What you need to know
- Samsung reportedly worked on a verification process for its power-off menu in One UI 9.
- It was reported that your device will now shut off its biometrics, forcing users to enter their PIN/password/pattern to complete their shutdown or restart.
- Google has continued to work on various phone security features to keep thieves out of a users’ phone if stolen or lost.
Enrolled Galaxy users are still experimenting with the One UI 9 beta; however, reports claim Samsung has changed the power-off process.
Recently, SammyFans posted information about how Samsung has changed how users will turn off their phones in One UI 9. The publication noticed that Samsung will require users to verify themselves before their phone turns off. It states that opening the power-off menu appears normally in One UI 9, but tapping “Power Off” or “Restart” is where the change occurs.
What’s more, forcing users to verify themselves occurs twice: once to confirm their choice and to exit the menu if they changed their mind. SammyFans discovered that if the user is unable to complete the verification process, their device is stuck in a locked state. Another post by 9to5Google noted this, mentioning that testers on Reddit were experimenting with this security feature, too.
The users’ post on Reddit states, “When you open the Power Menu and then exit it, your Galaxy device now returns directly to the lock screen instead of the previous screen.” Biometrics are completely disabled in this verification process, meaning users will need to enter their PIN, password, or pattern.
Making the right moves
More users chimed into that Reddit thread, mentioning that Samsung’s new security-forward practice for powering off a Galaxy phone mirrors lockdown mode. This mode is a one-time option users can enable, which forces the device to require a PIN or password. On Android, this mode not only disables biometrics but also trusted devices, voice recognition, and lock screen notifications.
This feature can be useful in a myriad of situations. Many believe (same as us) that Samsung’s power-off menu security changes could be useful against thieves. Similarly, Google has continued to roll out protections against theft on Android. Back in January, the company’s new protections made it more difficult for thieves to target phones. Google combined the trifecta: prevention, resistance, and recovery.
Failed Authentication Lock was given its own toggle, which gave users a more intuitive way to manage the strictness of their phone’s security. The company also brought intelligence to its lockout for people trying to guess your PIN.
Android Central’s Take
I always hear about thieves swiping people’s phones in various countries. It’s a scary thing. With the way life is, we have a lot of stuff on our phones. Usually, thieves would try to turn off various connections on a phone to stop you from remotely locking them out. Even shutting it down is an option. But developing security functions to stop that from happening sounds like a huge win for phone security. After all, what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours. Let’s keep it that way.