On my Samsung Galaxy SIII, one can go to Settings -> More -> Security -> SIM card lock -> Set up SIM card lock -> Change SIM PIN to change the default PIN that came with the SIM card. But what about the PUK (the 8-digit number that comes with the SIM card to unlock the card after 3 failed 4-digit PIN number attempts)? Can the PUK also be changed from within the Android GUI, or is it a fixed number stored on the SIM card which cannot be changed? Thanks.

I am a single mom with some limited but good know-how of how an Аndroid phone works. Мy device is most certainly compromised, and I do not really have the budget to hire a cybersecurity expert or to purchase another one thousand dollar phone.... Verizon Wireless will not help. I've also been unable to reach anyone at Google developers. However, I am somehow married to an unknown Linux machine that used to come up as a Google Coral device. I also have active audio mirroring and I.MS logging occurring as well. I have done some digging and found that when I speak into my microphone, this person is doing something called silent listening. Furthermore, I see a lot of Samsung Knox activity. However, when I called Samsung Knox, they do not show any of my devices as enrolled. Furthermore, every single account in my life has had full account. Take Uber or my social media accounts. Write down to my bank accounts. Every single one of my Google accounts seems to be compromised no matter how many times I change my password or two-factor authentication. Yes, I have tried a factory reset. I have not tried to flash my device or game root access. I don't believe I have the necessary experience.

So, for instance one of apps renamed itself to "Content on this profile might be inappropriate for those under a certain age" and displays that message (and "Stopped.") in a MessageBox when started. Its icon also changed (to a grey heart; another changed to a grey edit-pencil). It works again after reinstalling it though. And my VLC player app is now called "_". Do you think my phone fell victim to a virus? I got the Kaspersky virus scanner installed and when doing a full scan it finds nothing. I guess it's probably just some bug. Maybe someone else had the same problem? Edit: it appears that moving apps from my phone to the SD card was causing the icon-problem. The icon of Firefox changed to some grey icon after doing so. It changed back to the proper icon after I restarted the device. Not sure if that was also causing the app-names problem and I think it's unlikely to have caused that soundcloud-app-problem.

So I'm not sure this is the right place to ask this but I'm getting zero replies from support@signal.org so I thought I'd check in with the online community. I'm familiar with the security issues surrounding the "data" that Signal stores and that there is a master key that is used (created during installation) that is embedded into the Android phone and non-transferable. What I'm trying to figure out is how to either utilize the backup function to get from Android to iOS (however without the key that seems unlikely) or to utilize the move function that was built for Android-to-Android moves. I can find zero documentation on the function in the iPhone world. I have found references to "decrypting the data" for movement (a long and difficult process given that it was never meant to be exported and therefore it is a non-trivial, highly manual process) but haven't seen anything practical. Although this is a long shot, I'm just checking to see if anyone has successfully accomplished this either through some undocumented method that Signal built, or something less obvious. Unfortunately, I have over 5GB of messages and attachments over a 6-year period that I don't want to "throw away". (I've been digging around Stack Exchange to find the right place to post this and this one is the closest forum I've found so if it belongs elsewhere, let me know)

I am using Lineageos 17.1 on the FP3 (the phone is not rooted). I do know my screen pattern code (it is a 6x6 pattern), but I am not able to enter it correctly, because I disabled that the pattern is shown and that the sequence is visible. In the recovery mode I can enable adb and I tried to delete the file adb shell rm /data/system/gesture.key which worked in the past, but now this file does not exist anymore on Lineageos 17.1. ADB unfortunately does not work when the screen is locked. Is there another way to bypass the screen pattern? Doing a factory reset is the last option I want to do. Making the pattern visible should be enough in principle.

I have a 16GB International Samsung Galaxy S3 (XEF) running the latest firmware, 4.1.2 (yes, the Premium Suite update, I was thinking that this would've fixed it but it seems not) with baseband XXELKB. Over the last week and a half, I've noticed my phone randomly freezing and/or restarting itself. I investigated further. At first, I thought it was to do with apps on the device, so I started recklessly uninstalling apps, to the point where I factory reset the device. No dice. Even with not a single non-stock app installed, it still managed to randomly freeze after a few hours of use. I went googling and discovered that my device is likely suffering from Sudden Death Syndrome, and I'm willing to think maybe I have that. Went through XDA forums, and found eMMC Check . According to that app, I have the affected 'insane' chip. There's a few quirks that I have, however: 1. Is this consistent with the Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) that people are reporting? 2. Wasn't this bug supposedly fixed with the Premium Suite update? 3. How do I go about fixing this, for someone who has never rooted/flashed a Android device before? 4. How do I go back to stock firmware/kernel after it has been fixed by Samsung? Any help, even if it doesn't solve my issue, will be much appreciated. Cheers in advance.

