OK Samsung and Android warriors - I desperately need your help on this one! It’s very concerning, as it could happen to anyone who owns a Samsung/Android.
(Too Long/Didn’t Read: 4 technical issues have happened at once, and the Samsung Store staff are trying to tell me there’s nothing I can do... other than wipe my phone).
OK, for whatever reason, my fingerprint reader on the S6 failed to unlock my phone the other day. This went on for most of the day. Eventually, it gives you the option of unlocking it using a Google account login, which successfully did indeed unlock my phone.
[Technical issue 1: Can you explain why my fingerprint scanner stopped working? The phone is less than 6 months old]
Once I got into my phone I naturally decided to change fingerprint to PIN. This would be the sensible option, after having spent some 8 hours unable to use the phone due to either a software issue or the sensor playing up.
I created a new pin *very carefully* - ensuring with 100% certainty that I don’t mistype it.
Then, I deliberately locked the phone, and went to unlock it using that pin.
Lo and behold, to my shock… it failed to recognise the PIN.
I can’t articulate how carefully I created this new PIN. It absolutely, categorically, matches the number I proceeded to enter and re-enter.
[Technical issue 2: Why didn’t that newly created pin get recognised?]
I know the temptation is to believe that I was careless when setting my pin, but why would I be - given I’d been locked out of my phone for hours just prior? (I recognise that that is what the store staff would want to believe, so they don’t have to confront the ugly fact that there’s an inexplicable reason as to why their pin codes aren’t working).
So then I’m like - OK, well I’ll just mistype it enough times, until it eventually does offer me the option to log-in with Google again.
But… this never happens.
I deliberately mistyped my PIN multiple times, but it never prompts me to log-in with Google (contrary to what previous forums suggest).
[Technical issue 3: Why didn’t it prompt me to log-in with Google e-mail credentials?]
So, then I try to log in using Google’s Android Device Manager online.
This sounds promising, because the Android Device Manager does indeed locate my phone. It then gives me the option to enter a temporary password, which is great. Then, on my phone, I can see that a temporary password has been applied.
But… again, to my dismay, there’s no password field to enter the temporary password. There’s only a PIN field.
So I go back to Android Device Manager and change the password to a numerical password, like a PIN.
This… sadly… fails to unlock to phone, still.
It appears the Android Device Manger may be held “behind the gates” of the PIN lock system, which I continue to be at the mercy of. That’s just a guess though.
[Technical issue 4: Why isn’t the Android Device Manager creating a usable password that the phone recognises - or why isn’t the phone giving me a field to type the password I just created? Or, why is the Android Device Manager newly set password being held behind the gates of the PIN lock?]
My exasperation only worsened when I took the phone into a Samsung store.
They had a look, then eventually said “unless you have a Samsung “Find my mobile” account, which you would have had to create before using the phone, we can’t help you - you will have to wipe your phone”.
Oh, and then they tried to charge me $55 to wipe my phone. Obviously, I’m not going to resort to this just yet, so I left the store.
I don’t recall creating a Samsung account - though I would have done so if properly advised of its benefits earlier (especially in relation to the ineptitude of the all other phone-unlocking options). Either way, searching for my “Find my mobile” credentials failed to yield any fruit - so that option also proved impotent.
For now, all I can do is use another device, while hoping someone out there has suggestions that might help.
Anyway I don’t want my negative experience to have happened in vain, so, if you have a Samsung/Android phone, my advice is two things:
1) Create a Samsung account NOW, and ensure “find my mobile” is functional.
2) DON’T change your phone to PIN mode, as you apparently surrender your ability to unlock your phone using your Google credentials, which is dangerous.
The sad part is this could happen to anyone. I didn’t forget my PIN, my fingerprint didn’t change (to my knowledge, haha).
It looks like I’ve been caught in at the intersection of 4 different technical issues - none of which should have happened - but that doesn’t mean I should have to erase my entire phone. The sense I get is that there’s something inherently wrong with this process/protocol/system.
I doubt I could be the only person affected. Hopefully soon, someone recognises this is quite possibly a systemic issue which threatens to become widespread - so the issue can be rectified.
After 4 different iPhones, this is my first Samsung/Android experience. I’ve loved using the phone, but for this to happen after just 6 months is definitely not fun. Especially when the store tells you should wipe your phone, then tries to charge you! It’s really frustrating when you’re trying to explain there’s a genuine problem, and you get a strong sense they simply think you’re a careless dingbat who forgot their PIN - which is absolutely not the case.
