Database Develop

[Q] Stolen Phone - How accessible is my data on my phone

My phone was stolen yesterday evening. They turned it off which of course locked the pin, but if they remove the pin, how much of my phones data is accessible including saved passwords on accounts?
Can someone remove their SIM and see what access the phone grants them to accounts stored on the phone, like email etc?

To the best of my knowledge if they pull the sim card they will not be able to access any of it, and I doubt they stole the phone to get into your gmail. If someone stole it for themselves and are able to get past the pin, they will likely wipe it asap. If someone stole it to sell...the same.
Still to be on the safe side you should change your password with Google and any other accounts that could access your credit card info.
Sorry your phone was stolen, but your secrets should be safe.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

effgee said:
My phone was stolen yesterday evening. They turned it off which of course locked the pin, but if they remove the pin, how much of my phones data is accessible including saved passwords on accounts?
Can someone remove their SIM and see what access the phone grants them to accounts stored on the phone, like email etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure on the I9000 version but i know I can get at all the info with or without a simcard inserted on the Captivate. I would change your passwords ASAP.

Thanks.
I've already gone ahead and changed my gmail password.
Luckily I wiped recently and didn't have many things installed.
I'm terribly depressed about this situation.
My phone, twas a gift.
Thanks for the advice and help.

When I changed SIM in my Galaxy S, phone asked me to re-enter gmail credentials. Unfortunately your data is not encrypted, so the thief can see your SMS, Skype chats and other things (especially if the phone was rooted). Android really sucks in terms of security

There is a tracker and remote wipe built into the security settings of the SGS but it needs to be activated and set up. A little late for you now but maybe for the future or others. BTW it still works even if the sim is changed and you can use the gps (even if switched off) and Google maps to pinpoint it.

my phone was stolen to, well, they did wipe him just before I used my lookout. damn.
but I also advise you to change some passwords.. just incase.

mrsufgi said:
my phone was stolen to, well, they did wipe him just before I used my lookout. damn.
but I also advise you to change some passwords.. just incase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use lookout as well - luckily haven't really had to use it yet.

There is an app called 'plan b' which you can install over the air from the market on android.Com/market, it allows you to track your phone but if the have cleared of then your most likely out of luck :/ your sd card will be fully accessible... hope you can manage to get it back
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

Kops said:
I use lookout as well - luckily haven't really had to use it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Afaik that can be uninstalled rather easily. Anyways, it's not really stealthy.
If you really want a stealthy track, lock, and wipe solution try Theft Aware from the market (7 days free) or google it, can be used without root (but root offers better features). Cheaper than Lookout too as it's a one-time fee.
If they steal my phone I could simply wipe it (installed on /system so it survives the wipe), lock it, trace it, anything by simple SMS commands. So even if I couldn't get it back at least I can wipe all data.
Won't help the OP sadly but for others this may be useful.

In really sorry for this incident mate
First I assume that you've changed your google & any email password u have over your device.
Next thing, I want u to make a call to your carrier so they block ur device via restricting the imei.
I had this question in my mind so I added a thread previously.
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=893247
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

Rycon said:
Afaik that can be uninstalled rather easily. Anyways, it's not really stealthy.
If you really want a stealthy track, lock, and wipe solution try Theft Aware from the market (7 days free) or google it, can be used without root (but root offers better features). Cheaper than Lookout too as it's a one-time fee.
If they steal my phone I could simply wipe it (installed on /system so it survives the wipe), lock it, trace it, anything by simple SMS commands. So even if I couldn't get it back at least I can wipe all data.
Won't help the OP sadly but for others this may be useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lookout is a free app. Also, it can be run in "hidden" mode, and you can chose to have it run silently, and only be uninstalled via web .

