Question My Android 12 phone will automatically POWER UP from a COMPLETE SHUTDOWN to ring an active alarm. Does that mean phones no longer power off?

[fan4orr]

I have an Android 12 smartphone. I am no longer using it, so I removed the SIM card and powered it down..... COMPLETELY using the shutdown choice on the menu.
While in another room, I suddenly heard an alarm going off. It was the phone I had shutdown. Thinking I had made a mistake, I powered it down again. It happened again the next day. I thought maybe it was because I had told it to postpone an update, so I performed the security update and POWERED DOWN AGAIN. It restarted the next day and rang the alarm. So I have determined that an active alarm can cause my phone to automatically POWER ON, without me commanding it to do so.
This really pisses me off. Not to mention it feeds into the most dark conspiracy minded theories in my brain about why phones no longer have a battery you can pull out. (Naively, I calmed my paranoia previously by thinking it was because so many stupid people kept dropping their phones in water and there was a public demand for waterproof phones that I could no longer buy a phone with a removable battery. NOW I have a phone that NEVER REALLY TURNS OFF, BUT MONITORS MY APPS TO SEE IF IT NEEDS TO REPOWER ITSELF TO RING ONE OF MY ALARMS. What the hell else does it monitor while it is "OFF". Can my phone turn itself on secretly and allow me to be monitored or tracked?? This "feature" seems to be wide open for hackers (or any agency) to use your phone as a spy device. BTW my phone is a OnePlus Nord 200. I bought the thing, thinking the Norwegians or the Finns had started making smart phones. Then I find out this POS is made by the Mainland Chinese. (I call it a POS for a reason. Over the course of 1 year, I have progressively lost first the headphone jack, then the power jack went wonky, and finally the GPS stopped working. Needless to say, I bought a Samsung when the GPS died on the Nord.)
If there was ever a government that would want a phone you COULDN'T TURN OFF, it would be the Chinese.

My question is - Is this a "feature" of Android 12? Or is this specific to the Nord 200? Did the Chinese hack Android so it couldn't be powered down, or is that now the rule on all Android 12 phones?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Some manufacturers have this kind of feature. OnePlus is one of them, and I think Samsung might have done that in the past -- @mustang7757 might be able to clarify for me.

Here's a thread about it in the OnePlus forums: https://community.oneplus.com/thread/878588. I wouldn't worry about it in terms of snooping, but if it bothers you enough, consider switching to a different phone -- Pixels certainly don't have this behavior.

 

[mustang7757]

Welcome to Android Central! Some manufacturers have this kind of feature. OnePlus is one of them, and I think Samsung might have done that in the past -- @mustang7757 might be able to clarify for me.

Here's a thread about it in the OnePlus forums: https://community.oneplus.com/thread/878588. I wouldn't worry about it in terms of snooping, but if it bothers you enough, consider switching to a different phone -- Pixels certainly don't have this behavior.

I'm not aware of Samsung current devices having this but I have to test my One plus 7pro McLaren edition and report back .

 

[pjtwyman]

My Oppo and Xiaomi phones have this feature. My current Pocophone also has it with an option to disable the alarm while the phone is powered off. There is also an option to switch on/off the phone at preset times.

In my experience this is very useful allowing you to power off the device overnight knowing the alarm will wake you in the morning.

Of course Samsung does not have this feature.

 

[fan4orr]

Thank you all. You have answered my question very well.

I am just getting irritated by the number of devices that do not actually turn off, since most no longer have a physical power button. I think the situation is ripe for abuse.
My Windows 11 computer will drain the battery if it is SHUTDOWN. The problem is well know, and Microsoft has not solved the problem yet after knowing about it for over a year. (BTW. I know the difference between the hibernation mode and total shutdown. I have changed my button settings to disable "fast start".) So what exactly is the computer doing while it is shutdown? Ironically, I now explicitly hibernate my Windows 11 laptop because THAT mode does NOT drain the battery. So what is going on with these companies keeping our devices active when we think they are shutdown? I guess that is the subject of a new thread.

