Samsung appears to be making one of Android's most useful anti-theft protections, Lockdown Mode, much easier to activate in One UI 9.
The change will make it harder for thieves to disable tracking of your phone
No more just turning it off to prevent tracking
According to reports from users testing Samsung's latest One UI 9 beta, Galaxy phones will soon require you to verify your pin before your device can be powered off or restarted. Currently, someone holding a locked Samsung phone can typically access the power menu and shut the device down without needing to enter any kind of passcode or pin. That's a problem if your phone is lost or stolen because many location-tracking and remote security features rely on the device remaining powered on.
However, based on what we’ve seen from Reddit users testing the beta, as well as reports from SammyFans, One UI 9 will change this by forcing you to unlock your device before you can restart or power it off. It’s a small change that might come off as annoying for some, but it could ultimately help ensure bad actors don’t just power your phone off to stop you from tracking it with Google’s Find Hub functionality — or even Samsung’s Find app.
Samsung is also taking the protection a step further, though, with testers reporting that once the power menu is activated and then backed out, the phone will actually enter Lockdown mode, a very limited version of the Android OS designed to remove notifications from the screen and require a pin to unlock. This is similar to how Lockdown mode on the iPhone works. Currently in One UI 8.5, the Lockdown Mode trigger is available on the power menu by default. This simply makes it a more natural process to enable it, while also making it an even more effective anti-theft tool.
Not a perfect solution
There are still ways to turn the device off without authentication
Of course, as with anything, there are still ways for bad actors to get around this new system if they really want to. Most Android phones (including Samsung Galaxy devices) can be force restarted using a specific key combination. In fact, this is a normal step performed when troubleshooting black screen issues on Android phones.
However, Lockdown Mode was never meant to be foolproof on Android phones. It is just meant to add another obstacle for bad actors to work through, with the hope that having too many will make people less likely to try to steal your devices. You should still keep your phone regularly backed up, and make sure you follow standard smartphone security tips, just in case your device is ever stolen.
Lockdown Mode has existed on Android phones for years now, and while the One UI 8.5 change to put it directly on the power menu for Galaxy phones was welcome, being able to activate it even more easily just by activating the menu and then closing out of it is a nice extra quality of life feature that I’m glad to see Samsung taking advantage of.
Hopefully, other Android phones follow suit.