Locked Out

[Rooster2025]

I am locked out of my Galaxy S24 Ultra. Something about needing to sign in to a Google account that has been signed in to on this phone after factory data reset. I have lost access to that Google account. I think my Samsund account may have been compromised as well. Any suggestions?

[realaud]

I'm afraid that if you lost access to the Google account that the phone was signed into, there is nothing that can be done--it is an anti-theft measure.  You might try appealing to Google.  Generally, before a reset, it's best to sign out of both your Google and Samsung accounts so you don't run into this issue if you have to create new accounts, are giving the phone away, or reselling it.

[Rooster2025]

Thank you. Anti-theft measures that lock owners out of their own phone and cannot be fixed are, in my opinion, not good features. I followed phone advice I received from Samsung call in.

[Rooster2025]

Also, need to note that sometime after I was locked out the airplane mode was enabled. Is this part of the anti theft as well? And, what if it was stolen, the Google account was hacked and stolen, and the phone was found later. Then how do get in?

[realaud]

No, the airplane mode being on is not part of the anti-theft measure.  I don't know why that happened. Currently, there is no way to reclaim ownership of your phone if you no longer have access to the accounts it was originally signed into.  This has been a problem when people buy previously owned phones--the original owner reset the device, but did not sign them out of their accounts, and the new owner either has to return the device to where they purchased it or throw it away and lose their money.  Even if you were told by Samsung to reset your phone, you should still sign out of your accounts before you do so.  You don't need to have access to the accounts to sign out.  You just go the accounts section of your phone and tap the sign out option. It is an easy thing to forget to do, as most people think that resetting the devices also signs the devices out of their accounts. This is not the case. If you were locked out before you reset it and could not log out from your device and had no access to your account from a computer to log it out, there really is nothing you can do.  If your phone and accounts had been compromised, the best thing to do anyway would be to get a new device and create new accounts.

If your phone had been lost or stolen, whoever found it may have tried to use it and turned on airplane mode so you couldn't track it.

[Rooster2025]

I did the new phone thing, but I am still paying for a 1200.00 phone. I use it as a paperweight or coaster. It was new when I bought it. Used it for five months.

[realaud]

I'm sorry. As I said, the only way may be to appeal to Google and somehow prove ownership of the phone. They are the only ones who may be able to help you here.

[Rooster2025]

Also, I never lost possesion of the phone. I was wondering what would happen is somebody did and their google account was compromised and someone found and returned their phone.

[Rooster2025]

It seems strange to me. It is in airplane mode, but will connect to the mobile hotspot on my new phone.

[realaud]

It will connect to wi-fi if the wi-fi signal is on in airplane mode.  If you have a compromised account on the old phone, I wouldn't let it connect to your hotspot until you get the account business sorted out.  Did you lose access to you original Google account because someone hijacked it?  I think Google has provisions for that in order to recover your account.  It may require mountains of proof of identity, though.  Your best bet is to contact Google support.