One upon a time, once you stole someone’s Android phone and did a factory reset in recovery mode, it was as good as new and you were good to go. That changed with FRP.
So what is FRP?
FRP stands for Factory Reset Protection. As the name implies, its a protection / security measure that kicks in once you do a factory reset on a supported Android device.
You’ll be required to enter the credentials of the Google account which had been linked to the device before the reset.
Do all Android devices support FRP ?
FRP was introduced in Android 5.1 Lollipop so if your device runs on 5.1 or higher then it most likely supports it.
What triggers FRP?
Doing a factory data reset under Settings won’t trigger FRP as this removes associated Google accounts.
To trigger FRP:
- Set a lock screen (e.g pattern lock)
- Boot into recovery mode
- Do a factory reset while in recovery mode
- Reboot the device
How is FRP bypassed?
Sadly, FRP isn’t that secure. There are a number of techniques to bypass FRP; boxes / dongles, apks, flash tools etc. We have a collection for Unisoc / Spreadtrum, Mediatek and Generic Qualcomm. I won’ be delving into that in this piece but one general technique is to wipe the FRP partition on the device 😉 .
Can bypassing FRP land me in trouble?
If the device is stolen then you’re complicit. I know a number of phone engineers who have landed in Police custody over network unlocking modems / phones, bypassing FRP on Android and iCloud on iOS.
Lets take a few steps back here shall we?
FRP is supposed to be an anti-theft feature isn’t it? This means the owner should be able to supply their Google credentials to proceed right? Its therefore logical to say that anyone looking to bypass FRP mustn’t be the real owner of the device. That makes the device a possibly stolen one according to this argument.
While this is partly true, there are some situations where bypassing FRP is needed even for the owner of the phone.
- The phone was a gift from the previous owner: The phone might have been a gift from someone or inherited from a deceased friend / relative. In these situations, the previous owner might be unwilling or unable to provide their login credentials
- No internet: The FRP screen requires an internet connection to verify the credentials you supply. In a case where you have a very poor internet / no internet connection then the login approach isn’t viable
- Null IMEI / WiFi problem: If the device in question has developed a NULL IMEI then mobile data won’t work. Same applies if the wireless won’t come on or you’re unable to create a WiFi connection with another device
- Crashing keyboard: In a situation where the keyboard keeps crashing (unfortunately Gboard has stopped is a popular error), you couldn’t exactly enter the credentials even if you had them could you?
- Forgotten credentials: This is really common. people do forget their credentials a lot and account recovery isn’t a walk in the park for these people.
Conclusion
If the device is yours then you’re free to bypass FRP all you want but ensure to ask questions when a customer brings an FRP bypass job to you. Bypassing FRP on stolen phones could land you in jail. If it does, whatever you do, don’t drop the soap! 🙂
in this technological era i think the issue is a big offence
I think the offense is the original owner losing childhood contacts and unable to recover with valid password. This is why these kits are created, sir.
To me removing an frp should not be an offence while changing of imei should. All government security and law inforcement agencies should know. Remember even if the phone was stolen it needs to be unlocked first so that a thief can use it and then later be tracked down. Thanks/my opinion
To my opinion, frp removing should not be an offence, instead IMEI changing is, as even from my sisters mostly tends to forget not only password, but even the email completely, sometimes for them to remember is only if I write the email and password down in a piece of paper, especially for iOS iCloud, that I created for I write it down, we all know iOS is more strict than Android, and if possible to minimise such, recover the password if the email is presented, and as we know thief is not mark on face, and they tends to be more courageous than the real owners, anyway always pray not to fall in such cases, as the problem of our security experts they don’t trace things and handles it in a proper manner, as long as you are chain to sale, repair, advice, of such device you are to be humiliated and charged in an improper manner, anyway thanks for the topic.
In our area, mostly people are illiterate and don’t remember account details.
Mostly, someone else signed-in in their smartphone for PlayStore and they don’t remember account details.
So, we have to bypass FRP.
It is true, but thief have mark on their face and the police/Government should always remember that “it is an offence to suspect or name some one as thief.
Yes! I remove FRP. but I didn’t change imei and the person was truck and he brings the police in my workshop….
Never thought it was an issue
That’s serious!
You can’t tell the real owner of a phone
Sometimes they can even lie that it was sent from abroad
Very true
I have unlocked/flash an ios device that got me involved in a police investigation. So yes, I do have own negative share of been an engineer. But let the police/government learn to set a good standard. Cos the funny truth is this, once while i was arrested for an involvement of a stolen phone which i had no idea about. One of the policemen themselves was using an iphone with an icloud on it. And was even asking me of how to get rid of the icloud on the iphone. Like seriously, Oga police, yoyu have me in cuffs over stolen matter and you don’t know your own icloud? Baba na stolen phone you too dey use. Leave story.
Ha! Ha!
Someone I know unlocked a phone and end up paying a laptop and it’s charger. Say phone is stolen with a modem, laptop and it’s charger.
Oh dear!