Samsung began rolling out Android 10 based One UI 2.0 Beta builds to Galaxy S10 devices early this month amid reports of a possible delay. The successor to Android 9.0 Pie-based One UI is more of an iterative update that brings with it polishes and improvements to existing features along with Android 10-specific features such as the gesture navigation system. However, users that are running the beta builds were in for a surprise when a recent update locked them out of their devices – refusing to accept any authentication methods.
Users running recent One UI 2.0 Beta builds began reporting that they were unable to unlock their devices through the way of a pin, password or biometrics after restarting the phones. The only preventive measure for those that still had access to their device was to disable all lock screen authentication methods through the Lock Screen settings.
For those that were locked out, one of the ways to circumvent the issue was by deleting all authentication methods through Samsung’s Find My Mobile service (provided it was enabled). However, if that service was not enabled, there was no other option but to reset the device and roll back to Android 9 Pie through Smart Switch. Some users also reported that they have been unable to set a pin/password even after rolling back to Pie.
Considering the severity of the issue, the firm was quick to release a hotfix for the problem that is now rolling out to all One UI 2.0 Beta users. The critical update package is about 131MB in size, carrying build number G970FXXU3ZSL and should be available to all S10 variants running the beta software. It should be noted that users that are currently locked out will have to either delete their authentication presets first or roll back and re-join the beta since the device will not initiate the update if the device is locked.
Running beta software always brings a few risks with it, so it is best to have one’s device backed up in case something goes wrong. As a precaution for any such issues in the future, you can turn on Find My Mobile from Settings > Biometrics and Security > Find My Mobile.
Source: SamMobile