Our smartphones are sometimes damaged or some malfunctions appear during use, which requires sending the phone to the manufacturer's service center, or any other maintenance center, and here the concern appears on the data stored in the phone from the arrival of a stranger to it.
To solve this problem, Samsung introduced at the end of 2022 a new feature in its phones called (Maintenance mode) to hide your personal data and protect it from access during the repair process.
But how does maintenance mode protect your data, how do you use it in your phone, and what Samsung phones support it:
First, what is maintenance mode?
- Service mode is a way to create a separate user account when you hand over your device for maintenance or repair, giving technicians access to any apps or settings they need to complete the repair process, but they won't be able to access any of your personal data, such as documents, photos, videos, messages, and contacts. The technician will not be able to disable maintenance mode without knowing the PIN, lock pattern, or fingerprint.
Maintenance mode also allows you to collect logs that can provide vital information for repairs, such as a list of recent app crashes. These logs will help the technician understand the underlying issue with your device, and these logs do not contain any personal information about you.
Also, when maintenance mode is turned off, the user account created when the mode was activated, as well as any apps installed during the repair, is deleted, and your phone returns to the account you used before, where all your settings, apps, and data will be as you left them.
Second, actions to be taken before activating maintenance mode?
To ensure that your personal data remains safe when using maintenance mode, please keep the following in mind:
- You must back up your data before using maintenance mode as a precaution, so if your device needs a factory reset during the repair process, you can access the latest copy of your data and restore it again.
- The lock screen is required to use maintenance mode, so when you turn on maintenance mode the first time, you'll be asked to create a lock screen if you haven't already.
Third, how to activate maintenance mode in Samsung phones?
The maintenance mode can be found and activated via the Samsung Members app or through the battery section in the phone settings, here are the steps:
- Go to Settings on your phone.
- Click on the option (Battery and device care).
- Click on the (Maintenance mode) option.
- Above the Mode button, you will find the option (Backup your data), if you do not backup your data, you can do it now by clicking on this option.
- Once the backup is complete, click the Turn On button at the bottom of the screen.
- On the next screen, choose whether or not you want to restart without creating a record, and then press the Restart button. When you restart your device, it will be in maintenance mode.
Fourth: How to exit maintenance mode:
When you restore your phone from the technician, you'll need to disable maintenance mode so you can access all your data again. You can do this from the service mode notification shown on the phone screen, or by returning to the maintenance mode settings. Either way, you'll need to enter your PIN, pattern, or fingerprint to verify your identity.
To exit maintenance mode you can follow these steps:
- After unlocking your phone, scroll down to the notification panel.
- Tap the Android system notification to exit maintenance mode.
- Press the Exit (Exit) button.
- Click on the Reset option, you will be asked to enter your PIN, pattern or fingerprint to verify your identity, enter it.
- After restarting your phone will return to normal mode.
Fifth, a list of Samsung devices that support maintenance mode?
Note: Service mode is only available on Samsung phones and tablets running One UI 5.0 or later. Here are the devices that support it:
- Galaxy S23 series.
- Galaxy S22 series.
- Galaxy Z Flip4.
- Galaxy Z Fold4.
- Galaxy S21 series.
- Galaxy S21 FE
- Galaxy Z Flip3
- Galaxy Z Fold3.
- Galaxy S20 series.
- Galaxy S20 FE.
- Galaxy Note20 Series
- Galaxy Z Fold2.
- Galaxy Z Flip.
- Galaxy S10 Lite.
- Galaxy S10 series.
- Galaxy Note10 Series
- Galaxy Z Fold.
List of tablets:
- Galaxy Tab S8.
- Galaxy Tab Active4.
- Galaxy Tab S7 FE.
- Galaxy Tab A8.
- Galaxy Tab S7.
- Galaxy Tab A7.
- Galaxy Tab A7 Lite.
- Galaxy Tab Active3.