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What if the FBI tried to crack an Android phone? We attacked one to find out
- AdmiralAsshat 11y agoI once encrypted my HTC One M7, which required that I permanently set a PIN on the lockscreen. Unfortunately, I previously had a Tasker profile with Secure Settings integrated that would, when connected to my home wifi, disable the lockscreen (this was before the Smart Lock Screen that Lollipop offers). When it triggered, something that the Tasker plugin did must have somehow tried to disable the lockscreen but discovered that it couldn't and inadvertently ended up resetting the PIN somehow. I got to about 6 incorrect PIN attempts before I panicked. I was finally able to get into my phone, however, by logging into Google's Device Manager from my laptop and resetting the PIN remotely. At the time it was a lifesaver, but in hindsight, the knowledge that Google can remotely reset the PIN on my Full-Disk Encrypted phone makes me highly suspicious that they would even hesitate to do so if compelled by the government.