someone unknowingly.
    4. Least likely option is the device malfunctioning and wiping itself though it is possible. What would Samsung do though?
    • impoze on 27/12/2018 - 00:19

      I'm original owner of the phone, have not installed any weird apps or clicked on spam texts etc

      no idea what samsung will do.. probably nothing

      • Hybroid on 27/12/2018 - 00:26

        My bet is it's some form of malware on Android then. Something like the 'Mazar Android BOT' or something similar.

        • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2018 - 01:04
          +3

          No apps (including malware) can perform system level functions like a factory reset unless the device has a rootkit applied.

          • impoze on 27/12/2018 - 01:28

            @[Deactivated]: yeah, no apps instlalled recently and phone was not rooted.

  • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2018 - 00:42

    Quite likely it was updating the OS in the background and lunched itself.

    • impoze on 27/12/2018 - 01:28

      I had no updated scheduled to run

  • payton on 27/12/2018 - 04:08
    +2

    Maybe this?

    From your link:

    user8eTSTCALws I understand your frustration. However, the devices are designed to be backed up onto your Samsung Account and have a built-in security feature that triggers the factory reset upon multiple login attempts.

    • trustnoone on 27/12/2018 - 04:15
      +1

      Just to add to this, on mine it says "auto factory reset" in my security settings and it states "after 15 incorrect attempts to unlock the phone, it will be reset to factory default, all files and apps will be deleted". Odd though as mine is turned off (and I assume its turned off by default) but could be that (I have an S7 edge though, so not same phone).

    • Sammy2000 on 27/12/2018 - 04:31

      Why? Sounds like it is the opposite of what a user would want when locked out of their phone. For someone who stole the phone it would be handy to have it fully wiped so easily.

      • xoom on 27/12/2018 - 06:36
        +1

        Yeah. Saves having to break in. Its already wiped. No breaking in needed. All one has to do is attempt entry multiple times.

      • Any thing on 27/12/2018 - 06:46

        If it's factory reset with lock screen security active and a Google account signed in it will be locked to that Google account.

  • vinni9284 on 27/12/2018 - 07:02

    If you are the original owner as you state, I would take the phone into a Samsung store to investigate and see if there is a hardware issue.
    If you have purchased this as Aussie stock then you will have 2 years warranty and may get a replacement.
    Cheers

  • JimmyF on 27/12/2018 - 08:51
    -1

    At a wild guess you have auto factory reset enabled, by default after 15 incorrect unlock attempts it factory wipes the phone/sd card.

    It was bouncing around your pocket and slowly did 15 wrong unlock attempts in a row, and then BOOM.

    • impoze on 27/12/2018 - 10:21

      don't recall activating that,

      and it's also off by default

      • JimmyF on 27/12/2018 - 10:55
        -1

        and it's also off by default

        It is, but once enabled the default settings are to wipe after 15 failed unlock attempts.

        It would explain your issue of a random wipe in your pocket if it was enabled.

  • hogwarts on 27/12/2018 - 10:06

    Did you have some sort of magnetic case?

    • impoze on 27/12/2018 - 10:22

      not a magnetic case but I have one of those metal plate things on the back to attach to the magnetic phone mounts

  • RichardL on 27/12/2018 - 11:11

    It a security feature on Samsung (and most other devices).

    It located in the Settings -> Lock Screen & Security -> Secure Lock Setting -> Auto factory wipe reset.

    • impoze on 27/12/2018 - 11:22

      yeah, I wouldn't have turned that on though

      I do see that it is the most logical explanation though.

      Wiping the SD card seems a bit overkill though.

      • whooah1979 on 27/12/2018 - 14:46

        People keep images on the card that they don't want others to see.

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