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 is 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.
Android expert Mishaal Rahman was the first to expand on these changes via Android Authority. 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 was previously too easy to bypass by skipping the setup wizard. Google has now fixed this in Android 15, rendering the bypass method useless.
Significant Improvements in Factory Reset Protection
Google has made substantial improvements to Factory Reset Protection (FRP) in Android 15, ensuring that thieves cannot bypass the setup process. They cannot make the device run normally without first signing in via the original Google account that existed before the factory reset. This makes stolen devices useless to thieves, as a locked device cannot be used or sold.
Besides the inability to bypass FRP, thieves will also find themselves restricted in several ways:
- Enabling Bootloader unlocking will not deactivate FRP.
- Thieves cannot add a new Google account.
- Setting a lock screen PIN/password is not possible.
- Installing new apps is prohibited.
Moreover, deactivating FRP will require a secret key that must be present during each boot. Android stores this key inside the “userdata” partition and “persistent data” block. If the data partition is wiped, the user will need to verify the key by signing in to the Google account that was there before the factory reset.
Addressing the Rising Phone Theft Problem
With increasing phone thefts across the globe, these changes are vital to curbing the shady practice of buying and selling stolen phones. The enhancements provided by Android 15 ensure that only phones running this version will benefit from such protection measures.
Moving forward, I believe we need a feature where the device prompts for a PIN if thieves attempt to shut the phone down. This additional layer of security would increase the chances of recovering lost devices by allowing owners to track them using the new Find My Device experience.
What are your thoughts on the new Factory Reset Protection improvements? Feel free to share your insights!