Recovery

Hi, all. Ok, so since my november I have been waiting for Z3 compact root and great news of recent.
Since november, I have only used my phone just to make calls, after a major balls up when I flashed a firmware via flashtool without backing up. And even though technically, it should not have not wiped my data, it did.
I had some very precious and sentimental wedding images and 3 4k videos on the internal memory. (didn't have a sd card at that time) So, did not want to overwrite any new data.
Today, after rooting, I could use undelete type software with root access to recover my images. After all the waiting non of the *Top* apps worked!! wth. So, disappointed, some of u may laugh.
Anybody got any suggestions please. Any quality pro style apps, like used for PC recovery. Recovery on a low level perhaps (if possible)
I tried diskdigger, undeleter, recuva, hexamob, wondershare.
Please, anybody
Thanks for reading

davestuarts said:
after a major balls up when I flashed a firmware via flashtool without backing up. And even though technically, it should not have not wiped my data, it did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but you won't get them back...
That's why I try to get pictures saved to my laptop as soon as I'm home, regardless of all this automatic cloud saving.
Edit:
And: saving to ext sd or finding an option in an app to do so first place.

Howlbeck said:
Sorry, but you won't get them back...
That's why I try to get pictures saved to my laptop as soon as I'm home, regardless of all this automatic cloud saving.
Edit:
And: saving to ext sd or finding an option in an app to do so first place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used them apps before to recover a few photos in the past. Can't see why it doesn't work know tbh . Thanks for the, save to the sd card advice.
Btw. You said you back asap. How do you keep track?

davestuarts said:
Btw. You said you back asap. How do you keep track?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Habit ?
Was in a similar situation when I had to put one of our dogs to final sleep. Very nice and emotional pictures, I lost them due to flashing the next or other days. The wife saved them with her own, real camera. That's what always reminds me to save important pictures.

Anybody else. I waited a long while to not use my phone after my mess up. There has got to be a way to retrieve data off my phone even if I have flashed it.
I'm sure forensic experts could find such images etc.
PC data can be recovered even after so many wipes, there must me someone here with some expertise?
Please can someone help?

i lost my data 2 days ago after using flashtool to flash a ROM,so now i put my data into sdcard
if you have no backup before,it is hardly find back your data
Sent from my D5833 using XDA Free mobile app

moetoby said:
i lost my data 2 days ago after using flashtool to flash a ROM,so now i put my data into sdcard
if you have no backup before,it is hardly find back your data
Sent from my D5833 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats too bad . But I see on TV shows all the time, using sophisticated software to recover data all the time. I'm sure this is possible somehow. My photo's are very very important to get back.
I always hear that PC HDD and phones people sell are very easy to find the data from.
People do not know that they are not always fully wiped.

Hook your phone up to your PC and try the several programs for the PC available for android internal storage restoration, just google a bit you will find tutorials and what not.
If you have not overwritten the files they might still be there. If you overwrote them i fear they are lost.

davestuarts said:
Thats too bad . But I see on TV shows all the time, using sophisticated software to recover data all the time. I'm sure this is possible somehow. My photo's are very very important to get back.
I always hear that PC HDD and phones people sell are very easy to find the data from.
People do not know that they are not always fully wiped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well,yes,PC data can find back easily,but if the data was covered by new data,it is hard to find back either on PC or phones
if your phone haven't cover new data,then i could say good luck to you and wish you find someway

I don't know if you can recover those files at home, but maybe guys like http://www.krollontrack.co.uk can do it.
It probably won't be cheap though.

Malicious Software Removal Help

So need a little help. I have an identified attacker on my phone who has injected spyware which is actively listening to all conversations, reading messages in real time, has access to all apps and full access to the phone. Essentially its an illegal wire tap thats able to view and listen to what i am doing. My question is this, can i clone my phone with all the data on to a thumb drive? Reason i have to turn over the phone to the local police for forensic examination and id rather just give a copy then my personal phone. 2. Is there a way to isolate the program to stop the massive leak without totally wiping my phone? Thanks for your help, I know this is an odd question and a little off the norm any help is deeply appreciated.

Nuke it now.
Change Google and all account passwords after reloaded.
In the future be careful what you install and download or you'll be doing this again!

blackhawk said:
Nuke it now.
Change Google and all account passwords after reloaded.
In the future be careful what you install and download or you'll be doing this again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cant i have to give the information to the police here, long story but the person who did the attack is involved in criminal activities im witness to and my phones going to be evidence. so i need all of the data on my phone to be transfered either to another device or to a thumb drive , after that i can nuke the phone

