Password timeout

[bxojr]

It may be that nobody knows the answer to this question yet ... I'm not actually sure whether this is an ICS question or just a "stock Android" question.

My employer requires that I have a password lock on my phone, so for usability I really need to be able to have the password prompt appear only after 30 minutes of inactivity (rather than every time the screen turns on). I know that these two timeouts (unsecured screen lock and password lock) can be separately configured with some ROMs; for example, it works that way on the stock Samsung Touchwiz builds, and CyanogenMod 7 gives you complete, granular control over all kinds of different timeout parameters. But I know that there are other phones that don't separate the two, meaning that if you set a password you have to re-enter it every time you turn the screen on.

I've never run vanilla Android, so I have no idea whether this is a standard feature that it's reasonable to expect in ICS. It's a major must-have feature for me, though, so it factors into my purchase decision for the Galaxy Nexus. Anybody got any clue?

 

[bxojr]

OK, replying to my own post in case anybody else is interested in the answer to this. I decided to find out for myself, so I installed the ICS SDK and fired up the emulator.

At first I didn't see any such option. Under "Security > Screen Lock" you just get a choice between None, Slide, Pattern, PIN, and Password. I was prepared to be disappointed.

However, if you set a password, a new "Automatically lock" option appears. When you go into that option, you can choose how long AFTER going to sleep the phone locks, with choices ranging from 5 seconds to 30 minutes. This is completely separate from the sleep delay, which is under Display.

So I'm happy. This was literally the last question I needed to get resolved in order to make a decision whether to go with the Galaxy Nexus.

 

[colliedawg]

I do not have that 30min option since I have an Exchange email account mine lock immediately. Does anybody know a work around for this? This is really a pita!

 

[bxojr]

It turns out it doesn't work like I'd hoped either. As I posted earlier, you can set a delay for how long it locks after sleeping. Unfortunately, when you turn the screen off with the power button, it ALWAYS locks immediately, regardless of this setting. Not what I wanted at all.

Hopefully CyanogenMod 9 will be along before too long and will provide a solution.

 

[bxojr]

I encourage anyone who has this issue to go to the Android bug-tracking system and "star" Issue 22160, so maybe it will get some attention.

Issue 22160 - android - Unlock sleep setting has no effect on Galaxy Nexus/Ice Cream Sandwich - Android - An Open Handset Alliance Project - Google Project Hosting