HELP - Hard reset?

[Porphyrius]

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@knotlostinspace wrote:

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@Porphyrius wrote:

Try doing the Factory reset again but using,"Recovery" mode,

• First, Switch off your Motorola mobile, by holding the power button.
• After that, Hold down the Volume Down + Power Button.
• When you see the Fast boot mode screen, release all the buttons.
• Then Choose Recovery mode option, By using Volume Buttons and Power button to confirm.
• Next, You will see Android exclamation mark.
• While holding down the Power button press and release Volume Up Button.
• Afterward, you will see the Recovery Mode.
• Well done, Now you are in Recovery mode.

 Now use the Volume key to move down to Wipe Data/Factory reset and press the Power button to activate it.Once done use the correct option in Recovery mode to restart the phone.

With luck this time when you setup the phone you should not get the Google prompt

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I do appreciate your advice - I suspect you have been down this road before?

However, I believe that this is exactly what appears in the link supplied by Agent_Suman.

As I have posted, this process appears not to work in that it insists on knowing to what Gmail account we linked the Smartphone when first we set it up.  Unfortunately I do not know what account this was, we created an account that I have never used before or since.

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The procedure I posted is not the same and is done from,"Recovery Mode" before the phone boots normally and not from within a loaded operating system.This may clear the caches that contain the information that is preventing you doing a fresh setup

[MattForumsMngr]

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@Porphyrius wrote:

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@knotlostinspace wrote:

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@Porphyrius wrote:

Try doing the Factory reset again but using,"Recovery" mode,

• First, Switch off your Motorola mobile, by holding the power button.
• After that, Hold down the Volume Down + Power Button.
• When you see the Fast boot mode screen, release all the buttons.
• Then Choose Recovery mode option, By using Volume Buttons and Power button to confirm.
• Next, You will see Android exclamation mark.
• While holding down the Power button press and release Volume Up Button.
• Afterward, you will see the Recovery Mode.
• Well done, Now you are in Recovery mode.

 Now use the Volume key to move down to Wipe Data/Factory reset and press the Power button to activate it.Once done use the correct option in Recovery mode to restart the phone.

With luck this time when you setup the phone you should not get the Google prompt

---

I do appreciate your advice - I suspect you have been down this road before?

However, I believe that this is exactly what appears in the link supplied by Agent_Suman.

As I have posted, this process appears not to work in that it insists on knowing to what Gmail account we linked the Smartphone when first we set it up.  Unfortunately I do not know what account this was, we created an account that I have never used before or since.

---

The procedure I posted is not the same and is done from,"Recovery Mode" before the phone boots normally and not from within a loaded operating system.This may clear the caches that contain the information that is preventing you doing a fresh setup

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Hi.

This should not work. Google's "killswitch" was implemented to prevent anyone from getting access to a phone that isn't their own. The PINs and passwords are required, no matter what method is used to reset the phone.

If all else fails, there may be a service option to restore the phone.

- Matt

[Porphyrius]

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@MattForumsMngr

• First, Switch off your Motorola mobile, by holding the power button.
• After that, Hold down the Volume Down + Power Button.
• When you see the Fast boot mode screen, release all the buttons.
• Then Choose Recovery mode option, By using Volume Buttons and Power button to confirm.
• Next, You will see Android exclamation mark.
• While holding down the Power button press and release Volume Up Button.
• Afterward, you will see the Recovery Mode.
• Well done, Now you are in Recovery mode.

 Now use the Volume key to move down to Wipe Data/Factory reset and press the Power button to activate it.Once done use the correct option in Recovery mode to restart the phone.

With luck this time when you setup the phone you should not get the Google prompt

---

I do appreciate your advice - I suspect you have been down this road before?

However, I believe that this is exactly what appears in the link supplied by Agent_Suman.

As I have posted, this process appears not to work in that it insists on knowing to what Gmail account we linked the Smartphone when first we set it up.  Unfortunately I do not know what account this was, we created an account that I have never used before or since.

---

The procedure I posted is not the same and is done from,"Recovery Mode" before the phone boots normally and not from within a loaded operating system.This may clear the caches that contain the information that is preventing you doing a fresh setup

---

Hi.

This should not work. Google's "killswitch" was implemented to prevent anyone from getting access to a phone that isn't their own. The PINs and passwords are required, no matter what method is used to reset the phone.

If all else fails, there may be a service option to restore the phone.