Kjharahuc said:
cant i have to give the information to the police here, long story but the person who did the attack is involved in criminal activities im witness to and my phones going to be evidence. so i need all of the data on my phone to be transfered either to another device or to a thumb drive , after that i can nuke the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well take it offline and backup the data. It should already be backed up though.
That data may have been tainted too.
Your biggest issue is you don't know how or by what it was infected.
Keep the phone completely disconnected from the carrier/internet until it's reloaded.
At this point it is a 100% liability.

blackhawk said:
Well take it offline and backup the data. It should already be backed up though.
That data may have been tainted too.
Your biggest issue is you don't know how or by what it was infected.
Keep the phone completely disconnected from the carrier/internet until it's reloaded.
At this point it is a 100% liability.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
absolutly 100% agree, i cannot use the twrp backup since the phone has another user on it. I get an error due to the inability to decrypt the data. So im hoping imiging the phone over to a SSD that i can then turn into the police will be effective enough. I was able to identify several folders that are not mine or have anything to do with the apps on my phone so they should be able to do the same. To bad there isnt a way to tunnel back through and gain access on the other side of the leak.

The only things I be concerned with be securing the data, accounts and getting it operational.
I be done with it in under a day.

blackhawk said:
The only things I be concerned with be securing the data, accounts and getting it operational.
I be done with it in under a day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im just waiting for the SSD to arrive to transfer all the data the accounts have already been secured on another device

Don't transfer to another Android platform...
Verify the data is readable and all there.

I've wiped the os a total of 6 times and putting the phone into hard brick once it still is leaking and I can't stop it

Noob question on Note 9

Hello everyone,
I'm Noob to this territory and been searching the web to no end, but with little results.
Long story short, I have a Note9 that I'm trying to get into, this is my old phone i have upgraded to an S20, the phone had a encrypted pin that has prompted me after each reboot, i have used the pin without any issues, however once i transferred the data from not 9 to S20 I was getting invalid PIN, and i know the PIN as I used it constantly. The phone was managed by Google Workspace Admin.
After consulting with Google support we removed the PIN on the google, however Unfortunately i won't get pass the boot process.
My question would be is there any way I can bypass this requirement by flashing the bootloader or anything that might be available at all, i have some valuable files and some family photos which are more valuable to me that weren't transferred over. At this point I'm ready to try anything even if it means the phone be bricked as it seems so far I only have the option to wipe it out.
The developer options are enabled on the phone, as far as i remember.
Anyone?
Thank you for reading and I will be more than happy to provide any more info for anyone willing to point me to the right direction, I'm not looking to be spoonfed, just pointed out to what i can do if anything can be done. I do own the phone its my phone, and this is NOT for any malicious purposes, jut to get access to the phone I own it and to my personal files.

tnycman said:
(...) i won't get pass the boot process.
(...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you show it in a photo?

Here you go..

I was able to rescue my own behind, it reverted back to an old pin!! I had only one try left.. phew.. yay. Thanks everyone!!

Question How to recover accidentally erased Camera folder from Samsung S21 Ultra - Data Recovery Android 12 / Root?

