Google should bring Samsung’s Maintenance Mode to Pixel phones

It’ll occur to all of us finally, regardless of how cautious you’re. Maybe you drop your cellphone and its display screen cracks, you by chance spill a drink on it and it gained’t cost anymore, or perhaps you didn’t do something to instantly trigger the {hardware} defect and also you’re simply unfortunate. Whatever the case, you’ll have to get your cellphone mounted, which you’ll be able to both do your self or by a restore middle.Most folks on this state of affairs would take their cellphone to their nearest licensed restore middle or mail it in if there isn’t a restore location close by, however on prime of briefly shedding entry to their cellphone, they’d additionally should cope with the inconvenience of backing up their information and manufacturing unit resetting their machine earlier than sending it off. That’s until they’re snug with a complete stranger accessing all their private information, which describes completely no person.To save their customers from having to reset their gadgets, Samsung introduced a function final 12 months known as Maintenance Mode that protects the consumer’s non-public information whereas their machine is being repaired. While the machine is in Maintenance Mode, the folks repairing it solely have entry to preinstalled apps. Any modifications which might be made whereas the machine is in Maintenance Mode are misplaced when it’s turned off, which might solely be finished by the consumer unlocking their machine. That method, the consumer simply must put their machine into Maintenance Mode earlier than handing it off, the restore middle can do no matter they should do whereas it’s of their arms, and the consumer can simply exit Maintenance Mode once they get their machine again. It’s a win-win for everybody. Maintenance Mode in One UI 5. (Image credit score: Samsung)Unfortunately, not each cellphone has entry to a function like Maintenance Mode on Samsung gadgets. Google’s Pixel telephones, for instance, don’t have such a function, which is why Google tells its prospects to manufacturing unit reset their gadgets earlier than sending them in for restore. Google has finished a fantastic job at making their gadgets extra repairable, however most people gained’t have the know-how to repair a cellphone just like the Pixel Fold. The launch of the Pixel Fold will actually take a look at Google’s after-sales help companies, which is why I believe Google must make the restore expertise as painless as attainable for customers. To begin with, Google ought to copy Samsung’s Maintenance Mode function so Pixel customers can have peace of thoughts concerning the security of their private information throughout the restore course of. Fortunately, Android already offers a wonderful instrument that the Pixel crew can leverage in the event that they wished to make such a function. Here’s what they’d have to do.How Google may convey Maintenance Mode to Pixel You is likely to be pondering, “Can’t Google just use Guest Mode or add another user?” If you have been, you’d be partially right. While it’s true {that a} secondary consumer can’t entry information from the first consumer with out their PIN/password, the secondary consumer will nonetheless want the first consumer’s PIN/password as a way to entry the machine after booting it up. That means the machine would have to be powered on when it’s despatched for restore, and the folks engaged on the machine wouldn’t be capable to energy off the machine at any time whereas engaged on it. Android requires the first consumer to enter their PIN/password after booting up. Other customers are inaccessible till they achieve this. (Image credit score: Mishaal Rahman)I don’t know the precise cause why Android requires the first consumer to enter their PIN/password earlier than some other consumer can log in, however it might be because of the truth that the first consumer can be the “system” consumer which is “always running even when other users are in the foreground.” If Android requires the “system” consumer to at all times be operating, then it is sensible that it must be unlocked earlier than any others can begin. Whatever the explanation, this conduct appears to be intentional, because it occurs not solely on Pixel telephones but in addition on Samsung and different OEM gadgets. That’s why I believe Samsung’s Maintenance Mode isn’t simply merely making a visitor consumer as some suppose, as I seen whereas testing it myself that it entails rebooting the machine to activate. I’m not precisely positive how Samsung applied Maintenance Mode, however I do know that Google and different OEMs can replicate it by leveraging Android’s Dynamic System Updates (DSU) function.Google launched DSU in Android 10 to make it simpler to check Generic System Images (GSIs). GSIs are vanilla builds of Android compiled straight from the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). They’re primarily utilized by OEMs for compatibility testing, however they can be utilized by builders to check their apps on a clear construct of Android operating on bodily {hardware}. The advantage of utilizing DSU to put in a GSI versus simply flashing the GSI manually is that DSU doesn’t overwrite the unique set up. Instead, DSU creates new system and information photos that Android mounts as a substitute of the originals. “DSU Loader” in Developer Options leverages DSU in addition a Google-provided GSI. (Image credit score: Mishaal Rahman)DSU was designed to make use of any system picture it’s given, and the machine would boot that picture as long as it passes verified boot (or the bootloader is unlocked). It is sensible that DSU requires a system picture to be equipped because it’s designed to check GSIs and GSIs aren’t shipped on retail gadgets. But what if DSU allow you to skip supplying a system picture and as a substitute used the prevailing system partition plus a brand new information picture? That would successfully simulate a manufacturing unit reset however with out really deleting any of the consumer’s information, which is precisely what we’d wish to occur when getting into the Pixel’s hypothetical Maintenance Mode. While the Pixel’s Maintenance Mode is only a hypothetical concept in the intervening time, utilizing DSU to simulate a manufacturing unit reset isn’t. This is a functionality that DSU will introduce in Android 14 alongside different enhancements, like the power to reboot instantly after set up, the power to persist the set up throughout reboots, the power to cover the default notification so a customized one might be proven, the power to vary the strings used for the dialog that prompts the consumer for his or her credentials, and the power to lock the machine into DSU mode.Combined, these enhancements ought to make it attainable for Google (and some other OEM) to copy Samsung’s Maintenance Mode. To show, I made a fast video that exhibits me tapping a button known as “Maintenance Mode” on my Pixel which triggers DSU to simulate a manufacturing unit reset. The major factor that’s lacking from this demo is an app that explains to the consumer what Maintenance Mode is, offers a button to enter it, and swaps the DSU-provided notification with a customized one telling the consumer they’re in Maintenance Mode. In addition, there’s at present no technique to exit this pseudo Maintenance Mode by getting into the first consumer’s credentials.You could have additionally seen (or simply learn the video’s description) that I reduce out some elements of the video. To be particular, I reduce out a number of seconds the place my machine exhibits the orange/bootloader unlocked state throughout the boot course of, as an unlocked bootloader shouldn’t be crucial for this to work. I additionally reduce out the half the place I went by the Setup Wizard after my machine booted up, and that’s as a result of it’s really attainable to skip the Setup Wizard by setting the system property ro.setupwizard.mode to “DISABLED”. This could possibly be finished by creating an init script — a script that runs throughout startup — which units this property when Android enters “Maintenance Mode.” As for the way Android would comprehend it’s in Maintenance Mode, that could possibly be finished by setting one other system property known as “ro.gsid.dsu_slot” to one thing like “maintenancemode”. Appending “.lock” to “maintenancemode” would make it so “only authorized users” can exit offered, once more, that the first consumer’s credentials are handed alongside.If Google or some other OEM have been to repeat Samsung’s Maintenance Mode, that’s how I may see it occurring. Samsung’s implementation may already be utilizing a forked model of DSU that does every thing I described, however I don’t know the way theirs works under-the-hood. I additionally don’t know if Google is or isn’t already engaged on this function, as a result of there’s no direct proof that means they’re. I’ve my suspicions, however with out stable proof, we’ll simply have to attend to seek out out what Google’s planning. Maintenance Mode could be a fantastic function for Google to announce alongside the Pixel 8 collection later this 12 months, so I hope the corporate has some surprises in retailer for us.