- Matt

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That seems strange Matt.I'm not allowed to post direct links but if you look on youtube with a search like android lost pin code pie you will videos showing it.I chose PIE for the search as it's the latest until Android 10 but all previous versions work with this technique AFAIK.

[knotlostinspace]

Despite what Sunam told me in an earlier post, I am now told by Željka of Motorola Support that I must "remember the Gmail address and password that was used on the device before the reset."

I don't remember the Gmail address and password that was used on the device before the reset.  This suggests that my new Motorola One Action is now just a piece of worthless junk.

I have now done a fair amount of research and despite what I was told by @Sunam all the indications are that it is not possible to use my phone again since I don't know my Google account and password.

I truly cannot believe that this can happen - I guess that I will just have to replace it with an iPhone - SO ANGRY!

[knotlostinspace]

Well the good news is that I took the Motorola Smartphone in to John Lewis:

• They spent about an hour trying to sort out the consequences of my careless forgetfulness.
• Initially they said that fixing it was easy.
• Then they suggested that I needed to put in a SIM card - I had removed it before leaving home.
• They then said that it was OK, they had a spare one in the technical dep't.
• Then they decided that they didn't.
• I removed the SIM card from my ancient Stupidphone and forced ont the Nano-SIM.
• That asked for my PIN code -or- my Gmail account.
• They asked if I could remember the PIN code -or- the Gmail account I had initially associated with my Smartphone - I couldn't.

Eventually, since I had owned the thing for less than 35 days John Lewis agreed to either give me a refund or to exchange mySmartphone for a new one.

Credit to and respect for John Lewis who spent a long time fruitlessly trying to resolve the issue and then gave me a refund.

I will set about looking for a cheap iPhone.

Now to my real gripe:

While waiting in John Lewis I carefully studied the microdot sized, superficial, multilingual instructions supplied by Motorola.

Nowhere does it:

• mention that if you forget your PIN code and the Gmail account associated with your Smartphone you will end up with a piece of useless junk.
• emphasise that you should mmediately record both items of essential information in a safe, secure place.
• mention that you will not be able to reinstall the Operating System if you forget how to access your Smartphone.

How difficult is it to put together relevant user instructions and a prominent WARNING, let alone a manual?

Apparently entirely impossible.

Goodbye Motorola and Goggle's awful Android.

[tarso]

Good to hear the store received it back from you.

Here where i live after 7 days you would have to contact motorola support and then sent them the phone with proof of ownership (INVOICE or equivalent). Then they would perform a software reflash and send it back to you.

I've few friend that had this problem. I agree with you they should place these kind of warnings in the manuals and in the startup process in the software, not everyone is tech savy, they have lost a costumer (you) for that mistake.

[MattForumsMngr]

Hi.

While I have nothing but sympathy for anyone who finds themselves in a bind over these security requirements, I do think they are necessary.

"Killswitch," as it's known, is a Google requirement that we cannot avoid. It is implemented on all Android phones, and for very good reason. Other smartphone operating systems have similar requirements.

Our phones carry enormous amounts of sensitive personal information. Before these security measures were put in place, there was significant pressure to implement them. People needed to protect their phones and the information on them, including credit information, personal photos and emails, and other items. Additionally, businesses demand that a phone used for work be secure. 

The implementation also means that a thief cannot simply steal a phone, reset it, and use it or sell it. A stolen phone is now mostly useless.

In today's digital world, your passwords are simply essential information. We may not like it, but we can't afford to share them or forget them. In some cases the cost of recovering a password is easy, others difficult. If you lose more than one key piece of info -- for example, password and email account access -- the degree of difficulty goes way up.

We can do a few things. One, pass on your feedback on the need for a warning. Almost no one reads the manual, but if it helps anyone it could be worth doing. Second, we do have a process similar to what is described above, for having a phone reflashed if the proper proof of ownership is available. We can reinforce this with agents.

Glad your retailer was able to help.

Regards,

Matt

forums manager

[tarso]

Totally agree Matt,

I hope our friend here NEVER loses his iCLoud password as Apple is 100x worse regarding this security subject and could simply refuse to help him (I've heard some cases of it)

Killswitch is one of the best features Android has developed until now as it was like you well said one of the most security requested features.

But on the other hand like i said before, as more and more the dumbphones are getting phased out Smartphones are getting used by our Older relatives (my father just got his 1st at age of 66), this sensitive info needs to be well advertised in manuals and software alerting they should keep the email and password in safe place in case its needed to reset the phone.

Best regards,

T.