Problem:
My mum has an Android-based Samsung phone and unfortunately, when the main folder with photos ("Camera") was moved from the Phone to PC via USB cable, it was made using Cut and Paste. By accident the files were pasted into Recycle Bin and we received warning "Files will be permanently deleted. Do you wish to proceed?". We pressed "No" to abandon this process and undo the mistake. Nevertheless, the entire folder "Camera" has already disappeared from the window of DCIM folder on the phone (as viewed from PC). Similarly, the folder appears to have been deleted when viewed from within the phone. (also the phone now has 150 Gb free, while before the process it had 110 Gb free, so it appears 40 Gb of photos have been deleted....
Attempts to fix:
Standard photo / data recovery services failed to bring results (searching hidden folders using Windows Explorer, Total Commander and Ultdata Android).
We then tried two professional software solutions (Cellebrite UFED and Oxygen Forensic Device Extractor -- Android Agent), which also did not manage to locate photos on the device.
It appears as if they were completely deleted.
The same person who used the two prof software solutions above has access to PC-3000, but he claims it's not suitable for Android data recovery (?)
We have already spent 2 days and hundreds of dollars on consultations, which unfortunately still have not brought any results, while the emotional weight of deleted memories is haunting us. Thus, we appeal to help of this forum.
Current thoughts:
#1 All other methods suggested require rooting the phone, which apparently will wipe the whole and make recovery of that specific folder even less likely (correct me if I'm wrong).
#2 All suggestions to make back-up of the phone / clone the entire memory are not relevant, as the only files that are of importance here are the files in the deleted folder, and those files are not hidden and therefore will not copy into this back-up anyway (correct me if I'm wrong).
#3 One person told us to ask Samsung customer service, but their response was that they don't do data recovery and that they only can restore if there was Samsung cloud backup activated.
Questions:
Q1: What is our best course of action? It seems, rooting is one way or another, inevitable. What rooting method would be best to use here, given the situation and my phone specifications? I understand that there is no 100% guarantee to recover the erased photos, but we would like to at least give it a try with maximum chances of success.
Q2: Given that the files we want to back-up are already deleted and not visible, is it even worth it to try to make any back-ups? or will it be in vain, and should we just proceed to rooting and further recovery attempts?
Q3: IF, we successfully root, what is the best way to access the hidden data? Do we need help of this expert who has PC-3000 and specialized software, or is it going to be accessible using our own PC+USB cable + extra downloaded software?
Phone:
Samsung S21 Ultra (G998B). Android 12. No cloud, no backup. Phone not used for now. New data is not copied onto the phone. Phone not rooted.
Thank you for all your help. I do hope to find some solution. We are down hundreds of dollars, many hours of talking to consultants, many of whom appear to just google potential solutions and offer us some basic things, while the pain of cherished memories potentially lost forever is the worst, much worse than money lost. Any help or constructive feedback would be appreciated!

BTW if someone offers a working solution, I can offer consultancy fee for time and success fee in case of recovery.

Root probably won't be possible without unlocking the bootloader, and unlocking the bootloader factory resets the phone, which formats the internal storage and permanently deletes everything. I've used root apps to recover deleted photos and videos before but that only works if the phone was already rooted, or if there's a way to do it without wiping the phone. When I joined XDA almost a decade ago it was relatively common to see root methods that used exploits, and didn't require you to wipe the phone but that's not really a thing today. All this is to say that root is almost certainly not a viable option.

Have you checked for professional forensics services that can disassemble the phone and connect wires directly to the storage chips?
I've seen Youtube videos like this, where they get into the guts of the electronics and use solder and wiring. Sorry I don't know more specifics, but perhaps you can find them online and mail your phone for professional forensics recovery.

Maybe you can download a folder files of camera for the S21 Ultra :U

KingFatty said:
Have you checked for professional forensics services that can disassemble the phone and connect wires directly to the storage chips?
I've seen Youtube videos like this, where they get into the guts of the electronics and use solder and wiring. Sorry I don't know more specifics, but perhaps you can find them online and mail your phone for professional forensics recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^this^ Your best shot. With this you may only get one shot especially if you cause more damage by misadventure...
Others here have gone this route and gotten good results. $400-800 for non rush service is in the ballpark.

KingFatty said:
Have you checked for professional forensics services that can disassemble the phone and connect wires directly to the storage chips?
I've seen Youtube videos like this, where they get into the guts of the electronics and use solder and wiring. Sorry I don't know more specifics, but perhaps you can find them online and mail your phone for professional forensics recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
blackhawk said:
^this^ Your best shot. With this you may only get one shot especially if you cause more damage by misadventure...
Others here have gone this route and gotten good results. $400-800 for non rush service is in the ballpark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I have come across some websites mentioning this, but could not find any agency of repute in my region offering such a solution. And especially if I can only get one shot with this, I definitely want to pick the best agency to try it out. The photos inside are worth it for me to shell out hundreds of dollars if necessary...
I wonder also, if we can reasonably expect technical progress to be able to solve this situation. I don't mean some stuff like quantum computing, but for instance I'm aware that PS3 has recently been cracked , a few years after it came out. Can I reasonably expect something similar to happen to Android 12 that what's not breakable/crackable today, may become so in 1-2 or maybe 3-4 years? While I'd hate to have to wait for 2-3 years, there's nothing time-sensitive in those photos; just family moments that I would like to be able to revisit 10 years later, so if I only will be able to access them later on, that's fine, I can just put my phone in a drawer for a few years and wait. As long as this wait is not in vain. Definitely don't need false hope.
Thanks for your feedback!