A locked bootloader is one that will only boot an OS and recovery that it "approves" of. Vendors digitally sign the recovery, kernel and kernel modules and unsigned binaries are refused to flash and boot. This is same as **Secure Boot** provided by UEFI. In PC, one can simply disable the Secure boot by choice if one wants to boot unsigned binaries. But on Android devices, every vendor has its own lengthy process to unlock the bootloader like providing unlock tool, unlock code and device registration. Vendors are making it even harder like [HMD initially refuses to unlock Nokia bootloaders](https://androidcommunity.com/hmd-initially-refuses-to-unlock-nokia-bootloaders-changes-their-minds-20171002/) and [Huawei will stop providing bootloader unlocking for all new devices](https://www.xda-developers.com/huawei-stop-providing-bootloader-unlock-codes/) . So how does a locked bootloader strengthens the security and privacy of end user or does it serve some other purposes too?

Unfortunately, I lost my phone yesterday, it was Samsung S24 Ultra phone. I had enabled all the safety features on the device for both Google (Find Device) and Samsung's own tracking service. However, the thief has turned the device off and it has not been switched on since, not even without network, wifi, or SIM. I had enabled the "find my device even when offline" settings; however, even this setting would require the device to be at least switched on. I am now trying to recover the Google Maps timeline using another device, but I am encountering this message: **For security, you can no longer access your encrypted data on this device. Try again using a device that you've recently used to sign in to your Google Account.** **Visit g.co/OnDeviceEncryption to learn more.** An important piece of information — I promptly changed my Google account password after the theft (I still know both the old and the new passwords). I even tried changing it back to the old password, thinking that the encryption might be tied to it, but I am still seeing the same error message. How do I get past this screen and regain access to my data? Needless to say, I am extremely upset not just because of losing an expensive device, but also because I am at risk of losing access to over two decades of my maps timeline history. Any help will be appreciated. " class="img-fluid rounded" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 10px 0;" loading="lazy">

I have "Colornote" app in my android device and I'm using that app for many years. I write my passwords and many other personal things. My workplace has wifi and I use it regularly. Often my notes gets synced when I use that wifi. Can my employer read my notes? Colornote says they use AES encryption. I don't understand what it means. Many times, I use public wifi too. When I use public wifi, can they read my passwords and personal notes? Also can they read other word and google doc app documents that I have saved in phone and get synced when I'm online? And if answers of the above questions are yes, will installing and using Norton360 VPN app secure my notes? Thanks.

I use Linux for half a decade now, so I am not used to dealing with viruses anymore. To my surprise, I saw some discussion about antiviruses in Android. I haven't installed any yet, but this bugs me: are they really necessary? Are there (or were) any known viruses in the market? Doesn't Google runs an antivirus before allowing an app to the market? I haven't had any problem in one year of Android, but my cell phone has a lot of important information, and I wouldn't like to be surprised with some virus cleaning my phone, or making international calls while I sleep, or whatsoever. Should I install an antivirus?

I would like to know whether on an Android device it is possible to: 1. Log the date and time of every time a password is entered on my Android phone (this security measure would mean that if someone in my home sees me enter a password without me noticing it, and then uses it to log into my phone, I would then be able to see whether this happened or not to take care of my suspicion). 2. As an extra step, I would like to log all activity once the login screen is bypassed as well (for instance the date an time and application name for each time an application is opened. This is because, while my phone is password protected, once I make the screen go blank by pressing the hardware button on the right, some time goes by until a password is required: I have things set up this way so that I don't have to enter the password just so often). So, is there a way to log all user activity when the lock screen has been bypassed as well? The device I have is a Samsung Galaxy SIII Neo running Android KitKat 4.4.2. The device has been rooted. Thanks!!!

