Samsung’s “repair mode” lets technicians look at your phone, not your data
21–30 of 94 posts
Re: Samsung’s “repair mode” lets technicians look at your phone, not your data
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
You want to turn it back on to validate everything is working right and it’s all plugged in correct. You also want to validate you didn’t break anything else while attempting the repair
Can't they have a signed "self-test" image that they can boot up and it checks the phone? This wouldn't have access to any user data but can boot up and check that all of the components are working. This sounds much quicker and more effective than prodding at the user's OS anyways.
I worked at a phone repair place for a few years about a decade ago. This would have been great! However, it wasn't something that existed.
Re: Samsung’s “repair mode” lets technicians look at your phone, not your data
#23> If the user executes 'Repair Mode' in the 'Battery and Device Care' menu in the 'Settings' of the smartphone, the smartphone is rebooted. But how do you enter repair mode if your phone is broken?
I think on Samsung phones, plugging them into a standard USB-C multiport hub with an HDMI monitor and a keyboard/mouse plugged in allows use of the "DeX" mode, even while locked. I would assume someone could plug the phone in, use the mouse to enter their password and operate the UI to activate such a feature.
I'm sure that'll be helpful for the one person in the world who owns a USB-C multiport hub.
Re: Samsung’s “repair mode” lets technicians look at your phone, not your data
#24What does PII stand for? Personal identifiable information?
If so, there is much more stored on a device then identity information.
Re: Samsung’s “repair mode” lets technicians look at your phone, not your data
#25This feels like a big win for privacy. I just hope that it's communicated well enough that users know to enable it when they send in their phone for repairs. I also wish there was a way to enable it if the touchscreen is inaccessible, as it usually is by the time I would consider seeking repairs.
Smart repair shops will enable it (and document it) as Step 0 in a repair. What a great way to reduce risk and liability for everyone.
Re: Samsung’s “repair mode” lets technicians look at your phone, not your data
#26What does PII stand for? Personal identifiable information? If so, there is much more stored on a device then identity information.
It generally means anything sensitive.
Re: Samsung’s “repair mode” lets technicians look at your phone, not your data
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think on Samsung phones, plugging them into a standard USB-C multiport hub with an HDMI monitor and a keyboard/mouse plugged in allows use of the "DeX" mode, even while locked. I would assume someone could plug the phone in, use the mouse to enter their password and operate the UI to activate such a feature.
I'm sure that'll be helpful for the one person in the world who owns a USB-C multiport hub.
I wasn't aware they were so unpopular. I don't mean a Thunderbolt dock, it can be one of those ten buck dongles from Amazon with a bunch of ports on it, that looks like a glorified card reader.
It will also work with any computer monitor that has a USB-C input and USB ports on it, usually, which are starting to become popular enough lately where I'm from.
Re: Samsung’s “repair mode” lets technicians look at your phone, not your data
#28Curious, why does Samsung need to have Phone booted up for battery repair? I recently had a battery replacement done for my iPhone and I had similar concerns if I need to give them Phone unlocked, but they asked me to turn off Phone. That is what I expect from battery repair!
You want to turn it back on to validate everything is working right and it’s all plugged in correct. You also want to validate you didn’t break anything else while attempting the repair
Oh man, HTC 10 was the worst phone I owned in terms of repair-ability (I even saw one phone repair place explicitly saying they don't support that phone). Not only you risk screen (primarily) and other components damage. You can also break the phone in subtle ways when putting it back[1] and reopening it back is again tough because you need to unglue the screen first to get to screws.
Having a builtin validating code as one commenter mentioned would be a godsend, but nearly all companies do everything they can to make customers not want their phones repaired.
[1] things like some sensors not working, accidentally clipping the tape with buttons, touch screen being funky (although that likely was due to non genuine screen), or my favorite - gps working but never able to get exact location)
Re: Samsung’s “repair mode” lets technicians look at your phone, not your data
#29Some English-language coverage: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/07/samsungs-repair-mode... https://www.sammobile.com/news/samsung-repair-mode-data-isnt... https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj...
Changed from https://news.samsung.com/kr/%ec%82%bc%ec%84%b1-%ea%b0%a4%eb%.... Thanks!
Re: Samsung’s “repair mode” lets technicians look at your phone, not your data
#30What does PII stand for? Personal identifiable information? If so, there is much more stored on a device then identity information.
It's not so much identity information (i.e. data about your identity), as much as data that can personally identify you. The obvious PII is your full name and social security number. That's your identity. But your credit card number or your address aren't your identity, per se, but still can personally identify you, so also considered PII.
Things that are not normally considered PII is for example your OS or even specific device model (i.e. user is using iPhone 12 Pro is not normally considered PII). As usual, it's not a crystal clear definition, so varies by context, company, industry regulations and so on.