Deleted AOD GIFs reappearing

[MazinLabib10]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S9+ running Android 10. A few months ago, I tried using a GIF image as an Always On Display image, but I didn't like it so I removed it and deleted it from the gallery as well. But since then, whenever I install a software update, the GIF pops up again but as a lock screen wallpaper instead of an AOD. It remains until I switch off the screen and turn it on again, after which the GIF pauses and then the wallpaper switches back to the Dynamic Lock Screen wallpaper service that I use. Could it be that the GIF is still hidden somewhere in the phone's memory? Please let me know if there is a fix for this as it is really annoying.

 

[VidJunky]

That does seem like an odd issue. It almost sounds like some remnant of it remains and like you've hinted at seems to recreate the GIF. The way deleting works is a bit is removed from the saved file which then removes it from visible folders and marks the file area as free space. The file itself isn't actually removed until something overwrites it so I see how this could be possible. I'm curious if you tried to use a different GIF and then removed that if the old one would disappear finally or if the issue would start with the new GIF????

Thank you for registering it will make communication and getting help easier. I'm wondering if moving this question to another thread would yield better answers, maybe the S9 threads or perhaps a moderator will have a better suggestion then the general Ask A Question threads.

Moderator is there a better location for this question?

 

[mustang7757]

[Moved to s9 forums for better visibility]

 

[blackhawkhot]

I saw my first walware jpeg in 2006 or so on a XP system.

About a week ago downloaded one that appears to have altered other files in the folder. Brave browser became unstable right after the down load so I suspected the download and went into downloads and deleted the jpeg.
It had already altered other downloads though.
Some like apks it didn't touch but it changed to the dates on all jpegs to that date of it's download however clicking on each individual jpg showed their correct download date. On sound files it changed their extensions; these were repairable. Downloaded bookmarks, not repairable.
Don't know, burn it all.... deleted all jpegs. Result normal operation again, no malware detected after multiple scans.

If you think you have one of these, don't play with it at all. Delete it without opening it or it's folder if it created one. They can spread like wildfire as I witnessed on my XP machine.
You need to find where it lives... although if it is malware a complete wipe may be needed.

You may not have this problem but be aware a lot of bad script can be hidden in a 79 mb jpeg... odd behavior is how you spot them. Triggers can be anything thus delaying it's running. The one I saw in XP was triggered when I tried to delete the email it came in.
Some scripted to "advertise" themselves, "ha-ha look at me".

If anyone has encountered these on a Linux system and knows more I'm very curious about this.

 

[MazinLabib10]

@VidJunky Sorry for the late reply. I was also wondering whether that would work. I'll try it out right away. Also, thanks for calling out the moderators to post this in a better thread. I'm new here so that's why I didn't really know where to post.

Btw, I just discovered today that the issue occurs even when I turn off the phone and turn it back on.

 

[MazinLabib10]

Ok I've solved the issue. Turns out that GIF had somehow been applied as my lock screen wallpaper and the wallpaper service I was using was covering it. So I turned off the wallpaper service and set the lock screen to the one matching with my phone's theme and then turned on the wallpaper service again. And, voila! That fixed it!

 

[mustang7757]

Ok I've solved the issue. Turns out that GIF had somehow been applied as my lock screen wallpaper and the wallpaper service I was using was covering it. So I turned off the wallpaper service and set the lock screen to the one matching with my phone's theme and then turned on the wallpaper service again. And, voila! That fixed it!

Glad you found the problem thanks for sharing.