I often receive the following error message when attempting to perform Android security updates: > There was a network error while downloading the update. Please try again later or connect to a different network. In researching this error message, it is apparent that many other people have been reporting the same issue for years: - Update cannot be downloaded on specific networks : GooglePixel https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/10whijh/update_cannot_be_downloaded_on_specific_networks/ - Not able to update to android 15. Shows error in network while downloading although connected to WiFi - Google Pixel Community https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/322921191/not-able-to-update-to-android-15-shows-error-in-network-while-downloading-although-connected-towifi - Pixel 7 System Update Fails : GooglePixel https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/ycejcz/pixel_7_system_update_fails/ - There was a network error while downloading the update. Please try again later or connect to a diffe - Google Pixel Community https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/205161477/there-was-a-network-error-while-downloading-the-update-please-try-again-later-or-connect-to-a-diffe Over the years, people have offered "magical" solutions, such as toggling WiFi on and off, which likely has nothing to do with the real issue. Yet some do claim that such actions have temporarily fixed the issue (not myself, though). What's even more odd is that those reporters have not indicated they made any additional changes. In Google's latest Android version, Android 16, this issue is still present. Ironically, the issue seems to be most prevalent on Google's own Pixel devices. Does anyone know what is causing this bug and how to actually fix it? Update --- A couple of our community members asked some good questions... here are the answers: - The issue occurs regardless of whether WiFi or carrier data is used. - I've seen the issue occur on many Google Pixel devices, starting with the Pixel 4. Online reports indicate it was present going back to at least the Pixel 2. I've seen this issue on several Samsung devices as well, although online reports of this issue tend to mention the Pixel devices more often than Samsung devices. - Regarding proxies, VPNs, or blocked ports/servers, I need to investigate further. It definitely happens on a wide range of devices and on a wide range of networks, but perhaps there is a common element that I can discover.

I recently decided to enhance my online security by changing all my passwords and activating Two-Factor authentication for most of the services I use. I updated my passwords in Google Password Manager and enabled on-device encryption. After updating my Google Account password, I was automatically logged out of all my devices. However, when I tried to access my passwords in Google Password Manager, I received a message saying that I couldn't access my encrypted data on the device I was using. The message suggested that I should try using a device that I recently used to sign in to my Google account: > for security, you can no longer access your encrypted data on this device. try again using a device that you’ve recently used to sign in to your google account. What I have tried: 1. Checked the Web & App Activities settings on your Google Account and turned it Off and then On again. 2. Checked the cookies settings on your browser. 3. Confirmed that Sync is not paused in Google Chrome. 4. Cleared data in Google Chrome and turned Sync off, signed back in, and turned Sync on again. 5. Checked the Device Activity page on your Google Account and confirmed that Sync is On and not paused on the devices you recently signed out of. 6. Restarted my device and waited for bookmarks and passwords to load. Despite trying these steps,I still cannot access my encrypted data on the device I am using, and I am looking for further help.

Is there a way to lock access to the settings app on a Samsung Galaxy. I have a Samsung Galaxy S22 5G. I want to know if there's a way to lock access to the settings on it.

As this post explains, Google has simply forbidden executables in writable app home directories from Android 10, making termux not working any more on Android 10. However, I have multiple machines with much higher android versions and Termux runs in them without any problem. On my only Android 10 phone (motorola moto e7), it does not (playstore says it is incompatible; f-droid version stops with cryptic error message). What is going on? Can I somehow trick termux into the moto e7, maybe an older version?

I need to run an IoT control Android app with network access that also insists to have permission to access local media files, or its a no-go. I don't fully trust this app and I don't want to grant it such permission. Is there a way to run it inside a container of some sort, where it will just see "empty" local storage. The phone is Pixel 5 with all the latest updates.

Some apps don't allow screenshots so how can I still take a screenshot? It is my phone and I should be able to do whatever I want with it so why is there even a feature to disallow screenshots? Android 5.0.1

I had some files/photos, etc. on the Gallery Vault app on my phone - they were saved to my SD card. My SD card has been lost/possibly stolen. I just wanted to check if someone could access these files in any way? I assume the answer is no, but just wanted to check.

If I am home, I am only using Wifi with 5G OFF. If I am out somewhere, work, etc. I use 5G with Wifi OFF. **The question: can I enable Wifi+5G always ON?** Thinking of security issues like: - if someone can break in to my phone via the internet/5G network, it can see my internal network (since Wifi is ON) - if Wifi is always enabled while I am outside home, can it be used maliciously? eg.: forcing my phone to connect to a fake wifi network?

Is it possible for third-party SDKs integrated into my Android app, to access API keys or other sensitive data from my app's code or data? How can I ensure these SDKs only access the data they absolutely need?