Galaxy S5 Full screen ad when phone unlocked

[AC Question]

My S5 active suddenly started showing full screen ads intermittently when I unlock the phone. I have not installed any apps recently, and there is no rogue administrator account on the phone. When I hit the left button to tile my running apps, it shows but no title is on the screen to identify where it is coming from. I've cleared my phone cache, tried Norton and app brain ad detector didn't tell me anything either. Android security scan came up with nothing. Any ideas?

 

[chanchan05]

If it's a legit ad, security programs won't flag it. An app may have updated to include ads. ES file manager is an example.

 

[Scrltotara]

So any app can now take over your home screen? That's crazy. I need to figure out which app it is to remove it. I haven't downloaded anything recently, and I have very few non-stock app on my phone. Mostly ones I use for work. Any ideas how to figure out which app it is? When I tile running apps, it's there but with a blank title bar.

 

[Scrltotara]

This is new. I opened the camera and the first thing that popped up was a full page ad.

I have run all the adware and malware and virus programs I can find and none of them find anything! I really don't want to do a factory reset, but it's looking like I'm going to have to.

 

[chanchan05]

Yeah. Bummer I guess. Could you list what apps you do have?

 

[B. Diddy]

Instead of doing a factory reset, start uninstalling apps one by one until the problem hopefully goes away.

If your app list isn't too huge, you could also share with us what you have installed, and someone might recognize a shady app.

 

[Flormur]

I uninstalled Peel Smart Remote, which came preinstalled on this Phone and was causing the ads. Shame on Samsung. See:
https://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/29/peel-remote-app-upsets-users-ton-ads-lock-screen-overlays/