Among other aspects, one thing Google has been working on is making Android smartphones easier to track and harder for thieves to get away with. The company taking things a step further by introducing new changes in Factory Reset Protection on Android 15, which is more geared toward ruining the efforts of thieves.
For those unaware, Android comes with Factory Reset Bypass, which activates as soon as you add a new Google account to the phone while setting it up. This ensures that even if thieves try to force a factory reset of the device, the Android setup won’t go through unless you sign in via the previous Google account.
However, this method is currently too easy to bypass by skipping the setup wizard. Google seems to have now fixed it on Android 15, rendering the bypass method useless.
Android 15 Factory Reset Protection Improvements
Google has improved FRP in Android 15 where thieves won’t be able to bypass the setup process and can’t make the device run normally without first signing in via the original Google account that existed before the factory reset. A locked device is of no use, and hence thieves won’t attempt stealing devices now.
Besides, thieves can no longer do the following things:
- Enabling Bootloader unlocking will not deactivate FRP.
- Cannot add a new Google account
- Cannot set a lock screen PIN/password
- Cannot install new apps
Furthermore, deactivating FRP will need a secret key to be present during each boot. Android stores this key inside the “userdata” partition and “persistent data” block. It will present this key during each boot. But when the data partition is wiped, the user will have to verify the key by signing in to the Google account that was there before the factory reset.
With increasing phone thefts across the world, this change will ensure the shady world of theft phone buying and selling will go down hard. This change is Android 15-specific, though, so only phones on Android 15 will get this kind of protection.
Now, all we need is a feature where the device asks for a PIN if thieves try shutting the phone down. We’re sure not every bad actor knows about forcing power off, and this would further enhance the chances of owners getting their devices back by tracking them via the new Find My Device experience.
What are your thoughts on the new Factory Reset Protection improvements?
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