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Security advice on s6 please
- Thread starter lfc1892
- Start date
Shut the phone off. Then press and hold volume down, home and power until it boots into odin mode. You'll get a warning and have to press vol. up to confirm. Press vol. up to confirm.
On the next screen you see in the upper left you'll see some small text. Look for warranty status. VOID = 0 is good. VOID = 1 means it's been rooted, or at least modified from stock.
To get out of Odin mode press and hold power only until the phone reboots.
On the next screen you see in the upper left you'll see some small text. Look for warranty status. VOID = 0 is good. VOID = 1 means it's been rooted, or at least modified from stock.
To get out of Odin mode press and hold power only until the phone reboots.
But won't that flag persist even if you reflash it? In which case this test doesn't tell you whether it's been reflashed back to stock.
Maybe asking your son is the easiest way to find whether it's been reflashed or is still modified.
Maybe asking your son is the easiest way to find whether it's been reflashed or is still modified.
svim
Extreme Android User
Your safest option with a previously owned phone is to flash a Samsung stock ROM and do a Factory Reset. This will ensure that the operating system is returned to a clean, un-rooted state and the data partition, where all your personal stuff gets stored, is also clean.
If you post the model I.D. of your S6, your carrier, which version of Android it's running someone here can help you through process of flashing the ROM, or you can take it to a trusted, local service shop.
As for your initial query regarding if a Factory Reset will remove things like spyware and viruses, that's a conditional matter. If the exploit itself exists in the user's data partition than yes, a Factory Reset will clear it. If the exploit has compromised something in the operating system than no, a Factory Reset won't affect it at all. You'll need to re-flash the ROM to remove an infected operating system.
If you post the model I.D. of your S6, your carrier, which version of Android it's running someone here can help you through process of flashing the ROM, or you can take it to a trusted, local service shop.
As for your initial query regarding if a Factory Reset will remove things like spyware and viruses, that's a conditional matter. If the exploit itself exists in the user's data partition than yes, a Factory Reset will clear it. If the exploit has compromised something in the operating system than no, a Factory Reset won't affect it at all. You'll need to re-flash the ROM to remove an infected operating system.
Assuming you were using stock firmware and you don't have automatic restore enabled where you might re-download a malicious app, then yes.
svim
Extreme Android User
There are so many variables and attack vectors there can be no guarantee. Flashing a stock Samsung ROM, when done properly and there are no other problems involved, will leave the data partition as is. Flashing the ROM will remove the exploit when it involves the operating system. But if the exploit resides in that data partition, it will just re-infect the OS again. In that instance, re-flashing the ROM and a Factory Reset are required. If the exploit is part of the back up you made before the Factory Reset, once you do a restore of your data that adds the exploit back to your phone. At this point you need to go through the entire sequence again, and be sure to thoroughly scan all the contents of your backed up files (with the added point being there is no anti-virus/anti-malware utility in existence that has a 100% success rate at detecting and fixing compromised files.)
There are other, similar scenarios too, so again there's no such guarantee. All any of us can do is just keep our stuff as secure as possible to minimize the risk. Your only option for a real guarantee is to never go online, not a practical solution for a lot of people.