New Android Bug Can "Brick" Devices

[seawolf]

New Android Bug Causes Bricked Devices | Security Intelligence Blog | Trend Micro

 

Android users - beware of 3rd party app stores. This is a bad bug and until it is fixed, don't risk getting bricked.

[LosOjos]

Thanks for the heads up.

 

I do think it's worth saying though, this is not 'bricking' in the widely understood definition of the word. It will render your phone unusable, but a factory reset will restore it (albeit meaning a total loss of installed apps and data if you don't keep back ups). It will not make your phone irreparable, which is the common use of the term 'bricking.'

 

EDIT: also worth taking a mental note that you can remove the problematic app via adb to restore your phone's functionality without having to do a factory reset. Not much good for the lay user but may help one or two people around here out of a bad situation!

Edited March 31, 2014 by LosOjos

[MordyT]

Scare tactics.

There are several ways around this, esp if rooted.

 

Rebooting into safe mode.

Package remove via adb

(Remove via custom recovery)

[LosOjos]

Scare tactics.

There are several ways around this, esp if rooted.

 

Rebooting into safe mode.

Package remove via adb

(Remove via custom recovery)

 

To be fair, your average user wouldn't know what to do and would likely end up paying a shop to repair it, so I do think it's a valid issue that needs addressing, but it is good to know that those of us with decent tech know-how could easily recover from the problem at least.

[seawolf]

I do think it's worth saying though, this is not 'bricking' in the widely understood definition of the word.

 

I don't know, I think to many users this is what they consider "bricked". I hear kids say something has been "bricked" (as in useless as a brick) quite often when actually its just a matter of restoring the device. That's why the article stated "...which some may consider 'bricking' it".

 

In any case, it's something to be on the lookout for if a user presents a device with these symptoms.