samsungs21 said:
Thank you. I have come across some websites mentioning this, but could not find any agency of repute in my region offering such a solution. And especially if I can only get one shot with this, I definitely want to pick the best agency to try it out. The photos inside are worth it for me to shell out hundreds of dollars if necessary...
I wonder also, if we can reasonably expect technical progress to be able to solve this situation. I don't mean some stuff like quantum computing, but for instance I'm aware that PS3 has recently been cracked , a few years after it came out. Can I reasonably expect something similar to happen to Android 12 that what's not breakable/crackable today, may become so in 1-2 or maybe 3-4 years? While I'd hate to have to wait for 2-3 years, there's nothing time-sensitive in those photos; just family moments that I would like to be able to revisit 10 years later, so if I only will be able to access them later on, that's fine, I can just put my phone in a drawer for a few years and wait. As long as this wait is not in vain. Definitely don't need false hope.
Thanks for your feedback!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a thread here I posted on going 4-8 months. He had hid data recovered from a Samsung for $1200 rush job vs the usual $800 charge). I've tried to find it, but you see my post count. Usually that works in my favor but not always He shipped it to them if I recall correctly.
Try these guys. That may be the company he used. Been too long and it was of passing interest to me. If you do recover the data please report back. Many posters here have asked for this.
Due to the way those files were lost they may not be recoverable. Personally I would've written them off. However only a recovery specialist can say for sure.

blackhawk said:
There's a thread here I posted on going 4-8 months. He had hid data recovered from a Samsung for $1200 rush job vs the usual $800 charge). I've tried to find it, but you see my post count. Usually that works in my favor but not always He shipped it to them if I recall correctly.
Try these guys. That may be the company he used. Been too long and it was of passing interest to me. If you do recover the data please report back. Many posters here have asked for this.
Due to the way those files were lost they may not be recoverable. Personally I would've written them off. However only a recovery specialist can say for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
reached out to the guys you recommended, though their website / social media have not been updated since 2020... Will report back on the progress.

samsungs21 said:
reached out to the guys you recommended, though their website / social media have not been updated since 2020... Will report back on the progress.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure that's who he used and I know only what I read on their site. Just saying...

Can't you just plug the phone to a PC and use a recovery tool like DiskDrill, or something?

Flash the original firmware

Samarimama said:
Flash the original firmware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would do nothing except complicate the issue.

RSGI said:
Can't you just plug the phone to a PC and use a recovery tool like DiskDrill, or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tried that. The phone is not considered a hard drive, hence neither appears on the list of hard drives on Disk Drill, nor can be selected as folder/destination to run it on...

samsungs21 said:
tried that. The phone is not considered a hard drive, hence neither appears on the list of hard drives on Disk Drill, nor can be selected as folder/destination to run it on...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should mention that even if the jpegs can be recovered their exif data is not able to be associated with the jpeg. The folder structure is lost as well. A sea of jpegs with no time stamp or original image name. A daunting task in itself to sort these out.

Make a factory reset

Samarimama said:
Make a factory reset
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would overwrite the lost data potentially making it impossible to recover as if it's not already bad enough.
It was a simple data transfer that went bad (this can happen), nothing indicates the user partition or rom are corrupted... throwing rocks at it doesn't help.

samsungs21 said:
tried that. The phone is not considered a hard drive, hence neither appears on the list of hard drives on Disk Drill, nor can be selected as folder/destination to run it on...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try an app called "Disk Digger". Its on the playstore. It might belp.

RSGI said:
Try an app called "Disk Digger". Its on the playstore. It might belp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're not going to use a professional recovery service, go for it.
Otherwise using the device risks overwriting the now unallocated data... once overwritten recovery is completely impossible on a flash drive.

blackhawk said:
That would overwrite the lost data potentially making it impossible to recover as if it's not already bad enough.
It was a simple data transfer that went bad (this can happen), nothing indicates the user partition or rom are corrupted... throwing rocks at it doesn't he
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samarimama said:
Make a factory reset
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would definitely ruin his chances of any recovery... just avoid making any writing on the storage, cause if the data you want to recover is overwrite, it's definitely gone... at least intact...