 

[mustang7757]

I tested My One plus 7 pro McLaren which is US version it doesn't have the option, looks like Chinese version might have this or global Chinese version but this Not Android feature and been gone from lot of phones years ago . Chinese version device like to add SD card /IR blasters/LED notifications lights that were previously taken from other manufacturers long ago.

 

[B. Diddy]

Thank you all. You have answered my question very well.

I am just getting irritated by the number of devices that do not actually turn off, since most no longer have a physical power button. I think the situation is ripe for abuse.
My Windows 11 computer will drain the battery if it is SHUTDOWN. The problem is well know, and Microsoft has not solved the problem yet after knowing about it for over a year. (BTW. I know the difference between the hibernation mode and total shutdown. I have changed my button settings to disable "fast start".) So what exactly is the computer doing while it is shutdown? Ironically, I now explicitly hibernate my Windows 11 laptop because THAT mode does NOT drain the battery. So what is going on with these companies keeping our devices active when we think they are shutdown? I guess that is the subject of a new thread.

I think you make a good point. I'm not sure if there's any good solution for that.

The situation with your Windows 11 laptop sounds really weird. Who's the manufacturer? Does that seem to be an issue with Windows 11 in general, or only with that particular laptop model or manufacturer?

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

I think you make a good point. I'm not sure if there's any good solution for that.

The situation with your Windows 11 laptop sounds really weird. Who's the manufacturer? Does that seem to be an issue with Windows 11 in general, or only with that particular laptop model or manufacturer?

That's a well known windows issue which is to do with how the system sleeps. Well... technically it's not an issue, it's just a choice they made which according to their statistics helps more users than it hinders..

 

[B. Diddy]

That's a well known windows issue which is to do with how the system sleeps. Well... technically it's not an issue, it's just a choice they made which according to their statistics helps more users than it hinders..

Right, but it sounds like fan4orr was talking about a total shutdown of the laptop, not going to sleep. Do you mean that the sleep function somehow mucks up the shutdown state?

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Right, but it sounds like fan4orr was talking about a total shutdown of the laptop, not going to sleep. Do you mean that the sleep function somehow mucks up the shutdown state?

That's exactly what I mean. By default windows isn't set to shut down when you click shut down... that would be silly, apparently. It's setup to go into hybrid sleep. Fast startup is the thing people always blame, but it's the tip of an iceberg.

I've heard that some manufacturers actually lock the sleep state in UEFI, so there isn't really much you can do to turn it off. Haven't encountered it myself though

In case you are curious, to actually shut down you hold shift while clicking shut down by default. What could be more intuitive?.

 

[J Dubbs]

I think you make a good point. I'm not sure if there's any good solution for that.

The situation with your Windows 11 laptop sounds really weird. Who's the manufacturer? Does that seem to be an issue with Windows 11 in general, or only with that particular laptop model or manufacturer?

I can think of a couple good solutions... since the OP's Nord is junk now he could wrap it in a towel and shut it off with a hammer Or slowly drive over it a couple times with the car, then finish shutting it off with a broom

There's always options

 

[methodman89]

I used to think this was bs.

 

[B. Diddy]

That's exactly what I mean. By default windows isn't set to shut down when you click shut down... that would be silly, apparently. It's setup to go into hybrid sleep. Fast startup is the thing people always blame, but it's the tip of an iceberg.

I've heard that some manufacturers actually lock the sleep state in UEFI, so there isn't really much you can do to turn it off. Haven't encountered it myself though

In case you are curious, to actually shut down you hold shift while clicking shut down by default. What could be more intuitive?.

Ah, thanks for that info!

 

[AlReve]

There's a milder solution than the hammer : the screwdriver. On youtube, search "how to change the battery on a <your device name>". Watch carefully, put your cat in another room and have a go .

You could mess it up, but as you are no longer using it, it should not matter too much. Be extra careful once you think it is opened, don't just take both pieces apart quickly, you could tear up something.