Please let me know if you have any ideas for potential avenues I might be able to pursue. Please also let me know if something similar has happened to you. Cheers!
(Too Long/Didn’t Read: 4 technical issues have happened at once, and the Samsung Store staff are trying to tell me there’s nothing I can do... other than wipe my phone).
OK, for whatever reason, my fingerprint reader on the S6 failed to unlock my phone the other day. This went on for most of the day. Eventually, it gives you the option of unlocking it using a Google account login, which successfully did indeed unlock my phone.
[Technical issue 1: Can you explain why my fingerprint scanner stopped working? The phone is less than 6 months old]
Once I got into my phone I naturally decided to change fingerprint to PIN. This would be the sensible option, after having spent some 8 hours unable to use the phone due to either a software issue or the sensor playing up.
I created a new pin *very carefully* - ensuring with 100% certainty that I don’t mistype it.
Then, I deliberately locked the phone, and went to unlock it using that pin.
Lo and behold, to my shock… it failed to recognise the PIN.
I can’t articulate how carefully I created this new PIN. It absolutely, categorically, matches the number I proceeded to enter and re-enter.
[Technical issue 2: Why didn’t that newly created pin get recognised?]
I know the temptation is to believe that I was careless when setting my pin, but why would I be - given I’d been locked out of my phone for hours just prior? (I recognise that that is what the store staff would want to believe, so they don’t have to confront the ugly fact that there’s an inexplicable reason as to why their pin codes aren’t working).
So then I’m like - OK, well I’ll just mistype it enough times, until it eventually does offer me the option to log-in with Google again.
But… this never happens.
I deliberately mistyped my PIN multiple times, but it never prompts me to log-in with Google (contrary to what previous forums suggest).
[Technical issue 3: Why didn’t it prompt me to log-in with Google e-mail credentials?]
So, then I try to log in using Google’s Android Device Manager online.
This sounds promising, because the Android Device Manager does indeed locate my phone. It then gives me the option to enter a temporary password, which is great. Then, on my phone, I can see that a temporary password has been applied.
But… again, to my dismay, there’s no password field to enter the temporary password. There’s only a PIN field.
So I go back to Android Device Manager and change the password to a numerical password, like a PIN.
This… sadly… fails to unlock to phone, still.
It appears the Android Device Manger may be held “behind the gates” of the PIN lock system, which I continue to be at the mercy of. That’s just a guess though.
[Technical issue 4: Why isn’t the Android Device Manager creating a usable password that the phone recognises - or why isn’t the phone giving me a field to type the password I just created? Or, why is the Android Device Manager newly set password being held behind the gates of the PIN lock?]
My exasperation only worsened when I took the phone into a Samsung store.
They had a look, then eventually said “unless you have a Samsung “Find my mobile” account, which you would have had to create before using the phone, we can’t help you - you will have to wipe your phone”.
Oh, and then they tried to charge me $55 to wipe my phone. Obviously, I’m not going to resort to this just yet, so I left the store.
I don’t recall creating a Samsung account - though I would have done so if properly advised of its benefits earlier (especially in relation to the ineptitude of the all other phone-unlocking options). Either way, searching for my “Find my mobile” credentials failed to yield any fruit - so that option also proved impotent.
For now, all I can do is use another device, while hoping someone out there has suggestions that might help.
Anyway I don’t want my negative experience to have happened in vain, so, if you have a Samsung/Android phone, my advice is two things:
1) Create a Samsung account NOW, and ensure “find my mobile” is functional.
2) DON’T change your phone to PIN mode, as you apparently surrender your ability to unlock your phone using your Google credentials, which is dangerous.
The sad part is this could happen to anyone. I didn’t forget my PIN, my fingerprint didn’t change (to my knowledge, haha).
It looks like I’ve been caught in at the intersection of 4 different technical issues - none of which should have happened - but that doesn’t mean I should have to erase my entire phone. The sense I get is that there’s something inherently wrong with this process/protocol/system.
I doubt I could be the only person affected. Hopefully soon, someone recognises this is quite possibly a systemic issue which threatens to become widespread - so the issue can be rectified.
After 4 different iPhones, this is my first Samsung/Android experience. I’ve loved using the phone, but for this to happen after just 6 months is definitely not fun. Especially when the store tells you should wipe your phone, then tries to charge you! It’s really frustrating when you’re trying to explain there’s a genuine problem, and you get a strong sense they simply think you’re a careless dingbat who forgot their PIN - which is absolutely not the case.
Please let me know if you have any ideas for potential avenues I might be able to pursue. Please also let me know if something similar has happened to you. Cheers!
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