Face Unlock and Finger Unlock gone!!!

[Mike Messiah]

So my Dad uses a Galaxy Note 10 Plus. He works at a high level judiciary position i cant mention, so information stored on his phone are govt. classified stuffs. Security is very vital.

He is almost 70 , so memorising pins and password is not his thing.
Therefore he uses Face Unlock/Face ID feature and Fingerprint scanner for unlocking phone and securing his apps.

But this morning, for God knows what reason, his phone can ONLY by unlocked via GESTURE PATTERN.

The thing is, Dad never uses gesture pattern, he must have set it when he first recieved the phone from the govt. He doesnt recall the gesture anymore.

All the officials have been trying their luck with the gesture unlock to no avail.

He needs to recover his phone data fast.
Is there a way for him to unlock his phone using face ID, fingerprint, or even email authorisation or something like that??

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! See if he can use Find My Mobile to remotely unlock it: https://findmymobile.samsung.com/

 

[Hermes Hidayat]

So my Dad uses a Galaxy Note 10 Plus. He works at a high level judiciary position i cant mention, so information stored on his phone are govt. classified stuffs. Security is very vital.

He is almost 70 , so memorising pins and password is not his thing.
Therefore he uses Face Unlock/Face ID feature and Fingerprint scanner for unlocking phone and securing his apps.

But this morning, for God knows what reason, his phone can ONLY by unlocked via GESTURE PATTERN.

The thing is, Dad never uses gesture pattern, he must have set it when he first recieved the phone from the govt. He doesnt recall the gesture anymore.

All the officials have been trying their luck with the gesture unlock to no avail.

He needs to recover his phone data fast.
Is there a way for him to unlock his phone using face ID, fingerprint, or even email authorisation or something like that??

Its a Google security feature. Every 24 hours or so it requires the basic lock password/pattern/pin...

 

[j_hansen]

Are you saying that he is storing highly classified government stuff on his private phone and not one supplied by the job and them managing the security of the classified material?

 

[B. Diddy]

Are you saying that he is storing highly classified government stuff on his private phone and not one supplied by the job and them managing the security of the classified material?

[facepalm] I didn't even think of that angle!

 

[Jadaress1]

Even just restarting the phone requires the gesture, pin or password to get back into it. How long has he had the phone?

 

[egood71]

Even after do many failed attempts the phone should revert to pin access. Always set a pin!

 

[Mike Dee]

Are you saying that he is storing highly classified government stuff on his private phone and not one supplied by the job and them managing the security of the classified material?

It depends on the level of the classified material and the cyber security policy of the organization. Where I work you can use a work phone or you can bring your own device as long as it meets the criteria and is set up with the same controls and administrative restrictions.

 

[bbgpsuser]

His work may have imposed admin controls on his phone which prevents the use of biometrics.

 

[adegbenroagoro]

So my Dad uses a Galaxy Note 10 Plus. He works at a high level judiciary position i cant mention, so information stored on his phone are govt. classified stuffs. Security is very vital.

He is almost 70 , so memorising pins and password is not his thing.
Therefore he uses Face Unlock/Face ID feature and Fingerprint scanner for unlocking phone and securing his apps.

But this morning, for God knows what reason, his phone can ONLY by unlocked via GESTURE PATTERN.

The thing is, Dad never uses gesture pattern, he must have set it when he first recieved the phone from the govt. He doesnt recall the gesture anymore.

All the officials have been trying their luck with the gesture unlock to no avail.

He needs to recover his phone data fast.
Is there a way for him to unlock his phone using face ID, fingerprint, or even email authorisation or something like that??

Sounds like either AUTO RESTART or SECURE SETUP. I like using both of them. "Find My Mobile" doesn't work with the latter.

 

[waqqas31]

So my Dad uses a Galaxy Note 10 Plus. He works at a high level judiciary position i cant mention, so information stored on his phone are govt. classified stuffs. Security is very vital.

He is almost 70 , so memorising pins and password is not his thing.
Therefore he uses Face Unlock/Face ID feature and Fingerprint scanner for unlocking phone and securing his apps.

But this morning, for God knows what reason, his phone can ONLY by unlocked via GESTURE PATTERN.

The thing is, Dad never uses gesture pattern, he must have set it when he first recieved the phone from the govt. He doesnt recall the gesture anymore.

All the officials have been trying their luck with the gesture unlock to no avail.

He needs to recover his phone data fast.
Is there a way for him to unlock his phone using face ID, fingerprint, or even email authorisation or something like that??

He needs to contact the MDM (Mobile Device Management) team that is managing his device. They can help him unlock it.

 

[Rukbat]

Bottom line - HE SHOULDN'T BE STORING CLASSIFIED DATA ON A DEVICE NOT ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT! (He could find himself working in the laundry of the nearest state or federal prison for that.)

As waqqas31 said, have him contact the technical department that handles those things where he works, and have them set him up correctly. (By the way, Samsung's "facial recognition" is just a but more difficult to break into than a soaking wet tissue.)

 

[anon(7901790)]

Am I the only one to think this whole thread is a scam? Hasn't ANYBODY used any critical thinking when you read the original post. There is all sorts of red flags here and almost everyone of you completely ignored them or, worse, missed them.

The OP is either:

a) Trying is running a phishing scam

or

b) Trying to break into a phone that he found or stole

I would suggest that the moderators flag this thread.

 

[B. Diddy]

Am I the only one to think this whole thread is a scam? Hasn't ANYBODY used any critical thinking when you read the original post. There is all sorts of red flags here and almost everyone of you completely ignored them or, worse, missed them.

The OP is either:

a) Trying is running a phishing scam

or

b) Trying to break into a phone that he found or stole

I would suggest that the moderators flag this thread.

Oh, we're aware and watching closely. As many red flags as there may be, we always try to give a member the benefit of the doubt. But once there's clear evidence of malfeasance, the member gets the banhammer and the thread gets closed.

 

[adegbenroagoro]

Am I the only one to think this whole thread is a scam? Hasn't ANYBODY used any critical thinking when you read the original post. There is all sorts of red flags here and almost everyone of you completely ignored them or, worse, missed them.

The OP is either:

a) Trying is running a phishing scam

or

b) Trying to break into a phone that he found or stole

I would suggest that the moderators flag this thread.

That's why I use the SECURE SETUP option on my phones

 

[isired]

Are you saying that he is storing highly classified government stuff on his private phone and not one supplied by the job and them managing the security of the classified material?

No, he's not saying that at all.

Bottom line - HE SHOULDN'T BE STORING CLASSIFIED DATA ON A DEVICE NOT ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT! (He could find himself working in the laundry of the nearest state or federal prison for that.)

What makes you think he's doing that?

OP:

The thing is, Dad never uses gesture pattern, he must have set it when he first recieved the phone from the govt. He doesnt recall the gesture anymore.

 

[B. Diddy]

That's a good catch -- but it's also a bit suspicious. I'm not sure what kind of government would issue phones to their employees that have access to high-level secure information, and not have them managed with some robust MDM solution.

 

[anon(7901790)]

We don't even know what government. It's the vagueness of the original post that makes me suspicious.

 

[B. Diddy]

Well, if it really is important, the OP will come back on the thread and clarify things.:-\

 

[j_hansen]

No, he's not saying that at all.

What makes you think he's doing that?

OP:

I think a little editing was done in the original post when questions were raised, but I guess mods would be able to see if that's the case, smells fishy though